So you have decided to start a band, but what now?
Well there are so many things you need to be doing between gigs, and that is mainly self promoting and getting more gigs.
1. Networking
When you have that one gig a year or before you even have your very first gig, you need to be attending other peoples shows, thats small shows and similar genres, saying hi to bands and maybe taking a photo with them too. That way people will start knowing who you are, some people might even come up to you and say ''Your from that band!'', then they may just be potential fans for your show. Then they will attend your gigs and that will in turn impress the venue/promoter you played for and will get invited back.
Even if you are playing for free, those first couple of shows playing for free is basically your fan base, starting out, and getting those potentially screaming fans when/if you make it big.
2. Getting Likes/Followers
There is a lot of speculation in the music industry about which bands are paying for their likes and which bands are genuine, this is all mainly in the unsigned scene as bands like A Day To Remember and All Time Low do not really need to pay for their likes.
Key is to make sure your Social Media page is always active, but then not too active that is fills peoples feeds, if you have nothing going on at the minute then just post a random meme, try post at least twice a week if nothing else is going on, and then maybe every other day or a 3/4 times a week when something is going on. Try find out trending topics and some how try fit that into your status, If Justin Beiber is trending one week then put a funny meme of Justin Beiber out, not only does this keep you active but members find it funny and may share it, your bands link will be tagged underneath or tweeted and then you get more likes.
3. Have Material to Listen to.
There is honestly nothing worse than booking a band you cannot listen to, before you ask around for those first gigs, try get something recorded. There are a lot of programs out on the internet that allow you to professionally record a song on your laptop, it won't have the same quality as a recording studio but it will do for now until you get some money.
4. Get a Gig!
Once you have that first demo or even a sample of what you sound like, you can now start contacting promoters and venues about getting a gig. The trick is to sound as professional as possible, include links to the demo, your Facebook page, or put together a press pack which includes everything someone should know about your band. Too much information is possible, but a lack of information is always bad! Do not leave the vital things out. Here is a list of stuff promoters may look for when you email them:
Facebook/Twitter Link (Any Social Media).
Soundcloud or links to material (This can be YouTube as well).
Age range that the band are.
Where you are based, if you are travelling out of town you will need touring experience first.
If you have toured or played before, then with who? Maybe include pictures if you can.
All this above is great because it shows that you are serious, you can capture your performance on a media and you took into account the promoter or venue by including your age, some venues or promoters cannot allow under 18 year olds in to their venue, you will need to know this before you contact them. This shows that you took the time to look into their company, think this as a job interview. Would you research the company before your interview? Yes, Would you include a CV (media links)? Yes! This is pretty similar.
Now you have gotten your first gig, that is it right? The hard work is over and the gigs should start rolling in, WRONG! That is just the beginning, now you contact more promoters and try the whole thing again until you have raised enough funds from shows or externally working so that you can afford to make more songs/demos.
Another thing up coming or starting out bands tend to forget is that you should never book too many shows in one city, and do not try to tour straight away, nothing good will come from either. If you book too many shows you will just see less and less people at your shows and some people may get fed up of seeing your band play that they will stop following your band.
Also if you tour too soon, you may find unexpected things like the venue or promoter pulling out while you have already started touring, or even the promoter/venue will not book you again because you brought no one.
There is no rule about when you should start touring, although if you can it is usually with a bigger band that has toured before. Although this can be hard, this is where your networking can come in handy, remember that first band photo you took and mentioned you were starting a band? They might want to take you out on tour!
Are you in a band and have some advice for those young budding start ups? Comment on this post or follow me :)
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