There is something so exciting about being in a band that is just starting to gain a certain amount of local recognition. Not only are you booked for the foreseeable future but you have clubs calling to book your band for gigs when you are already scheduled. You know you’ve got something going on and that with a little hard work you might be able to hit it big. You want your songs to climb the charts and be played on stations everywhere. Unfortunately, this is where so many really talented bands make the same mistakes others made before them. Perhaps it’s time to look at a few of those so that you don’t fall into the same trap as they did.
Not Enough Time on the Business End
While you know you’ve got a good sound going on, you also feel that it can be perfected. As a result, you spend all your time practicing and playing songs you feel need that something extra. Maybe it’s a guitar riff or maybe more keyboard. Perhaps the vocals could be a little more expressive. Instead of looking at the whole picture of what it takes to become a success, you focus all your time on the music. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but there are other things that go into bringing you to the top and the business end of the industry is one of those things.
Unless you have a manager, which is doubtful at this stage of your career, you’ll need to spend at least 50% of the time you spend practicing music in the business of making music. This might involve finding that manager you need or it might be learning about how to get your songs heard by the big labels. A great sound isn’t all you need or hundreds of new bands would be hitting the waves every week and that just isn’t happening!
Not Perfecting Your Image
Unfortunately, music isn’t all the fans come to see and that is the operative word here! They come to ‘hear’ the music but they come to ‘see’ you. They expect you to put on a show above and beyond the music you are playing. Take a few moments to think about the really big bands you’ve heard play over the years. What is it they have that you don’t? Could it be their stage presence and the image they put across every time they hit the stage? If you are asking what does stage presence have to do with it, you’ve got a lot of work ahead of you! Some critics say that the show you put on is just as important as the music you are playing and they are not far from the truth.
If all anyone wanted to hear was your music, they’d stay at home and listen to a digitally mastered recording. No, they want to see a show. They want to watch how you express the songs you are playing and they want to see your bodies move to the sounds coming out of your instruments. Think about the greats who have gone down in history like David Bowie or Mick Jagger. What about Axel Rose, Freddy Mercury or even Iggy Pop? If you want to climb the charts, you should sharpen up with tried and tested stage presence techniques. Why not rent a studio from Pirate with locations not only in the U.S. but in the UK, Ireland, and Germany? This is where you’ll find more than state of the art recording equipment but also video equipment to see what the fans will be seeing. You want to perfect your sound? Then perfect your image and you’ll have the whole package!
Improper Allocation of Funds
This is another biggie for bands just starting to climb. They feel that because their albums are selling at gigs, they should have more pressed, although they really aren’t pressed anymore. Why spend so much money pressing an album when you haven’t yet perfected your sound or your image? What if the songs you like as a band aren’t the songs your fanbase wants to hear? There are other things you could be spending that money on like better equipment for visual effects or time spent in the studio perfecting both your sound and your stage presence.
Maybe you could hire a marketing team that knows what it takes to get your name out there in front of the fans. At this point, perhaps what you need is a social media presence. Facebook and Twitter are good places to start connecting with your audience and then there is Instagram so you can be visible as well as heard. YouTube is also a great social media outlet where you can play a few tunes from various gigs you’ve done. This is one mistake so many new bands make and that would be to ignore the real art of connecting with fans. You have something at your disposal that other bands in previous generations didn’t have. You have social media and that can go a long way toward making your band a household word.
Today’s Fan Wants Something More
It pays to bear in mind that today’s fan wants something more from artists and bands they follow. Yes, they want a great sound but they also want a sense of connection. That’s why the image you work so hard to establish is of prime importance. You want to make that connection on some internal level. Fans will identify with your sound if your presence matches that sound.
By connecting with them on stage as well as through a variety of social media channels, you will be giving your fans what they want. No, you’ll be giving them what they deserve! As loyal followers, you need to give them a real connection with the music and with the band. When you can do all that, you are ready to finally be at the top of the charts, and that’s what it’s all about after all, isn’t it?
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