" If Your Band Wants Real Success, Approach The Band's You Can Create Value For And Don't Stop Challenging Yourself and Your Band Until You Make Lots Of Money" (Mark Grove)
This is an important repost guys. How to approach bands you want to open for and create so much value they'll work with you and you'll start making money gigging and getting a cut of someone else's action.
I keep on harping about playing for free and giving away your best material. Literally giving away the kitchen sink. Well, at least giving away your Mother -in-Law who hates you being a Musician.
Read down to the bottom of this golden-nugget filled report to find out how
your band can start it's own media.
The Realization:
The realization is no one knows who your band is--at least not yet. If your lead guitarist isn't the greatest thing since the Shred Master's Like Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert,or Blues Guru Derek Trucks. Chances are you'll have to play for free for a while.
Mean while, play those Jam Sessions weekly even though you hate it like a passion sometimes. Open for other bands for free, and come out with a 3 or 5 song EP and give away a number of them for free.
For free? what in the hell are you talkin' bout Mark?
Yes, free. Just a small portion of them.
If you structure your band as a business when you first start out, you can actually write off the free CD's as a promotional business item expense. You may live in Canada, United States, South America, Asia or Europe. If you have a government that encourages indie music business, you'll be able to write off those expenses.
Work on writing more songs for your bands and other bands, and practice your ass off and give away songs on your bands website.
Giving Value Interviewing Other Band's:
Offer to interview other band's in your genre and set up audio and video podcasts of those interviews on your website. This creates MASSIVE VALUE for other bands. Keep playing regularly opening up for other bands. Then start asking for money. Because, if a club booker only offers 50 to 100 bucks for opening or even head lining because of low attendance, work out a deal with the club booker and put that money in a bank account. Preferably, in a high interest ING Direct account. If you have a 3 piece band that money is useless to each member, other than a little spending money. Hardly worth it.
But you could take the money and use it in the business online or paying for gas to gigs, and writing that off as well. Besides giving value to other bands think about how to create value for your band. Creating even more Massive Value for other bands:
Set up videos and podcasts of other bands interviewing them on different aspects of the music business such as guitar and gear tips, music business, getting booked, recording-- what ever. Include subjects of interest to the musicians you're helping mainly. Get ideas from Guitar Player and Guitar World mags.
Be different when approaching bands you want to open for. Don't just be like every other band and say you'd like to open for them and here's our CD. Or I love this, come see us play or come watch us practice.
No! Don't do that. Think differently. What kind of value can you provide them?
Those interviews you do with a band you want to open for can be free to musicians on your site and eventually used as how to material in E-books you can sell for even more value to musicians. Going back to opening up for musicians. Offer to start round table discussions at clubs with the headlining acts and interview them, and have fans turn out as well. This can be done before or after gigs. Keep on playing gigs and asking to open for other bands. This also gives you leverage with high paying gigs by creating value for clubs, bands and your fans.
You have created so much value with your free stuff, musicians will wonder, if your free stuff is this good the stuff like interviews, CD's, and how to stuff--the CDs and shows I have to pay for, for musicians must be incredible!
This little tip will help your band insurmountably when you become a headliner and start touring. But keep on creating value for other bands by continuing to give away so much value that you create fans of musicians, music industry people and your fans most of all.
Okay, How To Start Your Bands Own Media:
I'll keep it simple. Start by writing your own articles, bios and press kit material. Or get help from me. Tell other band members we're going to create our own media. Huh? Yeah, you're probably saying, I don't want to do that shit! If you're not getting any media interviews, do it yourself.
Yep. If you play even just one gig a week or a month for that matter, have a band member interview you before and after the gig with the audience present. Just a short interview. Now, to get a little leverage since you're bringing people out to a local club, ask the owner to bring out the media to watch the interview and your gig. Offer to write an article on the club as well.
Make sure you have someone from the band video tape the interview so you can put it on your band website. Another way to create your band's own media is to hook up a computer at the gig and have the video stream live on the internet.
http://ustream.tv is a great way to stream band interviews, shows and interviewing other bands for free. Or you can use freeconferencecall which you can record interviews with musicians right over the phone and
download those interviews which other musicians and fans can listen to online to create even more value.
Start doing this interview process for every gig. Have other band members interview each other, and interview other band's as well. Create a service like I have and write articles for bands. Be their go to guy or band.
If you play mainly metal, target bands in that genre. Don't stray far from your genre. But stick to making money for your band. What I said about wanting to open for other band's by interviewing them regularly. Do it. Don't ask for anything in return. This is part of creating a music media empire. At some point make inroads with this band and open up for them. If it's for just 100 bucks, take it and bank the money for important band business. If they can't pay you, play it anyway.
By constantly doing interviews with this band and other bands,you'll create so much value they'll want to pay you a cut of the profits. Continue to do regular interviews with your bands and other ones you want to open for. If you provide a writing and media service like this for musicians, they'll love you for it while you work on your own band material, jam and open for local and regional bands in bigger cities. Eventually, you'll open for bands that play 2,000 seat theaters and big hockey arenas.
If you work it right, you'll continue to create media for your band, other bands and get paid for it. And you'll go on the road making at least 3 or 4 grand a night opening for bands you went out of your way to interview and create media for, not asking for anything in return. Not bad eh?
It's simpler than you think guys.
Email me:mdgrove@rock.com
Mark Grove
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