from the a-swimmer? dept
For
all the talk about how difficult it is for musicians to make a living
today, and how there are all sorts of challenges, it's quite interesting
to see that other people in other professions are increasingly looking
to the growing number of
success stories
to see what they can learn. Music manager Emily White recently alerted
us to the fact that she's taking some of the lessons learned working
with artists like Amanda Palmer, and applying them elsewhere as well.
For example, Olympic gold medalist swimmer Anthony Ervin recently began a
"comeback" attempt, and needed to find support to go "on tour,"
competing for the US on the World Cup circuit. Apparently, expenses for
such a trip are entirely on the athlete. So Ervin started doing what
artists often do:
connecting with fans and giving them a reason to buy:
But what’s more spectacular than the times, places, and races is
Anthony’s unusual and creative marketing campaign and his unorthodox
methods for connecting with fans and formulating his own brand. It’s
something we’ve never really seen before. And as some of the
post-Olympic sponsorship money begins to dry out for elite swimmers, it
could be a precedent going forward -- a way to generate and self-brand
and connect with fans, a way to keep going.
A big part of this was an
IndieGoGo campaign
last fall, which raised $12,704, by really reaching out to his fans.
And, as with typical crowdfunding campaigns, he's let some of his unique
personality come through with the campaign and the possible awards.
Since he's well known for dabbling in music as well, he offered to write
people their own songs. And, of course, he also has offered up private
swimming lessons for big donors as well.
What struck me about this is an entirely new way for swimmers to fund
some of the more expensive swim tours out there. By providing creative
incentives – like singing a song, or making a phone call – Anthony is
literally giving back to the swim community dependent on the amount of
support he gets. Also, throughout the Tour, Anthony’s journey is being
updated. So not only can you donate, and then receive an autographed
postcard, but you can also feel like you’re on the World Cup tour with
him. Check out his Tweets, or his website. He’s uploading pictures of
him talking to kids in Sweden, traveling around Russia.
It’s almost like Anthony has embraced some of the rock band roots he has
and created his own “rock tour” of Europe, partially funded by his very
own street team of loyal supporters. What’s amazing about all this is
that bands have been doing this for years. Start-ups, films,
photographers, long-distance athletes, too. And now, we’re seeing
Olympic swimmers take to the Internet, to help fund their travels and
excursions and training.
Of course, some may argue that there's nothing "new" here. And, to some
extent, that's absolutely true. Lots of people are doing crowdfunding
for different things these days. But it's still neat to see that these
kinds of ideas are permeating into different areas where they haven't
been used before, and that people elsewhere are taking their cue from
some of the success stories in the music business. At the very least,
it suggests that, perhaps, those embracing these new music business
models aren't just on the right path, they're blazing a nice trail for
tons of other areas as well.
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