The New Rules to Americana

Marketing ideas for marketers who hate boring

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There's a massive marketing opportunity in Americana that most people are completely ignoring. I've been working with artists in this space lately and the strategies that work are nothing like what you'd expect.

Let me be clear about what I mean by Americana - guitar-oriented music that lives somewhere between indie and country, but it's not radio country. Think outlaw country, singer-songwriter stuff, the alternative to mainstream country crap. Solo artists with acoustic guitars, maybe some electric. Bands that intersect indie rock with country roots.

I can't name my consulting clients because people love throwing around "industry plant" accusations, but what I'm seeing work with bigger acts applies across this whole genre. I've been in this community for years, worked on tons of these projects, even though it's definitely not my vibe.

Here's what everyone's missing.

Stop Calling Yourself A Singer-Songwriter

I don't think you should ever call yourself a singer-songwriter when you're fan-facing. It's fine in your bio or EPK, but when you're talking to fans, it sounds cheesy as hell.

You always want to be talking to fans, not the music industry. You look ridiculous when it looks like you're pitching a label in your posts and bio. That's one of the things in this genre that gets people laughed at constantly.

You Need A Compelling Pitch

It particularly stuns me how many people in this space think "I don't need to figure out a way to describe myself that gets people curious about my music."

So many people make this genre and not enough people listen to it that if you don't have a compelling pitch, you're screwed. That compelling pitch can be something like "a bluegrass heart with a punk mind" - anything that gets some people curious.

A pitch is not for everybody. It's to exclude people as much as it's to include them. It's to say, "it's not for everyone, it's for you." The most picky people are who you target in your pitch because they are the most passionate music listeners and who you have to get on board first.

Enjoying this? Forward it to a music friend you’d like to be closer to and start a discussion!

Getting Past All The Crap

It can be "Americana heart on my sleeve while I almost slit my wrist" —things like that say a lot and it's compelling. Like, wow, that's fucking powerful.

The artists who do best in this genre have a pitch that gets people past the fact that there's just a lot of crap in Americana. It's a genre that's been done to death, and you gotta show there's something new about it.

Look at the barn choir stuff - Vance Joy or The Lumineers' "Hey Ho" song, songs I hope to never hear for the rest of my goddamn life. But that was a new advent and a new flavor when it hit.

@kylegordonisgreat

🥹🫶 Official Music Video and Song Out Everywhere! We Will Never Die! Go stream it and watch the full music video! Guest starring @Audrey #... See more

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