In a word, NO. Just because the media is projecting that the world’s economy is stagnant or in a recession right now doesn’t mean your CD sales should be affected. People don’t necessarily buy less music because the media says people are buying less of everything else. The same can be said if the economy was in a “boom” or growth period. Does that mean suddenly people will be buying thousands of your CDs because they’re buying thousands of everything else? No.

Unfortunately, people are easily persuaded by the media. If they say less of a certain product is being sold, people fear the worse. The problem is that businesses often don’t recognize that the reasons they are not selling more are not based on the media’s perception of the economy, but the fact that they are no longer doing business effectively. i.e. their product costs too much, it’s outdated, people already have one or more of them, or they’re not promoting their product differently, etc.

Speaking of changing your promotion strategies, let’s take your music for example. When was the last time you sent a newsletter out to your fans thanking them for coming to your past shows, buying your CDs and giving them a real update as to what is happening with you and your music? When is the last time you sent an update to the press about how great things are going for you and your band? When you did send something, did you merely just send a generic email announcement saying that you are playing the same songs at the same bar down the street or did you send them something different?

Recessions are like anything else in business: A state of mind. If you want to sell more CDs or get more exposure for your music, start promoting it differently.
Here’s an idea: Play a show at a new venue that features songs focused on a central theme. Promote the show to new fans that will be interested in that particular topic.

Instead of doing what you have always done to get where you are right now in your career, challenge yourself to change! Think outside the box that you created for yourself.

Let me leave you with this thought. Recently a business friend of mine introduced me to someone new in the entertainment field at a dinner party. After the introduction I asked him how his business was. For 15 minutes he talked about how he was selling less product these days because the economy was bad, George Bush was president, the war on terrorism was going on, some people in the world didn’t like him, and he got stuck in traffic a few times. etc. Whatever he could think of seemed to negatively affect his business. After his dismal projection, he stopped and asked me, "So, how is your business doing?" I simply said, "Great!" Dumbfounded, he said, "What do you mean?"

I said, “Well, yes, there’s apparently a recession going on. Since people are supposedly buying less from others right now, maybe they have more money to spend with me! That’s how I look at the situation. And George Bush hasn’t done anything to affect my business. The war on terrorism won’t affect how much product I sell and there will always be people in the world that don’t like what I am doing …although others may love me. Finally, I get stuck in traffic, too. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, I guess. It gives me extra time to think of new ways to promote my business!”

“Sure, the media says there’s a recession going on. I just decided not to be a part of it!” Sometimes, you got to think outside the box to succeed.

Tim Sweeney



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