Failing on the Basics.

Averatu

The interweb is packed chock full of helpful articles and advice for us musos, and there are a bazillion super helpful books out there these days that we can consult on all topics and facets of our business. But even so, I've found that most bands simply fail on the basics, like “Oh My God, which end of the guitar goes up”. If so, how is a band supposed to make it big, when they are building on a shaky foundation.

Please read the rest here.
http://www.averatu.blogspot.com/2014/01/failing-on-basics.html

singemonkey

Really good stuff Averatu. Especially the stuff about getting your recordings seriously listened to an/or getting your interviews out there. It's a bit like submitting your CV for a job interview. They have so many submissions, they're not going to risk a headache trying to figure out your poorly prepared CV. You have to make it easy for them. Same, I gather, in this case.

Shibbibilybob

I have thought about this issue long and hard, and quite simply, we (south african bands) usually drop the ball.

If you're going to tell me you try to run your band like a business, then I wanna see a business model, a business plan and a stack of capital.

singemonkey

Shibbibilybob wrote I have thought about this issue long and hard, and quite simply, we (south african bands) usually drop the ball.

If you're going to tell me you try to run your band like a business, then I wanna see a business model, a business plan and a stack of capital.

I reckon for most of us it's more like trying to start a lemonade stand that we hope to grow into something. So you don't really go into it with a stack of capital besides the minimum investment. The plan is to learn on the small scale and attempt to build on your successes and reinvest. Because no band is worth investing capital in before you can show certain minimum accomplishments.

But in order to achieve that minimum (the holy grail of a regular, dedicated audience that comes out to gigs to see you - in the case of an original band - or venues that are prepared to hire you repeatedly for more than it costs to get there and back - in the case of cover bands) you still need to be smart and give yourself the best chance of success. I think it's this that Averatu alludes to with the basics.

Averatu

Thanx for taking notice.
@singemonkey. Its exactly like submitting a cv! That's the perfect analogy.
@Shibbibilybob. I used to hold a similar opinion, but its not just SA bands that transgress. The biggest difference is that we maybe have one record label that releases local rock/metal/indy music, where as I deal with 8 purely metal labels from Germany alone. A local local rock/metal/indy band could run its life cycle without ever having to sign a contract of any kind, whereas any decent European band can sign to a small label.

Averatu

I have not gigged in a while. Do venues and bands still do performance contracts?

guidothepimmp

When i gigged (2005 thru 2008) i only remember signing 3 contracts at most.. and they werent specifically for the venue per se.. but rather the party or festival organizers.. almost a guarantee you pitch and un derstand the time slots and all that... was helluva informal and unprofessional if i wear my corporate hat and look back

Shibbibilybob

Sure, I agree with what you say about the lemonade stand. But, at some point, when you want to start making money, you have to kind of relaunch somehow.
If an artist sells his/her first painting for 150k, their second one is priced in that ballpark. But if you sell your first piece for R400, nobody is paying 150k for your second.
If venues and promoters were able to book you for free, or even say R1000 for a night (which, when I was gigging would have been a reasonable amount, though only near enough to cover even petrol to and from the gig and rehearsals), then you're gonna have a tough time persuading them that you're suddenly worth R20k a show.

My thought is that if you're trying to make it professionally, a good and polished product is a must have. It goes nowhere without that. Once you have a solid solid set and an albums worth of recorded tunes (at a quality you can release) then I feel you'd be better off investing a few tens of thousands in publicists and agents and so on.

singemonkey

Albums are done. New bands can waste a lot of capital on recording albums that they'll never recoup through sales. We are very much back in the era of singles. Record songs in ones and twos and use them for promotion. Maximise the use of each song, and eliminate any filler. Don't waste a ton of money on a record. You can always do what they did in the late '50s and early '60s and put all your singles together after a year.

AlanRatcliffe

singemonkey wrote Record songs in ones and twos and use them for promotion. Maximise the use of each song, and eliminate any filler. Don't waste a ton of money on a record. You can always do what they did in the late '50s and early '60s and put all your singles together after a year.

Great advice, IMO.

Bob-Dubery

Shibbibilybob wrote My thought is that if you're trying to make it professionally, a good and polished product is a must have. It goes nowhere without that. Once you have a solid solid set and an albums worth of recorded tunes (at a quality you can release) then I feel you'd be better off investing a few tens of thousands in publicists and agents and so on.

I think that might depend on what you want the recordings for. If you're going to sell those recordings then sure, have them polished. If you are going to use them as demos for the consideration of a record label or management or to get a producer interested then a rougher, less fleshed out recording might do as long as it illustrates the idea (and that you have ideas).

Psean

Thanks Averatu.

Averatu

X-rated Bob wrote
Shibbibilybob wrote My thought is that if you're trying to make it professionally, a good and polished product is a must have. It goes nowhere without that. Once you have a solid solid set and an albums worth of recorded tunes (at a quality you can release) then I feel you'd be better off investing a few tens of thousands in publicists and agents and so on.
I think that might depend on what you want the recordings for. If you're going to sell those recordings then sure, have them polished. If you are going to use them as demos for the consideration of a record label or management or to get a producer interested then a rougher, less fleshed out recording might do as long as it illustrates the idea (and that you have ideas).

Sadly, most of the record companies of today want a final polished product.

epictring

Is it worth investing in publicists and agents? After your set is polished and recordings ready.

Good article!

singemonkey

epictring wrote Is it worth investing in publicists and agents? After your set is polished and recordings ready.

Good article!

And your performance is good and you've already gone as far as you can go without them. Reason being that then you have a much clearer idea of what you want and what your band's strengths are.

Averatu

epictring wrote Is it worth investing in publicists and agents? After your set is polished and recordings ready.

Good article!

A good publicist has built up YEARS of contacts, sending one email to one of his/her lists, or make one social media post, and he/she will reach more people in key places than you could possibly reach in a years, and then you have to deal with the standard barriers to entry. Record companies either use publicists, or have full time staff dedicated to that function.
But again it comes down to: Have you got a product people want to talk/write about?