Offline Activities, And Why You Shouldn’t Neglect Them In Your Music Career

With the internet now being a big part of how people promote their music, it's easy to think that all of your promotional efforts should be made over the internet. If you want to build up a diverse fan base, however, it's important that you also promote your music using offline methods.

Yes it's easy to sit at home on your computer all day and talk to people online. You reach people all over the world, and you can do it while sitting in your underwear and eating snacks. Easy, though, doesn't always give you the best results.

As you can see from the section above, it's all important for you to set up your online base. If you only focus on selling yourself online, though, you will miss out on a large section of people that could have found out about you via other means.

Think about it; gigging, TV and radio channels are all outlets separate from the online one. Many musicians have given up on these opportunities as they're ” harder to get, ” or are “old methods of promotion. ” These musicians aren't giving themselves the best chance of getting out there, and are missing out on potentially a lot more exposure.

I'll admit, these platforms aren't as easy to get on as it is to sign up for a Facebook or Twitter account. Well, guess what: taking your music career to the next level is not an easy task! If it was, don't you think there would be a lot more musicians earning decent money for their efforts?

Those musicians that will do well are the ones that are willing to put the work in. That work includes leveraging yourself on those offline platforms, as they DO still work.

Now I'm not saying as an independent musician you're going to get your song play-listed on the big channels straight away, or that you'll get your first music video spun on MTV Base. That said, there are community radio stations and specialized TV channels where it is possible to get some good exposure.

Gigging, for example, is one of the best ways for the modern day musician to make money from their career. You can sell your CDs there (yes, physical CDs can still make money like this), you can make money from royalties when you perform, and you may even get paid for the gig (harder to do when you're still unknown, but possible as you start making a name for yourself and can draw in crowds).

We talk a lot more about offline promotion and making money from gigging in the IMA Music Business Academy. For now though, the take away point should be this:

Don't limit yourself to only having an online music career. Getting out there and connecting with people face to face is a great way to build up a strong and loyal fan base. It can help build your confidence, and will give you more avenues to make money from.

A healthy balance between online and offline promotion is necessary, and will allow you to progress in your music career even faster.