Let's cut to the chase: You've just started a band, or at least... just started taking it more seriously. This is why you're here right? Scouring the internet for tips and ideas that can take your music career up a few notches (and no I'm not just talking about turning it up to eleven). Don't worry, even I cringed at that one.
Dodgy references aside, I'm going to talk about two of the first major goals to aim for when breaking into the music scene and what you can do today for a kick start in the right direction.
Grails
Number one on everyone's list is money right? Now you can sit there and tell yourself (in a pompous accent of course) "Oh I couldn't possibly be doing this for the money... I'm in it for the music" Well that's where the conflict sets in. Psychologically speaking, you may be fueled by the love of the music or whatever, but in this article we are talking about actions to take things more seriously... we are talking about pushing a music "career" after all. Broadly speaking here, a career in music consists of working for your money, but here's where Confucius really helped us out at least a squillion years ago: "Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life." So with that in mind, trying to make a living from music, suddenly seems a more morally positive concept to accept. Throw that one in the mix next time you have an independent thought and someone accuses you of just 'day dreaming' or 'mortgaging your future':)
Next on the list is popularity? Of course, that's a no-brainer. You can't really play to an audience consisting of your parents and best friends for the rest of your career. Popularity and money go hand in hand, it's one of those metaphorical 'holy grails' chased everyday in the modern music industry. Assuming you've become popular for all the right reasons, your fans will afford you the money, success and lifestyle you've always dreamed of (yeah right). The question is, how do you become popular? There is no real formula for popularity as so many factors can affect the outcome: music niche, target audience, what do you sound like and of course what do you look like?
In the information age, social media representation plays a big part in your perceived image. Just go take a minute to look at all the bigger boys that inspire you. Have a look at their MySpace or Facebook pages. Yes, of course they have the music available to listen to, but you won't find anything visually unappealing or placed there by accident. Everything you see has been carefully considered and designed to evoke an emotional association. This means that successful branding of your music is a matter of creating an image that is Positive, Relevant, and Memorable. I'm a sucker for creative design and polished production, I can honestly say that I regret being this superficial sometimes... countless money wasted on seeing movies because "the poster looked awesome". Unfortunately this 'book by its cover' attitude influences most of our life decisions on a day to day basis. Start taking advantage of these human predictabilities and you could be competing with the bigger boys in no time. Yeah they've got the all money, but before you say it yourself... most of these things can be achieved at very little cost to begin with.
Study and understand your target audience. Your fans are the most important and readily accessible commodity available to you. Listen and converse to your fans using Social Media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. Believe it or not, people do care about the pasta salad you had for lunch... even to the point of caring how it came out at the other end, so don't discount the massive potential Social Media channels have to offer.
Begin by plastering Social Media details online to ensure fans have easy access to your profile links when searching your band name. Usually Google picks up MySpace accounts before websites, so make sure to maintain top page links with current and correct details. It's a no brainer, but maybe including these details on gig flyers and business cards (depending on how you choose to market yourselves).
Music - Beginners Guide to Starting a Band
No comments:
Post a Comment