How Artists Can Maximise Their Export Potential
Working with the European Music Export Exchange (EMEE) has been an eye-opening experience. Recently we joined their Spring Forum where we discussed the needs, ideas and strategy of twenty export offices from across Europe. Throughout our discussions it struck me there were a few topics and best practice ideas which came up repeatedly, and many I felt spoke directly to managers and artists in the practical work they could do in order to export.
These are a few of my takeaways from those days and the EMX capacity building programme I ran for them (see a breakdown of what we did below!). They might just help you get a plan together.
Do the research. This feels like a straightforward point but a lot of people skip to the ‘let’s book a show in this city’ stage without thinking about what makes the most sense, what’s the best use of funds, and what they could have in place beforehand. It can be as simple as asking other artists about their territory. Exchange information; search the festivals, venues, fans, popular music and platforms to help you understand what might work. For example, Spotify doesn’t dominate everywhere so should you ensure you have a Deezer link on your promo? Really understand how to read the stats from your distributor or socials - this can help you make informed decisions about your next step and provide great arguments for funding export activity.
Strategy is key. Not enough artists have real strategy in place when it comes to export - preferring a ‘let’s see what happens approach’. But when you have goals and plans in place, you’re just so much more likely to achieve them, that focus is important in getting where you want to go. Strategy is all about how your activities come together for a common aim (or aims).
Think three steps ahead - it’s fine to change your plans and react to opportunities that you weren’t able to foresee, but having wider aims and an idea of what you hope it will lead to is vital. Not just the idea of ‘we want to build our fanbase in Germany’ but a why, how and who of it. For example: ‘because we have a good number of fans starting to engage in Germany, we want to sign to a label or local distribution company there and release singles targeted at fans of xyz band in Germany.’ Once you’ve built some fans what will you hope to do next? Tour? Get a local booking agent? Really think about what makes sense. There are so many things you can aim to achieve - not everyone's aims are going to be the same and that’s fine. Think about what makes sense for you.
It’s okay to fail. Not every market will work for you at once, that’s fine. If you’re struggling to find entry points, not resonating or being passed over, it’s fine to concentrate somewhere else and come back to it later. The knowledge, experience and expertise you gain from doing it is still valuable.
Collaboration will get you further. Someone very wise once said “Alone you go faster. Together you go further.” It might be tempting to try and go it alone but by exporting together, finding others to work with in new territories and developing ideas that involve other musicians can be really beneficial. Think about what you can bring to a collaboration and what you’re lacking in order to make the most effective collaborations.
Export starts at home. It’s natural for promoters, bookers, agents and labels in other territories to look at how you’re doing in your home territory and whether you’ve nurtured and developed a fanbase. It doesn’t matter how big it is - just that you’re engaging people. Make sure you have things aligned at home first. If you’re not ready, think about how you can take export advice and apply it to other cities in your own country before trying to approach new ones. Maybe this looks like going on a three date tour with three bands from different cities so you have a home crowd at each one. Maybe it’s another release…there are a lot of ways to develop your fanbase.
You don’t need to go for the big markets or festivals. This point speaks for itself. Everyone wants to go to SXSW or Eurosonic but it’s much harder to gain attention when you’re there. Think about the smaller events that might make sense for your sound and ones that invite the kind of delegates you want to reach. There are hundreds of smaller conferences looking to book new artists that have a smaller but extremely engaged delegation of professionals visiting. You’re much more likely to come out of the event with progress that way.
Live isn’t the only way to export! You don’t have to play live if you don’t want to; think about the myriad ways you can utilise publishing, marketing and cross sector opportunities to export. There’s a huge focus on live, which makes sense for some artists but export is so much more than that. Think big.
Overall you have to have patience and put in time and methodical effort in order to export. It’s not that exciting, but it’s something that can be done as a group and broken down into smaller chunks. As the world becomes more homogenised it’s easier to reach, research and connect with new countries that might enjoy your music, and there are so many tools to help you do it (check out Compass Music’s Lighthouse if you’re serious about getting your export on, they know what they’re talking about).
Reach out to your local export office, look at funding like the PRS Foundation’s International Showcase Fund, and start creating networks of artists that are similar to you all over the world. It’ll have huge impacts when you’re ready.
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We’ve just completed a huge export capacity building project for EMEE in which we delivered: 2 days of digital workshops and 2 days of in person workshops and discussions in Amsterdam for 45 participants, 1 digital trade mission to India, 1 day of in person discussions for 15 exporters in Slovenia, an export mentoring programme and export job shadowing programme too.
Find out more see if we can help make your project a success by emailing jess@soundsandstrategy.com