I co-wrote a post on Music Think Tank with the lovely Ariel Hyatt and this is my portion. I fixed a glaring typo. Maybe you saw it. Maybe you didn’t. But I sure did. 

In Defense Of 1,000 Fans, Vol.1: The Mountain Goats

I entered the music business at the exact witching hour when the internet was born. My career was rarely based on physical marketing and very quickly became focused purely on digital content, online street team/ fanbase development & digital marketing for artists & projects ranging in genre from comedy (Stephen Lynch), indie electropop (Figurine), funk (Maceo Parker), singer/songwriters  (David Wilcox, Tony Furtado), to indie rock (Frank Black, The Slip, The Samples , Ambulance LTD), Jazz (Charlie Hunter),  and Jam (New Monsoon).

And through all of this work over a 12 year period, I’ve discovered 3 key crucial elements to figuring out the new music industry.

• • Run your career like a business, but ditch the myths: there is very little money in the music industry, there never was much to begin with and there’s less now. Record labels are not going to rescue you.
  • Quality Matters
  • All careers take time: It takes at least 12 years to “make it” (for this purpose, let’s define “make it” as a television appearance on a #4 Nielsen rated late night show)

The three rules generally work together: Setting appropriate expectations, focusing on your art, and connecting to your fans as you develop over a long period of time. Your career is an investment by you, and anyone who wants to pay you to be you. And for a return on your investment, your goal is to make it a desirable investment to your most beloved fans.  But how do they become true fans?  If you remember the first two rules, the third is up to you. My favorite more recent example is the Mountain Goats. I don’t work with them, but i happen to love the band and know a “superfan” named Matthew. (Superfan: One who spends $100 – $300/ year on a band). As I interviewed Matthew, he explained how he just purchased a purple vinyl limited edition (only 777 available worldwide) of the new Mountain Goats album, he “couldn’t wait to twitter about it.” He went on to show me  that his photo of a rare Mountain Goats collaborative release with Kaki King on swirled vinyl received over 500 unique views – the most views “any photo has ever received on my flickr account.” Matthew beams with pride as he reports spending “at least $400/ year on the Mountain Goats” on items ranging from vinyl (new and rare) to digital EPs and t-shirts. And that is the best case scenario any artist can hope for – a fan who takes pride in both the full experience and consumption of your art. Converting pride into a return on investment will take at least ten years.

The reality of 1,000 true fans beyond the joy of garnering fans is knowing what to do once you know you have a fan, while continually growing as an artist.

The Mountain Goats are not just any band making any kind of music. You can bet that their album ‘Sunset Tree’ will end up on multiple “Top 100″ albums of the last decade, and the band is regularly revered by music critics worldwide ranging from Pitchfork to Spin.com.

Last week, The Mountain Goats (now on 4ad), promoted their new release by way of a performance on the Colbert Report.  And none of this happened overnight. Not even cose. Darnielle has been building relationships with his fans for more than 12 years, and their overt appreciation of his art is the result of a pure connection built on respect. John Darnielle, with more talent in his eyelash than most people have in their their entire bodies, respects his fans. Here are 5 ways John Darnielle has built one of the greatest indie success stories of all time, based on talent, fans & genuine connections:

1. Communicate With Fans As If They Are Friends
In the mid-90s, Darnielle played extremely small venues (coffee shops, pizza joints) and stayed after the show to sit with anyone who enjoyed the show. “When a connection was made, he took their address and wrote a letter to every single person,” explains Matthew. He loves this story, and with reason: this is actually how Darnielle met his wife. Matthew knows the story inside-out and continues to tell it with a smile, “her name is Lalitree, and the song about her is called ‘02-75′ because that was her Post Office Box number.”  Darnielle communicates directly with fans electronically today by posting on the popular forum at The Mountain Goats website.  At one point he asked his fans what kind of merchandise they wanted. The forum exploded with fan suggestions and The Mountain Goats delivered: the next tour had a Mountain Goats reusable grocery sack for sale as merchandise. The grocery sack sold out.

2. Make Music Available
The Mountain Goats release an album about every 2 years, but between full album releases, fans are inundated with singles & EPs. John Darnielle has released multiple singles & EPs unexpectedly on the forum, with donations accepted but not required. In addition, Darnielle requests on the forum that fans do not steal. Matthew reports he has “always paid, always. I have to, why wouldn’t I?”

3. Limited Edition Physical Product: Take Advantage Of 1k Runs!
Once able, it is wise to invest in physical product to sell on the road and online. The Mountain Goats have released split EPs with Kaki King & John Vanderslice on limited edition vinyl.  A limited vinyl edition of The Mountain Goats album Satanic Messiah was released only at indie retail, with a catch: 666 copies only. The most recent Mountain Goats album, The Life Of The World To Come (released last tuesday) has a similar limited edition purple vinyl release, this time 777 copies. Matthew owns #740 and explained “some people on the forum have 3 copies.” Fans did not know which indie retail store would carry the vinyl, so they had to seek it out. Matthew found his at Rasputin music in downtown San Francisco.

4. Your Fans Are Smart, All 1,000 Of Them
If it’s not you on twitter, your fans will know. If it’s not you on the forum, your fans will know. If it’s bad music that isn’t finished, your fans will know. If you are writing form letters, your fans will know. To build a connection with fans and harvest a relationship, it is important to remember that your fans are as smart as you, they demand the same quality art that you demand of yourself. They are growing with you, aging as you age, over about 12 years, to enable your career as a full time musician making a decent living.

5. Your Fans Love Great Music, So Give It To Them: Tour & Don’t Be Afraid Of Getting Upstaged
“I became a John Vanderslice fan because he opened for the Mountain Goats. I will probably buy everything Vanderslice does now.” (what do you have now, matthew?) “I have Romanian Names, obviously i have the split ep with the Mountain Goats Moon Colony Bloodbath, I have Pixie Revolt – which is one of his classics – and his new single Too Much Time.”

the Mountain Goats have also toured with Kaki King and are now on tour with Final Fantasy. Matthew had “never heard of Final Fantasy until now. Honestly, I’m sure i’ll grow to like them but I haven’t focused on them yet. I haven’t been to the show… yet.”

author’s note: i’ve heard of final fantasy, and they are bad ass. The name of the Mountain Goats fan was changed for purposes of privacy, although i’m told many on the forum think they have already figured it out….