In this installment, we'll show you how to create a VIRUS! Before you get worried about your hard drive, or stock up on aspirin, let me tell you that we're talking about a memetic virus. It's the kind that Douglas Rushkoff writes about in his book, Media Virus. To simplify, a memetic virus is a message or an idea that is so appealing and so attractive that human beings can't wait to spread it by telling others about it.
Let's examine four ways you can make your music memetic:
1. Your songs. 2. Your mailing lists. 3. Your website. 4. Your gigs.
1. Make sure your songs are "hooked" up...
First off, I'd like you to think about why record companies emphasize singles, rather than encouraging radio stations and record stores to play entire albums. As an artist, you're probably more sensitive to knowing when a song is over-played or over-hyped. The majority of the record-buying public, though, has a pretty small amount of brainpower to spend on new music.
By homing in on a single, or on an "emphasis track," especially one with a memorable "hook," a record company and an artist can focus on getting that "hook" deeply embedded into an audience's collective unconsciousness. When people march into record stores and ask, "what song is the one that goes dum-de-doo-doo," that song has just become memetic - they've absorbed it and they're sharing it with others.
I'd like you to think about your set lists. If you're writing original music, have you got at least one song with a great hook? If you do, then make sure you emphasize that song in every appearance you make - that can be your emphasis track. That hook will become your calling card. It will open the door just enough to let the rest of your songs through.
2. It's in the mail...
If songwriting is the most important way to make your music memetic, then maintaining a mailing list is the best way to clear a path for your musical virus.
As I've mentioned in earlier articles, I can't emphasize enough how important it is for you to keep a great mailing list, and to get someone to take new names at every appearance you make. Here's a twist: make it easy for your fans to recruit their friends to your list. You can pick a fan to help you sign up new list members at shows, or you can even run a contest to reward fans who sign up the most new members. As with any list, make sure that the folks on your list actually want to be on your list -- you don't want to 'spam' anyone over e-mail or snail mail.
