INCREASE THE WEB PRESENCE OF YOUR INDIE BAND (PART 2)

SO YOU WANT TO ROCK THE NET

Ok, so you want to get your music on the net. Where should you start? There are literally millions of sites that come up on a Google search for online music hosting and distribution. Some are the top of their class for certain features, and some are not even worth wasting your time on. So, how do you weed out the good from the bad?

Well, since this article is all about getting yourself started on the net, I'm going to go out on a limb and say skip them all for now. Highly specialized music distribution sites are useful weapons in your arsenal, to be sure. Sites that cater specifically to the film, tv or gaming industries, or ones that concentrate on a certain music genre like punk or emo are great for focused attention later on. But, to get started you'll want to be where the maximum number of eyes and ears can find you.


MYSPACE STILL RULES THE INDIE PLANET

The single most important place for an indie artist to be is on MySpace. I hope you're already there. But if not, don't sweat it. It's never too late to get started and setting up an artist account couldn't be any easier.

First, you'll want to post your upcoming gig dates, a band bio, photos, videos and songs, (whatever you've got, just to get started) all of which can be done on the profile edit page. Once you've done that your main duty is to make friends. Its not enough to just put yourself up there and hope for the best. It is up to you to actively promote yourself, in a web-ethical manner.

Start out by making a list of key industry people that you'd like to make contact with and search for them. You'll be surprised at how many you find (but beware of impostors). If their account allows it, you can look through their friends and use that as a resource to find more people. Once you've got your friending underway, you'll want to keep your fans interested by updating your page on a regular basis. Any info will do. Video and photos make great content and are easy to post.

One word of warning, (and this applies to all the sites discussed in this article) don't try to befriend too many people all at once or else MySpace will assume you are using some sort of robot software and block you. A good strategy would be to send out 25-50 friend requests every time you log in.


FACEBOOK - THE WORLD'S LARGEST SOCIAL NETWORK

Facebook isn't set up to be as user friendly to artists as MySpace. But, what it lacks in design it makes up for in opportunities. Chances are, you've got your own page there already. And, while you can't have more than one account at Facebook, you can set up a fanpage for your band. To do this, you'll want to got to the advertising tab at the very bottom of your profile page. Once there, look for the tab near the top with a yellow flag called Pages. Click on that link, then on the green Create a Page link to start one up.

Once you've done all this, let your friends know about it. Utilize your list of industry players, join groups, make more friends, keep your fanpage updated regularly and the snowball should start rolling down the hill. Again, photos and video make good, quick content. But, Facebook is all about being yourself and being real. Funny band stories go over in a big way, and sometimes get spread around faster than your music. Remember to put a link back to your MySpace page and vice-versa.


THE WHOLE WORLD IS A TWITTER


Just like MySpace and Facebook, you'd have to been living in a cave to not know of Twitter. But how do you make the most of Twitter for your band? Think of it as a place to post your headlines, attract attention and cultivate even more fans. Its power lies in its simplicity.

Say you post something new on your MySpace or Facebook pages. Both places assure you of getting a great deal of attention, as long as you've been befriending people. But, why not send the word out to even more people? Post the headline of your article, or the title of your new song or photo collection and make sure to include a link back to both your MySpace and Facebook accounts. Use Twitter to make even more friends, and lead them to the sites that are hosting your music.


THE BUZZ YOU TAKE IS EQUAL TO THE BUZZ YOU MAKE

Remember to use these three sites synergistically. Once you update one of them, announce it on the other two. There are apps that can help you do this relatively pain free. Always provide hyperlinks to take fans straight from one site to another when you post anything.

Honestly, the longest part of this process is the set-up. Once you've completed that, adding content is a breeze across all three of these networks. Remember to engage your fans, keep things real, and just stick with it. This is not an overnight strategy. Right now you just want to start the snowball rolling. And at the same time, keep on rockin'.


Cheers,
Vancouver Indie Band

TOURING TIPS FOR INDIE BANDS (PART 1)

Promoter: ”Sorry guys we’re double booked tonight and we’ve given the spot away to these new local boys. Man can they play!”

Guitarist: "What do you mean you’re double booked? We had an agreement!"

After driving for hours on end, this is the last scenario that anybody wants to find themselves in! Take it from one who knows, that the road holds more perils than crazy groupies and flat beer! Whether you’re planning a world tour or just booking a couple live shows you need to have your wits about you. Always get things in writing! If it ain't carved in stone, your so called gig agreement is subject to change without notice! Trust me.

Now, this probably sounds a little doom and gloom, but don’t despair. There’s an easy solution to the problem! While you can’t prevent all booking mishaps, you can definitely stop the majority of problems from occurring by taking a simple five step approach to getting and retaining gigs.

1. Research all Live Music Venues in Advance

It's always a good idea to get some intel on the city and venue you're planning to visit. Do your research before booking a gig in a new city. Your best bet is to ask the locals! Not only will you get the low-down on whether or not the venue will pay you, but you'll probably get a good idea of what to expect from local audiences.

Don’t be shy! Make sure to ask local booking agents about draw expectation and what their crowd demographic happens to be. If you’re rockin’ out to Deathcore, you probably don’t want to be playing to a 40+ jazz crowd. So, do your homework!

2. Making the Call: Booking your Tour Dates

Alright, so you've done your research and you’ve found a few venues that you’d like to play. If they allow phone calls, give them a ring. Be polite, but stern about your demands. Try to develop a rapport with the booker and get a grasp for his/her expectations of you!

If the venue’s all booked up, ask to be placed on their cancellation list. This shows the venue that you’re serious about your career. Plus, a willingness to scratch their backs in the event that an event falls through will guarantee that you receive a phone call asking to save the day – welcome to the “A” list. You’ve earned it.

3. "It's Time to Represent!"–Selling Your Band’s Live Concert Experience.

Industry lesson 101: “Always make your band seem bigger than it actually is,” DOESN'T apply here. If you can't draw 1,000 people to the gig, don't tell the promoter that you can! You'll only end up disappointing the club and virtually guarantee that you get thrown into the local doghouse. Music circles are small and word travels like wildfire, so be reasonable and you're guaranteed to produce results.

“We were on our way to Edmonton to play at a local college venue that was billed as one of the city’s best live music venues. Our booking agent had told us great things about the club, so we were completely stoked about this show – our final tour date! The excitement faded pretty quickly upon arrival at the gig. Turns out, our agent sold us as a major label headliner that could pack the club to capacity. To make matters even worse, the venue, not normally open on a Sunday, opened its doors specifically to accommodate our band and make a few extra dollars! We were “fortunate” enough to play to thirty people in a five hundred capacity room! We played our hearts out, which was the only thing that saved us from the wrath of the hot-headed manager. But, needless to say, we didn’t get paid and were lucky to not get kicked straight to the curb!”

- Alex Whitcombe, Dreams of Treason

So what’s the moral of the story? Make sure that you and your team are perfectly honest about what you’re able to deliver!

4. Get it in Writing - Unsigned Bands are Expendable!

Once you've made phone contact with the venue, make sure that you follow up on your conversation in writing. While getting the promoter to "sign off" will not absolutely guarantee smooth sailing, it will definitely minimize the chances that you’ll be left high and dry on gig night.

5. Confirmation.

Always make sure that you phone the promoter/venue a day or two in advance of your show confirming the details of your gig booking. In many cases bookings are taken several months in advance, so if a mistake is made it's not always a malicious act. Be patient. It's better to know what you're up against than to get blind-sided on game day!

According to Taxi.com, touring and selling tons of CD’s independently is the best way for an unsigned band to attract the attention of music industry insiders. Do you want to get signed? You should probably tour. But, how far should you go? How will you get major label A&R people out to your gig?

Stay tuned for more Touring Tips for Indie Bands!

Increase The Web Presence of Your Indie Band (Part 1)

RECORDING MADE EASY IN THE NEW DIGITAL ERA

The days of four-track tape players hissing away in the background of your masterpiece are gone. The age of affordable, at-home digital recording is here! Goodbye to moments of adrenelin-induced panic just as you hear the tape starting to get chewed. No more will you have to deal with the cosmic paradox of finding a replacement for that irreplaceable rewind button.

Nowadays, most indie bands have some sort of digital method for recording themselves. Whether it's on a full DAW home-studio setup, a hand-held digital recorder, or a webcam, it doesn't really matter anymore. If you've got great material, there's never been an easier time to record it! And, when it comes to the distribution of your material, there's never been a better time to be a recording musician! In fact, there has never been a moment in history when a single track, recorded in your basement and released independently, can generate as much overnight buzz for you and your band.

How would you like to wake up one day to find that your single made the charts of some far-off radio station, all because of requests from people who have never even seen your band, but who found you on the web? All of a sudden, you're getting a call at some crazy time of the night/morning (Europe and the Pacific Time Zone aren't the greatest of friends) to be interviewed about your band's future touring plans. In your bed-headed haze you actually think its a buddy pulling a fast one, after a good night out. But it's not.

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME

I'm not saying the old ways of doing things are completely dead, but they do appear to be on life support. The dawn of the digital age and the rise of MP3 file sharing has led to sagging profits at the major labels for a number of years now. By and large, the company execs still remain clueless about how to adapt and make money in the new reality. But, putting that all aside for a moment it is important, to understand that the single most fundamental principle of the music business still remains intact. Ultimately, you still want what every other artist has ever wanted - an audience.

So, how do you build your audience in this brave new age? How do you draw attention to yourself and stand-out in the crowd? How do you get new people to seek you out? And, whose attention do you want to attract anyway? If you're like me, the thought of putting down your guitar to pick up a mouse doesn't sound like an even trade. Well, maybe it isn't. But, in order for an indie band to succeed these days it is crucial to develop a solid web presence as one of the pillars from which to build a fan base and generate a buzz.

Now, I'm not going to lie to you. It takes some prep time to set everything up properly. But once you've got everything in place, the good news is that the upkeep doesn't have to be too difficult or time consuming. You'll have plenty of leftover time to crank the amps to 11.

Think of the snowball effect. Really, that's been the name of the game all along for indie bands. Most bands log countless hours of rehearsal time before booking their first local gig. If we're talking about a really good band, maybe local gigs will lead to touring, getting spotted by an A&R bigwig and maybe even to the holy grail of the music business itself - a recording contract.

That's how the snowball effect worked in the old model. And I'll have to admit that it still does, to some extent. But today, the most single potent weapon in your promotional arsenal is the internet. And the beautiful part is, now it is you who gets to control the momentum of the snowball. It's as simple as this: If you own a computer, you now have the ability to spread your fame far beyond the borders of your home town and scene. You now have the ability to reach the world!

My next post will outline some of the essential websites that you have to begin with. Until then, keep rockin'!

Vancouver Indie Bands

Top 5 Resources For Finding Indie Bands In Vancouver

Why is it so difficult to discover new indie bands in Vancouver? With all the talented artists and great venues in town it should be a breeze. But, it turns out to be a lot more frustrating that you'd think. I just spent a whole day on the web hunting down local indie bands and artists. And, that's the point! I'm sure I didn't find them all, and I gave it the better part of a day. To save you some time, here are the top 5 sites I utilized.

5. THE TYEE

The Tyee deserves to be on this list for one reason: It actively promotes new local talent and has a wide-enough following to matter. Notable for seeking out the lesser-know artists in the region, the publication has an extensive library of archived articles to access. Its biggest fault for our purposes, is that it's set-up like a newspaper with clumsy navigation (by the week). You can also use the search bar of course, but as we will see with many of the sites on this list, unless you already know the name of the artist or band you're unlikely to discover anything new. It certainly isn't quick and painless.

4. THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT

The Georgia Straight is usually the first place that anyone in the city checks for concert listings. As a hard-copy free weekly, its been a staple of Vancouver's nightlife for almost half a century. Now published on the web too, its site is sleek, comprehensive and easy to navigate. Many would argue that it should be higher on this list. But, like the Tyee, while the Straight is stacked with articles and reviews on indie artists, it isn't set-up to easily the discover new ones. Plus, the Straight has become a little too big for the newer bands on the scene. It's articles are usually on the larger acts.

3. SUPERNOVA.COM

Here's the thing about Supernova. It isn't local and it isn't anywhere near comprehensive enough. Having said that, it is Canadian, nationwide, and run with the mandate to provide indie bands with the opportunity to play live. Famous for its own Battle of the Bands, and a sponsor of the Vancouver Seeds Competition, there are quite a few local indie acts to be found on its site. Again, your search is primarily through a search bar, and there are no Band Listings, as such. But, finding new artists is slightly easier than the options above.

2. LIVEVAN.COM

Were it not for the design of this site I might be tempted to place LiveVan.Com at he top of the list. But, honestly, I can't stand the way it looks. Luckily, its navigation is simple and effective. Not only does this site have over 100 pages of local band and artist listings, but it also allows you to break down the search in a few cool ways. Clicking on a band name brings up a brief bio and most bands have uploaded audio clips. Definitely the fastest way to discover something new, so far.

1. RONTATRON.NET

Ronatron wins as the number one resource, not because its the best in every category but because it provides the best experience overall. Its a great looking site, with good contributors, reviews and listings. Plus, its easy to navigate, with direct links to band websites, music blogs and venues. My biggest (maybe, only) critique is that its listings aren't nearly comprehensive enough. LiveVan has way more.

I'd love to hear about where you go to find new indie bands in Vancouver, so please leave a comment and let me know. Cheers,

Ian.