James Moore's Blog, page 66

Attributing Responsibility In Your Band

I think one of the hardest parts of being in a band is holding people accountable. I had a whole chat with a client about this today and some of the difficulties he faces with his band members. Now this ties into what I wrote about recently concerning ‘main dudes’. In fact in many ways this is merely an extension on those observations. I think that when it comes down to it you need to figure out who is doing what when it comes to band dynamics and realizing that sharing the duties of being the main dude isn’t necessarily always a good thing. I wanted to pick apart some of the accountability and responsibility of being in a band. These aren’t easy tasks but they are also the sort of tasks that can inspire us to push forward and try and find innovative solutions for our problems, helping bring the industry to brave new levels and encouraging all of us to work together in the name of a scene that we all love.

This issue of accountability most often comes up when people try to dole out different roles to different band members but simultaneously different band members have varying levels of dedication to the band. Now this can manifest itself in a variety of contexts. It could be something like the guy handling you social media just doesn’t think social media is that important. Alternatively it could potentially mean that certain members of your band aren’t as willing to tour as others – another thing that always drives groups apart constantly. There are a lot of struggles like this and making sure that everyone is on the same page is key. Beyond that you need to make sure that everyone is comfortable with the roles that they need to have in the band if they want longterm success. Otherwise it’s so easy to just fall into bland and repetitive suffering that leaves so many bands stuck struggling along rudderless and incapable of growing their brand.

What this really means is that in any good band communication is key. Different people have different capacities, different competences and different abilities to get shit done. When it comes down to it it’s sometimes embarrassing to have to say “Hey, I can’t handle this aspect of the band”. Some people are more high functioning than others – that’s all there is to it. So you end up needing to communicate and explain what you can do and what you can’t do with your bandmates. Remember that at the end of the day everyone suffers if you don’t get your job done and the odds are that someone else in the band can probably do it for you if you just reach out and ask. Otherwise things get tricky and suddenly a huge aspect of your band is crashing down around your ears and you get kicked out. I’m sure no one in your band will fault you if you can’t complete a task as long as you help to make sure that it gets done by someone else.

This is part of why it’s sometimes important to consolidate power. It’s like we discussed in the main dudes article – there are frequently situations where one or two guys in the band care a lot more about the group than most of the other members and we need to work together to make sure that that is respected. The dudes who run the band might just want to bring everything down under one flag because they know that they are getting into and want to assume that responsibility. I’ve often seen bands that try to hand out roles to members who just want to play their instruments. Guess what – if you just want to play your instrument that’s okay. Sure you probably won’t become the huge industry figure or whatever but odds are you don’t care about that. I think main dudes oftentimes have a hard time realizing this too and coming to terms with both sets of paradigms is one of those challenges that often drives a wedge in bands.

At the same time it’s often good to dole out roles within a group because bringing different ideas to the table can help to make a band embrace new opportunities and also get new perspectives on old problems. Furthermore – bands where everyone feels invested mean that they will stick together for longer and stay tied into each other even if you have a shitty tour or too. It’s easy to view someone who just plays their instrument as a hired gun and it’s important to help make sure that they don’t think that they are simply that. Rather everyone needs to come out and embrace some role in the band. It can be lesser or greater but people need to be aware of where they are. This is part of why it’s good to have the band plan on paper so that it’s easy to see who has done what and when. That way people can know where they stand and if their bandmates think the should step it up or if they are doing exactly what needs to be done.

Communication is key and letting people know if you want to just be a simple instrumentalist or if you strive to be a main dude is important Just as letting people know if you want to tour a lot is important. People need to have similar goals in a band in order to have long term success. If you look at the groups that are able to survive more than a few months it’s because in almost every case they either lucked into, or previously spoke about their goals and made sure that they lined up. Rather than one member becoming gradually more uncomfortable everyone gets a chance to step up and take ownership. And after all – if it weren’t for this – we might as well be dead.

Independent Music Promotions’ (www.independentmusicpromotions.com) revolutionary music PR campaigns are the most effective in the industry. Submit your music to us today.

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How To Get The Most Out Of Patreon

I think one of the single best things that a band can do in order to promote themselves is to exploit the true power of Patreon. There is a way to use it that I think very few other people fully realize or are willing to put the effort in to make happen. You simply need to put together a few individual thought processes that are rarely properly combined. First of all – you ne to realize that your band is a brand. We’ve talked about this one before, but it means if your band is brand you need to be able to provide things auxiliary to music. You also need to realize that while some bands certainly have launched a Patreon for their work they haven’t actually changed how they release content as a band. That is to say – they still only put out an album every two years and play a hundred shows a year. Sure know they might have some exclusive merch, but even that isn’t too special. So what does a band gotta do to make a Patreon that doesn’t suck and can even work at low levels?

Now I put a lot of thought into this. Bigger bands that do Patreon can get away without hcanging their content model and just doing exclusive merch but that’s not really feasible for your band with a few thousand Facebook likes. So what you do is look at other arts industries that are more Patreon dependent and see what you can do to copy from them. What you find is that the people who create successful Patreons are in the business of releasing regular content, frequently weekly or even daily. Obviously you can’t release a new song every week, but there are other types of content you can create. For example my clients in the band Starkill have been creating funny videos related to band life. The videos are high quality and filmed in their studio. Sure there was a high initial investment, but isn’t that the case for most things that actually end up making money? This is where things get interesting.

Suddenly Starkill are raking in enough to boost their Facebook ads significantly, since starting a Patreon they have been able to more than double their advertising budget. This has created recursive feedback because the more they advertise the more people are going to find out about their Patreon and the more people find out about their Patreon the more money they will make. Suddenly you go from just being some asshole with a Youtube channel to someone creating branded content that helps to fund what you truly love to do – your music. You have made the next step in making your music a brand and not just some assholes begging for cash. You are providing concrete and solid content in return for payment, and the best part is the bulk of the stuff isn’t hidden behind a paywall, so people can start to dig in before they wind up being invested. Suddenly content models for bands are radically altered and the music, while the centerpiece, is no longer obligated to be the regular income generator.

This is perfect for bands like Starkill who relied for a long time on touring income. Then when they have a string of bad luck with agents screwing them out of tours and tours being canceled they know that there is still money coming into the band account and helping them to grow their presence. Remember that and realize that when it comes down to it, being able to get your shit in front of a million people is a key. The key to remember is that you’re not asking for money for your music but you are asking for money to facilitate your creation of music. It’s a subtle difference but one that implies that you are giving something beyond just forty five minutes of pretty sounds every 700 days. I know that sounds really bitter, but when you look at it, and you realize that this gives you a chance to develop not just your band but the entirety of your lifestyle then suddenly the hard work that goes into this alternative Patreon model seems a lot more worth it.

Realize too that you don’t just need to create videos or art or anything of that nature. While those mediums certainly provide a lot of flexibility there are other pieces of content you can tie in. For example my clients in Pilgrim are creating role playing game content in order to generate income. Then they, like Starkill, plan on including all sorts of fun band content in order to tie things back into the band. As much as they might enjoy creating the Patreon content I think it’s key to keep the band at the forefront because that way you are keeping your eyes on the prize. It’s great too when you can do something like Pilgrim and find way to create content that ties right into your bands brand. Another idea would be for a video game centric band to release a new level of a game they are creating every week. I know that’s high falutin’ but I think you see where I’m trying to go with all of this – this is how you monetize your marketing.

At the end of the day – figuring out how to make money with your godawful band is always going to be hard and a lot of these Patreons require a tooon of upfront work or a huge up front investment in order to create something that gives you income down the line. This isn’t exactly something that you can quickly throw together just because you feel like it. You also can’t just imitate lot of the bullshit bigger bands do. You need to find a consistent way to fund your content and then be able to use that in order to keep things driving forward and taking advantage of bold new horizons that can fund your band and allow you to reach heights that you never before thought possible. Patreon is the future if you do it right.

Independent Music Promotions’ (www.independentmusicpromotions.com) revolutionary music PR campaigns are the most effective in the industry. Submit your music to us today.

The post How To Get The Most Out Of Patreon appeared first on Independent Music Promotions.

Knowing Your Value

There are people in this industry, they don’t need to be called out by name, who ask for far too much in the name of ‘helping out the bands’. These are the agents or bands who try to ask for $1000 for a show that can’t possibly have more than 25 people through the door, the people who try to price t shirts at $30 because “Iron Maiden” do it and the people who refuse to play when no one shows up because “Why even bother at this point?” And I get it. I really do. You want the best for your band so you ask for more than you are worth because you want to keep growing and for a lot of bands to do this they need money. They have a shorter time horizon and don’t incorporate all of the factors that come into play and end up shooting themselves in the collective foot, and that just sucks. So how DO you deal with that sort of madness? I wanted to pick apart why asking for too much can be a bad idea and how to develop more actionable ways forward.

First and foremost I think it’s important to look at why bands think that they can get away with asking for too much. Most of the time they claim that they are doing it for the scene and that they only want serious people to be working with them. They would rather play one gig for 500 bucks than 10 for $50 because they would rather have that sense of exclusivity – or at least that’s what they tell themselves, and that logic definitely has its appeal. Beyond that I think is the idea that by showing up with a rider and a demand for cash beyond what they could feasibly earn they think that the promoter or label or whoever will try and meet them halfway. This attitude is especially prevalent among shitty booking agents with large rosters, they have enough of a monopoly that they can squeeze you out. They force you to take shows on that you know you will lose money on because they also represent big money interests. It’s a shitty way to be, but they justify it as trying to make a buck.

So now let’s look at what’s wrong with that attitude. First and foremost you shouldn’t actively be trying to make someone losing money with the hope that this will push them to be better ever. If you compromise your ethics then you’re hurting yourself more than you’re helping because when it comes down to it, people fucking remember. People remember if you went out of your way to screw them or acted entitled and that only hurts you. The odds are that the promoter doesn’t need your help or your band to play their show, especially if you’re going to have a shitty attitude. By the same token labels don’t need to sign you if you’re asking for too much. In almost every case there are dozens of bands trying to access the same opportunities as you in this industry and if you make it hard for the powers that be to want to work with you then they are just going to keep on going down the line and work with a band who don’t give them a hard time and who are grateful for the unique opportunities that they are able to provide.

By the same token don’t ask for too little. This is a tricky one too because it’s so easy to push a little too hard and come off as a dick. A good general rule of thumb on a tour is to ask for about $10 per head that you realistically will draw. For a local show, that money should be going to the touring bands – that’s a totally different ballgame. By the same token if you’re hoping for money from a record label, first of all realize that’s not how it works anymore, then also realize that even arguing over percentages and stuff just makes you look like an asshole. With those situations you should argue over minor side things in order to make off with the most money possible. The point I’m trying to make is know your value, and be sure to ask for that value. A good way to make sure you get that value given to you is to set stuff up well in advance. For example – if you’re putting together a show at the last minute it doesn’t matter if you easily draw 100 people in a given market, you are losing money because of the inconvenience. The longer your time frame the easier it will be.

I’ve written about this before, but one of the trickiest things in the music industry is figuring out the power balance. You want to be able to push people to go above and beyond for you but you also don’t want to accidentally alienate them. This is part of why it’s good to have some form of representation – these people usually know about negotiating and can make some cool stuff happen for you just by virtue of that. I think that it’s also important to realize that you need to have a certain amount of charisma too. Your bandmate with the weird sense of humor, for example, probably shouldn’t be the one trying to settle up with a stressed out promoter at the end of the night. Instead realize that most people doing this are trying to help out the entire community and the more you try to act self serving the more you will alienate them.

This isn’t an easy article to write and it’s one that has advice that’s even harder to properly realize out there in the wild world. You just need to respect the opportunities you have and then collaborate as much as possible in order to create a better and brighter future for not just yourself but all of your peers. A lot of the time the hardest part of working with a band is figuring out there value, because they simply don’t know it and I need to spend time to figure out what exactly they should be getting. It’s a struggle that goes from top to bottom and one we all will wrestle with every day. Just do your best to ballpark it and don’t dick people over – ya feel?

Independent Music Promotions’ (www.independentmusicpromotions.com) revolutionary music PR campaigns are the most effective in the industry. Submit your music to us today.

The post Knowing Your Value appeared first on Independent Music Promotions.

There are people in this industry, they don’t need to be ...

There are people in this industry, they don’t need to be called out by name, who ask for far too much in the name of ‘helping out the bands’. These are the agents or bands who try to ask for $1000 for a show that can’t possibly have more than 25 people through the door, the people who try to price t shirts at $30 because “Iron Maiden” do it and the people who refuse to play when no one shows up because “Why even bother at this point?” And I get it. I really do. You want the best for your band so you ask for more than you are worth because you want to keep growing and for a lot of bands to do this they need money. They have a shorter time horizon and don’t incorporate all of the factors that come into play and end up shooting themselves in the collective foot, and that just sucks. So how DO you deal with that sort of madness? I wanted to pick apart why asking for too much can be a bad idea and how to develop more actionable ways forward.

First and foremost I think it’s important to look at why bands think that they can get away with asking for too much. Most of the time they claim that they are doing it for the scene and that they only want serious people to be working with them. They would rather play one gig for 500 bucks than 10 for $50 because they would rather have that sense of exclusivity – or at least that’s what they tell themselves, and that logic definitely has its appeal. Beyond that I think is the idea that by showing up with a rider and a demand for cash beyond what they could feasibly earn they think that the promoter or label or whoever will try and meet them halfway. This attitude is especially prevalent among shitty booking agents with large rosters, they have enough of a monopoly that they can squeeze you out. They force you to take shows on that you know you will lose money on because they also represent big money interests. It’s a shitty way to be, but they justify it as trying to make a buck.

So now let’s look at what’s wrong with that attitude. First and foremost you shouldn’t actively be trying to make someone losing money with the hope that this will push them to be better ever. If you compromise your ethics then you’re hurting yourself more than you’re helping because when it comes down to it, people fucking remember. People remember if you went out of your way to screw them or acted entitled and that only hurts you. The odds are that the promoter doesn’t need your help or your band to play their show, especially if you’re going to have a shitty attitude. By the same token labels don’t need to sign you if you’re asking for too much. In almost every case there are dozens of bands trying to access the same opportunities as you in this industry and if you make it hard for the powers that be to want to work with you then they are just going to keep on going down the line and work with a band who don’t give them a hard time and who are grateful for the unique opportunities that they are able to provide.

By the same token don’t ask for too little. This is a tricky one too because it’s so easy to push a little too hard and come off as a dick. A good general rule of thumb on a tour is to ask for about $10 per head that you realistically will draw. For a local show, that money should be going to the touring bands – that’s a totally different ballgame. By the same token if you’re hoping for money from a record label, first of all realize that’s not how it works anymore, then also realize that even arguing over percentages and stuff just makes you look like an asshole. With those situations you should argue over minor side things in order to make off with the most money possible. The point I’m trying to make is know your value, and be sure to ask for that value. A good way to make sure you get that value given to you is to set stuff up well in advance. For example – if you’re putting together a show at the last minute it doesn’t matter if you easily draw 100 people in a given market, you are losing money because of the inconvenience. The longer your time frame the easier it will be.

I’ve written about this before, but one of the trickiest things in the music industry is figuring out the power balance. You want to be able to push people to go above and beyond for you but you also don’t want to accidentally alienate them. This is part of why it’s good to have some form of representation – these people usually know about negotiating and can make some cool stuff happen for you just by virtue of that. I think that it’s also important to realize that you need to have a certain amount of charisma too. Your bandmate with the weird sense of humor, for example, probably shouldn’t be the one trying to settle up with a stressed out promoter at the end of the night. Instead realize that most people doing this are trying to help out the entire community and the more you try to act self serving the more you will alienate them.

This isn’t an easy article to write and it’s one that has advice that’s even harder to properly realize out there in the wild world. You just need to respect the opportunities you have and then collaborate as much as possible in order to create a better and brighter future for not just yourself but all of your peers. A lot of the time the hardest part of working with a band is figuring out there value, because they simply don’t know it and I need to spend time to figure out what exactly they should be getting. It’s a struggle that goes from top to bottom and one we all will wrestle with every day. Just do your best to ballpark it and don’t dick people over – ya feel?

Independent Music Promotions’ (www.independentmusicpromotions.com) revolutionary music PR campaigns are the most effective in the industry. Submit your music to us today.

The post appeared first on Independent Music Promotions.

Band Photos And How To Not Screw Them Up

So one thing that I think a lot of bands struggle with, even if they don’t want to admit it is the all important band photo. Band photos are the sort of thing most of us think is pretty cut and dry, you get together in front of a camera and you look sad. Of course – there is a whole lot more to this than that, a fact made obvious by how even huge bands sometimes have a hard time getting their photos to look like more thank awkwardly staged family photos. The band photo is something that pretty much all bands need to have and is also one of the first things that people will see featuring your band, so if you mess it up folks will right away toss you into the ‘forgettable’ pile. Avoiding this reality is a hard one, and in many ways the driving force behind your band, so let’s take some time to figure out the best ways to make people care, or at least perk up, take a second glance and give a modicum of thought to your art.

There are a couple different directions to take with a given band shot, despite that it can be fairly straightforward in determining how you want to do it. You can have the typical photo for the band with their instruments looking cool, always a good idea in my eyes. It’s tried and true and is relatively difficult to screw up. Then you have the band standing in front of something cool, think Led Zeppelins iconic shot in front of the airplane. This is a great way to immediately bring your brand into your music. Beyond this you have the typical band in a basement or warehouse standing in front of a wall in a line or triangle with their arms crossed looking grim. Finally, you have the silly shot, always a great choice and one that certainly can make fans giggle and pay attention, especially if you work on making it a little too over the top. All of these are classic ideas and variance is often discouraged – so why is it that so many bands screw them up?

I think one of the main things groups do that doesn’t work in their favor is that they come across as try hards – something no one wants. These are the bands who for the artistic shot but aren’t quite committed enough to the role for their shot to not look posed. The bands who try to take a picture that is ‘so random LOL’ and who somehow succeed in alienating large groups of fans. It’s the sort of thing you can do without even realizing it, because there is something inherently tricky about finding the balance between not being a try hard and being at least moderately professional. You need to run these questions by a series of trusted friends and managers. So many bands just come off as cringy to me these days and it’s so intangible that many of them don’t understand when I say that they look kind of dorky. It’s just the way the news goes – I don’t blame them for having a hard time accepting that, especially for a photo shoot they paid a lot for.

The other issue is branding. A lot of bands don’t understand that their brand has to extend to their visual aesthetic and not just their music. They try and make an artsy shot when they aren’t really an artsy band. They try and make a grim DIY shot when they play happy pop punk. They try and look professional when really all they want to do is play basements. The key here is really to make sure that your band shot fits in with your brand. If you are a country band then pose outside, maybe with some horses, broken wood fences or large fields. If you are a underground death metal band then pose with some spikes or some bullshit. I don’t fucking know. The point being – your photos should be on brand, and they shouldn’t come off as a band trying to impress people, but rather one who take impressing people in stride.

Finally of course there is the issue of the ‘experimental’ shot. This is when the band tries to do something that has never been done before (Spoiler alert: It’s been done before) and think that their fans will appreciate them being “So innovative”. Now it’s certainly possible that you do have an idea that no one has had before (Or at least not recently) and you have a brilliant plan of execution. However the odds are that not only s that not the case, but that whatever you happen to think is the case is actually a weak excuse for a bit of masturbatory artsy-fartsiness that only holds back your art. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be willing to take risks, but I do certainly think that you should take some time to figure out what exactly you are trying to create and then also ask some trusted colleagues what they think of your idea and if it will actually work out in your favor.

At the end of the day when it comes to band photos the best solution is probably the easiest, find a trusted photographer, do something fairly standard and run it by some friends before publishing. Sure you can probably make a huge statement with your band photos but unless you can figure out a way to tie it into your aesthetic in a unique way you’re probably fucked. Incorporate your brand into one of the more standard arrangements for band photos and then go from there. If you push the boundaries too far people will get confused. Instead try and work within the commonly accepted ideas and use that as inspiration in and of itself. You want to make a good first impression, and risk taking frequently fails to pay off.

Independent Music Promotions’ (www.independentmusicpromotions.com) revolutionary music PR campaigns are the most effective in the industry. Submit your music to us today.

The post Band Photos And How To Not Screw Them Up appeared first on Independent Music Promotions.

How To Not Be Corny On Social Media

So an issue I’ve been running into lately and that I’ve had to talk to a lot of bands about is figuring out how to help bands avoid corniness in their social media posts. It’s a tricky thing to be sure. No one wants to be viewed as a try hard or a goody goody who does everything they can to ‘check all the boxes’. If we got into this music to be rebellious then why would we want to follow a rather bland and normal seeming plan that doesn’t lead to much real change or success? I get it – it’s not a fun thing to do. You want you social media to be indicative of you, not some version of yourself that you are trying to market or make happen to think would appeal to your core fanbase. It’s hard because you came from punk rock and you don’t want to be shooting yourself in the foot with whatever you choose to post about. I get it. These things aren’t always obvious, but I want to help give you some tools to find a better way forward.

I think first and foremost it’s important to realize that your fans don’t want you to be corny either, at least not most of the time. For the vast majority of bands, especially people reading this article they know what they want and the kinds of posts they like seeing. They like feeling part of the community behind a band but they don’t want to have the curtain pulled back to much. They don’t want to be pandered to but they want content that appeals to them. These all seem like really tricky things to do, at least initially, but when you start to look at what that really means then you’re going to start finding a little more success than you thought initially possible. Very few DIY bands seem to understand how to use social media to their advantage and that’s simply because they are not letting themselves show through in their posts. They think that they need to do the ‘right’ thing, when, as it turns out, most bands will probably have more success by breaking the mold.

You need to sit back and look at the social media of some of your favorite major bands in your scene who don’t just post news. The ones who really take advantage of the platform. What they do is use it as a way to share who they are. I know that sounds hard, but in many ways your social media persona really should just be an extension upon yourself and your art. Lok at some of the biggest Twitter users in your music community, they are all about directly engaging fans and being personal. They use their personas as the fuel for their tweets. This allows them to be funny, informational or even crass, they just make sure its on brand. The same goes for Instagram, you can post candids all day and people will eat it up, because they want to know what’s going on behind the curtain and what they can do in order to become a bigger part of it. I think that the real thing that throws people for a bone is Facebook, so here we go…

Facebook is tricky because most bands feel like it should primarily be for news and occasional small cool personal things. To a certain extent this is true. There are things you can get away with on Twitter or Instagram that you can’t really do on Facebook just because of how much more ephemeral those platforms can feel. That being said – Facebook has a very important role. Not only is it probably the most visually attractive platform of the big three and the best one for sharing news on it’s also one where you are going to find the highest percentage of your fans. So you need to be very careful what you post there. I think the most effective content is certainly news related, but I also see a lot of live shots doing very well as well as cute little things. Sure it’s not as easy to personally engage and you shouldn’t be sharing constant memes, but you should be always focused towards the future, shoving it in peoples faces.

At the end of the day, as shitty as it sounds that’s what social media is about – forcing your wy into peoples feeds and giving them something relevant so that they create a positive association with your band. I know that sounds kind of douchey and can be extremely difficult, but it’s also the only way to get to the top if you’re doing your best to be constantly talked about. Sometimes it’s difficult, especially when it’s still hard for you to get more shows and you still don’t know people in your scene, but even then you just have to try. I’m sure that some independent journalist has covered your music and if that’s not a starting point I don’t know what is. Musicians are known as cool for a reason, most of them are friendly and just want to hang out. Being able to hang out and figure out how to work together to create a stronger social media presence with all of you and build a brighter future is a key part of becoming a band that matters.

When it comes down to it even a lot of really big bands don’t understand social media because they got in on luck and good songwriting. While these things are definitely important don’t think for a minute that you can get away with having a bad social media game. Your social media is what is going to keep driving your brand and even for those bands who got in on songwriting and luck at a certain point they realize they need to start embracing it if they want to keep getting likes and shares to grow the brand. It’s a weird thing and most people in the industry still haven’t realized what it means, but if you don’t accept it and prepare to start growing then you’re never going to figure out the best path forward for your art.

Independent Music Promotions’ (www.independentmusicpromotions.com) revolutionary music PR campaigns are the most effective in the industry. Submit your music to us today.

The post How To Not Be Corny On Social Media appeared first on Independent Music Promotions.

The Death Of DIY Venues

So as you may be aware, I live up here in Brooklyn. Just across the bridge in north Jersey there used to be a venue called the Meatlocker. I say used to be because up until recently it was a crucial venue in the mid-Atlantic metal scene. In the last few days though it was closed down by a new restaurant that came to the area who complained to the landlord. I wanted to look at this venue as something of a case study for how DIY venues should operate. The Meatlocker had been around for decades and, strangely enough, was located on the main street of a rather cute little town. It was a punk stronghold that saw performances from legends like Magrudergrind to weird Asian bands like Wormrot, harsh noise and even the occasional bit of dream pop. Beyond that it was a space that had art showings and other events that catered to the alternative set in north Jersey and even New York City. Its loss is a massive blow and I want to look at what happened and how it impacts other DIY spaces throughout the world.

We all know that there is a perpetual war going on against DIY in the west. Gentrification doesn’t want folks like us to be out and playing shows in houses and basements across America for pennies. They want to close down the spaces where alternative activities happen because they are inherently subverting and dangerous to the mores of our society. There are constant rent hikes, stringent fire safety checks and constant police raids. It’s exactly why so many DIY spaces are forced into the absolute shittiest parts of cities. It’s the only place they can find landlords who don’t care and let us do what we need to in order to host our music. We are trying to create art with literally no support from mainstream culture and that means there is next to no money involved most of the time. It’s a hard reality and one that we constantly have to deal with, because when it comes down to it, people are not nice and have a hard time understanding the passion behind this music.

Now I know it’s hard to talk about because the wound is fresh. The Meatlocker was a goddamn institution and to deny its prominence in shaping punk rock in the region over the last four decades would be totally remiss. But this sort of thing happens in cities all the time. In a given year, New York probably sees five to ten DIY spaces come and then go. Part of why Meatlocker lasted so long was that it was in the middle of a town where no one really knew what to do. Most people didn’t want to shut it down because they understood that the venue was older than most of the other local businesses and the local punks were nice dudes. They did a lot of things right, but at the same time they definitely could have been running a tighter ship. I know that’s easy to say in retrospect and can sound super pretentious given my own role in the industry and the fact that I’m writing this from an apartment in Williamsburg, but I think it’s important to look at how we can work together to grow the scene.

I think though that you need to look at the general practices of any DIY space and make sure that they are sustainable. Now obviously this isn’t just applicable to the Meatlocker, this is a general rule for DIY spaces in general. The Meatlocker, as far as I could tell, had pretty sustainable practices. That being said – it’s probably best to observe what the best DIY spaces do, like the legendary ABC No Rio – probably the longest lived punk spot in the United States. They made sure to make their name on offering a variety of services, from a free computer bay,to art space, as well as of course having a performance space. They own their building and do their best to appease neighbors and keep everything as put together as possible. I know that sometimes this can violate punk ideals, but when it comes down to it – would you rather have a good spot for their to be shows, or do you want people to think you are the punkest?

Ultimately these spots are the lifeblood of our scene. They are the places that matter and which allow bands to rise up. The locals are putting together a list of bands who played the Meatlocker and as I scroll through you see countless bands who went from playing this basement to going on to selling out thousand person clubs. This is what the industry is supposed to be about, exciting and gradual progression. The Meatlocker was the sort of place that facilitated that, but now that it’s falling apart folks the scene are doing exactly what you shouldn’t do. People are posting bad reviews of the restaurant that filed the initial complaint. People are making trite posts on social media. They don’t seem to be getting their shit together from a legal standpoint. They also don’t seem to be building on lessons from punk that we all know – that sometimes we need to fight from within the system. I’m confident the scene will live on, it’s just sad to see such a beloved spot go.

When it comes down to it, you need to be able to fight for your local DIY space. You need to realize that you need to follow stringent policies and remain friendly and positive throughout. These are the places that art is allowed to grow in America, the rest of the time is, admittedly, only so much suffering. As hard as it might be to see the light we need to take every lasting scar and use it to build a better future for our scene. I know it’s not easy and oftentimes can be frustrating, aggravating, and downright silly, but it’s the way that it needs to go. Learning to appreciate the magic therein is the only way to move on effectively.

Independent Music Promotions’ (www.independentmusicpromotions.com) revolutionary music PR campaigns are the most effective in the industry. Submit your music to us today.

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What Happens When Your Main Dude Sucks?

So earlier this month I wrote an article about the “Main dude” in a band and how that can impact band dynamics. It got quite a bit of traction, especially, I noticed, among main dudes from bands across the world. However, a question that got raised by several friends of mine was simply “What do you do if the guy who styles himself as the main dude doesn’t actually do anything?” I’ll be honest – I hadn’t thought of this question even though its one I struggle with. There are tons of bands I work with where the main member doesn’t actually do anything but still bitches about how their bandmates are totally useless. I get that and that’s endlessly aggravating. So this is a piece dedicated to the secret drivers of bands, the folks who need to suffer under fragile egos and inflated senses of self importance in figuring out what needs to be done.

There can be a lot of weird reasons why the person who thinks they are the main dude is not actually. Maybe they were the ones who started the band and want to claim that they retain some supremacy over decision making. Or maybe they handle a lot of the number crunching and ordering the merch and whatnot so they view themselves as the business person in the band but they don’t handle any of the relationships that get you good shows. There’s also a chance that it’s the opposite – they are the friendliest person in the band but when you try and give them some small project to work on they totally shoot themselves in the foot. It’s not easy to balance these things out, especially with the sorts of people who like to play in independent bands. It’s not an easy conversation to have either – you don’t want to be the guy who says “Chuck, you’re kind of useless, stop shooting yourself in the foot.” Especially if you’ve known Chuck for a decade!

What you need to do is try and establish how much every member of the band does. This can be done in a variety of ways, from band meetings, to spreadsheets to something else entirely. It’s good to have it in writing though, this way if someone is trying to take too much power without the appropriate amount of contribution it’s easy to put them in their place. I think another key when trying to determine balances of power is to put a statute of limitations on any one achievement. For example – you don’t want the guy who booked all the shows in basements early on to insist on remaining in those basements if you’re starting to get real venues. Sometimes people think that they have more experience and knowledge than they do, simply because they have been a part of the scene for so long. That’s totally valid, it makes a lot of sense, and it’s something they hold on to, often desperately. Every case is different but you need to appreciate individuals perceptions of band dynamics before going into any sort of ‘distribution of power’ oriented meeting.

I think the other thing to realize is that different members of the band may place different values on various band tasks, and furthermore these values might be totally different from the reality of the situation. I think it’s important to be open and frank about these realities and figure out what matters the most to your band on a day to day basis. That is to say, if someone is handling the artwork that isn’t usually as important as the guy who books all the shows, because you need shows on a weekly basis and art maybe twice a year. There are exceptions to be sure, like if your artist was producing dozens of pieces annually, but emphasizing the day to day performance is generally a good rule of thumb. The person who is handling the majority of the top 5 most important day to day things is probably the main dude, that’s just the way it goes. Again – this is the sort of thing that sucks to talk about, but oftentimes it just needs to be done for the greater good of your band.

Now sometimes someone really can’t understand that they aren’t all that they think they are cracked up to be. This might be because of a personality thing, a fundamental misunderstanding of the industry, shifting roles within the band or something else entirely. It’s the sort of thing that you just need to accept and then make an executive decision on. In the worst case scenario you have to kick the domineering person out of the band. This is often because when it comes down to it you need to make the best choice to allow your music to grow, and if someone keeps hurting the opportunities that your band might be able to get then it doesn’t make sense to allow yourself and your peers in the group to suffer just because they think that they are hot shit. So when your main dude sucks, be ready to just move on. Even if you have to do it under a different name.

Main dudes in bands are a tricky thing. It’s easy to find stories of groups that fell apart due to a power struggle, or bands where the power struggle is ongoing. Again – it’s life in the arts where we all constantly are beating our heads against a wall and wondering why things can’t get better. If your personnel are holding you back then you have to look out for number one. I know that I’m all about the community, and I think this opinion is consistent with that. You simply need to be aware when there is something that needs to be cut out so that you can continue to be the best member of your scene that you can be. I’d rather you hurt one persons feelings than have your band end up being a leech on local music, such that when things fall apart for your group you can’t find a new way forward.

Independent Music Promotions’ (www.independentmusicpromotions.com) revolutionary music PR campaigns are the most effective in the industry. Submit your music to us today.

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Things Take Time

Things take time, there is no other way around it. In the music industry when you routinely have to go through two or three people just to get anything done you simply have to accept these unfortunate realities and then go from there. There are times when you’re going to find yourself endlessly frustrated with what the music industry does to you, people oftentimes need to deal with months of negotiations to get anything one and that can be really fucking annoying on both ends. I know this because I’ve lost clients after negotiations dragged out because of the multiple layers within the industry. I know this because I’ve given up on people who genuinely wanted to help because things were taking too much time. It’s frustrating, especially because there’s nothing that most of us can do. When you’re sufficiently in demand your options are pretty goddamn limited when it comes to expanding what you can do to help people out.

The key thing to realize is that a lot of the people who you want to get in touch with are in high demand. This ties in exactly to what we’ve discussed countless times on this blog about why industry people don’t answer your emails. They – like you – are too goddamn busy to deal with someone they don’t really know. Even if you are able to break down that initial wall, unless your project is going to generate serious income for them then they are probably going to need you to be patient. They want to get to you but they have to feed themselves and in an industry where the margins are so small it’s easy to get shifted to the bottom of the pile. The other thing is that in big projects like this there’s sometimes a lot of work to be done between each individual step, leading to an increased delay. It’s easy to say that you want to maintain regular communication but sometimes it’s hard if you’re just waiting to receive the information you need to move forward.

A lot of the time this is because there are so goddamn many people involved in many of these events. Think for example about your average month long tour. You’re looking at a minimum of 30 promoters (Assuming that some venues don’t have two or even three guys who handle it) a booking agent (Or maybe a team of agents), a manager (Or maybe a team of managers), the publicists, the labels and the bands who make up the package. Suddenly what seems pretty routine turns into fifty or more people trying to coordinate together on a single announcement. There’s a reason that so much of this industry is just email tag. You’ve got to make sure that everyone has their ducks in a row or else you can wind up looking very silly and potentially even screwing yourself out of money. It makes people a lot more quiet and forces you to accept some of the harsher realities that this industry is going to routinely throw at you.

Of course you need to focus on the positive, in many ways the amount of time it takes to get shit done is a good thing. After all it means that the odds of a fuck up are vastly diminished because people are taking the time to verify all is in good order since they don’t want the mistake to be on their end. This is also why I kick off a lot of projects months and months in advance. I want to be able to rest easy well before the project I have going launches and have plenty of breathing room for everyone who needs to be involved. It also means that you can start to get access to some pretty major resources. Odds are that there are a few people on copy in major projects who are big players but who aren’t really partaking in this particular project beyond a supervisor capacity. Yet if they see you acting professionally and doing well then they might just hit you up in the future!

When it comes down to it you just need to have a lot going on at any one time. Sure your distribution deal might be taking a while to come through, but that just means you can spend time working on tours. Maybe your label contract is held up by lawyers on their end, but that allows you time to focus on marketing with your manager. It’s all about juggling as many balls as possible and realizing that at any one time most of them aren’t going to be under your control. This means that you can take on a ton of projects as long as you make sure to develop them all sustainably. If you don’t have a ton of projects going though it’s also easy to get really lethargic really fast. It’s so easy to drown under your own apathy and if you’re only doing one thing at a time you will get frustrated. By the same token it keeps you from being annoying and grinding the people trying help you out with questions and slowly making them hate you. So think about that.

It’s frustrating sometimes to see how long these projects take and how long the negotiations are going to grind on for for even tings that seem like they should be easy. It’s a breath of fresh air when shit happens quickly – but most of the time shit is not going to happen quickly, it’s going to take its goddamn time. You just need to accept that and move on. This is a slow moving industry and if you think you can just grind things out then you’re going to end up frustrated as higher ranking folks show you that you need to be careful, think about things and make sure that they get done the right way. After all – what more is there to do than try and grow as a positive collective? This isn’t an easy path, but it’s the one you’ve chosen. Deal with it.

Independent Music Promotions’ (www.independentmusicpromotions.com) revolutionary music PR campaigns are the most effective in the industry. Submit your music to us today.

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Beer, Bars And Bands

One of the things I find interesting about the music industry is the connection between bars and music. When I started trying to do this for real I didn’t process that I would be spending as much time as I do sitting in quiet bars, drinking quiet beers and waiting for soundcheck to end. Beyond that – most touring musicians who have a modicum of financial success at home tend to be bartenders. This is the sort of thing that makes me curious and I wanted to spend a few minutes looking at what it means for folks like you and me, and what we can do in order to maximize the profits from this unique relationship. Remember, that bars, much like independent music, are fundamentally cool and if we can look at how both of these industries can maximize their income then we will end up all winning and finding exciting futures for sectors that are traditionally very difficult to get by in.

I think perhaps the most obvious and effective, though unfortunately infrequently used method of tying together the magic of bars and bands is by having free shows and paying the band out of the bar. I’m not entirely sure why not a lot of bars do this because it always seems to be a win win. If you are a bar that brands itself as having bands, keeping fans from having to pay a cover virtually guarantees double or even triple attendance. It’s not like most bars touch the cover money anyway, they usually just give their cut to the staff and the promoter. This way, everyone gets to make a little bit of money and more people are in the bar than would normally be on a fucking Tuesday and the bands who, probably don’t care about money if they are playing a free show, get a cool experience and can sell a fair bit of merch. If that’s not a win win I don’t know what is.

So here’s the other thing that I think not enough bars take advantage of. Essentially, if you bring in traditional bar promotional elements alongside a standard bit of music branding then you are almost guaranteed to find some measure of success. For example – one thing one of my favorite rock bars does is they routinely offer new and exciting beers to try, often targeted around key shows. This helps to maximize attendance but also makes the fans feel like they are taking part in a special event. I think they key thing to remember with your branding for bar shows is that the people who attend most independent music shows are also frequent bar goers anyway. You want to try and fuse those experiences for the maximum potential. Otherwise you’re just wasting everyones time. Its a risk for bars to go with an indie music branding, so you want to be able to bring forth promotional ideas that will burn forth.

Something a lot of bands could be doing that I think would be an easy way to bring positive associations to their brand would be to help fund a discount beer night. Perhaps they strike up a deal where they give the bar $500 for half price on a certain beer all night for a headlining show or a key opening slot. This doesn’t really impact the bars bottom line and it creates a positive brand association for the group. I know this sounds both pricey and pie in the sky, but I think a lot of bars that have a solid relationship with certain bands would be receptive to something like this and the positive brand association is, in my eyes, something the band will be talking about for a good long while. Obviously these sorts of things can be a bit tricky to set up but that’s why if your band pulled something off like this you would be legends rather than losers.

Of course no article about bands and beer would be complete without taking at least a few moments to talk about getting your own beer made. This can be a surprisingly easy branding exercise, especially if someone in your band is tight with a local craft brewer. If your brand name is big enough locally you can often get these crossovers for free and buy beer to sell wholesale. The best way to approach this for smaller bands is to inquire with the brewer when they are trying out a limited line of something new and maybe a little weird that they don’t quite know what to do with. It’s better to come out and try to work with what they have rather than to shoot yourself in the foot and ask some random brewer to come up with an entirely unique recipe. Remember, you want to make things as easy as possile for the brewers to say yes. That’s the case for all bar promotions really, you just want it to make sense in the context of what you are trying to launch and not shoot yourself in the foot by thinking you are bigger than you are. Humility goes far in this industry.

At the end of the day this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to bands and bars. This is pretty much the longest standing regular relationship in the industry and we al have an obligation to work together to try and create the most productive experience possible for all parties with it. Bars are where folks like you and me live whether we like it or not and bars are a place that have endless options for promotions. So sit back and try and look into what you can do to help make your favorite local bar reach a brave new level of confidence and power and work with your friends in order to build up all the affiliated industries with your brand. Doesn’t that seem like a much better path to success than a me first attitude anyway? I certainly think so.

Independent Music Promotions’ (www.independentmusicpromotions.com) revolutionary music PR campaigns are the most effective in the industry. Submit your music to us today.

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