Songwriters,
In my last post I brought up the subject of venues and payment for services. I have had numerous responses to this post. But the overwhelming questions is "what can I do about it?". My response to the question is that, we as songwriters depend on our creativity to be songwriters. We are independent, and to some degree compete with other artists. I feel that artists can compete in battle of the bands or compete for gigs, but still get together when it comes to venues. I suggest a forum, where artists get the word out about bad or good experiences with venues. Some online means to report the condition of the club, the cleanliness, the quality of the sound equipment, how good the sounds guy was or wasn't, and how fair you thought the compensation was. Kind of like a Zagat guide or Nielsen rating for venues.
Also, artists have fans. If you look at venues on FaceBook, they may have fans, but the number of fans for a venue pale in comparison to fans for an artist. Let your fans know that a venue stiffed you. I think venues will start to get the idea when your fans stop going, and I am speaking of when you are not playing there. Social media is a powerful tool when it is used properly. It is something that has to be leveraged by the business part of music. If you are playing music, you are in the music business.
I recently attended a workshop and concert with Terri Hendrix and Lloyd Maines in Winnsboro, TX. It was at the Crossroads location there. I talked to Gus Gustafson at length, and then Terri and Lloyd. They have tapped into the little out-of-the-way music destinations around Texas, and it is surprising what you will find. The listening room was packed. They sold CDs long after the concert was over. They engaged the audience and got them involved. It was a fun night for the artists and for the fans. They CONNECTED with their fans, and the fans bought merchandise. Do I need to repeat that?
I think back to the council have have given to young artists over the years. I think I can sum it up in a one liner here. Don't act like you are a big star until you are one! What am I saying here? When you are getting established, you can't just hang around backstage or sit at a table with your friends and family before the concert, and you have to show up at the merch table and shake some hands. Before you play, get out and talk to people in the crowd. If that somehow messes with you performance chi, then you may be in the wrong business. You have to get fans and develop a relationship with your fans. Shaking hands and letting people tell you how much they love your music never hurts. In fact, it might give you a little boost before you go on stage.
I also attended a Master Songwriting Sessions with Mary Dawson. Her guest speaker was Jeff Crilley. Jeff used to be a reported for Fox News. He now owns a PR firm and has written a book about getting yourself on the news for TV and radio or in print. He tells those little tricks you need to know to get publicity. His epiphany moment was when he was speaking at and event, and the event organizer bought copies of his book before the event and handed the books for free to the audience before Jeff spoke. He usually waited until he was done speaking, then sold his merch. The whole evening changed. He was not selling when he spoke, he was connecting to his audience. The whole atmosphere was changed. He was speaking to fans. Also, he gave me a book for free. Did it work? I just told you about Jeff, so YES!
I am not advocating giving away your hard earned merch to everyone in the audience, but how about giving away a few items. Zane Williams tosses coozies from the stage. Other artists toss t-shirts into the crowd or have drawings for prizes. One thing that might help would be picking that die hard fan that set up in the front row and tried to sing along with every song. And, no I am not talking about your mother here. If you see that person lurking after the show, but they are not in the merch line. They may not be able to afford a CD, but would like to have one. Shake their hand, and slip them a CD or something. What have you done then? You have built a loyal fan. Somebody that will promote you, because you acknowledged them and you paid them for their loyalty. What about starting a loyalty program? Announce your shows on FaceBook and other forums and track who is coming to your shows. Give them some merch, toss them the coozie. That is viral advertizing. You want to go viral don't you?
This can be a tough business, so don't make things any harder than they have to be. Artists come and go. Artists are completely dependent on fans, even Taylor Swift! Daddies money only goes so far. Would you rather have merchandise sitting in a closet gaining dust, or merchandise in the hand of fans? Fans that you have met and told you who they are. Otherwise, if you know how to be a mega artist without any fans, please let me know so I can write the book on it and become a multi-millionaire.
Roger
In my last post I brought up the subject of venues and payment for services. I have had numerous responses to this post. But the overwhelming questions is "what can I do about it?". My response to the question is that, we as songwriters depend on our creativity to be songwriters. We are independent, and to some degree compete with other artists. I feel that artists can compete in battle of the bands or compete for gigs, but still get together when it comes to venues. I suggest a forum, where artists get the word out about bad or good experiences with venues. Some online means to report the condition of the club, the cleanliness, the quality of the sound equipment, how good the sounds guy was or wasn't, and how fair you thought the compensation was. Kind of like a Zagat guide or Nielsen rating for venues.
Also, artists have fans. If you look at venues on FaceBook, they may have fans, but the number of fans for a venue pale in comparison to fans for an artist. Let your fans know that a venue stiffed you. I think venues will start to get the idea when your fans stop going, and I am speaking of when you are not playing there. Social media is a powerful tool when it is used properly. It is something that has to be leveraged by the business part of music. If you are playing music, you are in the music business.
I recently attended a workshop and concert with Terri Hendrix and Lloyd Maines in Winnsboro, TX. It was at the Crossroads location there. I talked to Gus Gustafson at length, and then Terri and Lloyd. They have tapped into the little out-of-the-way music destinations around Texas, and it is surprising what you will find. The listening room was packed. They sold CDs long after the concert was over. They engaged the audience and got them involved. It was a fun night for the artists and for the fans. They CONNECTED with their fans, and the fans bought merchandise. Do I need to repeat that?
I think back to the council have have given to young artists over the years. I think I can sum it up in a one liner here. Don't act like you are a big star until you are one! What am I saying here? When you are getting established, you can't just hang around backstage or sit at a table with your friends and family before the concert, and you have to show up at the merch table and shake some hands. Before you play, get out and talk to people in the crowd. If that somehow messes with you performance chi, then you may be in the wrong business. You have to get fans and develop a relationship with your fans. Shaking hands and letting people tell you how much they love your music never hurts. In fact, it might give you a little boost before you go on stage.
I also attended a Master Songwriting Sessions with Mary Dawson. Her guest speaker was Jeff Crilley. Jeff used to be a reported for Fox News. He now owns a PR firm and has written a book about getting yourself on the news for TV and radio or in print. He tells those little tricks you need to know to get publicity. His epiphany moment was when he was speaking at and event, and the event organizer bought copies of his book before the event and handed the books for free to the audience before Jeff spoke. He usually waited until he was done speaking, then sold his merch. The whole evening changed. He was not selling when he spoke, he was connecting to his audience. The whole atmosphere was changed. He was speaking to fans. Also, he gave me a book for free. Did it work? I just told you about Jeff, so YES!
I am not advocating giving away your hard earned merch to everyone in the audience, but how about giving away a few items. Zane Williams tosses coozies from the stage. Other artists toss t-shirts into the crowd or have drawings for prizes. One thing that might help would be picking that die hard fan that set up in the front row and tried to sing along with every song. And, no I am not talking about your mother here. If you see that person lurking after the show, but they are not in the merch line. They may not be able to afford a CD, but would like to have one. Shake their hand, and slip them a CD or something. What have you done then? You have built a loyal fan. Somebody that will promote you, because you acknowledged them and you paid them for their loyalty. What about starting a loyalty program? Announce your shows on FaceBook and other forums and track who is coming to your shows. Give them some merch, toss them the coozie. That is viral advertizing. You want to go viral don't you?
This can be a tough business, so don't make things any harder than they have to be. Artists come and go. Artists are completely dependent on fans, even Taylor Swift! Daddies money only goes so far. Would you rather have merchandise sitting in a closet gaining dust, or merchandise in the hand of fans? Fans that you have met and told you who they are. Otherwise, if you know how to be a mega artist without any fans, please let me know so I can write the book on it and become a multi-millionaire.
Roger
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