L B W
-
T W E N T Y S I X T E E N
-
-
Aloha - Ahoy
Emerging music is incredibly important to the music industry; a constant flow of new music and artists surfing in on the music scene tide provides the industry with fresh blood to be shared across the world.
In today's scenes, it's more than likely emerging bands will be called up and booked to play a show (pay will be minimal if any, because of course the exposure is payment in itself), but if you're lucky enough that you've escaped the first rung of the ladder and landed yourself a booking agent you'll be booked to headline some shows and may be getting a few hundred pounds and can make requests on your rider.
(Labradors and specific room temperatures, y'know that sort of thing)
Generally you'll have to do all the chasing yourselves because the truth is for every band there are a thousand more waiting in the wings for their chance in the limelight; this doesn't mean that you should be exploited and treated badly by promoters, agents and anyone else who takes the opportunity.
However this is sadly not the case and it is a minefield out there for emerging artists.
Here's some tips team LBW have put together to help you navigate the stormy seas and avoid the pitfalls of booking krakens and giant money nomming squids.
-
*If you're serious about your music, treat it like it, act professionally. I'm not saying you can't be rock & roll but remember that people are more likely to bad-mouth a band who let them down, who are rude, who don't take their art seriously. Treat other people as you wish to be treated.
* It's okay to be friends with the people you work with, but remember that there is a professional perspective on what you do, get contracts, get signatures, if your making payments get receipts, know exactly what you're receiving in turn for working with that person.
*Be kind to everyone you work with, play every show as if it's the best you'll ever do - you never know who is in the audience - who may want to work with you, promote you - not every book is judgable by it's cover and you may lose out on impressing someone who could help you.
*When approaching bloggers, radio, promoters, venues and booking agencies do your research. There's no point wasting their time and your own if your genre or style aren't matched with that of the style they work with.
Make your communications personable and personal to that person or company. Be different, don't tell them your band is the best band ever. It's boring, doesn't show initiative and I can tell you for a fact I get that email at least 100 times a week.
*Accept that there will be rejections, not everyone will love or want to share your music, it doesn't mean no one ever will, but be courteous, don't be rude because you don't like the outcome.
*When approaching studios to record, make sure that the producer is legit, is professional, listen to their portfolio, check out their previous work, speak to artists they've worked with, get to know them because you're going to spend considerable time with them.
*Don't just choose a studio because it's cheap, because of how it looks or because of their previous artists.
*Understand that the producer will have input into the sound you create but that at the end of the day, the final say is down to you, this is your record, your sound. If you're not happy with it, speak up.
Congratulations, you've been booked for a show...now...
*Read the contract, know the terms of your booking, the fee, expenses to be paid, when and how. What's expected of you, to bring with you.
*Promote the event, yes this is the job of the promoter, any good promoters will be promoting their shows daily from both traditional and new media marketing perspectives but this is still an opportunity for you to show you're serious and to take initiative. Bring a group of friends down and you're more likely to be re-booked.
*Be nice to the sound guy, he can and will screw you over if you piss him off.
No it's not professional if he does, but how would you like to be spoken to like a five year old?
*Engage with the crowd, they feed off your energy as much as you feed of theirs. I've been to gigs when there's been great energy on stage but the band don't engage the audience and it's never as good as when the whole room or tent is involved. Let them be part of your sound, find the zone and emit the vibes.
*Be confident, doing shows is jeffing scary, I totally get that but if you act like a soggy potato no one will remember you, even if you're technically brilliant. Find your comfort zone and really go for it.
*Don't be a dick. There's a line between confidence and arrogance. Sadly many bands cross this line and it definitely destroys a bit of the live energy magic.
Be humble.
*If it seems to good to be true, it probably is. Not in all cases, but if an A&R scout pops up on Twitter and tells you he's going to make you overnight sensations - back away holding your bottle of holy water and garlic ring.
(Though some people are ace at what they do, one guy told a band he wanted to manage them, they weren't sure, he told them he'd get them to Oz and sure enough that weekend they flew to play festivals in Sydney. There are some good people out there who just bloody love music and like to help people.)
*Likes and follows are cool, but if they're all bots it won't make a jot of difference, work with and appeal to real people. Music takes a long time to make a career from. Remember those who helped you on your way up the ladder and be humble in your approach to building your profile.
* You will have to put money into your art, you don't like being told that the exposure is payment enough, well this also goes for the photographers, videographers, PR companies and all the little costs that mean you're running a professional band.
*When paying for a PR campaign/management/recording there is zero guarantee of earned media (studios excluded - you should definitely get your record!) but do your research and pick the right brand, the right studio, the right manager, they should be as excited about your music as you are. You're paying them for services and while there's no guarantee of earned media, they should still want to help you develop your profile. They will need to love your music to do that, if they're sending out generic mails and charging you in excess of £1000 chances are they're chewing bands up and spitting them out without much regard for your music.
The humble thing works both ways.
*Be patient. Yes some bands get signed after their first gig but for most rockers and punks it takes many years of gigging, promoting, writing and eating gruel to get anywhere.
(nah I'm kidding about the gruel...mostly)
Ultimately...
Write music because it's all you can think about, love playing shows and enjoy the tiring load-ins, road trips and squabbles because it's all part of the magic, the journey.
Enjoy every show, every song, every record and support the other artists lost at sea with you.
-
♥ & ☮
-
- Content belongs to it's respective owners -
- L I T T L E B E A R W O L F - KG Ⓒ 2016 -
No comments:
Post a Comment