The Road to Terry - 062 - Finding You

How many fans do musicians have?  What is the difference between supporters that enjoy passively verses those who listen to the music, attend shows, and purchase merchandise regularly?  That number will be the net of your true fans.  I don’t want to say passive supporters are negative.  Their support is a positive impact.  The harm comes from knowing those who listen only, aren’t contributing much revenue to sustaining a musician’s career. 

Kevin Kelly’s 1,000 True Fans theory touts there are 1,000 people who will spend more than $100 per year on your music.  That is $100,000 every year.  This means that a musician must have an engaged active audience, and a booming passive audience.  In business, we say 80% of your revenue will come from 20% of your audience. 

How does that math work? 

1,000 Fans is equal to x times 20% or 0.20 * x = 1,000

That’s a very simple equation.  1,000 divided by 0.20 is 5,000.

Theoretically, I will need 5,000 fans total to find the 1,000 active fans I need.  I have a hard time believing this math in practicality.  Therefore, let’s double it to ensure our chances.

We need 10,000 people that are willing to enjoy the music on a regular basis. 

That’s asking 2,000 people to put their money where their mouth is.  The first move is to get a statistical analysis of those who support me.  If you’re willing, please take this survey to offer me some fan data.

Secondly, I will do everything in my power to expose my music to new and current fans for the cheapest amount possible.

Lastly, I want to get these people on my mail list.  I will ask those who know me and are willing to listen to join my mail list…hopefully 20% of that audience will make purchases.

I have a long way to go.