Does a recession affect your CD sales?

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In a word, NO. Just because the media is projecting that the country's economy is slow or in a recession doesn't mean your CD sales are affected. People don't buy less of your CDs because the media says people are buying less of everything else. Just like if the economy was in a "boom" or growth period. Does that mean suddenly people will be buying thousands of your CDs?

Unfortunately people in our country are easily persuaded by the media. If they say less of a certain product is being sold, people fear the worse. The problem is that businesses often forget or don't recognize that the reasons they are not selling more is not based on the media's perception of the economy, but the fact that they are no longer doing business effectively. i.e. Their product costs too much, it's too old, people already have one or more of them, etc. Businesses slow down in sales because they forget to promote their product! Especially the value of it!

Take your music for example. When was the last time you sent a newsletter to your fans thanking them for coming to your past shows, buying your CDs and giving them a real update as to what is happening with you and your music? When is the last time you sent an update to the press about how great things are going? New fans, more attendance at shows, more CD sales than before, etc. Or did you merely send an e-mail announcement to them as well as your mailing list saying once again you are playing the same songs at the same bar?

Recessions are like anything else in business: a state of mind. If you want to sell more CDs or get more exposure for your music, start promoting it differently. Play a show for a change (at a new venue) that features songs focused on a central theme. Promote the show to new fans that will be interested in that particular topic.

Instead of doing what you have always done to get where you are right now in your career, challenge yourself to change! Think outside the box you created for yourself.

Let me leave you with this thought. Recently a business friend of mine introduced me to someone new in the entertainment field at a dinner party. After the introduction I asked him how business was. For 15 minutes he talked about how he was selling less product, the economy was bad, he blamed everything on George Bush, there was a war on, some people in the world didn't like him, even though others loved him, he got stuck in traffic, etc. Whatever he could think of greatly affected his business and how much product his company sold. After his dismal projection, he stopped and said to me, "How is your business doing?" I simply said, "Great." Dumbfounded by this he said, "What do you mean?"

I said, "Well there's a recession going on. Since people are supposedly buying less they have more money to spend with me. Even though I have met George Bush and have talked with him a few times in the past, he hasn't done anything to affect my business. The war won't affect how much of a product I sell and there will always be people in the world that don't like what I am doing while others love me. Those who don't like me don't understand what I'm doing or they can't hear what I'm saying. Finally, I got stuck in traffic too. It gave me extra time to think of new ways to promote my business."

"You see the media says there's a recession going on. I just decided not to be part of it."

Tim Sweeney & Associates is a 19-year-old company bent on building and fuelling the careers of new artists. Visit him online at www.tsamusic.com.