I came across a poll today which surveyed the habits of UK vinyl buyers.

Nearly half of people aren’t buying vinyl to play it. Image (C) BBC

The format continues to increase in popularity. The research alsoshows:

• People listen to music online first and then buy it on vinyl.
• Nearly 50% of people surveyed who buy vinyl haven’t even played it!

As a DIY artist, what should you take from this?  Well, this is a reminder that people will discover and consume your music online (and for free) but they may still pay for it later in a physical format.  For those fans, buying vinyl isn’t a means of playing your music, it’s a form of support, a form of ‘symbolic patronage’.  It’s their way of saying thanks for making the music.  They reward you for your artistry , for reaching out to them on the social networks and they get a nice ‘collectors item’ in return.

If you’ve created great music and used social channels to engage that fan base you stand a good chance of them rewarding you by purchasing a physical product (vinyl, t-shirt etc.).

Takeaway Tip

Get your music online as a freebie ‘loss leader’, engage your fans through social channels and at gigs and make sure your fans have ways to reward you financially whether that’s t-shirts, CDs, vinyl or what have you.

Got any questions about this post or how you can better market yourself?

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