Photo By Taylor Foiles
By Adam Lopez, Guest Writer
In an industry as vast and complex as this one you have to know where to go and you have to have some kind of idea on a direction in which you want to head. Say you have just recorded your first record, what happens now? Harass everyone on MySpace and Facebook to go listen to it? Invest thousands of dollars in advertising for a band no one’s ever heard of? I’m here to give you artists a bit of insight to make sure you don’t fall victim to the common evils that young bands often do. Here’s a short list of 10 do’s and don’ts that can save you time, money and a ton of headache.
Do – Make sure you know what kind of market your music is appealing to, there’s no point poking around promoting your music on a Justin Bieber message board if your music sounds like The Devil Wear Prada.
Do – Make sure you grow a fan base organically, go to shows and hand out flyers, put up posters, meet anyone and everyone in your local “scene”. It is important for your fans to see that your band is actually growing because they feel like they’re growing with you. Never put up a song on MySpace and buy 100,000 plays to look cool. Kids and fans can smell a fake, even if they don’t say it outright.
Do – Invest your money properly, it doesn’t take a Harvard degree to invest your money wisely, it just takes a certain amount of common sense. If you’re going to play a larger show and you have a few bucks saved up as a band and the guys want to buy some new gear, DON’T. That’s a poor investment for the time being with ZERO return, invest in a profit producing entity i.e. t-shirts, CD’s, posters, etc. If you already have these things, order more, you want to give the people coming to see you a variety of choices, most larger bands have more t-shirt designs then songs in their set list.
Do – Make sure you utilize everyone you know, friends, fellow bands, everyone. A big phonebook is an important part of covering all the angles your band would need i.e. merch design, web design, booking, etc. Everyone “knows someone who knows someone.”
Do – Build a street team, find some people who really dig your band and have them be an extension of yourself. Give them flyers and posters to hang up at school and give out at shows. Make sure you treat them well and be sure to give them special treatment. This is for two reasons. One, because street teamers work for free and two, because most people don’t recognize how pivotal a street team can be to a band or even a label’s success.
Do – Have manners and be polite whether it’s in person, via email, on the phone, wherever. People will remember you if you’re polite, even if a deal falls through, if you act with class and tact, you’ll be the first person they call when a new deal arrives.
Don’t – Tour without having a record out first. A lot of young bands are out there driving around the country wasting great deals of money touring to promote a record that either doesn’t exist or is no longer relevant. Touring is a massive expense and even on a successful independent tour you will break even or come up with very little profit.
Don’t – Have an ego. Rockstars are a thing of the 80’s.
Don’t – Always follow current trends, especially when it comes to making business calls. For example, the most successful artists more times than not had the help of a completely unique marketing campaign behind them that they can attribute to the main reason why they “broke out.”
Don’t – Invest your money (however much or little of it you have) without keeping a record of it. You want to look back later and see where your money could have potentially gotten you a better return and invest accordingly next time.
Adam Lopez is a musician turned manager, meaning he’s spent time on the road and in the office. The Connecticut local was the drummer of pop rock band To Write A Riot, before he made the profession switch. When he’s not meeting with his clients, he’s promoting his charity, Fans For Cans, which donates canned goods to area food pantries for every follower they get.
If you have any questions for Adam, feel free to tweet to him by tweeting @TheAdamLopez
Still curious about Adam? Check out this interview that we did with him earlier this summer.
Feel free to post your responses and some “Do’s” and “Don’ts” if you have them!
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