Our own Jarred Goldner, Director of SET, was a panelist at Music Managers Forum (MMF) earlier this year on the “Direct Fan Engagement & Monetization Strategies” session, where he discussed the importance of a direct connection between artists and their fans.
We sat down with Jarred to talk about his experience at MMF and learn more about what it means to “own” the fan relationship and ways artists can monetize that relationship over time.
What does it mean to "own" the relationship with fans?
“Own” is such an interesting word. A better word, in my opinion, is “access.” Having direct access to your fans lets you control when your fans hear from you. Major consumer brands no longer rely on third parties and are, instead, creating their own direct access channels by cultivating one-to-one relationships with their customers. In the music industry, artists don’t always have that luxury. They can’t control whether or when fans see their content if they don’t have a way to connect with them directly. And let’s be clear: social media is not a direct line. Social media companies know exactly who an artist’s fans are, but they are not sharing that info with artists. The result is that artists are reaching smaller and smaller portions of their audience unless they fork over payment to the social media companies in order to reach them.
Where does owning the fan relationship start?
Owning the fan relationship starts when an artist truly understands their fans. Artists should start by learning who their fans are, growing relationships with those fans, and, of course, building a direct artist-fan communication channel.
What size does an artist need to be for this to be relevant/important?
Owning the relationship with fans is vital for artists of all sizes! Whether they’re playing for 25 people at a local coffee shop or 25,000 people in an arena, artists always, always, always need to know who their fans are. We work with artists of all sizes–whether they’re on their first-ever live show or they’re A-list, stadium-touring artists–and owning the fan relationship is always important.
When we think about collecting fan data, what data points are important?
Any data that can be collected can be useful, but the most important data points for artists are the fans’ names and direct contact info (e.g., email or phone number). Personalized messages make fans feel like they have a personal relationship with artists. If an artist collects nothing else, they need to have a name and at least one direct contact method for their fans.
What are some ways an artist can monetize the relationship with their fans once they've collected their information?
There are so many ways an artist can monetize the relationship with their fans! Here are just a few:
- Send follow-up emails promoting your merch
- Promote your next tour with direct information about pre-sales next time you are in a fans’ city
- Reach your fans to increase more pre-saves of new music
- Land more brand deals by having a robust fan profile (we can help with that!)
Who are some of the artists you'd love to work with?
We work with so many great artists! For me, it’s not about the specific artist as much as the project and how unique it is. We’ve had artists give fans recordings of each show, bring fans on stage, upgrade fan seats, provide backstage experiences, create a full awards show with real-time fan voting, and more. I absolutely love seeing all of the creative ways artists implement SET.Live into their shows in ways that are authentic to each artist.
Add anything about your conversation at MMF that would be helpful to readers.
The conversation, SET.Live demo, and the people at MMF were all top-notch. Everyone was welcoming, encouraging, and excited about what we are doing to help artists. The conversations were really focused around being authentic, knowing your fans, and (of course) having a successful music career.
About Jarred Goldner
As Director of SET at MAX, Jarred helps artists and their teams work smarter (not harder) to deliver better fan experiences, execute more efficient tours, better understand their fans, and even secure their own brand sponsorships. SET is a suite of innovative artist tools that support and empower artists, managers, and labels with practical strategies that center the artist-fan relationship.
Jarred and his team are passionate about helping artists take ownership of the relationship with their fans by eliminating gatekeepers and garden walls.
Before heading up the SET team, Jarred served as Director of Artist Relations at MAX, where he ran the team responsible for sourcing artists for branded promotional programs. He has spoken at SXSW, A3C Music Festival, and MusicBiz and has contributed to publications like Music Connection, BandsInTown for Artists, Hypebot, and ANA (Association of National Advertisers).