Will Anybody Notice Me? PART 1

A major problem with many independent artists today, is that they don’t know how to get people to take notice and recognize their talents. As a former music manager I can tell you, this is difficult. In most scenarios, you are not the only musician in your town. Most likely there are countless others just like you (OK maybe not just like you). But how do you separate yourself from them?

The local music scene is a barrel full of crabs, but it is possible to escape that barrel. You just have to be willing to do the work. Being signed shouldn't be your ultimate goal. Instead recognition is what you should be after. Why? Recognition is a means to an end. But that end can be multiplied. If your goal is to get signed, and that doesn’t happen, what next? And if you are signed, do you wait for the label to do everything for you? Because more than likely you won't be able to do anything yourself, which would most likely be reflected in your contract. If the label can't make money off of what musical moves your making, then they will pretty much forbid that act of atonomy. On the other hand, if you put in the same amount of work that the label would, BEFORE you get signed, then you have created a whole new scenario.

Here are some helpful tips to get you on the right path:

Social Networking: When it comes to social networks, retaining your fan base is crucial. The best way to deal with this is to create your own website. With your own personal website, you will never have to try and rebuild your fan base when the next popular social network comes out. Instead, use MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter to promote your very own site. Your site can encompass all the information that you want the public to know about. If you feel that you just are not ready to take that "huge" step, then focus on the existing social networks previously mentioned. Out of the three mentioned thus far, MySpace is by far the best for promoting yourself as a musician. Although, you might feel too old to be on MySpace, as far as what it is capable of for the musician is unrivaled in the social networking arena. Facebook on the other hand only works well if you're already established. Case in point; how can I "Like" you as an artist if I have never heard of you or your music. Now Twitter is a great promoting tool, provided that you have a substantial amount of relevant followers. Twitter gives you the autonomy of posting whatever you would like, which is great. The negative side is, if your followers also follow 50 other people that tweet as much as you do or more, then you’re screwed. My suggestion for using social networking as a primary promoting platform is to cross promote between all of the networks you use.

Shows: Competition is fierce. So acquiring meaningful show dates at good venues might seem impossible, but that doesn't matter. There are plenty of alternative venues for you to play. Let's face it; shows are about exposure, so find venues that will get you the most of it. I want to go over a couple points in this section; Pay for Play, clubs, festivals, spontaneous and free shows.

·         Pay for Play- When I first came into contact with this notion, I hated it! For those that don't know, pay for play is a show contract that basically states that you, the artist must provide "X" amount of dollars (by selling your own tickets to your fans) to the promoter before performing at a venue. Sounds pretty wack right? Not so fast. If you have a pretty strong following, this is a good thing. This situation allows you to be creative in how you interact with your fans. Remember it’s about exposure not money. By incorporating incentives to buying your show tickets, you significantly boost your ability to sell said tickets. Incentives like merchandise, albums and even events. By including merchandise (that you ALREADY have available), you effectively add much more value to the ticket and at the same time have something floating around in the world with your name on it (exposure). If you have unsold hard copies of albums, EP's, demo's or mixtape's, give them away for free to loyal fans that buy tickets and for new fans or people that are on the fence about you, give them your work of art when they buy the ticket. Yes it's the same thing but it’s presented differently. The meaning behind giving away your music is to show people that you have faith in it. It shows confidence and fans respond well to that. Now when it comes to events, create a gathering amongst your fans/friends that involves something that can be sold. Playing at a house party that charges a small fee for food and alcohol and your show ticket might not be such a bad idea. Be creative. Keep in mind that Pay for Play is not something you want to do on a regular basis. Your fans want to see progress. Now on the flip side of this, if you don't have a strong following, this will be difficult to do. Instead, focus on other “non-pay for play” venues and better promotion of yourself.

·         Clubs- This is a terrible option for a venue. Reason being, if you don’t have a huge following at the club you will be met with discontent. People go to clubs to let loose, and if your music impedes that in any way (whether your music is good or bad) they may be reluctant to get behind you in the near future. Now I’m not saying that’s impossible, but it is surely difficult.

·         Festivals- As an independent artist this is where you want to be on a consistent basis, summer after summer. Festivals are everywhere, but they are not all created equal. Festivals like SXSW and Coachella are among the biggest in the U.S.. You should definitely strive to get on the bill for one of these. But to be realistic there are smaller ones, much smaller. And to introduce yourself to them, all you have to do is a little research. Check out festivals.com or sonicbids.com and apply to any festival that makes sense for you. But beware; don’t apply for something that doesn’t make sense for the genre of music you are in. Meaning if you rap, don’t apply for the Bluegrass Festival in Kentucky, duh. Having festivals on your resume will make you very appealing to labels and investors.

·         Spontaneous and Free Shows- This is a great way to remain current amongst your fans. Throw last minute impromptu shows at cool locals. This is one of the rare situations where the number of fans that come out to see you perform does not reflect the amount of exposure that you will receive. Follow me. If you have a show like this and it turns out to be a success, your fans will let everybody know. That will generate buzz that will get people to look in your direction. And when you do it again more people/fans will come. What you’re doing is creating something special for your fans to be a part of. They will love you for that.  

TO BE CONTINUED…