With Indie-Soul Singer Eric Roberson, You Don’t Just Get The Music, You Get The Process
By Eric Roberson
Eric Roberson is waiting for the music game to be shaken up.
The veteran indie-soul singer/songwriter has made it quite far releasing his own music without help from a major label. But he knows that it takes hard work to make sure people are aware of his music.
“Just the other day, I was doing a songwriting workshop with kids and they were talking about labels and stuff like that,” says Roberson, 43, calling from Philadelphia. “I said, ‘Well, you can get your music on (the internet). Everywhere I put my music at, you can get your music on it. But how will people know it’s on there is a part of the business that you have to fine-tune.’ ”
The New Jersey-born-and-based Roberson is also bracing for another sea change to happen in the music biz.
“With technology changing right now, I think we’re all in a purgatory,” he says, laughing. “We’re all just waiting to see what the next transition’s gonna be. I think there’s gonna be another major technology shift in the near future. I just really feel that. I think, at the same time, we have now completely entered into a subscription-type business. All the mom-and-pop stores, unfortunately, are closing or have closed. The big chains ... it’s even further down in the priority list. I know, for me, it’s not important for me to be in a Best Buy or a Target anymore. It’s a waste of time, to be honest.”
This is why Roberson is offering more to his fans than just music. This year, he has been releasing the “Earth, Wind and Fire” trilogy of EPs – “Earth” dropped earlier this year, while “Wind” came out just last Friday. “Fire” is slated for October. But the EPs are just part of a bigger, multimedia bundle Roberson has for audiences. For $35, Roberson is selling what he calls “The Process,” where you not only get digital and hard copies of the EPs, but also weekly updates where you hear the music created each week, monthly Facebook Live sessions with Roberson, a private Facebook group where fans can talk about the music and discount offers on future merchandise.