Do some artists make it to the top based solely on the merits of their work? Sure. But 9 times out of 10 it’s the ones with a solid marketing plan that will win out. The music industry’s primary goal isn’t to put groundbreaking, artistically brilliant material out there– the “quality” of the music is completely irrelevant. It’s all about what sells. What will turn a profit.

Hence, the artists that are able to prove their marketing acumen by building a following and demonstrating sound business practices are the ones that labels (with their ever-shrinking budgets) will pursue. But even if you take the labels out of it, if you’re going to succeed as an independent musician, you HAVE to be able to market yourself.

Look, I understand how this article might ruffle a few feathers. I’m a musician and recording artist myself, and the thought of somebody telling me that my stuff sucks without even hearing it is enough to get me riled up as well. But that’s the reality, my friend. It’s not an indictment of your music or mine. It’s just the truth.

Lastly, regarding your insinuation that I wrote this article as a “very desperate attempt to gather business”….nothing could be further from the truth. My target clients are very well-established, signed (or close to being signed) artists who already clearly have their act together with respect to marketing. They’re the ones making serious noise in the scene (pun intended), and don’t need some random blog post to tell them how important professional promo images are in their marketing plan. And as for the rest– the artists who don’t already know all this– well, they typically can’t afford my rates.

Let me just close by reiterating the fact that I appreciate your comment very much, as well as your thoughts on the issue at hand. This blog is an outlet for me to share my knowledge and experience with musicians and photographers alike, and I realize that not everyone will necessarily agree with my position on certain topics. But that’s okay. That’s kind of the beauty of it. I really enjoy a good discussion, and I do hope that you’ll stick around for future posts & share your reaction to those as well. Peace….

Great quote…I need to start including more photos…thank you for this post.