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Alternative Marketing, So To Speak . . .


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Is there really no other way to get anywhere with your music other than with a full band and endless gigging?

 

In my last band, I outlined a slightly different approach to musical success and met with much resistance. The plan was partly based on the fact that all 4 of us had good jobs and where willing to put in time and money as if it were a side business. In a nutshell, we would:

 

--Make a good 3 or 4 song CD and create slick packaging for it. We would spend more time with these songs instead of rushing into the studio like we had with the last 5-tune CD we did.

 

--Get an actual show together with lights, fog, dancing girls, flaming midgets, etc . . .

 

--Play only a few select, self-promoted shows per year, and do rock challenges and charity shows in addition.

 

--Get the demo kit together and send to all the various, small labels and local radio stations.

 

--Get a website going and link up with as many sites within our demographic target as possible.

 

--Submit MP3's to as many different music sites as possible.

 

--Maintain relations with several bands in other cities to help (and help them) get shows in local venues.

 

--Create an artisitc image about the band to generate some enigma and to stamp onto promo items.

 

This is not far off from what a lot of bands do now, but it is more geared for an original band that does not want to play cover tunes and is willing to accept the fact that, on this level, it is an investment in time and money for long-term business goals. IOW, it takes money to make money . . .

 

Of course, it never worked out. The drummer and bass player didn't want to dress in anything but their street clothes, the drummer wanted to play every cheesey bar gig available, and the guitar player, while interested in the plan, only wanted to work on his tunes, so . . .

 

My question is, is that such a terrible plan, or was I being stupid?

 

Layyyter . . .

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I've always believed that the best way to promote a band is by performing live. Pretty much every comment I've seen from music industry professionals shares this opinion.

 

Everything else you do is icing on the cake.

 

I think your plan is fine. It may just take longer to get the end result you're looking for. Also, everyone in the band needs to agree on the approach otherwise it's unworkable.

 

Sometimes you can have a bandmember play in a side project to get his performance jollies and thereby keeping him happy with the plan.

 

My band had a very serious discussion about this very thing. We just came to the conclusion that we think it will be more beneficial to the band to play out more. Some live gigs can suck but why deprive yourself of the most enjoyable thing you can do as a musician IMO.

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Originally posted by Scheming Demon

I've always believed that the best way to promote a band is by performing live. Pretty much every comment I've seen from music industry professionals shares this opinion.


Everything else you do is icing on the cake.


I think your plan is fine. It may just take longer to get the end result you're looking for. Also, everyone in the band needs to agree on the approach otherwise it's unworkable.


Sometimes you can have a bandmember play in a side project to get his performance jollies and thereby keeping him happy with the plan.


My band had a very serious discussion about this very thing. We just came to the conclusion that we think it will be more beneficial to the band to play out more. Some live gigs can suck but why deprive yourself of the most enjoyable thing you can do as a musician IMO.

 

Yah, I pretty much agree with most of your reply, except the last part. IMO, gigging is not the "reward" for doing music. Creating new songs/lyrics/vocals and recording them are my delight. Gigging to me is just work . . .

 

And yes, it would absolutely take longer on my plan to build a following. But the biggest part of any bands' plan is the music. If you write tired, crappy tunes, no amount of bar-gigging or mass-marketing will work . . . unless your a boy band or a slim tart in a bikini top and bell-bottoms . . . :rolleyes:

 

Layyyter . . .

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filtykarma, everything you listed isn't "alternative marketing" at all. In fact, it's just about half of what all bands do.

 

I'd say record a full lenth CD (at least 10 songs) professionally, promote and sell it. Promotion include web-site, mp3 sites, gigging (but more than once a month!), creating a fan base, maintaining and growing it, sell t-shirts...

 

I'd skip the "sending packages to record labels" though. Record labels are like girls: if you beg them to like you they'll pity you. If you don't care about them and just do your own business, then IF you can be succesfull without them they'll come after you. Don't worry about record labels and take your carreer into your own hands today.

 

Come on, now get to work.

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Originally posted by 6am eternal


I'd skip the "sending packages to record labels" though. Record labels are like girls: if you beg them to like you they'll pity you. If you don't care about them and just do your own business, then IF you can be succesfull without them they'll come after you. Don't worry about record labels and take your carreer into your own hands today.


Come on, now get to work.

 

 

DITTO !! Great point about record labels being like fickle, short-sighted, superficial, air-headed, brain-dead, money-grabbing, whore-type knee-bending, ignorant, self-centered boobs !!

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I think the focus should be on getting people to come see you play. And getting your name out there. Its a odds game. The odds of someone who means {censored} to the industry coming across your band increase with the amount of stuff you do. I would say that limiting the shows you play is NEVER a good idea. Except the ones that are so {censored}ty its detrimental. Ive said it before... but they are looking for the "Potential to invest in". Do you have potential? This is answered by selling tickets, people going to shows, having good songs, good bandmates. Is your band an investment? Is it worth their while to spend money on your band for promotion, recording, traveling? I would do whatever it takes for people to hear you and take you seriously. I think alot of times people get too hung up on the best 5,000 dollar demo, and the clothes, and the gear, packaging etc.... Most record labels have their own team that will do that anyway, so id say your focus should be on putting forth a great show with great songs. The rest will fall into place if your talent and dedication are worth it. You might also think about the fact that anyone who is gonna be the deciding factor on your band getting a deal.... is gonna be an older man from a different era. They usually like seeing a little "struggle"...and they respect hard work and relentless gigging.

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I'd skip the "sending packages to record labels" though.

 

 

Besides, most labels have a strict no non-solicited material policy.

Most of the unsolicited material gets returned to sender, if not into the circular file. I know that some people have a thing against lawyers in this industry, but when you have a lawyer or manager that knows the biz and the channels that have to be gone through to get the material into the right hands, it can make a tremendous difference on whether you get heard or not.

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Originally posted by 6am eternal

filtykarma, everything you listed isn't "alternative marketing" at all. In fact, it's just about half of what all bands do.


I'd say record a full lenth CD (at least 10 songs) professionally, promote and sell it. Promotion include web-site, mp3 sites, gigging (but more than once a month!), creating a fan base, maintaining and growing it, sell t-shirts...


I'd skip the "sending packages to record labels" though. Record labels are like girls: if you beg them to like you they'll pity you. If you don't care about them and just do your own business, then IF you can be succesfull without them they'll come after you. Don't worry about record labels and take your carreer into your own hands today.


Come on, now get to work.

 

 

Right on with the CD! Most bands keep the stuff EP length for record buffoons, but I would definitely be better off with a full LP, or even independent label attitude on this stuff.

 

My current plan has me making as many songs as I can in the next year, and making that CD. I can also do all the packaging design. I work in the print pre-press industry, so high-end art processes are easily accessible.

 

I would then like to actually use that disk to gather band members for the live show. I nixed my last band because they just weren't my style. With a disk, there would be no problem as to hearing my style, instead of playing them the old demo we did, 2 years ago.

 

In response to Atomicdog, there is a songwriters' market guide that lists the labels, and their musical and submission guidelines. Yes, the big labels don't take unsolicited material. But, their are varying degrees of solicitation with the rest of them, so why not try . . . ?

 

Same with local radio stations for that matter . . .

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You're right, many indies take unsolicited material. Great place to start. Local radio is also a great place to start.

Here's another Idea, check out the local papers and see if they have someone who reviews music or the arts in your community. Send a promo package complete with cd and tickets to performances (or guest list spot) and try to get the local press on your side. Hell, can't hurt, right? And maybe if you get a good rapore going with a couple of different media outlets you can get exposure outside your area as well.

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The way I see it...there are a million bands who are doing EXACTLY the same kinds of things. So what is the difference between those that get noticed and those that don't?

 

Go back to the fundamentals--

Think to yourself...I am not in THIS band...and I don't really think THIS band looks very special...now put on your AUDIO CD...what would you have to HEAR to make you change your mind?

 

Things like:

--Catchy and crisp melodies and rhythms (a person should be able to hum the basic tune after only one listen.

 

--Lyrics that have real meaning to YOU and the band (you need to stir the emotions of people by giving them a point of connection!)

 

--Really helps if the lead vocalist can stand out as UNIQUE sounding...have him try doing things a little different than what's been already done. Bob Dylan is proof that uniqueness rules over HIGH QUALITY voice!

 

--Quality Recording Production...this gets some pretty bad musicians pretty far in the game!

 

Do you have a place I can give a listen to the music?

Perhaps you are already doing these kind of things?

Sincerely, Calbert

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  • 5 years later...
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Just curious if anyone ever heard of WideCircles internet viral marketing service ? I was referred to it by another webmaster. Apparently they work by injecting viral messages into various forums, blogs, wiki's, classifieds and so on. These messages then contain backlinks which help with SEO, as well attract lot of referral traffic. They bill around 0.40c per each post that's been active for 5 days and say a single post can easily attract 100 or more hits a day, I am going to give them a try today and see how it goes.
http://widecircles.com?imt=2

 

 

Um....do you think this is the first time this spam approach has been tried here?

 

You just happened to be "referred to it by another webmaster" and you couldn't contain your excitement so you just had to go find a forum, register as a new member, and make it your first post? You are going to "give them a try" because you haven't used them, but you somehow already know "they work by injecting viral messages into various forums, blogs, wiki's, classifieds and so on. These messages then contain backlinks which help with SEO, as well attract lot of referral traffic. They bill around 0.40c per each post that's been active for 5 days and say a single post can easily attract 100 or more hits a day"?

 

Nice try, spamboy.

 

bbq%20spam.jpg

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I think that you have a great plan there Karma. The problem is musicians--alot of times, people have the talent but are not dedicated enough to the rock n' roll dream, other times the guys have the dedication but they can't play worth a {censored}e. Other times, they're dedicated AND have the skills, but are total jerks. So it's difficult to find the ideal musician. Don't let their lack of interest think that you've done something wrong....remember that the most driven musicians in this industry are the exception, not the rule, and you'll find that there will almost be.....roadblocks of people trying to hold you up. Some invisible force holding you back--it could be jealousy because you're good; it could be them not wanting to hurt your feelings if you're not good enough (though this would only be valid if those guys went on to bigger and better projects); it could be because everyone has different versions of what "success" is.

 

For some people, success is plugging in a guitar and working on music and doing it as a hobby and not having to worry about industry crap....because there's lots of it. For others, success is only when they start being validated by their peers and the world around them. I've realized that everyone's goals tend to be different, and that leads to the greatest dichotomy in between musicians and achieving more.

 

 

I think the focus should be on getting people to come see you play. And getting your name out there. Its a odds game. The odds of someone who means {censored} to the industry coming across your band increase with the amount of stuff you do. I would say that limiting the shows you play is NEVER a good idea. Except the ones that are so {censored}ty its detrimental..

 

 

Yeah--if you play too many "dead" shows, you get a bad reputation from club owners and bookers. If you play out too much and don't have any selectivity, then you weaken your draw by playing shows and bills that people don't want to see--for example, if the other bands aren't strong enough, etc. I know some bands that will play with anyone.....as open minded as that is, it makes your audience skeptical of the night of music that they're about to see. I've gone to many friends' shows where the other bands are just terrible. And that puts alot of stress on friends and family (your biggest supporters in the beginning), and after a couple of shows, even most of them don't go, because the other bands aren't even worth sticking around for.

 

A good judge to go by on how often to play out is when the turnouts start dwindling. It means that the supply has exceeded the demand. Some bands around here were playing every month, and from a band standpoint, even that's not playing enough--but for alot of people and supporters, that's usually much too much. You'll only be able to judge that when you play enough shows to see the audience turnout on the decline....

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I'd skip the "sending packages to record labels" though. Record labels are like girls: if you beg them to like you they'll pity you. If you don't care about them and just do your own business, then IF you can be succesfull without them they'll come after you.

 

These words are truly jewels of knowledge. I couldn't agree more :thu:

As for the OP's post, it sounds like you want to craft a gimmick and then market it properly...I think it could work. But performing live is the bread and butter for any artist. Unless you're doing something similar to Gnarls Barkley, eventually you will have to go out and travel consistently in order to make a steady income.

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