MISTAKES MUSICIANS MAKE .......PLEASE READ CAREFULLY IF YOU REALLY NEED TO TAKE YOUR MUSIC TO THE NEXT LEVEL
It’s hard being a musician these days. In addition to
writing/performing music, we’re often bombarded with the need to
maintain an online presence, deal with licensing contracts, book tours,
work with promoters, find sponsors, record/mix/master/distribute CD’s,
and more. Because the work can be overwhelming, it’s easy to fall into
bad habits and do things that hurt, not help our careers. Here are some
of the bad habits that musicians are guilty of:
We focus on the
wrong things. It’s easy to get obsessed with filling the booking
calendar and end up over-playing instead of being strategic about shows.
On social media, we look at the wrong numbers, focusing on the number
of followers rather than building up engagement. We need to take a step
back and look at our long term goals, instead of focusing on immediate
urges.
We want a shortcut to everything. I get more emails
asking about an easy way to get a sponsorship or booking a show than
anything else. The easiest way to get anything in the music industry is
to do the hard work of building up a local fan base and create a unique
niche for yourself. That’s when you can make the pitch. As Beverly Sills
states, “there are no shortcuts to anyplace worth going.”
We
copy other acts. It’s good to learn from others’ examples, but you need
to create something totally unique for yourself. Look for untapped
markets where you can make fans in unexpected places. Have a unique
voice or approach to social media, come up with unique pieces of merch,
try new ways to promote. Don’t copy another act’s image. Imitation might
be a form of flattery, but it does nothing to flatter the person doing
the imitating.
The “magic solution.” This goes along with the
shortcut: we often look for the next golden egg that can help launch the
career. At first, everyone thought it was acquiring thousands of
“friends” on Myspace, then it was licensing. Sometimes it is a national
tour, others, the “solution” is getting a song on the radio. Reality
check: there is no single solution that works for everyone. This is why I
say that the best social media site for bands is the one your fans is
on, not any site created by artists or made for bands. You have to find
what works for your target audience, then do those things well.
We try and appeal to everyone. Instead of thinking of your target
audience in terms of a demographic collection (i.e, 14-38 year olds),
try to narrow it down to a single person. Who is your most enthusiastic
fan? What sets them apart? What are they interested in? What is it about
you that resonates with them? Once you determine the one person (rather
than a generic group), forget about everyone else and just focus on
other people like them. You’ll make better decisions and you’ll see
better ROI on your efforts.
Not practicing for performance.
Many acts might rehearse and get their songs down tight in the garage,
but they don’t seem to be practicing for performance. In other words,
even if the songs are tight, there the live show has issues: they don’t
know how to set-up and clear the stage quickly, transitions between
songs are long or loose, band members necessarily are messing around on
their instruments during sound check or between songs (or “live”
tuning), they don’t know how to address the audience. Try taking video
of rehearsals and shows, compare the two. Time them. Fine tune it. If
you want to be a professional, don’t act like an amateur band.
Do you find yourself slipping into one of these mindsets?
We have more resources for musicians than ever before, opportunities
abound. However, bands also have to work harder than ever before as
well. So before you just dive in, take a moment and think about your
long term goals, develop a business strategy, and think about how you
can give value to your most enthusiastic fans.
What’re some habits you find yourself falling into?
