We're a company run by fellow artists bent on valuing and pumping new life into our craft, and building a more direct, stronger relationship with our fans.
As a lifelong gigging musician/singer-songwriter, I have been disheartened by the current commercial environment that expects musicians and writers to essentially “give” away our creative efforts. With payouts as low as 1/8th of a penny per play, the game is rigged to only profit the aggregators.
In contrast, I remember a time when physical media and my album releases earned me income from in-person sales. But now due to us having moved exclusively to digital streaming, it’s either feast or famine for most artists. Meaning that you either have many zeros at the end of your play count, or you don’t make a useful amount of money.
I created Linkmerch to be a game changer — to provide an opportunity, and a fun and creative way for artists to take back control of their music sales through merchandising. And it clears a path for a more one-to-one relationship with their fans in a way that incorporates visual art and creative marketing.
Your album releases will be more in your control and integrated in a marketing paradigm that emphasizes physical media which drives the digital side.
Linkmerch not designed to revolutionize the world, just your world. I created it to appeal to small, emerging artists to allow them to maximize and capture their entire revenue. I am hoping a new symbiosis is created — one where the artist and fan can be directly linked with minimum intrusion from a 3rd party. A relationship where fans know there are directly supporting an artist they love.
I believe that fans’ monetary support through Linkmerch will inspire artists to create more creative content because they will feel a direct connection to their fanbase and have a sense of agency. Conversely, I believe that it will make for a more discriminating listener because of their investment.
There are so many services out there for musicians that don't benefit the musician much. Artists are left on their own to promote themselves and make themselves known. Truth be told with our company, you're somewhat in the same boat (We do promote you on our end although that's not our main job), except there's at least one big difference, Linkmerch can help you actually make money as you spread the word about your music. It adds to the financial sustainability of the artist.
With things as they currently are...
If you don't get millions of plays on streaming platforms, you can't make a living. It shouldn't require an enormous amount of listeners for independent musicians to make a worthwhile amount of money. The big data model works for the big companies, because in their mind, a penny from 1 billion people is actually something that anyone can work with. But, that model doesn't help the individual artist much.
Even if a fan adores your music and wants to support your work in a more significant way, the current environment doesn't have a marketplace for them to do so. Linkmerch adds to the art, in a way that's significant to modern times. Linkmerch creates a fun and expressive way for you and fans to exchange appreciation. And it creates a more direct link between the artist and the fan. Your fans love your song. It's worth more than .99 cents, or .0036 cents to them. And, it's certainly worth more than .0036 cents to you.
Start a Linkmerch campaign, you can always upload your music to the streaming platforms afterward.
If you're interested and have questions about this new and exciting service, contact goliath.linkbox@gmail.com