11 Ways To Be Effectively Persistent
May 30th, 2010 by Lior Shamir
As an artist growing your business, you’ll often reach out to publishers, labels and prospective fans who may be interested – but not necessarily expecting – to hear from you.
I’m talking about a cold email (or unsolicited email) composed and sent in a personal, professional and transparent manner. Don’t confuse this with bulk email sent to recipients who did not directly opt-in to your list. That’s spam.
From my experience, a cold email will get answered when your message addresses the recipient’s urgent need. Easier said than done, right?
Over the years, I developed a simple check-list to ensure that my cold emails rise to the top, get opened, read and responded to.
11 questions I ask myself before I click the ’send’ button:
1. Is my email subject line personal, compelling and distinctive?
2. Does the message in the email body list and persist the benefits of communicating with me?
3. Have I included all the facts (not the fluff) about me for the recipient’s reference?
4. Have I demonstrated that I sincerely care about the recipient?
5. Have I clearly expressed what action I would like the recipient to take after reading my email?
6. Can my message be shorter, clearer and more persuasive?
7. Have I strategically timed and conceived my follow-up emails in advance?
8. Is my persistence justified in my follow-up emails or am I coming off as pushy?
9. Do I have a response email ready (at least in my head) if and when the recipient replies?
10. Am I primed for resistance and emotionally prepared for rejection?
11. If the recipient doesn’t reciprocate after several attempts, do I have a plan B?
The next time you reach out to a music manager, music supervisor or venue owner, try running through these questions before you click the ‘send’ button. This small extra step may help you rise above the noise and get you and your music heard.
Every year hundreds of music business professionals lose their jobs. Some are laid off. Others are fired. The end result is the seasonal carnage that results in unemployment.
Many of those who are unceremoniously dismissed will encounter various obstacles in their search for new jobs such as age, race, and sex discrimination. Some will fair better than others due to their network of associates or nepotism. Some people will go on to become consultants. Others will start companies. Many if not most will leave the music industry altogether.
For those in the minority who really understand the business and see the big picture, they are faced with their most daunting task: re-inventing their jobs and finding ways to get paid doing it.
Enter Independent A&R into the equation.
Over the years, A&R (artist and repertoire) reps have been enigmatic figures that have been misrepresented and misunderstood because their roles vary so greatly from company to company. One fact is absolute: A&R reps employed by record companies act on behalf of the record company.
Historically, A&R reps would create songs for artists to record and perform. They were musicians and songwriters who helped find a home for goods songs with the appropriate artists, and they would also help artists get signed to labels that would be good homes to develop their careers in.
Then artists started writing their own songs. That’s when the A&R professionals had to modify their job description. Now, it’s industry consensus that A&R people do everything and nothing – often simultaneously. How can they? Or rather, how can they not? The artists that they endorse are often dropped in the blink of an eye when they don’t generate enough revenue to make a profit for the label to which they are signed.
The argument of whether or not record companies will survive or become extinct like dinosaurs is tired and should be put to rest. Record companies – or companies functioning in a record company capacity -will always exist. What no longer can exist is prehistoric thinking (which is no doubt how dinosaurs used to think) that we take in our approach, as professionals, to doing business in the music industry.
We are now dealing with intangible commodities as our product in the music industry (music, which is an intellectual property, and talent, which is associated with brands). The new digital/wireless era that we live in allows us to strip away the fat (excess) and the BS (politics) that plague and undermine the business. What we will have left when the smoke clears are the very things that the music industry was founded on: music, talent, and entrepreneurship. This represents a golden opportunity for Independent A&R professionals.
Independent A&R professionals facilitate the commercial use of that music and talent as entrepreneurs. By facilitate I’m referring to the process of helping others find, and/or negotiate the use of, music and talent in any revenue generating capacity e.g. (licensing/performance/recording, etc.).
Most artists think of their success vertically, viewing it in terms of “levels” they are on, an Independent A&R professional looks at success horizontally; basing it on a multiplicity of income streams across multiple platforms.
For example, in representing my longtime client, producer Cori Jacobs, his core business is producing music. His productions have appeared in television shows and have been featured prominently in many films including Tupac’s biopic, “Thug Angel” and most recently, Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married.” He is also a musical director for the likes of Lauryn Hill and Malcolm Jamal Warner (yes, as in Theo from the Cosby Show). In addition, he collaborates with numerous songwriters and performs with his band, Clear Soul.
Each transaction related to the use of his music and talent(s) entail a business activity that requires professional attention and handling. I handle these business activities. From interfacing with clients seeking his services as a producer, to people who want to utilize his talent as a musical director, to the negotiation of licensing his songs for use in film and television; I instigate and execute all of these details.
While Independent A&R is a multi-tasking occupation, and there is overlap (as there is in practically every occupation in the music industry), and you do get paid on a commission basis, you are only engaged to handle the resulting business activities stemming from the commercial use of of your clients’ music and talents; not to do hand-holding or talent development.
Perhaps most importantly, Independent A&R has helped me to find a purposeful and relevant place in the music industry that fully utilizes the depth of my experience and the breadth of my knowledge. By helping artists maximize the use of their talents and generate revenue with their songs, I’ve filled a void and found a niche in the process. Independent A&R can do the same for you.
By Cliff Goldmacher
So you’ve written a great song, made a fabulous demo and now you’ll live happily ever after, right? Well, kind of. There’s no doubt that being a great songwriter and having beautifully recorded versions of your songs is an admirable goal in and of itself. However, if you’re interested in having your songs see the light of day, your work is really just beginning. While organizations like Tunecore do a beautiful job of helping you get your music out in the world, it’s still entirely up to you to make sure your songs get in the right music industry hands. Until the people who can actually do something with your song (i.e., record labels, producers, managers and publishers) have heard it, it might as well not exist. I know this sounds obvious but I think you’d be amazed at the number of songwriters out there who have great song demos that very few, if any, music business people have ever heard. Creating the music is one thing but getting your music out in the world requires an entirely different set of skills. The skills I’m going to focus on are networking, professionalism, persistence, persistence (yes, I know I wrote it twice), courtesy and patience.
Networking
Like any business, it’s not only what you know but also who you know that gets you ahead. What this means in the music world is getting yourself out there to open mics, writer’s nights and any industry events you can find. For those of you in music cities like New York, Nashville and Los Angeles, there is an almost endless stream of opportunities. For everyone else, you might have to look a little harder or travel from time to time to one of the cities I just mentioned. I think it’s a universal truth that this kind of stuff isn’t always that much fun but, especially when you’re starting out, it’s essential. Let’s put it this way: All things being equal, if you’ve met someone from a record label or publishing company in a social setting and assuming you’ve had a nice exchange, there’s a much greater likelihood that they’ll not only remember you when you call but will make more of an effort to help you out if they can. The point is that the more you’re out there, the more people you’ll meet and the greater the chance it will pay dividends down the road. I’d also recommend remembering a few basic social skills while you’re at it, like not immediately launching into your 10-minute, spoken-word bio. It’s a much better idea to find out a little something about the person you’re talking to by remembering to ask a few questions as well.
Professionalism
Did I mention we’re talking about the music business? This means it’s in your best interest to be professional about how you approach people in the industry. When reaching out to someone in the music industry, call or email first. Make this first contact short and to the point. In other words, let them know why you’re calling/emailing (e.g., to schedule a meeting, to see if they’re accepting CDs, to ask whether you can submit an mp3, etc.). This is not the time to have a long discussion. If you’ve been referred by someone they know (see “networking” above), mention this as well. Also, while it’s great to be excited and even confident about your material, it rarely pays to tell someone that you’ve got a “great” song or you’re an “amazing” songwriter. Let your music speak for itself. Once you’ve gotten approval to do so, then submit your song or bring it to the meeting. It really doesn’t make sense to send out CDs or mp3s without first getting approval, as they usually end up at the bottom of a pile or, even worse, the person who hasn’t asked for it considers it an intrusion. Don’t kill the messenger here; I’m simply saying that the odds are that if someone isn’t expecting your material, there’s a good chance it won’t get heard.
By the way, if you’ve never seen the office of an a&r rep or music publisher, I’m here to tell you that it’s wall-to-wall CDs. We’re talking hundreds and hundreds if not thousands of them. Make sure that your CD is clearly labeled with a few simple elements: your name and contact information (phone and email), the name of the song or songs and possibly — if it’s a song for an artist — the name of the person you’re pitching it to. Also, make certain that every part of the package is labeled. This means putting your information on the CD and on the CD sleeve or jewel case. Make sure that if the CD itself gets separated from the case, the information is the CD, too. Also, if you’re using a jewel case, make sure there’s information on the spine. Remember the part where I said there are thousands of CDs in these folks’ offices? When your CD ends up on a shelf with all the others, the spine of the CD will be the only way for them to identify it.
Finally, I can think of no good reason why any submission should be more than three songs. If you’re pitching a song to an artist, they’re not hoping for a “bonus track.” If you’re pitching to a publisher, three songs is a good way to show them you’ve got more than one good song without overdoing it. If they want more, believe me, they’ll ask. It all comes down to putting yourself in the position of the industry person. If they’ve got a desk full of CDs to listen to and have to choose between a CD with two songs on it or one with 19 songs, which one do you think they’ll pick?
Persistence
Let’s say you’re fortunate enough to reach someone by either phone or email and they’ve agreed to let you mail in a CD or email them an mp3. Here’s what you should expect: Nothing. In other words, it’s extremely rare that you’ll hear anything back quickly after you submit it. As a matter of fact, you should put in your calendar to follow up two or three weeks after you’ve submitted something. This follow-up should be even shorter than your initial contact. Email is probably best for this. A simple email saying you wanted to make sure they’d received your submission is enough. Also, don’t be surprised if the response you get back (if you’re lucky enough to get one) says they haven’t gotten it and would you mind resending it. Resending material is something that you should expect to do. Following up every two to three weeks (unless you’re asked not to) is perfectly acceptable if you’re polite and to the point. I’m not a cynic and I don’t believe that anyone has an agenda to ignore submitted material. I’m a realist and the sheer number of submissions makes it almost impossible for anyone to stay on top of things. Anything you can do to help remind someone is in your best interest and generally appreciated.
Courtesy
I think it’s important to realize that no one in the industry owes you anything. This may sound harsh but it’s an important point. You may very well have great songs and it would be in the best interest of the industry professional you’re pursuing to listen to them, but there are a lot of great songs out there and only a limited number of opportunities for them. If your song isn’t listened to right away or even if it’s lost or ignored, don’t take it personally. I’m a songwriter myself so I know exactly how important your songs are to you. It’s not easy to submit them for judgment and tougher still to wait around hoping someone will actually listen. However, you’ll only do yourself a disservice by being rude or impatient with someone and heaven help you if you get a reputation in the industry for being difficult or unpleasant.
Patience
Given that there are so many artists, songwriters and songs out there vying for a limited number of spots, it all comes down to patience — patience with yourself as you improve your musical skills and patience with the industry people you’re soliciting as they make their way through all of the material in line ahead of you. My recommendation is to have as many irons in the fire as you possibly can at all times so that you’re not waiting for any one thing to happen or not to happen, as is so often the case. The more people you get to know, the more opportunities you explore and the more submissions you make, the less likely you are to get discouraged and the more likely you are to start having success.
Cliff Goldmacher’s eBook “The Songwriter’s Guide To Recording Professional Demos” is available as a free download from his website at http://www.cliffgoldmacher.com/ebook.
Stickers are a wonderful promotional tool. A sticker's whole purpose is to permanently convey their message. They are relatively inexpensive for the amount of publicity they can produce. To leverage their power we need to understand sticker branding.Your Name
Branding will make your stickers more effective. The number one item that goes on your stickers is your name. It needs to use your band's font. It should look exactly the same way you create it everywhere else. You need to ingrain in your viewer's mind the way your name is represented. You want them to recognize it instantly. You should try not to have your name displayed without your font and logo, but it is always not feasible.Web Address
Don't stop with just your name. There is valuable real estate that we need to exploit. We need to give them a way for our viewers to find out more information. Throw on your web address. Your web site is your bands promotional portal. You need to have all promotional materials point to your web site. It should be nested in with your logo and name. Make it legible so your audience will not mistype your URL.Dates
Do not put time sensitive information on a sticker. Dates make a sticker obsolete. You will have unusable stickers, that are basically trash, after that date or event passes. Keep your messages generic. Phrases like "new album" and "just released" will date your stickers and make them less effective. Save all of this information for your web site. You can change your web site easily. Changing stickers will be a big pain in the arse.Printing
You will probably have to use a print shop to print your stickers. They will try to make your stickers the way you want them, but they do not have time to redesign your stickers. You should follow any guidelines they have to insure you get the results you desire. Common mistakes that can cause a headache for you and your printer are:Always ask your printer for guidelines and tips to make the job easier for you and them. Printers will work with you. The more preparation on your part insures their quality standards.
- Send them the font files - Truetype (windows) or Postscript (mac)
- Convert your fonts to paths - If you can't find that old font convert all the text to paths.
- Do not send text or artwork that has thin lines - Hairline strokes will not print
- Check your color in CMYK - Not all RGB colors can be printed. Convert your image to CMYK and print it. You would rather find out that your deep red prints orange before you get the stickers back.
- If you are using a pixel based software (Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, or MS Paint) - Create the design at least 300dpi or larger
Here are a list of places that make stickers. I have never used any of these printers, so shop around for the best fit for your needs.
iPrint.com
The Sticker Guy
Websticker.com
123stickers.com
Bro Prints
If there is one thing that almost every musicians dreams of, it is of that first major tour. Its that feeling of playing night after night, in the best venues of all of the major cities around the world, and always to a sold out crowd. But before that will ever happen, you need to answer one major question: Do you have a plan? If not, you can be sure to kiss that dream goodbye. And if you do have a plan, is it good enough? Music is a business just as anything else, and as such it is your job to play entrepreneur and marketer. While it is your product or service you are trying to sell, it is also your job to expose your music to the public.
First we will take a look at forming a proper plan, followed by exploring different strategies for putting that plan into action. The following are 3 very important steps to ensuring that you have a proper plan in place before you even attempt to get that first gig:
1) Choose The Right VenueEvery venue has its own style, and is known for showcasing music of specific genres. Some venues are known to hold rock concerts, other are known for hip-hop, so on and so forth. It all comes down to the location, and the surrounding music scene. Picking the right venue for your gigs is very important, as is the first step towards growing your core fan-base, which will ultimately increase the attendance at your gigs. If your not playing to a crowd who won’t absolutely love your music, then you haven’t targeted your audience correctly.
As with any well thought-out marketing strategy, the first important step in promoting yourself and building your brand is knowing who your audience is. If you are trying to build a core fan-base, you better be sure you know who that crowd will consist of. If you are playing acoustic folk/rock, don’t play in a club for people who are looking to dance to reggatone. The same thing goes for hip-hop artists- don’t play in a coffee shop filled with art students who listen to indie rock.
So how do you target your audience? Start by asking yourself some basic questions such as:
-What kind of music are you playing?
-What is the demographic of your audience? (i.e. age group, sex, style)
-What kind of music is popular in your local music scene? Does this match with your style of music. If not, where does it match?
-What are some of the big, mid-size and small venues in the local area that do cater to your style of music? (its good to set yourself some goals)
-Of the popular venues, which has the largest gathering of your target audience?
-What are some of the bigger local bands involved in your specific scene?Even some more detailed questions such as:
-Will your target audience want to dance?
-Does your target audience like to drink? (If so, find places with drink specials!)
-What other kind of music does your audience listen to?
-If were to mix in some covers into your set, what bands would your audience want to hear?
-Where is your audience involved outside of the live music scene? Do they follow any specific blogs or belong to any specific social networks?Every additional question you ask will get you one step closer to finding just who your audience is and how you can establish a connection with them.
Once you have determined who your audience is, find the most suitable venues and do everything in your power to book gigs there. Don’t forget to look past the venue as well - take a look at their calendar and contact artists who cater to a similar audience. Booking an opening gig can be a very helpful way of getting your foot in the door at some of the venues that are harder to get in touch with.
NOTE: Notice the focus on being ‘local’. As a new artist trying to establish a core fan-base, you don’t want to spread yourself too thin. Make sure you have established yourself a home base of fans before you go elsewhere. Begin with a radius around where you live, say 20 miles. It is not until you are able to hit max capacity at the venues within this radius that you should begin looking to expand your reach.
2) Keep It Varied
Creating a format for your live shows is very important, but it also important to keep the sets themselves varied. You need to make a few decisions:
-one set or two?
-fully electric sets or do you include an acoustic set?
-how many covers will you do? Will they be a regular part of the show?
-will you play the same music every time, or will you drastically change up the sets?
-will you speak with the audience?
-will the audience be able to participate in any way? If so, how can that be duplicated. While you want variety, you need that constant element as well.All of these components are important decisions to make when creating the format for your live performance. Just as your image and your music is part of your brand, so is the format of your live performance. Entertainers like Brittany Spears and Lady Gaga are known to have extravagant performances that are fully choreographed and synced-up with the music.
They play one set of music straight through and the set-list never changes. Then there is the extreme opposite- bands like the Grateful Dead and Phish have always been known to play a format of two sets with a half-hour to 45 min. break in between. While the format remained consistent, it was the set-lists that were always different from night to night. Not only did this keep it interesting, making it so fans had no idea what would be played each night, but it added an additional layer of fandom to the mix, allowing the more obsessed fans to keep stats on which songs were played on which night and how many times per tour, which songs came before and after a song and the probability of that happening again, etc, etc. It is this kind of varied live performance that kept people coming back, allowing both The Dead and Phish to become two of the highest grossing touring acts in music history.But maybe that type of a show is not for you or for your audience. Set-lists don’t HAVE to change from night to night, nor do new covers and/or new music need to be introduced or revisited at every show. The point here, is that your audience can already get your music from the recordings. So if you want to grow a fan-base that is willing to come out and see your perform live, you need to do something that sets your live show apart from your recorded music- it always comes back to adding value for your fans. If you are not doing something in a live setting that adds value for your fans, then they have no purpose for attending your shows.
3) Promotion
Promotion is the most important part of getting people to your gigs. During your first few gigs when no one knows who you are, it is your job to make sure that everyone in the surrounding area knows about your show. Once you have an established fan-base, it then becomes your job to make sure the existing fans know of the show and are given the proper tools to help you spread the word.
Starting early is the best way to promote a show- don’t wait until 2 days before and think that your promotion will penetrate through to the public. There have always been traditional methods of promoting a show (i.e. posters, fliers, cards, etc) but social networks present an even more effective way of promoting your upcoming events in a way that allows fans to gather and create buzz, ultimately spreading the word by inviting others. The more people that spread the word, the more opportunity you have to host a sold-out show.
Just because social networking has made it easier for artists to connect with fans, doesn’t mean you can just take the easy way out. If you create a Facebook event, then just sit back and expect people to show up to your gigs, you will have another thing coming. You should still be using all of the traditional methods of promoting a gig to supplement your online efforts. Create fliers and posters and make sure they are strategically placed around your town, campus, restaurants, local stores and hang-out spots. Placing 100 fliers around town is great, but if they are all on side walls and in back-alleys, no one will see them and you have wasted your time. Partnering up with some local hang-outs, ones that are involved with the arts, or cater to a similar crowd that you are trying to attract is a great way of spreading the word. And whatever you do, do not, I repeat, do not make a flier that is hard to read. I know it is easy to succumb to the temptation of creating fliers reminiscent of 60’s psychedelic era, with all of that cool, trippy artwork and all those crazy colors:
STOP! No one wants to have to decipher a flier - make it clean and legible.Use large block font and make sure it gets the point across (name, where, when, how much, special guests?, drink specials?, etc.). If you do want to include artwork, making the flier look a little more interesting, make sure the name is the centerpiece. If the name gets lost, the promotional capabilities of the flier will be wasted.
Using sites like Facebook and Twitter are great for promoting upcoming concerts. They offer the ability to reach large groups of people at the click of a button. But more importantly, they allow you to connect with your target audience in a way you were previously unable to. Facebook is the biggest social network in the world, but it is extremely general hoping they can cater to every possible aspect of life. While Facebook isn’t deep enough to cater to the specific needs of musicians, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be working on Facebook to connect directly with your audience. Create an event page, and start contacting people. Invite close friends, but don’t be afraid to ask for help. Find groups that cater to your audience and begin networking there as well. Create the most robust event page possible, using all that the Facebook pages allow for and then add more value by linking to other pages. Maybe offer all those who join the Facebook event a free download of your EP.Don’t forget that there are a limitless amount of blogs out there as well. Music blogging has become very popular, and some blogs even have traffic that reaches hundreds of thousands of visitors per month.
Use this information to get yourself prepared for performing live. Becoming a gigging band can be the best way to grow your brand, ultimately helping you achieve whatever level of success you are looking for. But without a proper plan of who you are trying to attract, how you are going to attract them, and then actually attempting to do so, you will see yourself falling short each and every time.
One of the most widely unanswered questions that every emerging artist asks is ‘how do we get people to our gigs?’. The truth of the matter is there is no one way to get people to attend your shows. Some people may struggle for years, some people may find success right away. But once you have prepared yourself for performing live, there are strategies that can help increase the chances of achieving that first sold out gig. The following are 4 strategies for creating awareness and long-term engagement:
4) Invite the press
One of the most simple ways to gain publicity is to invite the press. While this is one of the most commonly overlooked methods of establishing a name for yourself, it is also one of the easiest to do. Many artists see creating a press kit as a way to book a gig- the musicians version of a resume. But a press kit is also used as a way to attract press to your show, to ultimately cover your performance, attracting new listeners who are looking for the kind of music you play and/or the kind of show you put on.
The press that comes to your performance does not need to represent the largest publications - just try to contact Rolling Stone about your gig in nowhere U.S.A. But you can, and should contact the local paper, the school paper or any other form of school publication, local music bloggers, local arts magazines, etc. The more angles you can think of to bring the press to your shows, the better off you will be.
5) Create buzz
Nothing is more helpful than creating buzz around your brand. If you are still a relatively unknown artist, the best thing you can do is to get involved with the already established music scene. Find out if there are any upcoming music festivals, showcases or Battle Of The Bands in your area that involve some similar acts who cater to a similar crowd and get yourself involved. This will help expose you and your music to a new audience and will create buzz- everybody loves a new ‘breakthrough artist’.
While playing the most popular venues is the best way to grow your fan-base, it is the smaller, alternative venues such as coffee shops and restaurants and public events such as festivals and fairs that will help you initially connect with new fans. Playing these alternative venues will allow you to expose yourself as an artist to a crowd of people who may not have heard about your last show, while generating talk about your next one. But remember, one of the most important things to always think about it is ‘who are you trying to attract?’. You will be wasting your time, talent and potentially money if you have established your fans as smooth Jazz lovers but you are playing at an upbeat sports bar/ grill in a college town.
Networking with the local artists is also a great way of generating some buzz. Do some research and find out who the bigger acts are within your local scene and get in touch with them. Find out when they are going to be playing in the area, preferably at a venue you have already performed at, and try to book the opening slot. Even more, you should try to book these opening slots strategically around when you have upcoming performances. Performing as the opener for a major local band a week before your own headlining show is a great way to increase attendance at your next gig.
6) Create A Mailing List
A mailing list is extremely important. Playing those opening gigs and small alternative gigs are great, but without establishing a way to directly contact those new fans at a later date, not much has been gained. You need to be able to reach new and even existing fans directly with important updates about new gigs, new music, last minute changes or even personal week-to-week updates. You can promote all you want on Facebook, but when it comes down to the last day or so before a gig, you need to be able to give a reminder to your fan-base that your performance is tonight, at such and such a venue and this time- so don’t be late! Oh, and bring your friends! (And for any place that has a bar, always remember to mention the drink specials!)
And believe it or not, but some people just don’t care much for social networking. It seems ridiculous in today’s tech savvy world- but its true. You cannot depend on social media to be a completely solution. Using a mailing list is a great way to reach ALL of your fans in as personal and directly a manner as possible.
7) What you do off the stage is just as important as what you do on the stage
By now, you should have a pretty good idea of what you need to do in order to increase attendance at your gigs. But there is one rule that can outweigh the importance of all the rest if done properly: What you do off the stage is just as important as what you do on the stage. If you are performing only once a week, or once every few weeks, yet are not getting in touch with your fans in between that time, how do you expect your fan-base to grow and your attendance to increase? After all, creating a fan-base is truly priority #1 and you should be doing all that you can to grow that fan-base as big as possible. Any value that can be created for fans off the stage, should be. There are ways to use social networking and blogging to connect with your fans on a regular basis, breaking down barriers and allowing them a glimpse of your personal life.
But there are also other promotional ideas that will help as well - free downloads of past performances, sweepstakes and competitions that revolve around your music or your band name (i.e. post up a lyric from one of your really old songs, and ask your fans to guess which song its from. The winner gets a free download of your recent album). I will say it again because it is worth repeating- anything you can do that your fans will find of value, should be done. Fans are looking for value from all angles and any stone left unturned will just become a weak spot in your promotional campaign as an artist.
Now get out there are start building your fan-base! Keep the fan-base growing and attendance at your shows will increase! Keep increasing the attendance at your shows and soon you will be hosting sold out gigs. And THIS, is when you are ready to start contemplating a tour….
Have you ever played to a sold out gig? Is there anything that you think is important that we missed? Please feel free leave suggestions and comments, as this article can ALWAYS benefit from the input and experience of others!
Jon is the co-founder of MicControl, a music blogging network based on a music social networking platform. This post originally appeared as a two-part series on the MicControl blog on April 29, 2010. Jon can be found on twitter and facebook.
