Over the past ten years the world has seen an increase in the popularity of ”at home”. This is due to a growth in the use of the internet by the general public and the way in which IT has progressed and changed. It is this change in technology that has inspired a new wave of performers (such as Bombay Bicycle Club) who can become well known in a very short amount of time due to the use of the internet as their main marketing medium. This growth in the so-called “bedroom musician” can be attributed to the rise in different marketing ideas available to the general public at little or no cost. These Online Marketing methods can be identified in sites like Myspace and Youtube, both of which permit users to include songs and videos for free, thus allowing them to achieve widespread popularity on the internet before they are even contracted to a record label. The rise of Scottish bedroom talent Calvin Harris has been attributed (by even himself) to the day he logged onto Myspace and let the general public to hear his music. This suggests not only the influence of Online Marketing but also that it has an affect outside the typical business world.
This rise in the bedroom musician, whilst put down to the use of social networking websites can also be attributed to the use of search engine placement. Without the use of search engines performers marketing solely online would remain unheard of, and it is the effective use of Search Engine Placement that has let these musicians create their careers. If someone is searching on the internet for artists in a chosen genre or music and the website of a new artist appears at the top of the list then it is more likely to be listened to and to gather recognition from the general public. It is common knowledge within the music industry that good advertising is sometimes all that is needed to get someone a record deal. To help them sell tracks through the use of online advertising it is possible to create a scenario whereupon a web page has thousands of hits and as a result of that, comes to the attention of people high-up in the music business, thus pushing a relative unknown to fame. This is how things took place for many of today’s new stars.
Search engine positioning is something that can be difficult to carry out without the knowledge of certain aspects of the way in which search engines operate. This is why it could be that the employment of an Search Engine Optimization Company might be of benefit to the bedroom musician, this cost being considerably smaller than other marketing costs. It is something that might seem pointless but without the appropriate knowledge concerning search engines and how search engine positioning works it would be advisable to employ an SEO Company.
As we can see, it is the growth in the use of online services that has caused a rise in the attractiveness of the bedroom musician, something that has caused a new niche in the music industry, allowing relative unknowns to follow careers in music. This shows that online marketing has its place in the modern world other than just being used for traditional business marketing.