Indie Artist X: Reveal Thyself

The Indie Artist X Project is a wrap, and we can now reveal the identity of the mystery musician/guinea pig at the center of the experiment. Meet Austin Collins of Austin and The Rainbirds. Austin was handpicked by David Rose of KnowThe MusicBiz, who also deserves the credit for dreaming up this project. David revealed the whole story of how Austin became Indie Artist X in his blog this morning  - check it out for some good behind the scenes insight.

Before we get into the results, there is one other thing we have to reveal about Austin. Right at the start of the project, he won Airplay Direct's All Things Americana contest, which came with a nice $35,000 price. This money is earmarked for future recording, however, and was not invested into his IAXP work.

So, results. You can see the final results on the marketing plan   (click the tab on the bottom that reads "stats summary"), but let's take a look at a few highlights:

• Band Metrics Score: At the start of the project, Austin's score was 183 at the start of the project and 244 at the end of October, when the project wrapped.
• Fan List: The list went from 739 in July to 786 in October.
• Website Visitors: 689 for the part of July we tracked/1134 in October

There are plenty more stats to compare, so definitely do check them out. David Rose did a great job of summing up some major lessons in a guest blog for Hypebot today, and I really have to echo his points. For me, the biggest walk away here is the confirmation of what I've always believed - you must play live often. As much as you can. And not just in your home town. Austin was on tour in the middle of the project, and the many of the stats peak and fall off in conjunction with his tour dates. Another point to consider - check out Austin's Soundexchange royalties. Bet you can't guess that Austin has had thousands of plays by looking at those big, fat zeroes.

Of course, another lesson here is another one we all suspected at the beginning - there is no special formula, no road map from A to B. Playing live is a must, and if you don't do it, your career will suffer - period. Beyond that, a plan helps organize your tasks and keep you on the right track, but there are no guarantees. Making it in music requires a long, hard slog, and most sustainable music careers are built slowly, with small successes along the way. Our plan for Austin is available to everyone: click here to get the plan and tailor it to your situation. Remember, however, that is a plan that requires a lot of work on your part. It is a guide, not a ticket to stardom. But if you put in the work, you CAN reap the benefits.

Thanks to everyone else involved in this project - it has been fun! KnowTheMusicBiz , ArtistHouse, Musician Wages, HypeBot and Revolution Number 3. And of course, thanks to Austin!

What are you thoughts about the project? Are you surprised by the results? Let me know!