Archive for the ‘Making the Band’ Category

Apologies for the distinct lack of posts over the last month or two.

Rest assured that we are working very, very hard to get to the next stage of what we’re hoping to achieve with the site. With that will come very regular blog posts and emails to subscribers and a lot, lot more usable information. Believe me, we have been busy (creating and launching the world’s greatest football gift – yes, nothing to do with music, but we felt like it!), but, in the New Year, we’ll bring our attention back to this site and it will be a massive priority for 2010 – we have some great plans and ideas that we hope will truly help you succeed in your efforts as a musician.

However, for now, I wanted to roll out a nugget of wisdom that I remember very clearly from the day that I heard it and which I have trotted out as a piece of second hand advice for many years as well.

Reason being is that there is a whole lot of truth in it, although it won’t take me that long to recount it here.

Oh, and the title of this post has given the game away anyway already!

So, what the hell do I mean by that statement – “You’re not in a band – until you’re in a band!”, and what positive effect can it have on your career?

Well, it means what it says. But, let’s go back to when I heard it – probably about seven years ago.

We were managing a band that were getting really ‘hot’ as the industry phrase says – meaning that they were playing gigs to a growing number of clearly very committed fans and their name kept being heard by people who worked at record companies, press and promotions people, agents and various bits of the media – magazines, radio and such. They were (and still are) a blisteringly good live band with a really unique sound and plenty of exciting performance elements. And they had a lot of good material – although, in hindsight, they possibly lacked that killer ‘11 out of 10′ song that we often bang on about (Subscribe at the box on the top right and read the ‘10 Key Steps…’ eBook if I’m not  making sense!).

Anyway, all the A&R men in the UK started to come to the shows and talk about offering the band a deal and we ended up being offered record deals by several of the major record companies and signing to one of them – this being the days before the possibility of the DIY approach and selling music over the internet – yes, really.

Shortly before the band were signed I was having a conversation with a very old friend of mine who had become an A&R man at a Major and he was telling me that he had decided he was going to ‘pass’ on the band. Although he liked them, he didn’t feel that they were ‘real’ or that they had an interesting enough ’story’. Now, I don’t agree even now that that was the case, and we can look at those two words which industry people will use about you a lot, but that will have to be another time. He went on to say that the reason they weren’t real was because they weren’t a ‘real band’.

These guys had already been playing together for three years – having met up up as soon as they went to college at the age of 18 and playing on and off with the same line-up all the way through those 3 years. We were managing them less than a year after they had left college and all of them had day-jobs. They lived together and had recorded an album at home in a very low-fi way and released it on a small indie and had begun to attract attention. They played regularly locally, maybe totalling, say twenty times a year.

And this was his point – they weren’t a real band as they were living by Plan B rules (they had jobs) and they weren’t living and breathing being in a band. I thought that they’d actually achieved a hell of a lot by that stage and had done a lot of DIY momentum building before it was the norm for every aspiring artist.

But, he did have a point.

They are definitely 'in the band' - no Plan B!

They did all have a Plan B – their day jobs. One was a very much in-demand engineer who was offered jobs by Formula 1 teams but decided, in the end, to be a drummer. However, they were all looking at two possible outcomes – maybe the band would get a deal, they’d get a shot and maybe they’d make it….or, maybe, no chance would come and they’d have jobs to fall back on. Maybe if you have a Plan B, that ends up being Plan A and just that safety net prevents you from really reaching for the stars and making it happen.

That’s one part of the reason. I’m not suggesting that he was absolutely right, nor that you should jack in your job right now and be the aspiring rock star or hip-hop mogul 24/7. But then again, maybe if you live it, you’ll be more likely to make it.

Obviously, there are massive upsides to not having a day job – you’ll have more time to write, record, rehearse, build your web presence, network, hang-out, pester people and so on. And, naturally, you’ll be more committed because of that available time and because you’ve dropped your safety net.

And then there’s the aura that you create around you by being a full-time musician – the people that you deal with on a day to day basis (friends & family, but also those who move in the music industry circles) will take you to be a more serious proposition – because you have laid out your hand for all to see.

Is this going to make it easier for you to get signed or at least attract the attention of those people who can help you further your career, whether DIY or traditional – well, maybe. And it would seem to be the case just by logic. That extra time and more solid commitment ought to amount to something, right?

This also ties in with our thoughts on what we call the ‘Talent vs Drive’ curve, covered in part III of the ‘10 Key Steps….’ eBook. All well and good to have all that extra time on your hands if your self-belief has lead you to give up the distractions of the daily grind. But, you’ve still got to find the application and the drive to use that time profitably. I keenly believe that very few people have spectacular levels of talent and very often those with the most drive and determination are the ones who get to where they set out to reach. This is often true with musicians. Sure, talent is a jumping off point and has relevance but it is not, always, the defining factor.

Before I add my big caveat at the end (It’s not my fault if you give up your job, OK!), there’s another thing.

I’ve just finished reading Malcom Gladwell’s book, ‘Outliers’, in which he talks about the real causes behind the achievements of exceptional people. I won’t precis it here, but he discusses how the most successful people in many fields have put in 10,000 hours of practice or learning. He relates this to music by discussing the Beatles phenomenal achievement and relating it back to their extended stints in Hamburg learning their craft. Not only did they play close to 2000 hours of live shows before they were noticed (has any contemporary artist got close, even many years in to touring?), but they had also learnt how to deconstruct and play every R&B standard of the time as their shows then were mostly comprised of covers. That might have helped a little in developing their songwriting craft, don’t you think?

I’m a slightly stronger believer in the need for talent than Gladwell, but practice, and development of skills and learning from failure are key to becoming great. Can’t argue with that.

It’s weird that we expect our artists, by which I mean music artists / performers, to be at their creative peak in their teens and twenties. We don’t expect it of authors, sculptors and painters – the other creatives. We expect them to have time to learn and grow.

So, how does a musician get that practice and learn the skills? Well, start young for sure, and, like my A&R friend (now a very senior global label President!) said – be in a band ‘for real’.

Every show you play and every song you write and discard is a step nearer the place you need to reach.

Going back to that band we managed. I see them play now, probably 200 or more shows later, and they are unbelievably good. I always notice the guitarist. He was good at the start – an interesting style and plenty of talent. But now he is incredible. His playing is immeasurably better and just so much more natural and innate. But,he struts too, like he really means it. If they were the band then, 7 years ago, that they are now, they would have conquered the world. Whether they’d had an 11/10 song or not!

I hope that this makes some sense.

I’m not telling you to tell your boss to stick his job and live in a squat being the epitome of a 70’s rock god – really, I’m not. You still have to make it to earn that right and it really isn’t my place to put that emotional burden and financial strain on you (you might be free all day, but you’ll be skint!).

But, maybe, if you really are going to be the one to make it and if you really do have the desire and the drive, well maybe you need to be in a band, on the road, being the part 365 days of the year.

Like her or not, it seems that Lady GaGa put in the time to make it – all those videos surfacing online of her paying her dues,seem to prove it.

So, really, don’t walk out of work on my say-so, and, if you do, be sure of your talent and your will to succeed.

But whether you become the unemployed-by-choice wannabe rock star or not, realise that you need to put in a massive amount of effort to make it. That’s what this really means.  And these days, it’s not just musical practice, song-writing and performing – it’s all that web promotion and DIY self-marketing as well. It is a full-time job just getting noticed!

On the upside, there is now a way to be a self financing working musician – like my old favourite, Corey Smith, and my newest discovery, Pretty Lights. If they can find  the way to be full-time musicians without a record company and driving it all themselves, then maybe you can too.

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There will come a point where you think you’re ready for a record deal, a manager or a publishing deal (or that other much touted ‘new model’ deal with some music related company). You’ll want to get yourself heard by the right people so what better way to do it than to send out a demo right?

Record labels, managers et al get hundreds of thousands of demos, and if this is the route you want to take then there are some things that you will need to take into account if you want to make your demo stand out from the rest and be given more than a second glance.

It’s going to take a lot of hard work and luck but if you make sure that you take notice of the following points, then you’ll be on the right track.

In this article, note that wherever I talk about a demo, I mean either a physical CD mailed to someone or a link to a MySpace page or band website where all the relevant information can be found and songs listened to. I’ll make distinctions where necessary.

1. Make sure you’re targeting the right labels.

If you’re an indie, guitar led band, and that’s all you ever want to be then there is no point sending your demo’s to hip-hop or dance labels. You won’t get a second look as the labels just won’t be interested. That’s not what they do! To start with you should be looking for labels who work with bands that are similar or in the same genre as you. They are more likely to give you a second glance and maybe even a listen…

As a musician in a band, you really ought to have some idea of who those labels are for your genre, but if you need help, search on the web for directories that can help you. In the UK, you have to use The Unsigned Guide, and in the Us there are choices, but we like Galaris.

Once you’ve found a label, you need to find a name. A personal touch is really going to help in getting the person you are contacting to actually listen to your stuff.

2. Make sure your demo is listenable.

This doesn’t mean that you have to go and get all of your tracks professionally recorded. That would be silly and a complete waste of money. However, you need to make sure that whoever is going to listen to your demo can see the potential there. So, make sure your singers are in tune, the recording is clear and there are no white noise issues or glitches.

There are lots of inexpensive recording software programs doing the rounds now which you can use to do this, or you could strike a deal with your local studio to do it on the cheap with the help of one of their engineers.

3. Make sure you’re ready for label interest

This is another very important point. When you’re just getting started you can’t expect all of your songs to be hits, and no one else expects them to all be hits either. However, when choosing songs to send out to labels you need to make sure that these songs are your absolute best so far.

If not, they won’t be given a chance, and you won’t be given a second chance in the future. You’ll be remembered as the band that had no songs. If you’re not sure that you or your songs are ready then hold off on sending out demos until you’re absolutely 100% sure that you are.

I recently came across a service here at SoundOut, which I heartily recommend. We’ll look at this in more detail in the future, but, in short, if you spend $20 to $50 with them you’ll get the most honest appraisal of your songs from real music fans who get your genre. We don’t get paid for recommending this service, so I mean it when I say that it’s money well spent – to see if you really have the material ready that you think you have!

4. Get your promo package right.

Labels like to know a little bit about you, and a standard demo comes with a bio, some press cuttings, a photo and your music, but there is such a thing as too much information…and too much music!

We get a lot of demos in our office, and the first thing we look at is the size of the package that’s been sent through. If it’s huge then it goes to the bottom of the pile. Full albums or CDs with lots of tracks on will also get put to the back of the pile. Most people in the industry have a limited amount of time for demos so we like them to be short and snappy.

Ideally, when I get a demo through the post I like to see a half page brief bio, a handful of press cuttings (if you have any that is, and if you do, make sure they’re good ones!), a photo in which I can see your faces, and a CD with no more than 3 tracks on, and your best track first. By best track, I mean your most catchy, hooky, universal song, not the one you’re most proud of. If you’re not sure which one this is then ask your fans, friends and family.

Another thing to add to your package is details about any previous releases or significant touring you have done in the past and also if you have any attention from other industry professionals, i.e. management, an agent etc, and let them know who these people are. This will help raise your profile before you even get a listen.

If you’re doing this submission by a link, then make sure people can find all this stuff on your site or MySpace page easily too.

People do look at numbers of plays and friends on a MySpace link and it does have a bearing – which is why we do think building numbers on Social Networks is part of your job – but everyone knows that those numbers don’t necessarily mean fans, so don’t get too hung up on it. What people are looking for is how your fans interact with you on those pages – so make sure you encourage commenting as well as friend adding, for industry people to see that you have a real buzz around you.

5. Don’t forget your contact details

Every piece of paper and every CD you send a record label must have your contact details on. This includes your email address, a contact name and phone number and your website and MySpace address. It’s no use putting these on one piece of paper and thinking that because it’s all together in your package the label will know how to contact you. Papers and CDs get mixed up, bits moved or lost, and the chances are that your promo package will go in one pile and your CD in another.

By putting your details on everything the label have no excuse to not contact you if they like what they see or hear. Putting your MySpace address on also allows them to check out your songs in the event that the CD is misplaced, so when you start sending out demos make sure that the songs you put on the CDs are the ones that are on your MySpace.

Same thing is true on sending a MySpace link. Make sure that email addresses and telephone numbers are there to be found.

6. Does the label you’re looking at receive unsolicited demos?

Lots of labels ask you not to send unsolicited demos. There are many reasons for this, including time and space issues, and even legal issues in some circumstances! If you’re not sure then call them up and ask them.

If they do take unsolicited demos then feel free to send your package in, however, it’s better to find out who the specific A&R man is in your field at that label and start a conversation with them directly. That way they know who you are first and may actually request your demo from you. This route is by far the best way to get yourself noticed by any label.

7. Be Polite

If you’re serious about getting a record deal then, unless you’re very lucky, you’ll send out lots of emails and make lots of phone calls…and will likely be ignored the majority of the time. If this is the case the please don’t get bitter about it, it happens to most people. But bear in mind that if you do get someone to talk to you, then you should show a little gratitude.

The more polite you are then the more people will be inclined to help you in the future. It may be that the A&R person you are talking to can’t help you, but if you’ve been polite and gracious then they could help you out by giving you details for other people who could help you, or even recommending you to someone. You can never know just how influential the person you are talking to is.

8. Don’t be discouraged

Sending out demos can be stressful, demoralising, soul destroying etc, and you’re likely to hear the word ‘No’ more times than you’d ever imagine but you can’t take it personally. If a label turns you down ask them to give you a bit of constructive feedback. It may be that you just don’t fit in with what they want to do in the immediate future.

Take whatever you’re given on board, go away and become better for it. Consider your demo, decide if there was anything you could have done differently that might have made a difference, and then learn from it and move on to the next label. After all, no one expects you to be the finished article straight away! If you’re in this for the long haul then you’ll constantly be changing, so see it as work in progress.

Good luck!

This article is a partner piece to an earlier article on this site titled ‘How you should approach a record label or manager’. There may be a little repetition but this article is by Amanda and the other is by Ian, so reading them both will give you a little extra insight from two perspectives!

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Strange title but it kind of says what I want to say in this post, or at least, I hope it does!

I saw a couple of blog posts this week that were different takes on the same theme.

This one from Bob Baker on how we need to stay on top of and maintain our actions that bring us success and satisfaction ‘Groundhog Day Music Success’ and this one about how musicians will wilfully disregard essential advice  that could make the difference to their career that they are desperately looking for, by Mark Gibson – ‘Don’t disregard this advice!’

It made me think again about why we’re working on this site and what we are trying to achieve.

And it’s simple really. One aim with three branches. 

Aim: to help those aspiring musicians who wish to listen to us realise that there are fundamental facts that they need to accept and act on if they are to give themselves a chance of success. This is so because so many people trying to make it can’t face the fact that they themselves are the core reason why their career isn’t happening.

And once we have helped point out the realities, try to advise on the options, solutions and real world marketing methods that will breed success for those that follow and implement them.

Branches: One - Give those who want to aim for the top the advice, honest feedback and tools that they need to craft a band or act that has the material, the talent, the image, the marketing and business savvy and the work ethic to make it to the top.

Two – Tailor the advice here so that artists who want to make it to the level that their talent inherently deserves (but not make changes that they feel are too much like ’selling out’) can do so by removing as many unnecessary obstacles as possible. 

Three – Present our ideas and advice so that the most anti-establishment artist who wants nothing to do with commercial success and hates the very notion of marketing, can still find some nugget of value and truth here that can help them find their own way as a musician in an easier and more fulfilling fashion, albeit on their terms.

I also realised that I wanted to tilt the angle of what we’re preaching a little too. I felt that we’re perhaps coming across a bit too strongly being all about how there is a single ‘one-way fits all route to success’ and that that is to get a label or similar modern investor. And, in order to do that, you must have the right frontman and the greatest songs etc. To an extent, that is exactly what we’re saying, because the tightest set-up will give you the greatest chance at some level of commercial success. 

BUT, and this is really important, at the same time, we don’t want to ignore the fact that there are thousands of acts that don’t want massive commercial success and are doing it for love of their art. Brilliant – all power to you. 

OUR ADVICE WORKS FOR YOU TOO! Just because we say you need to do X, Y and Z, but you feel uncomfortable about Z, that doesn’t mean that you should ignore X and Y – does that make sense? 

So, if you refuse to write songs about love, or lose your singer because they have too bland a voice (but they are charismatic or whatever), then that’s fine. But accept that it’s giving you some limitations and work around them. Just be honest with yourselves so that you can see what it is that is your compromise and work to your other strengths. 

If you aren’t at all interested in commercial success and just want to spread the word on your music as it is, then there are things here that will help you. 

Nonetheless, our main focus is to do what most places I have seen on the web professing Music Industry Advice don’t do – and that is to tell you what it really takes to succeed, no matter that that will often mean facing some harsh realities about where you’re at in your career right now. 

Check out the two articles that we’ve linked to at the top. Mark Gibson really makes it plain that it’s not an easy ride and Bob Baker very accurately tells that just because you do get up and running, you can’t slack off. 

A slew of solid advice posts to come next week. I’ve been writing a huge list of the things you’ve said you want us to cover and have started on some of them, but I needed to get this ‘mission statement’ written today!

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This might take a while!

Playing live is incredibly important to bands at every level. If your band is unsigned, then playing gigs will help you to build up your fan base and attract the attention of press and media. Maybe, if you do the job properly, it’ll even draw interest in your direction from record labels and all the other potential suitors that are being drawn to music and bands these days. 

Signed and established bands use gigs to help them continue to keep building audiences and promote their new releases. These bands are also more than likely to have an agent to book their gigs and so won’t have to worry about that side of things. 

However, if you’re just starting out, and don’t have an agent, then booking a gig can seem like a scary business as you’ll most likely be doing all of the booking yourselves. If you’re in this position and need a bit of help then we’ve tried to provide the basics for you here – so read on… 

Getting the Gig 

Before you can even think about booking a gig, there are a few things you’ll need to have in place. The first thing is a demo/finished CD, or a website/MySpace on which people can listen to your music. It is, after all, your music that you are trying to promote, so without this you have no hope of getting anything. 

The second thing is a press pack. This should include information about your band and clippings of any press coverage you may have had, if any at all. If you’ve had no press so far then, don’t worry, but it is wise to provide one page of information about your band, so the promoter/venue know what they’re dealing with. This info should include who you are, how long you’ve been together, and your influences/what you sound like. Do this without overly hyping yourselves. Local promoters know the score and can easily find out from people they know if you are overcooking it! 

It’s just as easy to do this on a part of your website as it is on paper. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that 9 out of 10 promoters at this level will now book gigs from a MySpace or website link rather than a physical CD. 

Ideally you should also have an idea of when you want to play a show. You should have discussed this with your band members beforehand and come up with a window of preferred dates to make sure everyone in the band has their calendar clear for those days. Promoters hate filling a slot and then being asked to move it! 

I also like to tell promoters that a band are good for a certain amount of fans wherever they go – the promoter is in business to fill his venue and sell drinks, so knowing that you’re coming mob-handed helps him or her settle on you. Again, don’t overdo it. 

Once you have these ready to go you will need to send them to the right people, either electronically or through the post.  Who these people are, and which method they prefer for contact, will change depending on the venue you choose, but essentially there are two ways you can go about booking a gig: 

1. You choose the venue you want to play in and book your gig directly with them. This is the riskier option as you as a band then take on the costs and responsibilities of promoting the show.
2. You book your show through a promoter, who takes on responsibilities for costs and promotions and acts as a buffer between you and the venue. This option is recommended for new bands looking for early gigs.  

Most venues work with a handful of outside promoters unless they are big enough to do everything themselves, so at start-out level, you’re most likely going to be dealing with promoters. If there is somewhere in particular that you’d like to play then give them a ring and see how they work, if they do work with promoters then ask them for advice on who best to contact. You can also ask around other bands to get the names of other promoters to send packages to, so you can keep your options open. 

Being a music fan and gigging musician you ought to know all the places that are suitable for your band in your locality. If not, get out and about in your scene and get networking and asking. Check all the places that list gigs locally – record stores, if you have any left, college and school notice boards (physical and internet) – and look at the websites and MySpace profiles of all the bands in your area – see where they’re playing. If you’ve ever done this before, you’re going to know that often times, other bands will help you out with info and contact details. In reality, this shouldn’t be the hard part! 

Of course, as soon as you build just a little bit of buzz, some promoters and venues are going to come to you and ask you to play! 

Before The Gig 

It may take a while for you to get a show, especially if you’re a brand new band with no track record. However, once you’ve been offered a show, there are a couple of things that you can expect. 

Lots of gigs lose money, so if you’re just getting started you should be prepared to not make any money and rather see the show solely as a promotional opportunity. However, on the off-chance that the show does make money, your deal should detail how any income for the show will be divided, as well as confirming information about things like riders, backline, and soundchecks. 

If you have any problems with anything in the deal then bring them up with the promoter as soon as possible. As soon as you and your promoter are agreed on the deal then you will need to make sure that you advance your show and promote it. 

Advancing your show just means that you and your bandmates are absolutely certain of what is going to happen on the day of the show. Make a timesheet detailing what time you need to be at the venue, what you need to bring with you, contact numbers etc. Basically anything you think you could ever need. If your band has a manager or an agent, then this job will usually fall to them but if you have booked the show yourself, this responsibility will be down to you or someone in the band. Try to do this 1-2 weeks before the show and then check the details with the promoter again in the days leading up to the show to make sure that nothing has changed, because things do change! 

As soon as you confirm your gig you’ll need to start promoting it. Promoters love bands who promote themselves. It takes a bit of pressure off them and if they see you working to make the show a success then you’ll be more than likely to get dates and other help from them again in the future. 

So, talk to your promoter/venue and divide tasks between you. The kind of things you should be doing include putting posters up around the town, flyering other live music shows in the run up to your gig, making sure press and listings sites have been told about the show, letting your fans know though mailing lists/MySpace, and getting bloggers to mention it etc. 

And don’t ever forget family, friends and yours and their occasional acquaintances. It’s amazing how many people you can get to a gig if you push all your school / college/ work mates to come and bring their friends. A great trick for that is to bundle the gig ticket with another offer. Lots of bands do this with a free CD (which is fine) but you can be really imaginative. Two favourites of mine are both about UK acts. 

The first, the Darkness, cooked a traditional Fish and Chips dinner for everyone who came to their early gigs and that was included in the ticket price. Another, Lemon Jelly, sold a T-shirt and you had to wear that to get in – it was the ticket. So, you got to the gig, the crowd looked really odd, and you got an amazing souvenir of the show. Imagine doing that for every gig! 

I always recommend contacting all the other bands on the bill and introducing yourselves. This is often essential for kit-sharing (especially for smaller venues and for the drummers) but can really work if you divide up the promotion between all bands and work together to get the venue full. 

At The Gig 

You’ve promoted the show, and thanks to some good organisation you’re all at the venue on time so the only thing left to do is play right? 

Wrong. You’d be amazed at the number of bands who play one show with a promoter and then never get another gig due to bad behaviour. This is the start of your musical career and you need to give yourself the best chance possible of being asked back to play again. Don’t act like diva’s, get too drunk, or be rude or obnoxious to the promoter/staff/audience unless you want a reputation for being awkward. Instead you’ll find that if you’re professional and treat the promoter and the people at the venue with respect then you’ll do yourself a world of good. 

If you’ve had an off night but have been well behaved with it then regardless of how bad the show went you will find that most promoters will want to work with you again. However, if all you’ve done is cause grief then you won’t be asked back and you’ll find that your reputation will be damaged with more than just that venue and promoter. Word spreads… 

Once you’ve played your gig, if you want to succeed then unfortunately your work still isn’t done. Now you have to take advantage of your audience! Ideally everyone who sees you play should leave the venue knowing your name, your website address, carrying one of your CDs and be signed up to your mailing list so they can be kept up to date with releases and future shows etc. If you only do one of these things then make the mailing list it!

A mailing list is crucial for bands as it allows you to communicate with your fans whenever you want. Make sure you’ve brought some pre-printed sheets along with you at any show you do and during your show let people know where they can sign up and what they can expect from it e.g. exclusive news, free tracks etc. The best place to set up your mailing list is at the merchandise table as that’s where people congregate. If you can, try and make it so that everyone who signs up gets a free badge or sticker with your band name on it. Audiences love freebies! I prefer to give away CD’s rather than trying to sell them – certainly right at the start of your career. 

After your show you’ll need to make sure that at least one of you is at the mailing list to chat to people and answer questions. Just by being there you’re increasing your chances of people signing up, and you’re connecting with future fans. You should all rotate this position until the last audience member has left the venue. 

Once you have a mailing list then you’ll need to contact those people who have signed up quickly. Send them a thank you email the next day if at all possible and offer them a download of a demo or cheap entry to your next show. If you have pictures from the gig then let them know where they can see them, and maybe do your own mini-review of how the night was for you and encourage them to review the night too. This involvement will make them feel special and is the perfect basis for fostering loyalty in your fans. 

I recommend posting plenty of live pictures, including ones of the crowd and you hugging individual fans and that kind of thing – put them on the band’s blog (you should have one!) and if you haven’t already done so, set up a Flickr profile and have them there. Then you can set up a group on Flickr that your fans can also post their photos to. 

If you have merch to sell or give away at your shows then you should do so. This doesn’t mean that you need to spend shed loads of cash on getting t-shirts printed; just burning CDs on your computer is perfectly acceptable (although, as I said earlier, I’d have a CD to giveaway as well. Maybe give a 3 track promo away and have a 10 track to sell, but keep it cheap!).  Just make sure that everything has your website/MySpace on it so people know where to find you. If you don’t have any merch to sell or give away then don’t worry. You can always make up some flyers with your details on, including the dates of any future shows, for people to pick up at the merch table. 

Finally, if you can do something a little different to make you stand out from the crowd, then do it! This could be from giving away something unusual, to all being dressed in uniform etc. Something that’s going to grab people’s attention and get them talking, so get thinking… 

If you can do all of this then you’re onto a winner!

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To many people, starting a band appears to be straightforward. You find people you get on with who can play instruments, you write songs together and then take over the world right? 

If only it were that simple I can hear several of you cry! Starting your band can actually be one of the most frustrating parts of the business for a musician. If you are in this for the long haul then your band will be your family for the rest of your musical life. You’ll do everything together, including argue so if you don’t choose the right people at the beginning of this process then you’ll find yourself in an endless cycle of replacing various members and trying to get new members ready to play your songs in time for shows. Not to mention the difficulties that this can cause when it comes to songwriting and recording royalties… 

So, in order to try and save yourself this hassle, here are a few things you should be thinking about when assembling your band: 

What does your band need?  

You’d be surprised how many people don’t think about this question when it comes to setting up their band. 

When you think about a band you generally think singer, guitarist, bassist and drummer, the standard band set up, but look at The White Stripes, or The Ting Tings, neither of these have a standard band set up, so why should you? Think about the kind of music you write; if it lends itself to the standard set up then go for that, if it needs keyboards then you’ll need a keyboardist, if it works better with a drum machine then get a drum machine! It’s your music, so it’s up to you after all. 

Don’t try and fit something in if you don’t need it, work out the roles you need filled and then find the musicians to fill those roles. Remember that you need a band who can play shows together; that’s your aim, so stick to it.

Once you have this worked out then your next step is… 

Find the musicians to fill your roles! 

You’ve written your songs and you know what roles you need filled to help you bring this music to life, so now all you need are the right people to help you do this. 

What’s the best way to go about this? 

Well depending on your circumstances here are a few ideas to help you get hold of the right people – remember, they’re going to be your family from now on so choose carefully… 

1. Ask around your mates: This is probably the safest but also in some ways the most dangerous way of finding band members. It’s good because if you recruit someone you already know then you know what they’re like as a person and you will already have a pretty good idea of how they would fit into your band. However, because they are already your friend, unless they’re as passionate about your music as you are, you may find that they could start to take the piss a bit by not showing up on time, missing rehearsals etc. Despite this, as long as you know your mates are reliable and can play, then this is the best way to start. 

2. Studio/Rehearsal Rooms: If you’ve ever been in one of these before you’ll know that most of these places the world over will have a bulletin board for you to post an ad for your band. It’s also worth talking to the people who work here as they see everyone who comes through the doors and so know who is playing with which band and who is looking for a new gig, so they could tip you off on an amazing guitarist looking for a new band. 

3. The Internet: Lots of music websites and local listings sites have a section or a forum filled with ads from people looking for a band to join. You should definitely look through these and place your own ad seeking band members. We’ve had loads of success with Gumtree in the UK and Craig’sList is great in the US as well. 

4. Posters: You should also put adverts up in your local area in the places that you know musicians use. This will differ from town to town but good places to target include college and university campuses, clubs and venues, and record stores (if you have any left in your town!). 

5. Youtube: …or similar. Never tried this ourselves, but if you can get people to come and see what you’re doing, and upload what they’re doing so that you can check it out, it might work. Worth a try to avoid sitting in rehearsal spaces day after day. At least try to get your potential candidates to point you at some video somewhere so that you can check them out whilst making a shortlist. 

If you get the word out there and let people know that you are looking then you should find that you have a steady stream of people contacting you. Then it’s down to you to audition them and see if they fit with your vision! 

Rules and expectations 

Most bands have a natural leader and this is usually the songwriter and/or the person who formed the band. How far the leader chooses to define their role depends on the band dynamics but one thing they should do at an early stage is to set out some basic band ground rules and expectations in order to make the band run as smoothly as possible. These needn’t be huge, life changing, rules, they just need to cover the basic info that all band members need to know and adhere to. These should include the following: 

How many times a week do we practice and for how long? 

Where do we practice? 

Do we split all rehearsal costs and other expenses equally? 

How much money, if any, am I supposed to contribute to costs?  

If anyone continuously breaks or ignores your band rules then sack them and look for someone else to take their place. They’re not committed enough and this will cause further problems in the future. This sounds harsh I know, but it’s true and you’ll thank me for it later. 

As well as general band rules you’ll also need to discuss writing with your band. 

For example will there be just one songwriter or will you all pitch in? And if everyone contributes to songs then you’ll need to decide if you’re going to split royalties equally or not. This might seem like something that you don’t need to worry about too much at the start, but it will save a lot of arguments in the future, so make it clear from the outset. 

Get the show on the road 

At this point you should have a happy band family who have been writing and practising together. The next step is to get out there and start playing shows. 

You may think that at this point your band is all set for world domination but you would be wrong – this is in fact the final part in putting your band together. Once you start booking and playing shows you will realise if you have a band that works together or not.

We’ve seen many promising bands implode when asked to live in a van with each other for two weeks, and through this process it is guaranteed that you will find out who is committed and who isn’t. Any differences between you will also rear their head at this point too so take note of the differences and difficulties and after you’ve played a few shows look back and see if your band is working. If it isn’t then you’ll need to go back and start again, if it is, great! 

The hard work is about to begin…

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