Over the course of the past month, I’ve been writing blogs centered around what I believe to be some of the building blocks to success for an independent band in today’s music culture. Most people who write articles like this tend to have some big claim to why they’re an expert in this sort of thing. They may have been in a successful band, managed a successful band, or worked as a talent scout for years and years. Not me. I’m just a guy who loves independent music and tries to pay attention to what trends are working. Which brings me to our third tip:
Give people a reason to see you live.
No, “our music is great” is not a valid reason. Unless you’re a superstar chart-topper or a bunch of mind-blowingly great musicians, people are going to forget about your concert if all you do is play your songs exactly like your recordings and do nothing else. Unless your recording studio is a tape recorder set up in the middle of your garage, the sound quality will almost always be better on the recording than in a live venue. You need something to make the concert experience memorable.
How you do this is up to you. Maybe you have entertaining banter with your band mates and the audience in between songs. Maybe you have a video display synced up to your entire show. Maybe you play multiple instruments. One band I saw all wore matching kilts. What it all comes down to is making sure the people who are hearing you for the first time have a memorable experience. Your fans will remember you because they’re your fans – but unless you’re satisfied with the following you have, you need to try and stick yourself in the heads of new listeners.
This is a short post, but – unless this stomach bug I have is making me short-winded – there’s really not much else to say. Your live performance is incredibly important. Make sure you play with two or three similar bands so you can draw in more potential listeners. Have fun!
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