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