Conversations about music bootstrapping in recent posts have me thinking in turn of another recent blog entry at Startup Africa revisiting Guy Kawasaki's thoughts on bootstrapping in general.

My favorite one of Guy's recommendations hands-down is "Go direct". Specifically, Guy recommends:

The optimal number of mouths (or hands) between a bootstrapper and her customer is zero. Sure, stores provide great customer reach, and wholesalers provide distribution. But God invented ecommerce so that you could sell direct and reap greater margins. And God was doubly smart because She knew that by going direct, you'd also learn more about your customer's needs. Stores and wholesalers fill demand, they don't create it. If you create enough demand, you can always get other organizations to fill it later. If you don't create demand, all the distribution in the world will get you bupkis.

Brad Turcotte has the best idea. On his website, Brad explains:

In 2001, I started using the Internet (blogs, MP3s, P2P) to spread my music and not worrying so much about copyright violation. I've even been giving the source of my songs away for remixers to play with. I figured that spreading my music should be the number one goal and so far it's worked out pretty well.

Despite what some in the mainstream music industry might consider a heretical approach, Brad seems to have prospered making enough on television licensing and other revenue to press his own CD's ...which continue to sell despite the fact that his music is available free.

In a recent post at The Buzz Factor quoting in turn from observations made by Bob Lefsets, another music marketing Bob (Baker in this case) urges musicians to "Go straight to the fan!" using the "new media" as their number one tool:

A Website is no longer just a repository of information, it's the front door to your fan club. You may be a musician, but second to that, you're running a club. You have to spread the word on your music, you have to create demand for your tour.

For more discussion on bootstrapping the music biz be sure to tune in 8 p.m. June 1 when I'll be appearing as a guest on the Succeed In the Music Biz podcast with KasondraK. See you then!

Photo Credit: Dennis Hill and Friends, Free Photos