Know your tribe

That image is from a post on my friends blog - Bloody Loud.

Check it out here.

The post is about a photographer who shoots people attending gigs and is fascinated by how the fans identify themselves with the band.

It's a bit of fun worth checking out, but there's a serious point that you can draw from it. As well as being gobsmacked by some of the shots!

Seth Godin wrote about 'tribes' as groups of people bound together by a common interest and it applies perfectly to music fans. Find posts about it or the book itself with a quick Google.

As an aspiring musician you must get to know how you fit into a scene and create your own tribe. If you don't know what you're about and where you fit in, how can possible fans be expected to do so?

GaGa did this perfectly and created a named tribe of 'Little Monsters'.

As well as suggesting that you check out Godin's book, I came across this article the other day which looks at a similar theme but not from the fashion / demographic point of view.

Your fans are your bread and butter—they are the ones who are literally going to keep you in business.  Most of us musicians don’t have the luxury of having a label or marketing machine behind us, but the good news is, if we’re willing to put in some effort ourselves, we don’t have to wait for that to happen.  If you’re a good musician, or have a good act, there is an audience out there that wants to hear your music.  You just have to identify and connect with that audience—find out who they are, and how to reach them.

Read that here.