In Defense of 1,000 True Fans – Jerry Joseph: How Does The Theory Work When You Already HAVE 1,000 True Fans? – Part VIII
In Defense of 1,000 True Fans – Kelly Richey – Part IV
Kelly Richey has been described as “Stevie Ray Vaughan trapped in a woman’s body with Janis Joplin screaming to get out.” That’s an apt appraisal of the Lexington, Kentucky native who’s now based in Cincinnati for many years. A working musician since her teens, she began her professional career as a member of the Arista Records group Stealin’ Horses; in 1990 she formed The Kelly Richey Band, with whom she has become both a national and international touring artist. Kelly Richey is also consummate entrepreneur who refuses to quit. Since establishing her own label, Sweet Lucy Records, Richey has released 11 albums and a live DVD. When I first spoke to her in August 2008 she was at the end of a long struggle to try to break through using traditional PR and radio. She had spent a fortune on radio promoters, and traditional publicists, retail positioning and other old school tactics that were just not working for her. Read More READ MORE
In Defense of 1,000 True Fans – Amber Rubarth – Part III
I met Amber Rubarth through Derek Sivers who wrote a wonderful profile on her on his blog. Here is what Derek wrote: Amber Rubarth is a 26-year-old singer/songwriter from Reno, who only started playing music five years ago, but is making a full-time living touring, including four tours of Europe, booking it all herself. She’s also one of the happiest musicians I’ve met. Most musicians I know feel it’s tough, but Amber seems to glide through it all effortlessly. My interest was peaked and I concur with Derek’s assessment! I am delighted that she was willing to be the subject of my ongoing conversation about 1,000 true fans. Read More READ MOREIn Defense Of 1,000 True Fans – Matthew Ebel – Part II
In part ii of my 1,000 true fans series I chose to interview my friend Matthew Ebel. I have known Matthew for a few years because he runs in the same geeky podcasting circles that I proudly run in. Matthew is the type of artist I refer to in my book as a “Builder” meaning Matthew is constantly pushing his career forward using not only musical innovation but also technology. What I find most striking about this interview is the fact that Matthew makes 26.3% of his net income from just 40 hard- core fans. Imagine what it will be like for him when he gets to 1,000? The other thing that really stood out for me is the fact that an artist like Matthew (who is totally comfortable with Social Media and extremely Internet savvy) has very little idea what to do with analytics that he is gathering via Google Analytics, CrazyEgg.com, and Compete.com, as well as email stats via Blue Sky Factory. Read More READ MORE
