I saw the cry for help on their facebook.
One of my favorite progressive metal bands The Ocean had their tour bus break down on the first half of their US tour with Job For A Cowboy and Between the Buried and Me. They didn't have anywhere to stay other than a van and, as always with a tour, cash was tight. (On one of their last European tours, they were even robbed at gunpoint. Now that's bad luck.)
I'm a fan. I had to help.
Within a few hours of texting them, I got a message back from Robin thanking me for a place to stay. Everyone was really humble and seemed incredibly pleased to not be sleeping in a van. With 10 people in their crew, it would have cost a couple hundred dollars for enough hotel rooms to sleep everyone. Losing that much money in one night can destory the profits of a tour, especially when tickets or merch sales are thin.
At times I got the vibe that they thought "I can't believe this guy is letting us just stay with him. Oh well, we'll run with this."
But I was excited to help! This was a perfect night for a fan! I got in on the guest list, bought them some beers and heard stories of life in the band. Nerd-vana.
We both won.
All musicians are family. We help one another. This is the oil that keeps the music industry's engine running. Not fancy promotions, not top-of-the-line gear, not even kickass merch is more important to keeping the musical world turning that people.
Give that guitarist a fresh set of strings if you have an extra. Share some free pizza you got with the other bands on the tour. If you've got space in your van, offer to help take some of the other band's junk and load out. Help, so that one day when you need it there will be someone there for you. Your reputation is all you have.
Similarly, don't be afraid to ask for help. Your fans love you, and love being able to support your art. It's fun for us! I'm glad I was able to do my duty to help the band. (Ulterior motive: this makes it more likely that they'll come back to my town, haha).
What an awesome night. Thanks for coming out to Dallas, y'all.
Showing posts with label networking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label networking. Show all posts
5/26/11
8/26/10
How NOT To Social Network
Myspace, as a medium for social networking, is useless. The signal to noise ratio has plummeted so low that there is essentially no point in trying to reach fans through MySpace. It's all comment spam, automatic "friending" programs, and bots. Most myspace comment boards look like this:
Do your fans really want to be spoken to in this way? What does it say about you as an artist if you use the same tactics that mass junk mail operations to reach them? Does ANYONE ever have meaningful conversations through this medium that lead to a minor fan to becoming a superfan?
Let's think about this. You are a musician, and you have limited time. Presumably, you are much better at music than most other things and should be spending most of your time on it if that's how you intend to create a career. As such, you should always be conscious of the return on your investments (ROI), whether you're spending time, money, trust, or fan attention (yes, it IS a currency). If you put in x amount of time putting up myspace comments, how do you expect this time spent to pay you back? If you're sending out spammed messages, you're spending time, attention, and trust.
Would it take 10 of these comment posting to lead to someone buying a song? Probably not. How about 100? A 1000? Ask yourself, when was the last time you saw a comment posted on a MySpace page and thought "Hmm, I should give these guys ten bucks" ?
Think on it.
Yeah, that's what I thought.
When you are choosing how you're going to market your music and talk to your fans, be very conscious of your ROI. You've got limited resources. When you spend, make sure that you'll be getting more back than you spent.
Unless, of course, you really want to get burned out and quit music forever. Then by all means spend frivolously!
6/10/10
Influence Applied to Music: Reciprocity (Part 1 of 6)
Reciprocity: People tend to return favors.
Simple. Profound.
The best way to get help is to give it first.
When you play a show for a new promoter, print up fliers with your own money and pass them around, making sure that the promoter knows you were the one who did it. Then talk to them after the show and ask "Hey, can you guys put us on with the next national act that comes though?" Not only does the promoter know you'll help them do their job and thus make more money, there's the social obligation to pay back those who help you. Don't underestimate this effect.
Simple. Profound.
The best way to get help is to give it first.
When you play a show for a new promoter, print up fliers with your own money and pass them around, making sure that the promoter knows you were the one who did it. Then talk to them after the show and ask "Hey, can you guys put us on with the next national act that comes though?" Not only does the promoter know you'll help them do their job and thus make more money, there's the social obligation to pay back those who help you. Don't underestimate this effect.
5/6/10
The Fine Line
As a young band, it's very tough to get the attention of taste makers without a fan base. And it's hard to get a fan base without taste makers.
Bummer.
Why is this? Why do so many people in the music industry seem like they live to ignore your music?
Let me introduce to you my buddy, the slush pile.
This is what music industry professionals see every day. There is essentially inifinite music on the planet now. It's inevitible your music will get lost if you don't do something. (That's what this blog is about; getting through the noise)
So in the beginning, we're left with the very unappetizing but very necessary task of bugging people until they listen. Excessive promotion/hype backfies, (you didn't actually need this scientific proof for that, did you?), and not-promoting isn't an answer either.
So how much is enough?
Sadly, there's no easy answer. This is one you have to learn for yourself. Every person you deal with has a different threshhold for how much promotion you can wave at them. Always be concious of how much you talk, what you're saying, and how the other person reacts. The more you learn how to empathize and read people the more effective your marketing will be.
Is your producer battling with an unproductive but very lucrative major label band that's behind deadline? You should probably go easy on contacting them. Stress means a shorter fuse. Is your promoter thinking about cancelling your event? Might be a good time to offer to chip in for flyers and help run them. Think about people.
Yes, this is very simple stuff but it has a profound effect on how people will react to your promotion. You don't want to be a no-name band who is too pushy / stupid / not pushy enough. You'll stay no-name.
It just takes practice.
Bummer.
Why is this? Why do so many people in the music industry seem like they live to ignore your music?
Let me introduce to you my buddy, the slush pile.
This is what music industry professionals see every day. There is essentially inifinite music on the planet now. It's inevitible your music will get lost if you don't do something. (That's what this blog is about; getting through the noise)So in the beginning, we're left with the very unappetizing but very necessary task of bugging people until they listen. Excessive promotion/hype backfies, (you didn't actually need this scientific proof for that, did you?), and not-promoting isn't an answer either.
So how much is enough?
Sadly, there's no easy answer. This is one you have to learn for yourself. Every person you deal with has a different threshhold for how much promotion you can wave at them. Always be concious of how much you talk, what you're saying, and how the other person reacts. The more you learn how to empathize and read people the more effective your marketing will be.
Is your producer battling with an unproductive but very lucrative major label band that's behind deadline? You should probably go easy on contacting them. Stress means a shorter fuse. Is your promoter thinking about cancelling your event? Might be a good time to offer to chip in for flyers and help run them. Think about people.
Yes, this is very simple stuff but it has a profound effect on how people will react to your promotion. You don't want to be a no-name band who is too pushy / stupid / not pushy enough. You'll stay no-name.
It just takes practice.
3/25/10
Lack of People Skills Will Stunt Your Music Career
I've been dealing with this realization for quite some time. This is a tough one, especially for someone who isn't naturally outgoing like myself.
The excuses are as numerous as they are easy. "Can't I just play my music?" "They came here for music, I shouldn't have to go around meeting and greeting." "It doesn't matter anyways. If they like my music they'll remember me."
It amounts to wussing out. We know this is what the game is all about. But that doesn't make it any easier.
In last week's post I introduced the concept of the velocity of your fans. Guess what spurred that idea on?
Your music doesn't seek out people's ears. (Although that'd make a sweet music video.) You've got to carry it there. And even then, there's no guarantee people will remember you even if it's amazing music. The world is built around personal connections. Use this truth to spread your music.
Good people skills helps in two ways.
1. Increases the chance that someone who hears you will like and remember you.
Even seemingly trivial things have a profound effect on how people remember things. You want a fan to be able to say 'Oh yeah, I met ______. They're awesome, really cool to talk with. Here, I'll play you a song." This will increase the chance that someone who hears your music will remember it, like you, and (possibly) become a fan.
2. Increases the number of people that will hear you.Surprise! For as good as social networking is for contacting people, they're not nearly as effective as face-to-face contact for building relationships. Don't bother friending random people on Myspace, your time is better spent at a concert for a band similar to yours, talking to everyone in line about your band.
In later posts I'll detail little nuggets of knowledge about what "good people skills" exactly are. It's been a difficult process developing these talents, but they're already paid off a million-fold. Social skills are AMAZING to have.
Yes, it's hard if you're not naturally out schmoozing.
But yes, it will get your band results.
The excuses are as numerous as they are easy. "Can't I just play my music?" "They came here for music, I shouldn't have to go around meeting and greeting." "It doesn't matter anyways. If they like my music they'll remember me."
It amounts to wussing out. We know this is what the game is all about. But that doesn't make it any easier.
In last week's post I introduced the concept of the velocity of your fans. Guess what spurred that idea on?
Your music doesn't seek out people's ears. (Although that'd make a sweet music video.) You've got to carry it there. And even then, there's no guarantee people will remember you even if it's amazing music. The world is built around personal connections. Use this truth to spread your music.
Good people skills helps in two ways.
1. Increases the chance that someone who hears you will like and remember you.
Even seemingly trivial things have a profound effect on how people remember things. You want a fan to be able to say 'Oh yeah, I met ______. They're awesome, really cool to talk with. Here, I'll play you a song." This will increase the chance that someone who hears your music will remember it, like you, and (possibly) become a fan.
2. Increases the number of people that will hear you.Surprise! For as good as social networking is for contacting people, they're not nearly as effective as face-to-face contact for building relationships. Don't bother friending random people on Myspace, your time is better spent at a concert for a band similar to yours, talking to everyone in line about your band.
In later posts I'll detail little nuggets of knowledge about what "good people skills" exactly are. It's been a difficult process developing these talents, but they're already paid off a million-fold. Social skills are AMAZING to have.
Yes, it's hard if you're not naturally out schmoozing.
But yes, it will get your band results.
3/18/10
You Can't Be An Ass Anymore (Fan Velocity)
You've got your music. But that will only carry you so far.
The real multiplier for your music career's success is the velocity of your fans. Do they rabidly promote your band because they connect with you and love what you stand for? (As much as I dislike them, you can't deny the efficacy of Juggalos for supporting their band.) Or do the people you've touched actively go out of their way to discourage others from listening to your music?
It used to be that there was an invisible wall between the artist and their fans. PR spokesmen, artist managers, burly security guards, tinted limos etc. If you didn't want to talk to the public beyond your music, you would have someone step in for you and create a buffer. You could live in space when you weren't on stage as far as anyone was concerned. Rest assured there was someone out there actively interacting with fans, spreading the gospel of your music.
But the middlemen are disappearing.
Today it's just you and the fan. They can interact with you directly through twitter, myspace, forums, email, carrier pigeon... If they see you before or after a show, they wanna talk to you. The fan *expects* to be able to interact with you. This is part of your job description as an artist. Communicating emotion involves communication.
Why is this?
Choosing to listen to a band is an identity decision.
When I say "I'm a HUGE fan of Boris", it's an identity statement. Music is all about emotions, philosophy, and stories. When we state our preferences, we're explicitly saying "I identify with the message they are conveying to the world. This band and their music represents how I see the world." We project the person we want to be onto our artists.
As such, we as your fans want to know as much as we can about who we have decided is worthy of membership into our "Personal Identity Club". This is a club for cool people *only*, because we're the president of it!
So if we finally interact with an idol and they look down on us, blow us off, or call us chumps, they're out of our club. Gone. Even worse, any time the former-fan hears the artists name, they're gonna chime in saying "They're a dick! Don't listen to em!".
Even not replying to their messages is a slight. If you don't respond to fans' attempt to connect with you, to them it feels the same as a gorgeous woman who won't return their calls. It hurts.
You can't ignore or hate on your fans anymore. They're the only ones keeping you afloat.
Know your fan velocity. Do everything in your humanly power to maximize it.
The real multiplier for your music career's success is the velocity of your fans. Do they rabidly promote your band because they connect with you and love what you stand for? (As much as I dislike them, you can't deny the efficacy of Juggalos for supporting their band.) Or do the people you've touched actively go out of their way to discourage others from listening to your music?
It used to be that there was an invisible wall between the artist and their fans. PR spokesmen, artist managers, burly security guards, tinted limos etc. If you didn't want to talk to the public beyond your music, you would have someone step in for you and create a buffer. You could live in space when you weren't on stage as far as anyone was concerned. Rest assured there was someone out there actively interacting with fans, spreading the gospel of your music.
But the middlemen are disappearing.
Today it's just you and the fan. They can interact with you directly through twitter, myspace, forums, email, carrier pigeon... If they see you before or after a show, they wanna talk to you. The fan *expects* to be able to interact with you. This is part of your job description as an artist. Communicating emotion involves communication.
Why is this?
Choosing to listen to a band is an identity decision.
When I say "I'm a HUGE fan of Boris", it's an identity statement. Music is all about emotions, philosophy, and stories. When we state our preferences, we're explicitly saying "I identify with the message they are conveying to the world. This band and their music represents how I see the world." We project the person we want to be onto our artists.
As such, we as your fans want to know as much as we can about who we have decided is worthy of membership into our "Personal Identity Club". This is a club for cool people *only*, because we're the president of it!
So if we finally interact with an idol and they look down on us, blow us off, or call us chumps, they're out of our club. Gone. Even worse, any time the former-fan hears the artists name, they're gonna chime in saying "They're a dick! Don't listen to em!".
Even not replying to their messages is a slight. If you don't respond to fans' attempt to connect with you, to them it feels the same as a gorgeous woman who won't return their calls. It hurts.
You can't ignore or hate on your fans anymore. They're the only ones keeping you afloat.
Know your fan velocity. Do everything in your humanly power to maximize it.
3/4/10
Your First Fans
...are the bands that go on after you and the friends they've brought with them.
There are so few people who actively go out to local shows with unknown artists, it just doesn't happen often enough to reliable. When's the last time you walked past a *real* small venue, heard some music and thought, "Hmm, I'm going to walk in there knowing nothing about the bands and give four hours of my friday night with full attention to everything these bands are doing!"?
Attention is a limited resource. People only have one set of ears. As a musician, you're competing against every act on iTunes. Oh, and you're competing against youTube videos of cute cats, getting boozed with friends, video games loaded with explosions, etc. It's a tough world for a musician.
So who can you count on to start building your music career? Where Everyone playing after you is going to be there for your set, if only just so they get their chance to play. The band's girlfriends at their merch table are bored. The (kinda) close friends who got wrangled into going to see the band are anxiously looking for amusement. Talk to them! They're bored, captive, and probably like the musical genre you play. What more could you ask for?!? (Read this part again and pretend you hear me telepathically yelling).
Go talk with them, schmooze, be charming. Promote.
There are so few people who actively go out to local shows with unknown artists, it just doesn't happen often enough to reliable. When's the last time you walked past a *real* small venue, heard some music and thought, "Hmm, I'm going to walk in there knowing nothing about the bands and give four hours of my friday night with full attention to everything these bands are doing!"?
Attention is a limited resource. People only have one set of ears. As a musician, you're competing against every act on iTunes. Oh, and you're competing against youTube videos of cute cats, getting boozed with friends, video games loaded with explosions, etc. It's a tough world for a musician.
So who can you count on to start building your music career? Where Everyone playing after you is going to be there for your set, if only just so they get their chance to play. The band's girlfriends at their merch table are bored. The (kinda) close friends who got wrangled into going to see the band are anxiously looking for amusement. Talk to them! They're bored, captive, and probably like the musical genre you play. What more could you ask for?!? (Read this part again and pretend you hear me telepathically yelling).
Go talk with them, schmooze, be charming. Promote.
12/24/09
Talking To Carl
Carl (not his real name) is awesome. He's a crazy talented programmer, artist and businessman. And he's trustworthy.
I never talk to him.
It's too damn hard! He won't answer to text messages, emails, or return voicemails. He quit facebook, myspace and AIM. He only talks on the phone or in person.
So every time we hang out, he (passive-aggressively) complains that no one likes him or invites him out anyone. (Had this conversation four times). And then he asks why.
Why? Because you make it too hard to be friends!
"My real friends would be willing to go through the work to contact me!"
Bullshit. People want to connect with other people, it's a deep-down need we all have. We've only got so much time and energy to expend during the day, so naturally we focus it on those who care about us.
What kind of message is this "policy" sending to people?
---What kind of message are you sending to your fans?---
I never talk to him.
It's too damn hard! He won't answer to text messages, emails, or return voicemails. He quit facebook, myspace and AIM. He only talks on the phone or in person.
So every time we hang out, he (passive-aggressively) complains that no one likes him or invites him out anyone. (Had this conversation four times). And then he asks why.
Why? Because you make it too hard to be friends!
"My real friends would be willing to go through the work to contact me!"
Bullshit. People want to connect with other people, it's a deep-down need we all have. We've only got so much time and energy to expend during the day, so naturally we focus it on those who care about us.
What kind of message is this "policy" sending to people?
---What kind of message are you sending to your fans?---
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