Know your tribe. And play to the beat of your own drum. That’s just one of the points underscored in a new thought-provoking essay on the current face of the musicians’ industry, in the eyes and mind of Terry McBride, CEO of Vancouver, Canada-based Nettwerk Music Group.
Over a three-to-four month period, McBride crystalized his thoughts in the new report, entitled “Meet The Millennials: Fans, Brands And the Cultural Community,” written in collaboration with longtime Nettwerk GM Brent Muhle, and commissioned by U.K. business development network Music Tank.
Fresh from collecting a trophy last night at the Music Managers Forum’s annual Roll of Honour ceremony in London, McBride has travelled the 53-mile trip down the M23 motorway to the seaside town of Brighton, where he today delivers the study at the Great Escape conference.
“I was trying to plant some seeds, for artists, new artists and artist managers,” McBride tells Billboard.biz. “Rather than looking at this world as this huge collossal thing they have to conquer, artists need to figure out who their tribe is. Start local, because local has everything to do with international, and try to reshape how people see things.”
He adds, “Everything I’ve read is a commentary on where things sit right now. No one has said, ‘as we sit here today, here’s the list of things you have to think of.’ You can’t predict the future, but you can deal with the now.”
The report centers on the so-called “Millennials” demographic, those youths born from 1981 onwards, who are “raised on a diet of instant gratification and limitless choice,” and looks at how to enhance the connection between bands and their core fans, or tribe. The document also urges artists to build meaningful roadmaps to branding opportunities.
“From our perspective it is essential that you love and respect the brand that you are working with,” McBride writes. “If you are in the music business it should be because you are passionate about music. This may sound obvious, but today’s industry is in fact beset with fear when there should be great excitement. Now is a time of opportunity, and since music is such a powerful, inspiring medium, these qualities should be reflected in the team you assemble.”
McBride says he practises what he preaches. The company, which has offices in Vancouver, New York, Los Angeles, London, Boston, Nashville and Hamburg, has no more plans to expand. Instead, Nettwerk, which has guided the careers of Avril Lavigne and Bare Naked Ladies, is reaching out through technology and know-how.
“Economically, the world is flat. Marketing wise it’s very dynamic,” McBride says. “It’s all based on different culture codes. But economically you can access anything from anywhere. There’s no need to open up a whole pile of offices. What is key is to understand your uberfans are your record company, they are your marketing and promotions team and they’re everywhere. They’re everywhere you can’t be.”
The third annual Great Escape combines a daytime convention program with a live music itinerary, featuring more than 200 local and international artists. The three-day event concludes this Saturday.
