The key to getting more fans is to focus on the ones you currently have.

Many new artists spend an inordinate amount of time trying to build their audience at the neglect of the audience they currently have.

In business, it is a generally accepted truth that the best way to get new customers is through current customers.

MySpace and similar sites tend to focus on adding new friends. I think it’s more effective to take the fans you already have and empower them to add to your audience. Make music of such quality that they WANT to tell their friends about it and then give them the tools to do so. Free mp3s and interesting and frequently updated websites (to give them info to share with friends or to blog about). Add your music to iJigg.com and let them post your songs on their blog.

Seth Godin, marketing guru, wrote a book called the IdeaVirus in which he talks about people being “sneezers”. The gist of it is that if you have a compelling product you need to get it into the hands of people who will promote and share your product and essentially “infect” others.

So, create great music, establish strong relationships with your fans (which the web is uniquely equipped to do) and let them “sneeze” your music to the masses.

Be faithful with the fans you currently have before searching for new ones.

I’m not a musician, but as a fan I think this is GREAT advice.  It’s amazing how much more devoted I feel to someone who has added a bit of personal touch to their careers through blogs or newsletters and how much more I feel invested in their continuing work when I feel I know them a little.  And if the work is great I will promote it.  I gave everyone in my church a copy of Andrew Peterson’s The Far Country for Christmas this year. (of course he made it easy by having a fantastic sale for this purpose...)

Everyone in your church must love you! What an awesome gift.

For me, I’d even say that there are several artists that I support simply because I enjoy their blog/journal. I probably wouldn’t have bought their cd’s simply based on their music (it’s great, but a different style than I prefer) but because I really like who I perceive them to be as a person based on their blog/journal, I choose to support them and I enjoy their music that much more because I know the background of it.

Great input Amy. Thanks!