What Independent Artists Can Learn from Lil Dicky’s Humble Beginnings
Lil Dicky’s “$ave Dat Money” should have incurred $30,000 in expenses. Instead, the only major expenses were what it took to feed his two-man camera crew during production.
As social media grows exponentially and new artists come out of the woodwork left and right, it often feels overwhelming and discouraging to create music when it feels near impossible to reach an audience.
Comedy-rapper Lil Dicky is no stranger to that feeling. His risk-taking approach to garnering attention without breaking the bank is a perfect template for ways to maximize your brand with resources on-hand.
STACK (AND STRETCH) THAT PAPER
Budgets are daunting. The cost for producing music videos, albums, and merch is well into a few thousand dollars, even at a basic level. Take a microscope to these projects and you’ll find that there is so much room for cutting costs.
According to Billboard, Lil Dicky’s “$ave Dat Money” should have incurred $30,000 in expenses. Instead, the only major costs were what it took to feed his two-man camera crew during production. Operating on the motto of “it doesn’t hurt to ask,” the rapper simply asked yacht owners and mansion dwellers to borrow their possessions for a couple of hours and they said yes. The video ended up generating over a million views in 17 hours.
This is not exactly attainable for everyone. The vast majority of people will not be comfortable lending their multi-million dollar house to a random artist for a few hours to shoot a video. Nonetheless, it pays to brush up on your networking skills and keep an eye out for the world around you – that family friend whose lawn you mow every month has a great backyard for a music video scene. Your local camera shop or college TV studio has cameras you can rent. The local screen printing shop might let you learn how to make custom shirts at a fraction of the cost. A pawn shop microphone with a sock over it in your closet is a decent studio setup.
In the meantime, don’t be afraid to have a job while you work your way towards sustaining yourself solely on your music. Save money to invest in quality tools and services, and work with what you have in the meantime.
CROWDFUNDING A VISION
Lil Dicky is no stranger to asking for help. Even before “$ave Dat Money,” he launched a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2014. In his campaign video, he was honest about his intentions with the money he planned to raise. The original $70,000 budget would go towards funding the creation of his album and videos, and cover the expenses for a tour. His transparency plus the entertainment factor rooted in the campaign’s video helped push the total amount of money raised to over $113,000.
Crowdfunding is not every artist’s cup of tea. Even the arena of crowdfunding has become oversaturated and is best suited if you have enough of an audience to gain traction. Instead, find other avenues of promotion.
The idea of multiple small contributions adding up to help create a product that they can see is rewarding, especially when fans are given the choice to give what they think your product is worth. In Lil Dicky’s case, a donator’s pledge gave them access to everything from a signed album to a private Skype call.
There are other ways to create this mutually beneficial experience for fans to financially contribute to you. Twitch has become a go-to platform for people to do much more than game. Artists take requests in exchange for donations and artists ramble while drawing and painting as donations slowly roll in. Patreon allows you to create subscription tiers in exchange for better benefits, like exclusive live streams or a new song every month.
With the endless amount of technology available to garner funding for your development, experiment with these platforms to set yourself apart and make fans feel special.
TAP INTO YOUR OTHER SKILLS
Lil Dicky’s appeal largely comes from the comedic skills that eventually landed him his own hit TV show, Dave on FXX. He didn’t market himself as a rapper that happened to be funny. He positioned himself as a comedy rapper, crafting a unique persona and style that was easily identifiable.
Hone your innate skills and incorporate them into your brand identity to create something recognizable. It might be designing eye-catching merchandise that can be expanded into its own business or producing your own music. Whether you can design, produce, dance, or even cook, there are ways to work it into your artistry and also network with your musical communities. Tap into your other passions and let everything coexist naturally to allow you to express yourself beyond music.
