Do people even care about music anymore? Yes.

Less and less music is being sold. CD sales are still in sharp decline, and iTunes is plateauing, indicating there is a possibility that downloads will not be the industry's saviour. Do people even care about the music you and I make if they are not buying it? Hardly but yes!

I think one answer is to connect your music to something that carries meaning. The obvious is pictures of course. A song without a video clip is mostly meaningless, so you will need one of those. But take this a little further, and things look a little more interesting.

Why do people go to concerts? They don't want to hear your new songs, they want to hear your old ones. And if you haven't got any songs they know you better throw in a cover they will recognise. The reason is that it connects with them, because it is familiar, because it triggers memories. They want to hear songs that speak to them, they want to see musicians on stage that speak to them by creating moments of connection.

That's why new songs only sell after you've created those connections.

Where else can you forge connections? I am currently working with a Samoan musician and songwriter. He is also an author and has written a(n as yet unreleased) book about Samoan history. Some of the contents in the book are related in song form. We are working on an accompanying CD. People reading the book will want to listen to the CD, and vice versa. This connects his songs to something greater.

We all know how powerful it is to have a song included in the soundtrack of a movie. That's because the song becomes part of something experienced emotionally. Listening to the song will regenerate the experience and allow us to relive the moment. If your song is on an ad campaign, yes it works too, but it may corner you as a musician. It'd better be a good product that potential fans care about.

I had one of my songs on a campaign for cycleways, and although it is not my best songs it became the most listened to.

I think the future of music lies in connecting it with something people care about.