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Six Sigma? What could a statistical math term possibly have to do with music? Well I could bore you with a long answer on the statistical benefits, or I could explain it in one simple sentence.

Six Sigma is about quality, service, and making sure that your customers or “audiences” keep coming back for more! Would you like your audiences to come back for more?

The more your audiences come back to see you;

The more of your music they purchase.
The more concert tickets you sell.
The more promotional items you sell.
The more venue’s you fill.
The more publicity you get.
The more money you earn!

Of course you want your audiences to come back for more! Every musician wants to have his or her music appreciated. Every musician wants to sell more albums and more concert tickets.

So what does six sigma have to do with that? Using six sigma techniques provides you with a clear understanding of what your customers expect. It helps you identify who your customers or audiences are and ensures you reach them.

Does six sigma mean you change your music to accommodate the masses? Well of course not! Your music is your creative essence. The key to success is not to change your music to fit the wrong audience, the key is to reach the right audience and make sure they always know where, when, and how to find you.

Do you actually know who your customers are? Can you tell me where they come from? How they found you? Or even what it is that they like about you, your music, or your work?

Most musicians and bands that I come across always say the same thing! “Of course we do!” Yet when I ask them how their audience found them they would always answer “At the bar!” When I asked for specifics I always got the same answer! “I don’t know”.

The key to music success is knowing who your audience is and how to reach them. If you where a Gospel Singer, where would you most likely find an audience that appreciates your music, in a church or a Jazz bar? I know, I made it a bit obvious but rest assured it is not always that clear.

Ok, so I said that six sigma means quality! What does that imply? Well in general terms six sigma means that out of 1,000,000 occurrences no more then 3.4 have defects. Looking at it from the music industry point of view it could mean that:

For every 1,000,000 people that hear you sing all but 3 want more!
For every 1,000,000 concerts that you perform all but 3 sell out completely!
For every 1,000,000 albums you sell all but 3 customers want to buy more of your albums.

Do I need to go on? I think you pretty much have the idea! Think of the possibilities. A large audience full of very happy people or “customers”. How much money is that worth? Its mind boggling!

Ok, I know, the next question is always, “Why just 3, why not 4, 5, or even 100 out of 1,000,000, it is still a very small percentage of the total?”

Yes that is true and it is often the most common mistake that anyone in the industry can make. The key to understand this is in recognizing that it is impossible to actually measure lost opportunities. The one person that left your concert in disgust could have represented the record label that would have sold the largest quantity of your albums.

Many years ago companies where targeting the three sigma level of quality. This translates to about 2,700 defects per million. Consider what this would mean if it was applied to other processes used today.

No modern computer would function
270 million wrong credit card transactions
Don’t even think about getting on an airplane!

I think by now you have probably gotten the point. The thing to consider is this. How much money would you be making if every 999,997 people that listened to your music wanted to hear more!

We’ve seen it coming for several years, but it’s here, full on and in our faces now… so what do artists do? The word “artist” means: “One whose work shows skill.” (The American Heritage Dictionary)

However, with the arrival of unskilled, but nice “artists” being signed to contracts and marketed to the public – and the public is hearing the call and purchasing their music – what is the secret?

We all know William Hung of American Idol fame. This gentleman is sweet and seems kind, but frankly, can’t sing a note and is artistically disturbed and challenged to say the least. So how did he land a record deal and sell over a 100,000 units right off the block? How is it that even after what would normally be a one-hit-wonder scenario, the novelty didn’t wear off and he has a Christmas CD out that also sold quite well?

Then we find a Princess on the show “Love in the Heir,” who can’t sing, can’t write, but I am pretty sure will be getting a deal, if she hasn’t already. The credits read “Asylum Entertainment.” Could this be a resurfacing of Asylum Records?

So how do these obscure people get deals and move product when talented artists can’t get a CD on the shelf?

The answer: it’s all about marketing. We have heard it time and time again and that’s what it is. A rock packaged and sold as a rock is just a rock. But a rock packaged and marketed as a friend becomes a cultural phenomenon.

These companies find a way to pull at our heart strings. With William, it was his sweet genuine spirit that seemed to say, “I am the underdog, but I don’t know it.” Everyone loves an underdog, especially an unknowing one. With Princess Ann, there is the royalty novelty, but they play up the unspoiled victim and everyone roots for the victim.

They have been marketed as the person next door, the underdog and our friends. We can personalize and associate with their lives. That grabs us at our heartstrings, which then grabs us in our bank accounts. We dole money out to help support ourselves, really. We are buying the product because it reminds us of our dreams unrealized. The marketing has then worked: The artist and the public have reached a common ground.

Statistics have shown that most buys are done from emotional buying, not from a planned excursion!

So how can the average Joe grab the marketing media, without having access to being on a reality show? It’s hard, but obtainable. Tell a story that captures the hearts of the world, one that they can relate to. You must communicate to the general public a story that they can relate to. You must give them a value, a reason for buying your product.

Some think that the growth of a digital delivery system will result in the balance of power shifting away from large-scale entertainment companies in favor of musicians no longer dependent upon large record companies for manufacturing and distribution of the musician’s work. So, there is an economic incentive for artists to seek independent digital distribution because under the traditional, major label model of distribution, artists earn around $1.50 per CD, while digital delivery garners them about $6 for the same CD.

However, despite this economic advantage for the Indies, the major labels sales still win out over the Indies in sales. Why? Marketing. It’s all about marketing and PR. The major labels market their products to the public: YOU MUST DO IT. YOU MUST HAVE IT.

Without marketing and promotion, the music you have labored in love over will remain in your basement or garage, gathering dust, despite the easy access to digital distribution and the economic advantage that digital distribution provides to independent artists.

If you don’t understand how to market a product, start networking with those people that do. Go to trade shows to learn how to step with the best. Scour the Internet for marketing information and if at all possible take a course in marketing at your local junior college.

Musicians all say the same thing: “I do it because I love music, not because I want to make money.” That is true to a certain extent. We all love what we do, but if you don’t make money, you won’t be able to continue. Love the music, market and then collect the money to make your next project shine!

A music video for “Daylight Coming Down” by Ziv. From the new album “Paper and Sound”. Available on itunes. Visit www.zivmusic.com for more info including tour dates. Video shot with the Canon HV20.

Every Breath: iTunes.com Facebook www.facebook.com MySpace www.myspace.com Twitter www.twitter.com iTunes www.itunes.com Orkut www.orkut.com Boyce Avenue indie music video for “Tonight,” an original song from the album “All We Have Left” Song available worldwide on iTunes, Amazon, Napster, or Rhapsody. Search “Boyce Avenue” Uncorked Productions: Producer – Andrew Corkin Director – Bryan Reisberg Gaffer – Owen LeVelle