#12 Keep on Keeping on.
Monday – send emails and make contacts
Tuesday – send emails and make contacts
Wednesday – golf
Thursday – meet with the band – discuss emails sent and contacts made.
Friday – I’ll tell you tomorrow, but I’m pretty sure it will include sending emails and making contacts.
As you can see there is a lot of monotony in trying to build a band from the ground up, and let me tell you it is a lot of work. As of late I’ve been really focusing on radio play (yes there is still a market for radio) and contacting Music Supervisors (they’re the guys and gals that can get your music on t.v., film, and commercials). I can’t stress enough how important it is to keep trying to make as many connections as you can. No connection is too small, whether it be the sound guy at a local venue, or the A&R person from whatever next weeks biggest record label is. I’m not going to lie, it’s difficult to stay motivated, results are slow and progress is hard to measure, but if you stay persistent and have faith in your band, at some point, there will be a payoff.
That’s where I am right now. Planning, scheming, waiting, plotting, dreaming, and any and all of the other productive “ing” words you can think of. A good way to help you measure your progress is set small, short term goals such as book a show a month, or make contact with five potential radio stations in a next week. Small things that you can easily control and which could, in the future, lead to bigger and better things. Setting these short term goals will help everyone stay focused and energized and hopefully keep the moral up. At times it may seem like you are just spinning your wheels trying to get in touch with anybody that can help the cause and with rejection after rejection, or worse yet no responses at all, it’s tough to keep going, but keep at it. If you’re getting the blues from constant rejection, take a look at this web site http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/OnFailing.html it lists tons of people that made it huge after being rejected many times over.
If you haven’t gotten the point yet, the key word here is persistence. Make sure that ever time you submit your band’s music to someone that you are following up with them. Listen, what’s the worst that could happen, a restraining order? No big deal, at least at that point you know you’ve gone too far and it’s time to move on. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten a response only after 2, 3, sometimes even 4 contacts to someone. These people get tons and tons of emails, demos, phone calls every day, so you have to set your self apart from the others and the one way that you can do that is be more persistent then the next guy.
Ok, I’ve got to get back to the email and the contacting, but I’ll leave you with this quote from out 30th president, Calvin Coolidge ~ “Education will not take the place of persistence; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
A.P.
Where Have All the Good Bloggers Gone
Followers, sorry I’ve been away, but I’m back in the saddle and will be posting regularly again soon. I’ve got some excellent topics I’ve been waiting to dive into and write about for some time. Thank you all for your emails.
Apelis
#11 – Radio – Part I
Radio is not dead - actually, it’s not even on life support. It’s alive, breathing and still running circles around other ways of promoting your band in the music industry. Sure, there are many bands that are a huge success without being on your local top 40 station, but I can almost guarantee that they are getting some type of radio play, whether it be college, non-commercial, or Internet, they are gracing the air waves somewhere.
In the following posts I will breakdown the different types of radio and how each can help lead to the success of your band.
Part I
Commercial Radio –
Commercial radio is basically a radio station that is for profit, with the majority of its income coming from advertisements. Their main goal is to get as many listeners as possible so they can charge more for advertising time on their station. There are many different types of programming formats from Rock, to Top 40 and Country to Easy Listening and everything in-between. You will recognize a commercial radio station by all of their advertisements, billboards, and commercials that promote their station. One thing to keep in mind about commercial radio, no matter what anyone says, they are in the advertising business not the music business.
Without being signed to a major record deal, it can be very difficult to crack the airwaves of commercial radio, especially during peak programming hours. The program director (pd) is the overseer of all that goes on the air at the station and their main objective is to keep generating money by keeping the ratings high. The pd wants music that people know and that will keep the listeners listening to their programming instead of tuning up and down the dial to another station that is playing that music.
There are ways to get on to commercial radio you just have to know them. One good way to get on commercial radio is to find out if there is a local or independent release program that specializes in up and coming indie bands/artists. These programs are usually run by the dj not the pd, which allows the dj to make the decision as to who gets airplay and what does not. Another way to get onto commercial radio is shoot for smaller markets. You have a much greater chance on getting on the air at a mid-size station in Dubuque, IA, then any station in New York. Granted the listening audience won’t be as large Dubuque, but it’s a start and even the largest fires started with just one spark.
If you’ve read any of my other posts, you’ll know by now that my advice for many situations is this; “do your research.” Find stations that play music that is similar to yours, find out if they have programming that plays indie/new bands, don’t waste your time making contact with a jazz station if you are a rock band. Once you’ve done your research, you can usually find their contact info on their web site and submit your music. If you don’t hear back from them within two-three weeks, be sure to submit a follow up to see if they are or are not interested in putting your music on the air.
Through commercial radio, you will definitely have the potential to reach the most listeners, but it is also the most difficult type of radio to gain access to. Check back for my next post on Non-Commercial Radio.
A.P.
#10 – Name Recognition
So a lot of my energy recently has been used in building name recognition for the two new bands I’m working with, the Stone Pages www.myspace.com/thestonepages and Reboot the Robot www.reboottherobot.com . Name recognition, Image, Style, BRAND, are all very important words when it comes to promoting new bands. How you are viewed by the public is essential to your career and success in the music industry.
The Stone Pages have been together for nearly two years and are a band that really focuses on writing and live performances so in the last two years or so that they have been together, they haven’t done a lot in the form of self promotion. They have played some local shows in and around the Twin Cities, but have not ventured to much further then the 612/651 area codes.
The main goals for the Stone Pages are basically to start from square one and build an image, a solid fan base and play shows, more shows, and then some more shows after that. Also, get some merchandising started in the form of t-shirts and continue to sell their first self titled CD through the different online channels such as iTunes and CD Baby, and of course at their live shows as well.
The second phase of promoting the Stone Pages will be through online and college radio stations. We will also begin booking short Mid-Western tours to extend the range of their fan base. The Stone Pages also play acoustic shows so in this phase we will begin booking some smaller venues that feature acoustic performances to appeal to a different audience that may not see them play at a rock club.
While phase one and two are happening, there will be the ongoing online presence that we will be building for the Stone Pages. Continue to promote their MySpace pages along with extending their networks on Facebook and Twitter.
Keep an eye out for the Stone Pages all of their new shows and appearances will be listed at www.myspace.com/thestonepages and www.twitter.com/apelis
Reboot the Robot is something of a different animal. Jon Ware, the driving force behind RTR, is basically an online promotion machine. He is contacting people every day letting them know what he is about and where they can hear his music. RTR is just about to finish up their first album titled Nothing. Something. Everything. which will be released on June 2nd. We will be promoting that album very heavily to college an online radio along with selling it at all of the online distribution avenues, iTunes, Rhapsody, et.
Merchandising will also be front and center for RTR in the next couple of months. The first t-shirt design is at the printers ready to go so they should be available soon and can be found at www.myspace.com/reboottherobot or www.rebootherobot.com . Look for other merchandise to be released shortly there after, but we’ll keep it a surprise as to just what that will be for now.
Although these are just a few things we at Apelis are working on right now for the Stone Pages and Reboot the Robot, you can see at how important it is, to get the name of the band out there, and build a brand. Live, the Internet, word of mouth, radio, merchandise, these are all different, yet important ways to get people to recognize your bands name, which will make all the more easier to continue booking shows, selling CD’s and possibly some day getting that record deal.
A.P.
# 9 Scammed
Music industry scams, we’ve all heard of them, but how do we keep ourselves protected from falling into their far reaching grasps? I am going to lay out some of the most common scams and some tips to keep yourself, and your band, safe.
I do want to preface this by saying not everyone out there is trying to scam you. Be cautious, do your research and make smart decisions.
Record Labels – This is one of the most common types of music industry scams. Since many musicians have dreams of getting signed to a label, producing a record, and becoming stars, these scam artists prey heavily on new and young bands.
Example –
Label representative contacts you via email or phone call telling you they love your music and are interested in doing business with you.
Couple of things to watch for;
* How does the phone call/email sound? Does it seem scripted as in they filled in the blank with your band name and song?
* Are they asking for money to “preview” or “screen” your music? If they already listened to your music and said they love it, why do they need money to listen to it again?
* Are they promising fame and fortune? One of the most tell tale signs of an industry scam. No one can guarantee success in any industry let alone the music industry.
* References. Can they provide references to other bands, or distribution companies they work with? If not, steer clear.
Tip – Do your research. Use the Internet, the Better Business Bureau, or other bands that have worked with the label and find out if it’s legit.
Recording Studios – With all of the new changes in technologies that make it easier and cheaper for recording studios to spring up in anyone’s basement, more and more bands are being lured into the dungeons of disaster and spending their hard earned money on less then stellar recordings. This isn’t as much a scam as it is just getting your moneys worth for spending your time and money.
Tip – Ask for references, contact them and listen to their recordings. Are they happy with their results? Again, use the Internet. Do your research.
Music Industry Contact Lists – If you’ve done any online marketing of your band/music, I’m sure you’ve come across web sites that are trying to sell you a contact list of record labels, managers, publishers, agents, etc. Do not waste your money.
* You have no way of knowing whether or not the information you are buying is current, legit, or even legal.
* Most industry people and contacts do not accept unsolicited material, why would they accept you calling them on their direct number?
Tip – If you can’t find the contact info listed publicly, there’s probably a reason for that. They don’t want you to contact them. Make a list of what you are looking for, labels, manager’s etc. sit down at your computer, spend some time and come up with your own list. The absolute best way to get industry contacts is to network. Go to trade shows, go to live shows, introduce yourself, shake some hands, and buy some drinks, that’s the key to making industry contacts. There are some nationally published trade magazines that have this information, but again, why spend money when all of this information is more then likely publicly listed already.
Live Shows – The good ol’ pay to play scam. This one is very common and found in every major market city that has live music.
Example – You’ve done your due diligence, contacted the venue, submitted your music, and you get the call back. They are interested and want you to play. But wait, there’s a catch. They tell you, you have to sell 50 tickets at $5.00 a piece and you get to keep everything over that. However, if you don’t sell the 50 tickets, you have to pay the difference. Wait a second, I thought they liked your music and wanted you to play. Wrong, they want your money and could care less about your music.
* Most new bands aren’t going to make much for performing at first, if any, but you should never have to pay to play.
* Showcase Gig – You’re asked to pay to play a showcase gig that will be filled with industry professionals and it will only cost you $200, not bad for your ticket to stardom. More then likely there will be no industry professionals in the audience, and if there are, it’s probably the intern that was given the tickets because the head cheese was busy with some real clients.
* Tour Buy On – Once and a while a band will get offered a spot on a national tour and they are asked to pay their way. These can be legit, but do your research here, what band is headlining, who are you paying your money to, and how many shows are you going to get? The tour buy on can be a good way to get some national exposure, just make sure it’s the right tour for you.
Compilation CD – A compilation CD is a great way to get your music into the hands of potential fans, but to what price?
Example – You get an email saying that “Company X” loves your music and wants to add you to their compilation CD they will distribute to record labels and at industry showcases. All you have to do is give them some cash.
* Does the company that is putting together the compilation CD have a good history? Do they have a track record of quality compilation records that have bands on them that are now signed to legitimate record deals?
* Ask them who else will be on the compilation CD, contact those bands. If they refuse to release the names, walk away.
* How much is it going to cost?
Tip – If the company does have a strong history of putting out solid compilation CD’s, and you possibly even have one in your collection, it may be worth it. However, if after doing your research, you can’t find anyone that has heard of this company, grab your cash and run in the other direction.
Lawyers – You’ll hear me many times say “Don’t be afraid to run it past a lawyer.” But, it has to be the right lawyer. I’m sure I sound like a broken record, but do your research, ask for references, and actually talk to the references. If it doesn’t seem legit, more then likely it’s not.
This post is not to tell you that everyone is out to get you. There are many good companies that do have your best interest in mind and you can use them to help better your career. Look into services like Taxi or CD Baby. MySpace is a good way to get your name out there. There are agents, managers, indie labels execs and lawyers that are good people that like to see young bands succeed. The Internet is a wonderful tool, use it to find connections but when it comes down to it, there’s no better way to make a good connection then getting out on the scene and meeting people face to face. Be careful, do your research, and don’t let fame and fortune cloud your vision.
A.P.
# 8 – Does My Band Need a Manager?
At some point in a bands career the question “Do we need a manager?” is bound to arise. I’m going to take you through a couple of other questions that you should ask yourself that will hopefully help you to answer the bigger question of “Do we need a manager?”
First let’s take a look at what a Manager does and does not do when it comes to managing an artist’s career. Wikipedia defines a Talent/Artist manager as “an individual or company who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry. The responsibility of the talent manager is to oversee the day-to-day business affairs of an artist; advise and counsel talent concerning professional matters, long-term plans and personal decisions which may affect their career.” This is obviously a very broad and vague definition, but the role of a manager is very broad and vague and can take on many different rolls which depend on the manager, the artist, and where they both are in their career.
When looking for a manager, you will find they generally fall into three different tiers of experience. The first tier is the “Friends or Family Manager.” This person although more then likely very passionate about your band, more then likely doesn’t have a lot of managing experience and few if any contacts in the music industry. The second tier is the “Up and Coming Manager.” This person has possibly worked in the industry for a brief time, possibly as a tour manager or at a record label and wants to cut their teeth as a band manager. They will have some connections to the industry and will have a working knowledge of what it takes to be a manager. They usually take on younger bands or bands that have a small to medium size following. You could be their first band or may have a small client list. The third and final tier is the “Established Manager.” This person will have an industry rolodex the size of a dictionary and has been working in the industry for some time. They will usually only take on established bands, but may at times sign a young band that has a lot of buzz or someone they have a feeling about that has the potential to make it to the big time.
For new artists, you will more then likely work with a first or second tier manager that is very passionate about your music and has a lot of time and energy to put into your career. This is a good thing because they should be very active in promoting your band and creating an identity and image that future fans can relate to. This can include setting up web sites, press packets, submitting music to record labels, radio, publishing companies, and possibly booking too. But how do you know if you’re ready to go out and find a manager? Here are some questions to ask yourself:
1. Are we at a point where we have done all we can do by ourselves when it comes to promoting our band?
2. Do we need someone to handle the business aspects of our band, i.e. finances, inventory, submitting music?
3. Are we at a point in our career where a manager would be interested in us?
4. Are we prepared to give up 10-15% of our income?
After asking yourselves these questions, and answering them honestly, you have decided that finding a manager is a step your band wants to take; here are a few tips on what managers look for in a band.
1. Music – Music is by far the most important thing that potential managers are looking for when checking out new bands. There is musical style for all types, but do you fit any of the types for which the manager is looking? Like I said earlier, when it comes to the 1st and 2nd tier managers they are looking for projects they are passionate about, since more then likely at first they won’t be getting paid much (15% of 0 still equals 0) so they better love your music.
2. Image – Like it or not, image is part of the music industry. Does your image fit your musical style? Image means more then just the clothes you wear and the way you style your hair, it is the image you portray during your live shows, how you interact with your fans and the way you present yourself overall. This is something that can be crafted over time, but it helps in the beginning if you already have an image that goes with the sound.
3. Professionalism – Didn’t we join a band so we didn’t have to worry about being professional? True, but a little bit of professionalism will help when meeting with managers and discussing your career.
4. Potential – As I mentioned above, music and image are both very important, but if they’re not there yet, there’s still hope. If a manager sees potential in you as a band and that you can grow into something amazing, they still make take a chance on you.
So you are now ready for finding a manager, but that’s only half of the equation. Just because a manager is interested in you, doesn’t really mean they are right for your band. Here a couple of things that you should be looking at when deciding on a manager.
1. Tier – What tier manager are they, and is it the right fit for your band? Obviously a 3rd tier manager would be great to have for an up and coming band, but that more then likely isn’t going to happen. So you have to decide if the manager is at the right level for you. Do you already have a growing fan base and have and are already playing shows regularly? Then a 1st tier manager probably isn’t the right choice for you.
2. Personality – Do you get along with the manger? I’m not saying you have to be their best friend, but you are entering a pretty serious relationship with someone that you are paying good money to make you a success. If you can’t stand the person, it will make the relationship that much more difficult to handle. On the other hand, just because you like someone doesn’t mean they will be a good manager either.
3. Commitment – Find out how many other bands the manager is working with. Are you their only band or do they have a full client list? Is the manager going to be your main contact, or do they have a staff of underlings that work for them? You need to feel out where you are going to be on their priority list and that you get your fair share of attention.
4. Use Your Gut – There’s a lot of scammers in the music business, is this guy in it for the right reasons? If it smells like a rat, and looks like a rat, chances are that it is, if you are getting bad vibes, walk away and move on to the next guy. Another thing to be very careful of is managers that promise the world. Anybody that guarantees success in the music business is either named Clive Davis, or is selling you a bill of goods, so be cautious of the big talkers.
Once you have found your manager, or they have found you, make sure you get a contract. I can’t stress enough how important this is. Whether it’s a tier 1, 2, or three you always want to have a document that lays out each party’s obligations to each other. A good contract should contain at least the following points.
1. Term – the length of the contract. Standard length of a first contract is 1-2 years.
2. Obligations – What is the manager going to do to better your career? And what are your obligations to hold up your end of the bargain?
3. Pay – Of course there’s going to be money changing hands at some point. It’s better to get these details out of the way as soon as possible so both parties are on board and ready to get down to business.
Of course there will be many more fine point details within the contract, but these are the big three when it comes to negotiations. And don’t be afraid of lawyers. Don’t sign anything you don’t understand, it could come back to bite you in the end. There are far to many stories of bands getting the raw end of a deal and those stories never end well.
I hope this helps you in your decision making on whether or not your band needs a manager or not. If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me at apelisproductions@hotmail.com
A.P.
#7 Live Shows – Part III – Merchandise
Let’s be honest playing live shows is the reason everyone joins bands, right? The loud music, the lights, the girls, it’s everything that is rock n’ roll. But they can and are one of the best avenues for bands to make a name for themselves and make some money along the way. With the changes in the music industry, the slowing of the economy and the influx of bands crowding the local club scenes, bands have had to get more creative and come up with new and exciting ways to sell merchandise to their fans. As I mentioned in the last post “The Big Night,” there is money to be made by playing the show itself by ticket sales, flat rate payments, or a cut of the door, but for upcoming bands, these numbers tend to be somewhat small ranging anywhere from $0.00-$500.00 a night. I’m going to give you a few tips on other ideas and ways to fill your pocketbooks and keep your rock n’ roll dreams alive.
1. The CD – An old but goody. CD sales have dropped over 25 percent since 2000 at record and other electronic stores, but one area where they continue to hold steady with sales is selling them at live venues. Here are a couple suggestions on selling CD’s at your show.
* Full Length album – One of the number one goals for most bands is to put together a full length CD. With all of the new digital formats, the cost of printing CD’s has definitely declined, however there is still an investment required to print the CD’s. I recommend doing smaller runs of your CD no more then 500 for your first self released album. For those of you in bands or who have been in a band, I’m sure you still have plenty of your past albums colleting dust in a closet somewhere. Don’t charge over $10.00 for your full length either, it’s a nice round number and about what people expect for a full length. (Remember to have all of your contact information located on the jacket cover of your CD)
Total investment: 500 CD’s x $2.50 (estimate for CD duplication and packaging) = Investment of $1250 with a potential $3750 return. Profit = $3750
* Single – Put together an EP with songs new songs not on your full length album. Gives fans something new to purchase who already own your album. For the single, only print 100 or so at a time and keep the packaging simple to keep your initial cost down. Charge around $3.00-$5.00 per CD. Now this will not be a big money maker, but it will be a good way to get your name out there and for people to remember your name, plaster the packaging with your contact info.
Total Investment: 100 CD’s x $1.00 (estimate for CD duplication and packaging) = Investment of $100 with a potential $200-400 return. Profit = $200-400
2. The T-Shirt – Probably the most common, yet effective piece of merchandise a band can sell, fans love the band t-shirt. While doing research for this article I found a quote that said “I’ve gone from the music selling business to the t-shirt selling business.” Looking at the numbers you will see why.
When it comes to t-shirt sales it’s all about design, design, design. Put a cool logo on a shirt, and you’ve got yourself a money making machine. This section is titled t-shirts, but I’m going to include all clothing in the section. When making clothing selections, make sure you actually see and feel the quality of the product you will be selling. I’m not saying you need to have a top of line thread count in your clothes, but you want to make sure they’re going to last. You can find a lot of good deals online with printing, but I suggest you find a local shop that does screen printing and check out the merchandise. Hoodies have become very popular in the last few years as far as band apparel goes so they are another good option. And you can keep going form there, hats, underwear, any piece of clothing you can stamp your name on and your fans will purchase is a good option.
Where you need to be careful is with the initial investment on clothing. With setup fees and designing a quality logo, the investment will be higher then CDs, but your rate of return can also be higher as well. I would tend to be conservative on your first venture into clothing as far as quantities are concerned, go with one or two designs and only print no more then 10-20 shirts for each size (small, medium, large, extra large). Once you start seeing your sales increase, what designs and sizes are popular, you can be a little more liberal with your printing runs, but take it slowly at first. You will see the profits from t-shirt sales are much higher then that of your CD sales. You should price your t-shirts from $15-$20.
Total investment: 80 T-Shirts x $7.00 (estimate of colored shirt with 2 color screen print) = Investment of $560 with a potential return of $640-$1040. Profit = $640-$1040
3. Stickers – I think of stickers as more of a marketing tool, then an income generating product. Stickers are a great way to give something free to your fans for just showing up. Put your name and web site on a sticker pass out a hundred of them and hopefully it will translate into new fans, album and merchandising sales. If you still insist on selling your stickers, sell them for no more then $1.00 and keep your investment costs low. Takes a lot of sales to make any money selling stickers, so like I said, give your fans something for free for making it to the show.
Total investment: Ranges anywhere from $0.20 – $0.75 per sticker x 250 (just a number) = Investment of roughly $125 with a potential return of $125. Profit = $125
4. Miscellaneous – This section could go on and on as to the different types of miscellaneous merchandising items you can sell at your shows. Be creative, a lot of the times what you sell is determined by the style of music you play. For example, if you are in a classic rock band you may want to sell Zippos with your band name printed on it, or if you are a punk band how about buttons.
One item that I found that I really like is custom printed guitar picks. The printing cost is low and you could easily sell those for a dollar or two. Here is their link www.Intunegp.com
I’ve read plenty of articles about merchandising for bands in the last couple of weeks and one of the articles I came across was written by a guy named Dave Allen. He has spoken at conferences such as SXSW, SFMusicTech, GrammyMusicTech and PopAshville. Anyway, he had a novel idea that I think that every band should at least try it’s called “Name Your Price.” Basically how it works is instead of having listed prices for your CD’s, t-shirts, etc. you announce during your show that you have a booth setup and people can pay what they can for your merchandise. He found that more times then not, people paid more for the items then the bands usually sold them for. If you are interested in reading the entire article, here is the link. http://www.pampelmoose.com/mspeaks/2009/02/how-bands-can-make-more-money-by-not-putting-a-price-on-a-cd
One other quick tip, if you are serious about setting up merchandising at your shows, and it is feasible for your band to pull off, you should look into portable and wireless credit card machines. With more and more people only using debit cards and credit cards, your chances of making a sale are almost guaranteed to increase by being able to process credit cards. Here’s a web site with more information. http://www.merchantexpress.com/wireless_credit_card_processing.htm
And in closing, obviously everyone is here to make music, but in order to continue doing what you love it helps to make some money along the way. The estimated and potential profits I listed above are nothing more then that, estimates and potentials. It is up to you to go out find amazing deals, come up with some creative products and ideas and get it into the hands of your fans.
I know I said it once, but I will say it again, I will never guarantee success, but I will guarantee that if you do use these tips form the “Playing Live Shows” series, your chances at success will be a lot greater. Good luck, and if you are playing in the Minneapolis area, let me know, I would love to come out and see your show.
A.P.
#6 Live Shows – Part II – The Big Night
Great, you finally got a callback from the promoter and he’s interested in setting up a show with your band. But now what? At this point most bands just accept the first date that they are given, show up, play the gig and go on their merry way, however at this point there are a few things that you can do to make sure you have a successful show and hopefully are asked to come back and play again. Many of the tips here are pretty obvious, but you would be surprised at how many bands don’t follow them.
1. Date: Right out of the gate, one of the most important aspects of setting up your show with the venue is the date. Make sure you discuss with the promoter all of the available dates they have for your band to play. Obviously Friday and Saturday nights are the best slots, but also see if they have any “New Band Nights,” or any other promotions that may be running on the night of your gig. Are you going to be headlining or opening for a more established band? Do they allow you to recommend other bands to play that night? Bands that have a good following that you know could draw a good crowd, or do they set the entire lineup? Get as much information as possible about your date it will be useful later when promoting for your show.
Once you’ve established the date you will be playing, find out who the other bands are that are playing the same night and contact them, find out if you can help each other promote the show to get the most out of each others fan base.
2. Contract: If at the end of the night, there will be the potential for money changing hands, I can not stress enough how important it is to have a contract in place before you perform. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, or anything you need a lawyer to be stressing over while charging you an arm and a leg, but you should have something in writing that states the date you are performing and how much you will be getting paid. Here are a few different ways new bands get paid for their shows:
* A cut of the door split between all of the bands playing that night.
* The venue gives you tickets with your band name on them and you will get a cut of the income from the total amount collected from your tickets
* Cut of total bar sales (rare but I have seen it)
* Flat fee
Like I said there are many ways to get paid, but no matter which was is negotiated, make sure it is in writing. Take a look at this performance contract to get an idea of what to have in writing.
Here’s a link to some sample contracts:
www.blues101.org/articles/contracts3.htm
This is also the time to discuss all the other details of the show. Do they use house equipment such as P.A. system, drums, amps, lighting, or do you bring your own? Do they have someone to run sound? What time is your show and what time do you need to be at the venue to load in your gear and sound check? Again the more info you can get at this point the better and more prepared you will be on the night of the gig.
If your band has a rider, this is when you would go over that with the promoter. Most young bands at this point in their career will not have a rider, but more established bands will need things like green M&M’s, purified mountain water, and for no one to make direct eye contact with the band members. This will all come in time, for now just be happy for the free drink tickets.
Here’s an example of some established band’s riders.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/backstagetour/index.html
3. Promoting: With all of the new marketing opportunities available to bands now such as web sites, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter etc. promoting shows has become a much easier chore. In the past, passing out flyers was the number one way to get people to your show, but now bands have all sorts of different options for promotion. Hopefully by now your band has already setup accounts on the previously mentioned sites and has begun building your followers, friends and fans. Make sure you post your show to these sites as soon as it is booked and your contract is signed, the more advance notice the better. Give as many of the details of the show as you can, just remember who, what, when and where.
Besides online promoting, there are still many other types of “older” promotion techniques that to this day can get still get bodies through the door.
* Pass out flyers after other shows at the venue you are playing
* Pass out free demo CD’s. With the cost of CD-R’s at an all time low, it doesn’t cost much to print 50-100 CD’s and pass them out along with your gig information and of course your contact information.
* Post flyers/posters at the venue promoting your band
* As I mentioned before, make contact with the other bands playing the same night and combine your efforts of promotion. This is also a good way to ensure their fans stay for you and your fans stay for their show.
* Contact your local radio stations and see if you can get a plug
* Be creative. The more people the better!!
4. Night of the Gig: By now you should have all your promoting done, but it still doesn’t hurt to send out one last reminder to all of your adoring fans reminding them of your show.
Make sure you show up to the venue at your scheduled time for loading your gear. As soon as you get their make sure you seek out the club manager and introduce yourself. The next person you want to meet up with is the sound engineer, for your bands sake, probably the most important guy in the building. Make sure you let him know of any special requirements you will need for your band ie. Midi, horns, keyboards, etc.
The sound check is one of those necessary evils of playing live shows. I’ve come to the conclusion that no one will ever look cool doing a sound check, so just be professional and get it over with. Also, if something’s not sounding right, let the engineer know, but be courteous while doing so.
The show finally starts – the easy part. This is what you’ve been practicing for, so you don’t need my advice. But, I will give you one tip: Make sure you plug your bands name and let the crowd know if you are selling any merchandise, also don’t forget to thank the venue for having you.
5. The After Show: If you’re not the headliner, I suggest you stick around watch the other bands and have a good time. Network; meet the bartenders, the other bands, the people in the crowd and the promoter. Who knows who you may meet? If you have a merchandise table, now would be a good time to go over there and push some product and get people signed up to your mailing list.
When the show is finally over and all your gear is loaded, it’s time to square up with the promoter and receive your payment. Although some venues need to add up receipts for the night, most will be ready to pay out at this point. Make sure you are getting the proper amount, if there are any questions about the amount; it’s a good idea to have a copy of your contract available at this time. Ask the promoter what he thought of your show and discuss the possibilities of booking another show at a future date. Also, seek out the sound engineer and thank him for making you sound so good, a little ego boosting for everyone. Ask him for feedback too, if he’s good, he should be a reliable source of information on the technical qualities of your performance.
Then of course, on to the after party, what you do from that point on is your business…..enjoy.
A.P.
#5 Live Shows – Part I – Booking
This is a three part series on everything that has to do with playing live shows. Part one deals with Booking, part two with playing the show, and part three will be about merchandise and other ways to generate income.
Booking can be one of the most painful aspects of a new artist’s career. Calling up venue after venue talking to disgruntled bar tenders, promoters, music schedulers, owners, etc. who have never heard of you or your band and only to hear them say “No.” I will give you a few tips on how to better your chances at booking a show on that prime spot.
1. Do Your Research. When booking shows, it doesn’t take much to do a little research on the venues in your area before you start calling, but it definitely will pay off in the end. Go to the clubs, see some shows and find out what type of music they usually book there. Is the club the right size for your audience? Does the club book local bands, or only national acts? Find out the name of the person that does the booking – “NETWORK.” This will save you a lot of time by not going through the motions of trying to book a show at a jazz club when you are a rock band, or a show at a venue with 2000 person capacity and you only have 200 people that come to your shows.
2. Pre-Call. Venues receive several unsolicited press kits and submissions every day, the thing that will set yours apart from the rest is that if you make a simple pre-call to the venue, they will be expecting yours. Think of when you go to your mailbox, you get tons and tons of junk mail every day (email too) most of which just gets tossed to the side or deleted as fast as it you receive it. Now think of the person getting all these music submissions day after day from people they don’t know or whom they have never spoken with. What do you think they do with all that mail? On the other hand, what do you do with the mail/email when you know who the sender is? You open it and read what it has to say. By pre-calling and making contact with the person that does the booking and letting them know that you will be sending them your press kit, they will then know your name or your band name and when they see your package/email, you will get on the top of that pile of submissions.
3. Be professional. Nothing turns off a promoter more then a musician calling their club who sounds hung over, who stumbles over their words, swears, doesn’t know what they are talking about, or knows nothing about their club. One way to overcome this is have a script. Yeah, it sounds cheesy and a little corny, but it will help trust me.
Once you’ve actually found the person who does the booking try this:
“Hi, my name is (your name) I’m from from the band (band name). We’re looking to setup some shows in (city). I recently saw (band name you saw while doing your research) and I think that we would be a great fit at (club name). I would like to send you our press kit, would you prefer I send it by mail or email?
Once you know your script and get comfortable talking to the promoters there’s room for improvising more, but stick to the point and get the information across.
4. Press Kit. As mentioned in my previous post, your press kit has to look good. Whether it’s an Electronic Press Kit (EPK) or a physical, it must stand out from all the others and MUST have your contact information plastered all over it, so if they do like you and want to set up a show they know exactly how and who to get a hold of.
5. Follow up. This is probably one of the most important, but overlooked aspects to booking a show. Most people will make the pre-calls, have a good looking press kit, and know who to send it to, but in the end just leave it at that and hope to hear back from the promoter. I can’t stress enough how important it is that you follow up with the venue to make sure they received your information and let them know if they need anything else to give you a call. I can distinctly remember a situation when I was booking a show at the Troubadour in Hollywood. I was making a follow up call and I asked the promoter if he had my kit and he said he did not, but then found it under a big stack of papers. He gave it a listen called me back later that day and setup a show.
I’m not going to sugar coat it, booking shows sucks, it’s annoying at times, and I’m sure it’s the last thing you thought you would be spending your time doing the first time you picked up a guitar. If you use these five tips, I’m not going to guarantee that you will book every venue you submit your information to, but I will guarantee that your chances for success will be a lot greater.
A.P.
# 4 – Online Press Kits
At Apelis, we get about 10-15 artists submitting their music a week. It seems gone is the day of the physical press kit with an 8×10 photo, bio, demo CD and press clippings, and instead it is replaced by a link to a MySpace page or a web site where you can find all of the same information, if not more. But with the obvious cost and time savings for the artist not having to print pictures, press CD’s, put together a great looking packet, and mail it, this doesn’t mean that the artist should put any less thought or time into the content of what the web pages contain.
Layout
First and foremost the page should look professional. A nice clean banner at the top is always a nice start and a background that is not overly busy that takes the eye away from the meat of the content is very important. Use this little rule when you are doing anything to promote your band: What would you want to see if you were going to hire a band?
Music
You should have only about 3-4 songs posted on your page and needless to say these should be your 3-4 best songs. On some sites such as MySpace, it allows the artist to select the first song that the listener hears when they view the site. I highly suggest you do this and not have a random song start. The song you have first should be the best of the best, your first single; the song that you think bests represents your band and your musical style. If I, as a manager hop on to your site and am not grabbed almost instantly by the first song, it’s not going to take much for me to click away just as fast as I arrived. This is your first opportunity to gain the attention of a potential deal, whether it is a promoter, record label, manager etc. so you better grab their attention quickly.
Bio
Your bio has to be on the front page and very easy to find. Don’t go overboard here either. We’re not looking for the “War and Pace” version of your biography, but there should be some substance to what we’re reading. The four main topics you are going to want to hit on are:
1. Where you are from – Give a little background on your band and how you started
2. Describe your style of music – In the end the listener will make their own judgment on your style of music so don’t get carried away with trying to compare yourself to different bands
3. Your goals – What are your goals in the industry, are you working on a new record, are you planning a tour, layout that info and be specific. As a manager, I’m looking for bands that know who they are and where they want to go.
4. Contact Information – Contact information, contact information. Are you seeing a theme? I should be able to know how to get a hold of you from the moment I get to your page. I should know who to call, email, text, whatever the method, just make sure it’s there and there often.
Pictures
Pictures are still a very important part of your press kit. You may have heard the phrase “Image is everything.” I don’t know if I would say it’s everything, but I would say it does play a huge part in selling your band. A few professional looking photos are a plus. Note I said “professional looking” you don’t have to go out and spend hundreds of dollars on hiring a photographer, but using your camera phone doesn’t quite cut it. Make sure you are portraying an “image” in your photos and not just standing in front of a camera for the sake of standing in front of a camera. Here are four no-no’s I found to keep in mind when you are taking your band photos
-No brick walls
-No stairs
-No train tacks
-No doorways
These are all cliché and have been done a million times over, so be original.
You should also have some live/performance photos of your band. It really helps to see the band on stage and how they look holding a guitar.
Video
I don’t really have a strong opinion on video one way or another. Video is usually the last thing I look at when I’m checking out a page. The reason why I don’t feel too strongly about video is because most of it is usually pretty low quality and doesn’t really do anything to help the cause. Now, that being said, later in your career when you have the budget to do so, a great looking video can really boost your image and with video sites such as YouTube you can have the ability to generate a great following and some good buzz by having a catchy video just like OkGo did with their Treadmill video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv5zWaTEVkI.
Although most of this information seems pretty self explanatory, you wouldn’t believe some of the submissions we get. One other quick note, when sending an email to someone who you want to check out your page, make sure you give them a brief note on what you are looking for out of them. Here’s an example of what not to do:
“Take a look at our page www.myspace.com/XXXXXXXX .”
Instead try this:
“Hi, we are XXXXXXXXX we are currently playing shows in and around the Twin Cities area and are looking for help booking a Mid-Western tour this summer. Please take a look at our MySpace page at www.myspace.com/XXXXXXX and let us know if you are interested and can work with us. Thanks for your time and we hope to hear back soon.”
Not too difficult, but much more effective.
Ok, you should now have at least the building blocks to either go out and create a presentable online press kit or revise the one you already have. Take a look at our two recently signed bands www.myspace.com/reboottherobot and www.myspace.com/thestonepages both of these sites are simple yet effective. Be original and remember, make sure you have your contact information where it is easy to find.
A.P.
