A band with a terrible review responds-
You might ask, what happens when a band gets a bad review and responds?
Well. This...
First read the review-http://www.yourband.info/index.php?q=node/134
Then read the responsehttp://www.yourband.info/index.php?q=node/137
Friday, November 19, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Reasons Your Band Should Break Up- Top Ten
Reasons Your Band Should Break Up- Top Ten
Everyone who plays guitar, drums or bass have been in a band at one time or another. Most of these bands suck. Really suck. Maybe you are in a band and you want to know if you should break up. Here is a list of the top ten reasons your band should break up. If any of these apply to you; call it quits.
1. If you play any of these songs: Wild thing, sweet home Alabama, or Louie Louie. now don't get me wrong. These songs are actually pretty good songs. However, they are simple songs to play. There are thousands of songs that your band could pick to play. If you picked one of the easiest songs ever written then you must suck. Quit now before you mention Jimi Hendrix.
2. Your last three shows were for your friends in your basement: Your friends don't really want to hear you play. They never do. EVER. They may say "you're great" and come to your shows, but they don't like your music. In fact your girlfriend called me last night and she doesn't even like your music. She thought it was cute when you first started dating but now she wishes you spent less time promoting your crap band. Quit now before she dumps you and starts dating that insurance sales guy who makes 6 figures and goes to the gym.
3. You have ever said "we are unique": you are not. Seriously, someone else has done exactly what you are doing 1000 times before you and they did it better. You are not reinventing the wheel here. Calling yourself unique just means you can't play. Go home, have a good cry and set your guitar on fire.
4. Your mom comes to your shows: Heck, I love your mom too but leave her out of it. If your mom is coming to your shows then you must be pretty desperate for fans to fill that venue you are playing at. Drugged out dads are ok though.
6. You have kids: Once you have had kids you give up your right to be a rocker. if you mention John Lennon had a kid when he was in the beatles well... he kept that fact a secret. SOOO, if 99 percent of the people who know you have no clue you have kids, you can be in a band. Oh, and that world's best dad coffee mug is on backorder.
7. If your band switches instruments during your set: OH how I hate this. you are basically saying; this guy wasn't good enough to learn this part so we need to switch. Switching instruments is like having an open relationship; It might sound like a good idea but really it is just a sign of other problems.
8. If you Google your band name and the first link is not you: You could have just picked a new name but if you were not smart enough to figure it out until now... please put down the guitar and walk away.
9 and 10. you are over 35: You are old. get it into your head.
http://www.yourband.info
local music forum
music
best site ever
Everyone who plays guitar, drums or bass have been in a band at one time or another. Most of these bands suck. Really suck. Maybe you are in a band and you want to know if you should break up. Here is a list of the top ten reasons your band should break up. If any of these apply to you; call it quits.
1. If you play any of these songs: Wild thing, sweet home Alabama, or Louie Louie. now don't get me wrong. These songs are actually pretty good songs. However, they are simple songs to play. There are thousands of songs that your band could pick to play. If you picked one of the easiest songs ever written then you must suck. Quit now before you mention Jimi Hendrix.
2. Your last three shows were for your friends in your basement: Your friends don't really want to hear you play. They never do. EVER. They may say "you're great" and come to your shows, but they don't like your music. In fact your girlfriend called me last night and she doesn't even like your music. She thought it was cute when you first started dating but now she wishes you spent less time promoting your crap band. Quit now before she dumps you and starts dating that insurance sales guy who makes 6 figures and goes to the gym.
3. You have ever said "we are unique": you are not. Seriously, someone else has done exactly what you are doing 1000 times before you and they did it better. You are not reinventing the wheel here. Calling yourself unique just means you can't play. Go home, have a good cry and set your guitar on fire.
4. Your mom comes to your shows: Heck, I love your mom too but leave her out of it. If your mom is coming to your shows then you must be pretty desperate for fans to fill that venue you are playing at. Drugged out dads are ok though.
6. You have kids: Once you have had kids you give up your right to be a rocker. if you mention John Lennon had a kid when he was in the beatles well... he kept that fact a secret. SOOO, if 99 percent of the people who know you have no clue you have kids, you can be in a band. Oh, and that world's best dad coffee mug is on backorder.
7. If your band switches instruments during your set: OH how I hate this. you are basically saying; this guy wasn't good enough to learn this part so we need to switch. Switching instruments is like having an open relationship; It might sound like a good idea but really it is just a sign of other problems.
8. If you Google your band name and the first link is not you: You could have just picked a new name but if you were not smart enough to figure it out until now... please put down the guitar and walk away.
9 and 10. you are over 35: You are old. get it into your head.
http://www.yourband.info
local music forum
music
best site ever
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
How To Get More Fans To Like Your Bands Facebook Page
How to get more fans on your bands Facebook page.
Facebook is the highest visited website in the United States. Capturing these people to become fans of your bands Facebook page is a great way to get your music to more people. There are a few very good tricks to getting more fans to like your bands Facebook page. Some are fairly simple and you may already be doing them. Other strategies are a little more time consuming. In the end, the key to getting more people to like your bands Facebook page is effort.
Suggest your Facebook page to your friends- The first step is simple but is key. You need to suggest your Facebook page to all your personal friends. Depending on how many friends your personal Facebook page has, you will get around only 100 people by doing this.
Set up a personal Facebookpage for your band- You will not want to crowd up your personal Facebook page with 1000 friends so set up a 2nd account. Use this account to add people (don't over add or Facebook will ban you). Use this account to suggest your bands Facebook page to more fans!
Link your twitter account to your facebook account- If you do not have twitter, sign up now. You can link your Facebook account to your twitter account. This will post all updates across platforms.
Join Facebook groups- there are a ton of Facebook groups. JOIN THEM. Search for Facebook groups for adding fans, join those groups.
Put a link to you Facebook page on your Website- Does your band have a website? maybe sure that your bands website has a link to your Facebook page asking people to become a fan of it.
Post status updates asking people to suggest your band- fans of your bands web page can be your greatest asset. Post ever few weeks asking your fans to suggest your bands Facebook page to their friends. A good idea is to say something like, "We have 1450 fans. Once 1500 fans like our Facebookwe will give a secret prize!!!" This Prize could be a newly recorded song, free tickets to a show, or a picture. Anything! Just be creative.
There are a million other things you can do but these simple steps will help your Facebookpage get more fans!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
new website looking for local bands to feature
take a look at http://www.yourband.info They are a new social networking site for bands. They are looking to feature a few local bands. if you are interested, go to http://www.yourband.info and contact them via their contact page. You get free promotion for your band. Give it a try!
Friday, May 7, 2010
HOW TO EFFECTIVELY PROMOTE YOUR BAND’S GIGS IN BOSTON
HOW TO EFFECTIVELY PROMOTE YOUR BAND’S GIGS IN BOSTON
(and in other markets)
Greetings Bands/Artists, Dan Millen here. As a talent buyer / Promoter, I get tons of questions on how to effectively promote your band. I’ve developed this document to assist you and myself in developing YOUR band. Please check your ego and rely on the years of practice I’ve had. I know these nuggets of wisdom work, I’ve seen them work, and they’ll work for you if you are ready to achieve. Remember that It is not lack of information that causes bands/artists not to achieve, it’s lack of
followthrough. We all have the same info, and after you read this you will be chock full of new info so now there’s no excuse not to achieve results! Get ready to FOLLOWTHROUGH! This document and its companion documents are copyright 2004 by Dan Millen. Disseminate and post at will, but always be cool and give me the credit. The principles in this document, though they are Boston-centric, are universal, so start here, but keep your eye on growth. Companion documents to this one are Bostonmedia.doc and for those of you who wish to dig a bit deeper – see the end of this document for info on getting advice you can trust, and hiring a publicist and promoter who’ll get you results and not run away with your money.
SO – YOU’VE BOOKED A SHOW IN BOSTON, NOW WHAT?
Before we get to actually promoting your shows, as a young band you need to understand that you must SPACE OUT YOUR PLAYS. YOU CAN NOT PLAY THIS MARKET ONCE A WEEK OR ONCE EVERY 2 WEEKS. By market, I mean Boston / Cambridge / Somerville / Brighton /Allston / JP – anywhere where the same group of people would be expected to go see your band. You should put 3 weeks between gigs, preferably 4+ and when you get to be a big draw you willw ant to put 8-12 weeks between plays. Additionally, only list THE NEXT GIG on your webpage,in your emails, and in any snail mail or press releases you put out. “But Dan, I want everyone to know we are playing a bunch of gigs” you say – tough – if you want to see a bunch of gigs listed
on your webpage and in your emails, go book Worcester, providence, Burlington VT, NYC, etc. Why, you ask - If you give your fans the impression that they can just see you in a couple weeks someplace else, you'll split your draw and start to dilute each gig you play. You'll start to hear things like "Well, i just saw you last week, I was tired and I figured I'll see you guys in a couple
weeks at tt's anyway..." or “I didn’t wanna miss Survivor or Friends” or some other silly bullpoopyexcuse like that.
You want EVERY FAN to come see you EVERY TIME you play, and therefore you MUST
PROMOTE EVERY SHOW LIKE IT’S THE ONLY SHOW. We promoters know this, and there’s
no surer way to piss off a promoter than to play too often and dilute your market.
The principle that sums all of this up that you need to understand:
If you do not promote your shows, nobody will come to them. If nobody
comes to them, you aren’t going to get another shot. Period, if you book a show you must do EVERYTHING WITHIN YOUR POWER TO GET PEOPLE TO PAY TO SEE YOU. From the promoter or club’s point of view, you are not playing shows because you make good music, you are playing shows so that you can draw fans and sell
beer and tickets for the venue. If you happen to pack the place and you are a great band as well, so much the better. We always hope that’s the case, but it ain’t always, so get over yourself and understand that this is a business. The business is fueled by tickets and booze. Get this ingrained in your head, and your shows will be a lot more successful and you’ll start getting more
of them.
What does doing Everything within your power to get people to pay to see you entail?
1. Personal interaction with friends and fans
a. You and all of your band members must become SHAMELESS SELF
PROMOTION MACHINES. Invite everyone you know and bust their chops to
come see your shows. Make flyers with show info on them, and hand them to
total strangers, cute girls/boys, go to parties with flyers in hand, go to other
shows at the venue you are playing and talk with fans of other bands. Get
creative. People will think you are cool because you play in a band and you are
playing a cool club where people want to go. (note – do not openly pass out
flyers for another venue inside a competing venue, it’s tacky and shows a lack of
class, most places will kick you out for that, so don’t do it)
b. TEASER DISCS – One of the smartest things you can do for your band is to take
your 2 or 3 best songs and burn a huge quantity of teaser cds. They are cheap
and really effective. Make sure you put your webpage and contact info on every
one of them. You may as well use them as demos. Carry 8 or 10 of them with
you wherever you go, with a show flyer inserted in the sleeve, c’mon, this is what
being a shameless self promoter is all about. Send 50 of them to every venue
you are playing with show info marked on them or flyers inserted in them for your
upcoming show. Joe or Jane at the club grabs one, takes it home, likes what she
hears and winds up at your show. Ding Ding you won!
c. EMAIL – send all your friends and fans regular email announcements about
upcoming gigs, evites, etc. Make them hip and easy to read, and PUT EVERY
LAST BIT OF INFO ABOUT THE SHOW. Age time cover, club address etc…
don’t assume that people know where the club is. Always put your band name in
the subject line so that they know whom it’s from. Otherwise people will think it’s
spam and delete it.
d. GET YOUR FANS TO WORK FOR YOU – Develop ‘fan reps’ – offer your most
committed fans free admission to your shows in exchange for passing out flyers
in their dorms, to their friends etc. Give them all teaser cds, have them post
messages on other band’s message boards, have them email mp3s to their
friends – get a cult of personality brewing to help push you forward. This is
powerful shit if you can get it happening. Someplace in each of your emails
should be a “Do you wanna help out” section with info on how to get in touch with
you to become a fan rep. Guster is a classic example of a band who developed
the fan rep system across the nation and built it into a huge career. This works
for ALL STYLES OF MUSIC, so don’t give me that “we’re nothing like Guster”
crapola.
2. THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SHOW PROMOTION
a. POSTERS/FLYERS/TEASERS AND OTHER PROMO MATERIAL – Make a
powerful, goodlooking poster and send a dozen of them to the venue with your
date marked on them (the guy putting the posters up may not be the guy who
booked the date, so don’t assume he has the right info, put the date on your
posters before you send them), along with flyers and teaser discs – THERE IS
NO GREATER WAY TO SAY TO A CLUB THAT YOU CARE ABOUT PACKING
THEIR ROOM THAN BY SENDING THEM PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS AS
SOON AS YOU CONFIRM THE SHOW!
b. POSTERING – Bear in mind that it is unlawful in the city of Boston and
Cambridge to stick your posters up on public property and nonsanctioned private
property, punishable by a $300 fine per incident which you will surely pay. BUT –
There are plenty of legal locations, record stores, coffee shops, lifestyle locations
where you can put posters up, leave flyers and teasers around. Do it smart and
do it legal.
c. PRESS – Being a young band, it’s less than likely that you will get top notch
press in the Boston Globe, Herald, or Phoenix, but there are many outlets for
getting press (see bostonmedia.doc) and as you grow, your pressworthiness will
grow with you so you want to start early in getting the press to know you - Ask
the promoter/booking agent for their Media List and work it! When working
press, make sure you have an electronic bio, color jpegs, high resolution, and
have it easily accessible – many bands do this by posting them up on their
webpages, a very good idea. Be patient and don’t let those press bastards get
you down, be cool if you get rejected, but keep bugging them for lovin.
d. RADIO – See bostonmedia.doc - Boston has a ton of college radio stations that
will play your music – in addition – depending on what style of music you play –
many commercial stations like WBCN, WFNX, WBOS, WXRV, and WAAF have
local and unsigned band specialty shows. The DJs who host those shows are
very selective about what they play, so make sure your demo is good before you
send. If your demo sounds like crap, chances are you won’t get love. Do some
research and know what shows you are pitching to, you don’t wanna send a
metal CD to the folk show. DJ’s like it when you listen to their shows, so if you
know what they are spinning, makes you look cool. You should encourage the
stations who are spinning your music to give away tickets to the show in
exchange for plugging it on the air, and see if they’ll let you on the air for an
interview or a call in. Tell them you want to “support the stations that support
your band”, that always closes the deal..
I’m sure there’s a few things I missed, but these are the basics, if you put the work in to get all of the above going for yourself, especially if you begin to apply the basic principles to all the other markets you play in, you will begin to see dramatic changes in the amount of fans who show up to see you at every show, the quality of shows you get will increase, and you’ll begin to see a
financial reward as well.
SO GET CRACKIN’, and - MAY ALL YOUR ROCK N’ ROLL DREAMS COME TRUE!
Dan Millen
RockOn! Concerts – Making Rock n’ Roll Dreams Come True!
www.rockonconcerts.com
www.harpersferryboston.com
dan@rockonconcerts.com
If you are interested in checking out our always expanding Boston Media List, please send an email to the above addres with “Please Send Me Your Media List” in the subject line. Please don’t send your life story along with it though.
The following are LOCAL BOSTON companies that I take great pleasure in recommending. I have no problem attaching my name and reputation to these recommendations because I work closely with these companies and I know they GET RESULTS.
AUTOMATED BOOKING AND PROMOTION THAT WILL MAKE EVERYTHING I HAVE SAID ABOVE EASY AS PIE! Onlinegigs is an incredibly powerful tool for musicians, agents, record companies and managers. This subscription service will virtually automate the administration of booking and promoting your band or bands. With features such as: A huge directory of music industry contacts, the ability to track correspondences with each contact, schedule reminders for important follow ups, print labels, issue contracts, automatically update any website with gig information, automatically have a tour itinerary with driving directions generated, and issue press releases to the local media in any market in the country. http://www.onlinegigs.com
HIRE SOMEONE TO HELP YOU GET YOUR POOP TOGETHER:
ATTN: Developing artists and aspiring music business people- Are you onto something good
and in need of advice you can trust? Ask the people you already know! MWGlobal Artist
Development is a BOSTON BASED music business consultation firm, whose associates have
PROVEN success in the industry and SPECIALIZE in cultivating talent. We'll give you the tools
you need to get the edge you seek. The rates are reasonable and the returns are priceless!
Send an email to dan@rockonconcerts.com with “Please send me Consulting Info” in the subject
if you wanna know more.
PUBLICITY AND RADIO PROMOTION FROM A NAME YOU CAN TRUST – Guys, I can’t tell
you how many times a Publicist has taken my money and ran and gotten me and my bands
nothing. The right PR campaign is crucial. I’ve gotten hundreds of solicitations from
unscrupulous radio promoters promising me commercial airplay or charting on CMJ and heard
horror stories from bands who’ve blown their lifesavings on unrealistic radio campaigns.
Powderfinger Promotions is a full service PR/Radio company specializing in helping Indie Bands
get their name and music out there. I’ve worked with them on several projects and I know they
GET RESULTS or they won’t take your money. If you are interested in finding out more, send an email to dan@rockonconcerts.com with “Powderfinger Info” in the subject.
GRAPHICS AND LOGO DESIGN THAT WILL KNOCK YOU OUT WITHOUT KNOCKING OUT
YOUR WALLET - Alphabet Arm Design is a full service design studio who's focus is unique,
creative & distinctive design solutions for a variety of clients & industries, although has built a
niche market specializing in music-based design; CD Art Direction, Logo design for bands,
musicians & record labels, Tour Poster design, Merchandise design, etc. Plenty of samples online
@ www.alphabetarmdesign.com
Version 2.5 - Copyright 2004 – Dan Millen – For free distribution – please do not alter or post without credit.
http://www.themusicboard.info
(and in other markets)
Greetings Bands/Artists, Dan Millen here. As a talent buyer / Promoter, I get tons of questions on how to effectively promote your band. I’ve developed this document to assist you and myself in developing YOUR band. Please check your ego and rely on the years of practice I’ve had. I know these nuggets of wisdom work, I’ve seen them work, and they’ll work for you if you are ready to achieve. Remember that It is not lack of information that causes bands/artists not to achieve, it’s lack of
followthrough. We all have the same info, and after you read this you will be chock full of new info so now there’s no excuse not to achieve results! Get ready to FOLLOWTHROUGH! This document and its companion documents are copyright 2004 by Dan Millen. Disseminate and post at will, but always be cool and give me the credit. The principles in this document, though they are Boston-centric, are universal, so start here, but keep your eye on growth. Companion documents to this one are Bostonmedia.doc and for those of you who wish to dig a bit deeper – see the end of this document for info on getting advice you can trust, and hiring a publicist and promoter who’ll get you results and not run away with your money.
SO – YOU’VE BOOKED A SHOW IN BOSTON, NOW WHAT?
Before we get to actually promoting your shows, as a young band you need to understand that you must SPACE OUT YOUR PLAYS. YOU CAN NOT PLAY THIS MARKET ONCE A WEEK OR ONCE EVERY 2 WEEKS. By market, I mean Boston / Cambridge / Somerville / Brighton /Allston / JP – anywhere where the same group of people would be expected to go see your band. You should put 3 weeks between gigs, preferably 4+ and when you get to be a big draw you willw ant to put 8-12 weeks between plays. Additionally, only list THE NEXT GIG on your webpage,in your emails, and in any snail mail or press releases you put out. “But Dan, I want everyone to know we are playing a bunch of gigs” you say – tough – if you want to see a bunch of gigs listed
on your webpage and in your emails, go book Worcester, providence, Burlington VT, NYC, etc. Why, you ask - If you give your fans the impression that they can just see you in a couple weeks someplace else, you'll split your draw and start to dilute each gig you play. You'll start to hear things like "Well, i just saw you last week, I was tired and I figured I'll see you guys in a couple
weeks at tt's anyway..." or “I didn’t wanna miss Survivor or Friends” or some other silly bullpoopyexcuse like that.
You want EVERY FAN to come see you EVERY TIME you play, and therefore you MUST
PROMOTE EVERY SHOW LIKE IT’S THE ONLY SHOW. We promoters know this, and there’s
no surer way to piss off a promoter than to play too often and dilute your market.
The principle that sums all of this up that you need to understand:
If you do not promote your shows, nobody will come to them. If nobody
comes to them, you aren’t going to get another shot. Period, if you book a show you must do EVERYTHING WITHIN YOUR POWER TO GET PEOPLE TO PAY TO SEE YOU. From the promoter or club’s point of view, you are not playing shows because you make good music, you are playing shows so that you can draw fans and sell
beer and tickets for the venue. If you happen to pack the place and you are a great band as well, so much the better. We always hope that’s the case, but it ain’t always, so get over yourself and understand that this is a business. The business is fueled by tickets and booze. Get this ingrained in your head, and your shows will be a lot more successful and you’ll start getting more
of them.
What does doing Everything within your power to get people to pay to see you entail?
1. Personal interaction with friends and fans
a. You and all of your band members must become SHAMELESS SELF
PROMOTION MACHINES. Invite everyone you know and bust their chops to
come see your shows. Make flyers with show info on them, and hand them to
total strangers, cute girls/boys, go to parties with flyers in hand, go to other
shows at the venue you are playing and talk with fans of other bands. Get
creative. People will think you are cool because you play in a band and you are
playing a cool club where people want to go. (note – do not openly pass out
flyers for another venue inside a competing venue, it’s tacky and shows a lack of
class, most places will kick you out for that, so don’t do it)
b. TEASER DISCS – One of the smartest things you can do for your band is to take
your 2 or 3 best songs and burn a huge quantity of teaser cds. They are cheap
and really effective. Make sure you put your webpage and contact info on every
one of them. You may as well use them as demos. Carry 8 or 10 of them with
you wherever you go, with a show flyer inserted in the sleeve, c’mon, this is what
being a shameless self promoter is all about. Send 50 of them to every venue
you are playing with show info marked on them or flyers inserted in them for your
upcoming show. Joe or Jane at the club grabs one, takes it home, likes what she
hears and winds up at your show. Ding Ding you won!
c. EMAIL – send all your friends and fans regular email announcements about
upcoming gigs, evites, etc. Make them hip and easy to read, and PUT EVERY
LAST BIT OF INFO ABOUT THE SHOW. Age time cover, club address etc…
don’t assume that people know where the club is. Always put your band name in
the subject line so that they know whom it’s from. Otherwise people will think it’s
spam and delete it.
d. GET YOUR FANS TO WORK FOR YOU – Develop ‘fan reps’ – offer your most
committed fans free admission to your shows in exchange for passing out flyers
in their dorms, to their friends etc. Give them all teaser cds, have them post
messages on other band’s message boards, have them email mp3s to their
friends – get a cult of personality brewing to help push you forward. This is
powerful shit if you can get it happening. Someplace in each of your emails
should be a “Do you wanna help out” section with info on how to get in touch with
you to become a fan rep. Guster is a classic example of a band who developed
the fan rep system across the nation and built it into a huge career. This works
for ALL STYLES OF MUSIC, so don’t give me that “we’re nothing like Guster”
crapola.
2. THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SHOW PROMOTION
a. POSTERS/FLYERS/TEASERS AND OTHER PROMO MATERIAL – Make a
powerful, goodlooking poster and send a dozen of them to the venue with your
date marked on them (the guy putting the posters up may not be the guy who
booked the date, so don’t assume he has the right info, put the date on your
posters before you send them), along with flyers and teaser discs – THERE IS
NO GREATER WAY TO SAY TO A CLUB THAT YOU CARE ABOUT PACKING
THEIR ROOM THAN BY SENDING THEM PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS AS
SOON AS YOU CONFIRM THE SHOW!
b. POSTERING – Bear in mind that it is unlawful in the city of Boston and
Cambridge to stick your posters up on public property and nonsanctioned private
property, punishable by a $300 fine per incident which you will surely pay. BUT –
There are plenty of legal locations, record stores, coffee shops, lifestyle locations
where you can put posters up, leave flyers and teasers around. Do it smart and
do it legal.
c. PRESS – Being a young band, it’s less than likely that you will get top notch
press in the Boston Globe, Herald, or Phoenix, but there are many outlets for
getting press (see bostonmedia.doc) and as you grow, your pressworthiness will
grow with you so you want to start early in getting the press to know you - Ask
the promoter/booking agent for their Media List and work it! When working
press, make sure you have an electronic bio, color jpegs, high resolution, and
have it easily accessible – many bands do this by posting them up on their
webpages, a very good idea. Be patient and don’t let those press bastards get
you down, be cool if you get rejected, but keep bugging them for lovin.
d. RADIO – See bostonmedia.doc - Boston has a ton of college radio stations that
will play your music – in addition – depending on what style of music you play –
many commercial stations like WBCN, WFNX, WBOS, WXRV, and WAAF have
local and unsigned band specialty shows. The DJs who host those shows are
very selective about what they play, so make sure your demo is good before you
send. If your demo sounds like crap, chances are you won’t get love. Do some
research and know what shows you are pitching to, you don’t wanna send a
metal CD to the folk show. DJ’s like it when you listen to their shows, so if you
know what they are spinning, makes you look cool. You should encourage the
stations who are spinning your music to give away tickets to the show in
exchange for plugging it on the air, and see if they’ll let you on the air for an
interview or a call in. Tell them you want to “support the stations that support
your band”, that always closes the deal..
I’m sure there’s a few things I missed, but these are the basics, if you put the work in to get all of the above going for yourself, especially if you begin to apply the basic principles to all the other markets you play in, you will begin to see dramatic changes in the amount of fans who show up to see you at every show, the quality of shows you get will increase, and you’ll begin to see a
financial reward as well.
SO GET CRACKIN’, and - MAY ALL YOUR ROCK N’ ROLL DREAMS COME TRUE!
Dan Millen
RockOn! Concerts – Making Rock n’ Roll Dreams Come True!
www.rockonconcerts.com
www.harpersferryboston.com
dan@rockonconcerts.com
If you are interested in checking out our always expanding Boston Media List, please send an email to the above addres with “Please Send Me Your Media List” in the subject line. Please don’t send your life story along with it though.
The following are LOCAL BOSTON companies that I take great pleasure in recommending. I have no problem attaching my name and reputation to these recommendations because I work closely with these companies and I know they GET RESULTS.
AUTOMATED BOOKING AND PROMOTION THAT WILL MAKE EVERYTHING I HAVE SAID ABOVE EASY AS PIE! Onlinegigs is an incredibly powerful tool for musicians, agents, record companies and managers. This subscription service will virtually automate the administration of booking and promoting your band or bands. With features such as: A huge directory of music industry contacts, the ability to track correspondences with each contact, schedule reminders for important follow ups, print labels, issue contracts, automatically update any website with gig information, automatically have a tour itinerary with driving directions generated, and issue press releases to the local media in any market in the country. http://www.onlinegigs.com
HIRE SOMEONE TO HELP YOU GET YOUR POOP TOGETHER:
ATTN: Developing artists and aspiring music business people- Are you onto something good
and in need of advice you can trust? Ask the people you already know! MWGlobal Artist
Development is a BOSTON BASED music business consultation firm, whose associates have
PROVEN success in the industry and SPECIALIZE in cultivating talent. We'll give you the tools
you need to get the edge you seek. The rates are reasonable and the returns are priceless!
Send an email to dan@rockonconcerts.com with “Please send me Consulting Info” in the subject
if you wanna know more.
PUBLICITY AND RADIO PROMOTION FROM A NAME YOU CAN TRUST – Guys, I can’t tell
you how many times a Publicist has taken my money and ran and gotten me and my bands
nothing. The right PR campaign is crucial. I’ve gotten hundreds of solicitations from
unscrupulous radio promoters promising me commercial airplay or charting on CMJ and heard
horror stories from bands who’ve blown their lifesavings on unrealistic radio campaigns.
Powderfinger Promotions is a full service PR/Radio company specializing in helping Indie Bands
get their name and music out there. I’ve worked with them on several projects and I know they
GET RESULTS or they won’t take your money. If you are interested in finding out more, send an email to dan@rockonconcerts.com with “Powderfinger Info” in the subject.
GRAPHICS AND LOGO DESIGN THAT WILL KNOCK YOU OUT WITHOUT KNOCKING OUT
YOUR WALLET - Alphabet Arm Design is a full service design studio who's focus is unique,
creative & distinctive design solutions for a variety of clients & industries, although has built a
niche market specializing in music-based design; CD Art Direction, Logo design for bands,
musicians & record labels, Tour Poster design, Merchandise design, etc. Plenty of samples online
@ www.alphabetarmdesign.com
Version 2.5 - Copyright 2004 – Dan Millen – For free distribution – please do not alter or post without credit.
http://www.themusicboard.info
Thursday, April 29, 2010
How to get more fans at your bands next show
How to get more fans at your bands next show
Have you been playing gigs and not getting anymore fans to your shows? Have you been searching the internet for an answer and they all say the same things that don’t work? Yes, get a myspace page, get a facebook page, send out e-mails, and call your friends. Here is some other stuff that no one ever tells you about.
Music- You need to have a band that is playing at least tolerable music. The music does not have to be great but it shouldn’t annoy anyone. As long as you are not annoying the heck out of everyone; the music is secondary.
Invite your friends- If you have not been inviting your friends to your show… START NOW.
Go To Other Shows- This is the most important thing. You should be going to at least one show of other local acts every week. Introduce yourself to the band, bring a hand bill for your next show and give it to each member of the band (we’ll get into hand bills in a second). Getting fans is no more then getting friends. Start off with the bands. Most local bands go see other local bands. If you make it a point to go to other local shows, well, they will come to yours.
Hand Bills- For each show print up 100-200 handbills. You should be able to fit four on a regular piece of paper. Print them up at home! Really cheap. Or bring them to Kincos. Go to a website that offers free digital pictures (flickr.com) and use of of the public domain pictures. Download the picture to your computer and use it in your picture program. Then just place the text of you show on the bill; date, time, band name ETC.
Posters- Don’t go crazy with these. Three for each show are more then enough(make sure to put one at the club). Unless you are a known band already no one is going to see your poster and decide to go to your see your band.
Give away CDs- Wait, but you want to sell them. NO. NO you can’t. Give them away. If you spent 1000 bucks on a recording, then 1000 on printing CDs, Don’t give those away, sell those. However, you should print up 300 or more CDs with your home computer. You can get CDRs for very cheap today. For example when this article was written (4-28-2010) Staples has a spindle of 100 CDRs on sale for $14.98. So for 45 dollars you can have 300 CDs printed up. Now, these CDs are not fancy like factory created ones. You need to get creative. Decorate them with a sharpie or other ink. You will also need to put them in a case. NOT A JEWEL CASE. No no no, we are giving these CDs away. Take a piece of paper and cut it in half.. Now, fold it in half. This will be your CD sleeve. Put the CD inside it and staple the upper two corners. Blamo. You have a very cheap CD to give away. Make sure on this cover you have printed your band name web address and upcoming show. Go to a local show where a band is playing that sounds like yours. Go nuts and give away a bunch of free CDs.
How to hand out handbills and CDs- NEVER just hand something to someone and walk away. You need to make a connection with them. If you don’t make a connection they will not care what you have to give them and you have just wasted your time. Talk to the person first. A good conversation starter “boy, this band is good” also, to make them at ease that you are not hitting on them (boy or girl) mention your significant other immediately some how in the conversation. Basically, you are trying to make a quick new friend that when you give them a CD they will not just toss it in the trash.
E-mail- Make sure you have an e-mail list. Follow this link for information on E-mail lists
http://boston-music.blogspot.com/2010/04/promote-your-band-with-e-mail.html
http://boston-music.blogspot.com/2010/04/promote-your-band-with-e-mail.html
Have you been playing gigs and not getting anymore fans to your shows? Have you been searching the internet for an answer and they all say the same things that don’t work? Yes, get a myspace page, get a facebook page, send out e-mails, and call your friends. Here is some other stuff that no one ever tells you about.
Music- You need to have a band that is playing at least tolerable music. The music does not have to be great but it shouldn’t annoy anyone. As long as you are not annoying the heck out of everyone; the music is secondary.
Invite your friends- If you have not been inviting your friends to your show… START NOW.
Go To Other Shows- This is the most important thing. You should be going to at least one show of other local acts every week. Introduce yourself to the band, bring a hand bill for your next show and give it to each member of the band (we’ll get into hand bills in a second). Getting fans is no more then getting friends. Start off with the bands. Most local bands go see other local bands. If you make it a point to go to other local shows, well, they will come to yours.
Hand Bills- For each show print up 100-200 handbills. You should be able to fit four on a regular piece of paper. Print them up at home! Really cheap. Or bring them to Kincos. Go to a website that offers free digital pictures (flickr.com) and use of of the public domain pictures. Download the picture to your computer and use it in your picture program. Then just place the text of you show on the bill; date, time, band name ETC.
Posters- Don’t go crazy with these. Three for each show are more then enough(make sure to put one at the club). Unless you are a known band already no one is going to see your poster and decide to go to your see your band.
Give away CDs- Wait, but you want to sell them. NO. NO you can’t. Give them away. If you spent 1000 bucks on a recording, then 1000 on printing CDs, Don’t give those away, sell those. However, you should print up 300 or more CDs with your home computer. You can get CDRs for very cheap today. For example when this article was written (4-28-2010) Staples has a spindle of 100 CDRs on sale for $14.98. So for 45 dollars you can have 300 CDs printed up. Now, these CDs are not fancy like factory created ones. You need to get creative. Decorate them with a sharpie or other ink. You will also need to put them in a case. NOT A JEWEL CASE. No no no, we are giving these CDs away. Take a piece of paper and cut it in half.. Now, fold it in half. This will be your CD sleeve. Put the CD inside it and staple the upper two corners. Blamo. You have a very cheap CD to give away. Make sure on this cover you have printed your band name web address and upcoming show. Go to a local show where a band is playing that sounds like yours. Go nuts and give away a bunch of free CDs.
How to hand out handbills and CDs- NEVER just hand something to someone and walk away. You need to make a connection with them. If you don’t make a connection they will not care what you have to give them and you have just wasted your time. Talk to the person first. A good conversation starter “boy, this band is good” also, to make them at ease that you are not hitting on them (boy or girl) mention your significant other immediately some how in the conversation. Basically, you are trying to make a quick new friend that when you give them a CD they will not just toss it in the trash.
E-mail- Make sure you have an e-mail list. Follow this link for information on E-mail lists
http://boston-music.blogspot.com/2010/04/promote-your-band-with-e-mail.html
http://boston-music.blogspot.com/2010/04/promote-your-band-with-e-mail.html
Monday, April 26, 2010
How to Record Your Band for Under $300
How to Record Your Band for Under $300
What you need!
You are going to first need a band.
Location: You are going to need someplace to record it. A house or an apartment will do just fine. If you are in a house don’t do it in the unfinished basement or the garage. These two places normally have way to much natural reverb. If you can, record in a carpeted living room.
Gear:
Interface: First you will need a digital interface to connect to your computer . If you don’t have a computer, welcome t the 20th century… and how are you reading this? You should buy a used interface with 4 inputs.
Audio Program: If you have a computer the next step is to download Audacity. It is the best free multi track recorder for your computer. You can find the download at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Mics: Next you will need a few mic. Get one USED Shure sm57s and two NEW MXL 990s. This set up will allow you to record your drums and all vocals and guitars/bass.
RecordingTechnique:
Order: You will need to record each instrument sepertely. Start with Drums, then bass, then guitar, last vocals. The guitar/bass order can be changed if needed but if at all possible drumds should be done first.
Mic Placement:
Drums: put one sm57 under the snare drum pointing up This mics only real purpose is to record the snare. The other two MXLs will be spread out over the set. Place one over the high hat about 2 feet over the high hat pointing down to between the high hat an dfirst cymbal. Place the other MXL almost right on top of the floor tom pointing up ever so slightly toward the other toms.
Guitar: use the sm57 up super close/ touching the amp. Place it on the corner of the speaker but angle it towards the center of the amp.
Bass: Use the SM57 as described above. Also run a direct line from your bass amp to the recording.
Voclas: Use the MXL 990. make sure you have a pop filer placed in front of the mic. If you don’t have one; a worn out sock, cut in half can be a nice do it yourself… but wash it first.
Mixing:
When mixing put the vocals panned to the center. Pan the snare drum slightly off to the right or left. Pan one MXL mic on the drums 70% left, the other 70% right. Bass, panned left or right a little; opposite of the snare. Guitar, copy the track twice in Audacity, move the track off time by Hundreths of a second. Pan one hard left one hard right.
What you need!
You are going to first need a band.
Location: You are going to need someplace to record it. A house or an apartment will do just fine. If you are in a house don’t do it in the unfinished basement or the garage. These two places normally have way to much natural reverb. If you can, record in a carpeted living room.
Gear:
Interface: First you will need a digital interface to connect to your computer . If you don’t have a computer, welcome t the 20th century… and how are you reading this? You should buy a used interface with 4 inputs.
Audio Program: If you have a computer the next step is to download Audacity. It is the best free multi track recorder for your computer. You can find the download at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Mics: Next you will need a few mic. Get one USED Shure sm57s and two NEW MXL 990s. This set up will allow you to record your drums and all vocals and guitars/bass.
RecordingTechnique:
Order: You will need to record each instrument sepertely. Start with Drums, then bass, then guitar, last vocals. The guitar/bass order can be changed if needed but if at all possible drumds should be done first.
Mic Placement:
Drums: put one sm57 under the snare drum pointing up This mics only real purpose is to record the snare. The other two MXLs will be spread out over the set. Place one over the high hat about 2 feet over the high hat pointing down to between the high hat an dfirst cymbal. Place the other MXL almost right on top of the floor tom pointing up ever so slightly toward the other toms.
Guitar: use the sm57 up super close/ touching the amp. Place it on the corner of the speaker but angle it towards the center of the amp.
Bass: Use the SM57 as described above. Also run a direct line from your bass amp to the recording.
Voclas: Use the MXL 990. make sure you have a pop filer placed in front of the mic. If you don’t have one; a worn out sock, cut in half can be a nice do it yourself… but wash it first.
Mixing:
When mixing put the vocals panned to the center. Pan the snare drum slightly off to the right or left. Pan one MXL mic on the drums 70% left, the other 70% right. Bass, panned left or right a little; opposite of the snare. Guitar, copy the track twice in Audacity, move the track off time by Hundreths of a second. Pan one hard left one hard right.
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