Having a sort out over the Christmas break, I came across some notes from a Music Week conference session with Terry McBride, CEO and one of three founders of the Nettwork Music Group. McBride was talking about ‘Millennials’, a new generation of music fan who have the power to ‘pull’ music. Songs ‘belong’ to them as an emotional memory that they want to share. Consumption is ‘get it when you want it’. Music used to have a scarcity value. Now digital is always available.  Fans do not need to own music. What they value is access.

McBride spoke a lot about strategies to maximise income. His conclusion – create a continuous supply of music to buy, not a piecemeal one album a year, but a track every month. That’s 12 tracks a year with a constant presence rather than one album a year with a short blip then forgotten presence. Versions of songs can generate multiple sales to different fans, including multi-lingual releases (Averil Lavrine: 7.5m downloads of one song, 200 million hits on Youtube). Releasing stems may work for fans who are musical. Use releases to grow your fan base.

But where does scarcity come in? The value is in creating scarcity of access to the artist from loyal super-fan gig tickets to special one off concerts and merchandise and access to ‘backroom’ activities like rehearsals, and songwriting sessions.

Someone in the audience asked McBride for his predictions and observations: brands will sign acts – especially acts that will align their tribe to the brand.

And the year? 2008.

It’s still the 31st December here in the UK. A time to reflect on the year that’s coming to a close and look forward to the new year. This is what I find works well for me.

I take a few minutes to write down what I have achieved, what I’ve learnt and what I am grateful for. A couple of weeks ago I met with a few musicians in a local pub and we did this together. It was amazing how long our list of achievements became. I also asked my partner because he often has a different perspective and comes up with things I find difficult to acknowledge or I’d forgotten. So my list got even longer!

So thinking back on last year, it has been a wonderful year. We fulfilled our plan to spend a long time in the States and it was even better than we had imagined. One of the highlights was recording in Studio 19 in Nashville with one of the loveliest artists I have ever met. Another was driving across the Mojave Dessert. On our return I wrote my book and launched The Fan Formula.

I am grateful to you for joining my email list this year and I feel happy knowing I’m helping you achieve the success you want in your music career, whether it’s in a big or small way.

So now I’m sitting here in my kitchen with a cup of coffee imagining what my life will be like in a year’s time. I’m thinking about what have I achieved, what’s going on around me. I’m feeling happy and grateful for the things I have accomplished. I am imaging what these achievements will enable me to do in the future. I’m not worrying about ‘how’ I will get there. I’m just visualising how things will be. I’m make my future a reality now. I’m allowing it to happen.

In the new year I challenge myself to get out there in a much bigger way …

With my very best wishes for the coming year,

Ellen, single mother of a teenage young man called Ben, saw The Fan Formula and bought it for her son for Christmas. I asked her what motivated her to get it for him.

“Ben has been playing guitar since he was 12. His guitar is attached to him. He plays it all the time. It goes everywhere with us – even on holiday.

Ben is self-taught. He is fiercely independent, clear about what he does and does not want but feels deflated by the music business and pessimistic about realising his dream of having a career as a musician.

To survive he works in a pub and restaurant. I feel like he is hiding and not getting out there with his music. He is a perfectionist and he tinkers a lot. He suffers from a lack of confidence and self-belief.

I am 100% behind him but I feel this whole situation is a risk to his creativity and I’m concerned about him. I see him turning things over and over in his head. He exists in a bubble. He feels deflated by the bigness of what he needs to do. He was working with another musician but that’s fallen apart now. He can see his energy and commitment was not matched by his partner. He now wants to meet other like-minded musicians who are as motivated as he is. He wants to make music and sell it but he is still searching for his own voice and how to get it out there.

What he really needs is a framework to work to so his problems don’t feel so huge. Ben likes how-to books so when I saw The Fan Formula has a structured, step-by-step approach I knew it would help him. He doesn’t have to invent it all himself. The book will give him short-cuts and a process to work through.”

I asked Ellen what she wants for her son.

“I want Ben to find other like-minded, passionate musicians to work with. I want to see him perform his songs. Above all I want Ben to feel happy and fulfilled as a musician. I feel certain The Fan Formula can help.”

To get a copy of the book for your son or daughter for Christmas, click here.