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The Artist’s Business Method · Course map

Lesson 09 / 24 · 25 min · preparation time

Choose the listeners you can reach

You do not need a detailed imaginary customer profile. Start with people, scenes and places where your music has a plausible connection. Existing audience data can help, but an artist with no releases can begin through conversations and participation.

Work through it

  1. 1
    Name two or three relevant scenes, communities or listening settings. Be specific: a local acoustic night or a particular electronic-music community is more useful than “everyone who likes music”.
  2. 2
    List where those people actually encounter music: venues, radio shows, channels, events or communities. Note what you have observed and what is still a guess.
  3. 3
    If you have access to listening data, look for repeat listening, location and sources of discovery. Compare those signals with real conversations and attendance.
  4. 4
    Choose one reachable group for your current project and one place where you can participate respectfully this month.

You are ready to move on when…

You can leave an application or outside reply pending. Record the next step before moving on.

Starting audience / where they listen or gather / evidence / assumptions / one place to participate

Resources for this task

Optional videos

Optional watch

Spotify: Understand Your Audience Video · free · useful once you have listening data
Further reading · Passman chapter references

Optional reading · Passman, 11th edition. Chapter 2: reaching and maintaining a fanbase.

Optional reading from the 11th edition (2023). No purchase needed. US legal context: use current UK sources for local procedures.

Next: Prepare your artist information pack.

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