There is a home for creatives in between poverty and stardom. Somewhere lower than stratospheric bestsellerdom, but higher than the obscurity of the long tail. I don’t know the actual true number, but I think a dedicated artist could cultivate 1,000 True Fans, and by their direct support using new technology, make an honest living.
David Andersen
on 14 Oct 08Rapidly becoming a cliche’ – “long tail”
reuben
on 14 Oct 08A true fan is a big ask, do they really exist. I bet no one set a google alert for The Beatles when they we’re huge. No one, not even their biggest most dedicated fan.
Grant
on 14 Oct 08@David, maybe the term is cliché to you, but I think the point is still there. I don’t know if there is a magic number (i.e. 1,000 Fans), but I know there are plenty of non-mainstream artists (music/visual/etc) who have just enough exposure that they’re able to continue doing what they love.
The question is, are they happy with that situation? I rarely meet an artist (or designer, or whatever – myself included) that wouldn’t want more exposure.
killian tobin
on 14 Oct 08The theory is that a True Fan is willing to spend $100/yr on you- concerts, merchandise, ‘experiences’... he figures this would make you $100K a year and that would be enough to support yourself with. Instead of chasing pop stardom, just find 1,000 true fans who love your talent.
Jason Gumpert
on 15 Oct 08Kristin Hersh is the perfect example of this. Great, established indie songwriter with a loyal following and she broke away from the conventional record label model to start CASH Music for herself and other artists. According to her email newsletter it is generating enough revenue to allow her to continue working and producing records. And when she recently sent an inquiry to her email list of 5000 (or so) looking for ‘patronage’ to put toward an expensive new custom guitar in return for exclusive content back to the patrons, she was able to generate around $4K toward this guitar in under 24 hours (at which point she stopped gathering donations). Now she gets her new guitar and her fans are looking forward to accessing some exclusive new recordings made with it.
David Andersen
on 15 Oct 08@Grant -
I’m not talking about the quote which is not particularly enlightening or controversial. But it’s hip these days to toss “long tail” in your phraseology and I for one am tired of it. “Long tail” gets 4m Google hits. Yeah, it’s done.
Kevin Sonney
on 15 Oct 08My girlfrind is an artist in that very situation, and she says “3000 is a more accurate number, but yes”
This discussion is closed.