Kiki Vs The Newbies

Last week a bunch of new people started at my work and it got me thinking about how first impressions and the impact you make within that first week window of meeting someone can really last. The exact same thing goes for new bands and rising stars. 

Bands are like the tonnes of people paying their couple of quid each week to play the lottery; only a small handful win the jackpot - some deserving, others not so much. So I've compiled a short list of 'do's and do not's' for those wanting to make it big in this horribly competitive industry. Although mostly a compilation of the obvious and common-sense kind of things, it's these very things that sadly far too many people overlook:

1) Don't be a hypocrite. 

There's always at least one band that preaches about how people in bands aren't superior to their fans and they're just regular people. Yet the same loudmouths hide themselves away in their tour busses before and after each show whilst their dedicated fans wait by the door just to say 'thanks for playing my hometown'. Don't be that guy, just don't.

2) Do press. 
If you're lucky enough to made it as far as having your own press contact, make sure they're not a (cockney rhyming slang) James Blunt. Press, as a rule, isn't your enemy. Get your press contact to do their job - a small ask, considering it is their job - and schedule you to do as much press as you can fit in. If you can't make an interview, be polite about it, not  tactless. 

3) Don't take criticism to heart. 
Take it and learn from it. Use it to be a better band. 


4) Do take the time to get to know your audience.  
Fans appreciate when bands interact with them. Bands will learn a lot from the people that listen to them. It's a two-way street. Use everything you can to reach out to the people who listen to you (and could potentially listen to you). Online networking works, but nothing beats face-to-face interaction. Hand out flyers at shows and talk to people. Engage with them, their more likely to give you a listen if they feel like they know something about you.

5) Don't just take it from me, listen to someone who knows.
Mike Glita. He used to play bass for Senses Fail. Now he's making sweet music with his new band, Love Automatic and he has a wealth of knowledge about this business. All in all he's a pretty decent chap. He also, kindly took the time out to answer some of my questions one Sunday afternoon... 

How have times changed since trying to get Senses Fail off the ground? 
Things are constantly evolving and changing and bands/artists need to find new and unique ways to get their music out to people. With the internet, it makes this process both easier and harder all at the same time. Literally, almost anyone can make a song and post it on the internet right after they make it. This is a great thing in the sense that artists no longer have to wait months on end, or find a way for their music to be heard, but also makes things more difficult because there is such an over-saturation of music. Therefore, as an artist, you really need to stand out above the rest and sometimes it is not always about how good your music is that does that, especially in this day and age.

From the business side of things, bands have to give up more and more if they want to be signed to a record label and tour full-time. Since album sales have declined enormously over the past 7 years or so, labels are trying to find ways to still make money. Unfortunately for them (and fortunately for artists in many ways), they are a sinking ship and I feel labels will become near non-existent in the next 5-10 years or so. This means it is harder to get a record deal for an artist, but also puts more power and creativity back into the artists' hands.

The most difficult thing I/we have come across so far is that if you want to be signed to a label now, they expect an extensive amount of touring (something they should've always done in the past but didn't), or expect you to be the next "hot" buzz band. Neither one of these things are easy to accomplish and most bands/artists never can. Sure, you can go out on the road on a DIY tour that you booked, hoping to get paid anything to play and are not sure if anyone will show up to the show you're playing, but that isn't an easy thing to have to deal with, especially when you have little money.

On the other hand, in most cases, if you want a good booking agent to get you tours, they expect you to be signed to a label. It's a double edged sword in most cases. The logical thing to do would be to probably hope you eventually strike up the attention of a good, trustworthy and hardworking manager (who are hard to find in many cases) and hope they can secure you at least a tour or two through some favors that puts you in a better position to do it full-time.

If you had to compile a hierarchy of priorities for new bands, what would it consist of? 
First and foremost, is always having the best music possible; that you believe is the best representation of your band. No matter what, you'll always grow as an artist and want to write new, better music, but you need to start strong and I can't stress that enough. Most people only give you one shot, one listen, and if they don't like it the first time, may not try again. This goes for fans, or especially industry people. You should NOT concern yourself with what music industry people may think of your music though, because at the end of the day, it's about what YOU think is good and what the fans think of that, not some person who has no musical background and thinks they know a good song from a bad one (a completely subjective thing).

Second, make sure your band name is something easy to remember, sticks out, and something you obviously like.

Third, make sure everyone in your project is on the same page and willing to work just as hard as the next person. This is an extremely hard thing to find, but necessary if you want to make it somewhere. The more people who really are hungry to make it in your project, the easier it will be, and the more you will get done.

Last, make sure you are ready to play the best you can together live. Save up some money and have good equipment. This is the last important key.

Some extra things are obviously to attempt to build the best website possible, myspace, facebook, twitter, etc etc. and promote the best you can.

Is it what you know or who you know? 
Unfortunately the truth 98% of the time, these days especially, is it is WHO you know. A lot of bands/artists don't even write their own music anymore (probably a lot you listen to and wouldn't think that was the case). In a lot of cases, you can easily find out by looking in the liner notes of a CD case, which will show co-writing credits, or writing credits for someone else. Sometimes there is also a "ghostwriting" credit, meaning they aren't credited in the album to keep up the artist's integrity and image that they write their own music, but the other writer still gets paid, and sometimes paid more for not having their name in the credits. So in this case, if you know people who will help you, are reasonably good looking, and have some stupid gimmick, you have a chance. It's extremely sad to say this, but I DO believe there are still plenty of artists out there with integrity, who work really hard and do make it. The difference is, the people who are a flash in the pants will have moderate popularity for 1 or 2 albums and fade away. While the good artists will manage to stay around. It's a choice you will have to negotiate with in order to decide which direction you will go (hopefully it's the later of the two).

I can't stress it enough though to get out and meet as many people as you can and hustle your music. Make sure people know who you are, without being overly annoying.

For more on Mike's band, Love Automatic, head on over to their Facebook or Myspace page.