Independent Musicians' Needs for and Satisfaction with Business Services from External Providers: An Exploratory Study

摘要

Eighty-seven independent musicians from different locations in the United States were surveyed on their needs for various business services and the extent to which these needs were met by external service providers. The musicians rated promotion, booking, and online distribution services as most important and considered design and business management services least important. Meantime, no business services from external providers received satisfactory ratings from the respondents, and business management, booking, and promotion services were rated as being least satisfactory. The largest gaps between needs and satisfaction are in promotion and booking services. Several significant differences were found in the levels of importance and satisfaction ratings on business services along musicians' demographic characteristics (e.g., length of performance history, band size, and age). For example, independent musicians with longer performance history have higher needs for merchandise production, booking, promotion, web, business management, and online distribution services from external providers than those with shorter performance history. The research and managerial implications of the findings are discussed.