ABSTRACT
Perhaps the most important aspect of marketing involves finding and getting to know your market. On the most basic level, markets can be segmented into three sections: (1) fans and current users, (2) potential fans and users, and (3) those people who are not considered part of the target market. Perhaps this third group includes people who cannot or will not consume your products. For music, that may mean people who do not particularly care for the genre that your artist represents. It may include people who do not consume music, people who are unwilling to pay, and those without access to become consumers. For example, there have been mid-level and star-level recording artists who have enjoyed a fan base that includes very young children, for whom regular concert attendance would be impractical. Perhaps the concert is too late, too loud and rowdy, or is restricted to those of legal drinking age. Artists who are aware that they have a following of small children have been known to add a special matinee performance to the schedule to accommodate families with small children. This is an example of why it is important to learn as much as possible about your market so that you can adjust your marketing strategy to increase the likelihood of success. This chapter focuses on the first two market sections: current fans and potential fans.
