This latest quick video advice from Phil at Nimbit has two great tips for selling more CD's at your shows.
Unfortunately, the very clever Square card reader isn't yet available in the UK but every savvy performing artist in the US ought to be using this.
Great article - and not something that is often written about.
Stage presence is a complicated thing, if only because it comes in so many varieties. If we were to compile a list of artists considered to have a great stage presence, we would probably find that no two are quite alike.
Let’s start with the fundamentals – stage presence is the conveyance of feeling comfortable on stage and complementing your musical performance with the appropriate visual aspect.
‘Appropriate’ is a key word here. What will be considered appropriate depends on the music being performed. While a swing guitarist playing his ES-175 behind his head might get a few laughs these days, rather than being subject to horrified looks from the audience as would probably have been the case only a couple of decades ago, some forms of showmanship fit better with certain musical styles than others. Thus, a lot of what consitutes a good stage presence will be dependent on the genre in question.
There are some things common to just about any genre and this is what I want to focus on.
There is also a famed teacher of this art in the US - Tom Jackson. He's not cheap, but he is worth checking out. Generally held to be the number one coach.
There are some great tips as well as a few things that ought to worry bands that 'aren't with the programme'!
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of being on a judging panel at Live & Unsigned at the Birmingham NEC in the UK, which was an amazing opportunity to gain some insight into what makes a band stand out from the crowd as I had to watch over two hundred auditions in a single day - a very, very long day.
Here are ten observations I made whilst watching the 200 bands audition, and some tips on how you can stand out from the crowd of mediocrity at your auditions and gigs.
Image by D.S.B
Great post from the Surface Festival folks about improving your live performance.
In a nutshell - do all you can to be good, and be professional!
For a musician live performances are one of the greatest joys of being in a band. The results of hard work and creativity are displayed for all to experience. The adrenaline can be mesmerising and leads to some intensly memorable performances. Here are some practical performance tips from the Surface Festival for the next time you’re on stage:
Today is the 50th anniversary of the Beatles first gig at the Cavern Club in Liverpool.
It's got me thinking.
They played that venue 292 times in just over two years. (That's actually a little misleading as I'm pretty sure that multiple sets on the same day are counted more than once.) You can see their full live dates here. And you can see how they correlate to their releases here.
But, whichever way you cut it, they played at the same venue....a lot. 9 times a month by my reckoning. And, that wasn't even the only place they played in Liverpool. In fact, they played more at the other venues combined than they did at the Cavern. So they were playing their scene as often as 20 times a month.
Nobody would expect a band to survive if they tried that today.
OK, so it was a different era and kids had less to do so were more drawn to the good things that they could go out and do and all sorts of different social and cultural forces were in play.
BUT, the Beatles were drawing a crowd and creating a buzz that would drive their breakout from that niche.
And they did it (in part) by and whilst massively over-playing their local scene.
The elephant in the room here is that they were revolutionary, brilliant and creating a level of excitement that you can't hope to match.
BUT, if you're truly good and putting on a great show, all the arguments that I've ever heard about over-playing your area are bollocks. People won't come and see the same show; they can't afford to keep coming out etc.
Well, that's because you aren't doing it right and you're not good enough.
I accept that there are some truths in the arguments against playing week in and week out in the modern day with all the other attractions vying for the attention of your fans and potential fans.
My point is that great bands with a great live show can draw a new crowd, a repeating crowd, a crowd that can't get in because it's sold out - all in the same town at that crucial time in their breaking career. If they're really good enough to make it.
If your shows are empty and your fans aren't coming out, maybe you've over-played your current set.....or maybe you just aren't good enough yet.
You know when it's going off, when people are queuing up and begging for the next show. Make that your aim, not some notion that is in itself an admission that you aren't enough of a draw.
The dudes at Ultimate Guitar have cooked up this list of tips on what you can learn from bands in your local scene.
Looking at music promotion on this local level is important. If you have any live performance element to your act, you need two things in the modern music business. A great online presence to help build a virtual fanbase, and a great local following built up from your live shows which you can then add to as your physical area of influence expands - i.e the distance you can travel from home and still draw a crowd.
This piece has some great advice on making it work in your local area first.
Are you like the majority of musicians trying to move your career forward and 'make it?' If you are, you're probably already spending lots of time and effort researching and doing things that will propel you to the next level. Finding the correct things to do for your music career is easy, have you ever thought about what things you shouldn't do to hurt your chances? This is an often overlooked, but very important, aspect of building and maintaining a career in music.
Lucky for you, I'm sure you have a bucketload of examples of what not to do in your own hometown. Local bands who are stuck on the local level, when their goal is to move forward (yes, some bands do want to stay at a local level, which is perfectly fine), can be perfect examples of what you should not do if you want to move your music career forward.
Let's take a look at five lessons to be learned from local bands and give yourself a hand up on the local scene or, if you're suffering these problems, fix them!
What an amazing place for a gig?
That's what I thought when I read this piece. I had to contact the photographer who let me use the pic to find out where it is - it's the Powellapalooza music festival at Lake Powell in the US.
I know you're going to want to know!
But the piece is why you're here. This post from FanManager sets out sensible steps to take to get your band booked on festivals this summer - and now is when you need to start working on this as line-ups are already being booked and finalised.
I’ve been on both sides of the coin, acting as the talent buyer for 2 festivals and as a booking agent focused on festivals performances for a roster of 12 nationally touring artists. There are definitely some tricks to the trade for getting your artist onto a festival lineup. Here are some recommendations that will steer you towards successful festival bookings.
If your artist is nationally known and desired, most of the information below will likely not apply. If you are reaching out to the appropriate festivals, you’ll make a call or shoot over an email and negotiations will begin if the festival has interest in your artist. Better yet, the festival talent buyer will contact you.
Then find festivals and get chasing!
Great post from a great site - have a dig a round - and I know that this little strategy will work to get fans checking out your site the next day.
The key thing is to have the stamp have a specific URL - where they will get specific rewards - mp3's or live recordings - whatever you tell them. Remind them from the stage and this is a winner.
Can't believe that I hadn't seen it before! Check our post on how to get a gig if you're struggling at that stage - then do this when you do.
Image by CalvinCropley
Great post from We All Make Music to remind you what you should be doing to get the most out of every gig - for yourself, your fans and the venue. Just because you can get a gig doesn't mean you know what to do to get the best result from every show you play!
For the most part it's obvious and just good mannaers but we all need to be reminded now and again.
Image by Stig Nygaard
I wish that I'd written these posts that have a brilliant take on a key aspect of your music promotion.
Making the right first impresion.
The articles on Wayward Musician are written about getting this right in regard to live performances, but they apply to so many of the encounters you have in the music industry that they can benefit you in all areas where your music career crosses paths with people helping you out.
Would you go out on a first date being rude and belligerent, only to end the night by stealing plates and silverware at the restaurant?
I’m going to guess not.
Then, try not to do the equivalent when you’re playing a venue for the first time…or anytime.
Last week we talked about some easy ways to land gigs and touched upon the importance of making a good first impression.
It’s just as important in the music industry as it is anywhere else in life.
Over the next few posts I’m going to cover four different areas in which you need to nail that first impression in order to book better gigs and further your career.
Martin Atkins is a great combination of artist whose really done it all and an engaging speaker.
This video just has a couple of gems in it from a Q&A session he did after a talk. The first one is a bit specialised for people in a large band, but there are other bits of gold about not overplaying your area and how to promote shows cheaply. Plus, is SXSW a good idea for a brand new band?
If I was an aspiring musician - I'd listen to Martin a lot and buy his book! You're going to learn some great music promotion tips from him every time.
Image by lightning bolt_01
Great short post on the awesome power of compelling live performance. You might know how to get a gig, but you need to pull it off once you do!
Plus they link off to a great free eBook on how to build your fanbase one fan at a time.
Once you have determined that your music is really that good, whether you make any money in the music business will depend largely upon your personality, charisma, and most importantly, on how good your live performance is.
An artist’s live performance is the core to their success. It must be constantly improved through a labor of love as long as the artist is performing. Regardless of what kind of artist you are, be it a band, singer, rapper or DJ, practice makes perfect. Formulating a live show and practicing it until you can do it in your sleep will make it seem all the more spontaneous when you perform before a live audience. Reaching a certain level of confidence and comfort with your live performance will enable you to deliver an engaging experience that will resonate with your fans, and will ultimately steer you towards the path of greatness.
Image by Jiaren Lau
He's got a point!
You can learn a lot about how to build your fanbase from seeing what every Church does (that is, when they get it right - you don't want Europe's dwindling congregations to be your model!).
The things that engage worshippers in Church are the same things that will get a reaction from a crowd at your gig.
Really worthwhile allegorical piece.
If there’s one thing I learned from my former years playing in houses of worship, it’s that the Sunday morning experience is designed for maximum effectiveness. Granted, some churches are more finely tuned than others, but the principles of your average worship service should apply to every single concert you play.
Once you've put in the effort to get a gig, it can all still go horribly wrong!
This is a great post that has some very simple tips for forward planning so that you are ready for those moments when you get ambushed.
Common sense maybe, but worth a reminder.
No matter how practiced or prepared you are, some things will always go wrong.
Even seasoned stage veterans have to be ready to deal with a large variety of unexpected mishaps.
Here are just a few of the incidents you can expect.
This is a great post on KnowtheMusicBiz that looks at the 'what's in it for me' attitude that every promoter or venue that you approach will have. It's natural that they need to have their best interests at heart, so don't fight it - play up to it.
When I used to play drums in a band I wrongly assumed that to get gigs I have to send demos out – the better my music, the high the acceptance rate. It seems sensible right? My thinking was basically that if I send more demos and make better music then I will get more gigs, which is true, but a bad way of thinking (IMO).
Here’s why. The theory above does not take into account the two main criteria that promoters subconsciously take into account when booking bands; will they make me money? and should I make a personal effort to help them? (by this I really mean are they a friend, or have they been recommended by someone close, or do they just seem like really nice people). So if I were to work on arranging gigs for a band now I would be thinking: Here are ten ideas to think about.
1. How can I offer more financial value to the promoter at gigs
2. How can I build a relationship between myself and promoters I’ve never met.
Photo by internets_dairy
Another post that I saw in @BuzzSonic's stream.
This is a great post for those musicians that are looking to get their first gigs for their new act and are feeling it's a struggle. It may well be, but any band can get a gig with a bit of effort! Playing live is central to your music promotion, so you'd better learn how to get your gigs!
There’s this myth that seems to permeate through beginners that finding a gig is near impossible.
The reality is though that beginner musicians have no idea how to go about getting gigs, and as a result of their frustrations complain that getting a gig is actually in fact rather hard.
Well, it’s not.
Sure, it involves some work on your part, but…what else is new?
I was put on to this by @BuzzSonic who is always digging up great info for aspiring musicians.
This is a great post that looks at how the live album is now a way to connect the fan with the experience of live music that is at the centre of the new relationship between artists and their fans. The diy artist needs to find ways to monetise that relationship and the fan loves to re-experience that moment that they had at a live show by their favourite band. It also generates cash for your band!
Great article.
It is the sum of the fan's moments that resonate for them, the waves of energy that surround a point in time that sweeten the harsh tones of a bad recording, reduce the feedback and carry them along on a different journey than a quantitative checklist of tone, tune and rendition. In this context the live album isn't a yardstick of sound quality or even adrenalized performance; it is simply a memory prompt, an invitation if you like that has a buildup to and a letdown from a specific moment in time.
Tom Jackson is the man when it comes to developing your on-stage presence and turning your performance from the ordinary to the world-class.
He's done it at superstar level and sells various training courses to teach you how. Not cheap, but they are the best you can get - See his DVD performance course here.
You can, however, find a great deal of great stuff on his blog for free that is worth reading.
In this post he talks about how going from good to great as a live act is way harder than going from bad to good, as it's all about refinement of the details - and you can apply this to many facets of your musician's craft - songwriting, recording, even marketing!
One of the “7 Deadly Sins of an Artist” I talk about is “being good.” Doesn’t sound like a bad thing, does it? But trust me, being good…is bad!
There are a lot of artists out there that are good. Often, they don’t know they need help – they know they’re good. And when I work with a group that’s really bad, taking them to good is easy! There are so many things that can be fixed.
You know that one day you'll be on the road, the big tour, which will finally give you the real break to promote your music.
But, what's the etiquette for making it a survivable experience?
This article in the Guardian tells it better than I could! - read it here.
I saw two cases of guerilla gigging this week that caught my eye and so I thought I should just remind everyone that it's still a great idea to attract attention.
That's exactly what this band, Brother, did in the UK. Note the quality of the video (not essential, but engaging) and the persistence! This band are very hot right now and about to sign a deal. How much of a part did this play? At least some. As ever though - they're a great band too.
Watch the video on their site here.
Then, I saw that Urban Outfitters were sponsoring a series of guerilla gigs in the US.
It seems that the new game in town is getting the generator and the flip mino camera out and get double impact for that guerilla gig.
Check out our main site for more music marketing tips.
