Music Marketing Law #4
Perception
Marketing is not a battle of products it is a battle of perceptions
Or put another way...
Marketing is a battle of perception, not products
There is no best product, just the best perception.
Why do you think some 'no brainer' music marketing ideas don't work?
Why did ex boy band (Take That) star Robbie Williams go on to have multiple number ones in the United Kingdom but was nowhere in the United States? He was ideally placed to break America wasn'e he? What went wrong? He couldn’t break the perception.
Perceptions are funny things. Who is the world's greatest ever band or solo artiste? Every generation has a different answer. Is it between Harry Styles and Justin Bieber? Oasis and Blur? The Beatles and the Stones?
According to sales metrics the list of who is the greatest reads The Beatles, Elvis, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Madonna, Led Zeppelin. The research shows the first popular solo artiste, Elvis Presley, is nowhere to be seen!
Everyone’s perception is different. Even the media can’t agree. The MTV music awards show a totally different cohort to the Rolling Stone magazines top artiste list. Compare that to our own Top 100 Artistes as voted for by thousands of our visitors. Why the discrepency in perception?
Most rock journalism is people who can't write, interviewing people who can't talk, for people who can't read.
Frank Zappa
What is the secret?
You might think demographics is the deciding factor, but it is not, it is perception. You believe what you want to believe.
I’ll contradict my earlier statement from Law #2 that Michael Jackson was the first black act to break on MTV. If you research it, it could have been Shalimar, Rick James, or the Specials. Who knows? Michael Jackson owns the perception and that’s what will be remembered.
Conclusion
Music marketing is a battle of perceptions not a battle of metrics.