Publicity

You may have heard the saying, “There's no such thing as bad publicity”. As much as I'd like to tell you that it's music that sells CDs, ultimately it's often the “buzz” surrounding upcoming artists, which drives listeners to be receptive to their music. How often have you thought that you band is way more talented than some new flavor-of-the-month being played every 20 minutes on MTV? Truth is, maybe you are, but if no one hears your bands name, odds are that when they hear your music it probably won't have the same impact as another band whose name is all over town. Marketing is big business, and can often be the single most important factor as to whether on not an artist will make it.

Now that I've impressed upon you the importance of marketing your band, we come to the question of how. For starters, there are many ways to get your name out there in the public consciousness.

Probably the first thing that you can do is tour, tour, and tour. You've heard about bands that hop in a Van and drive across the country playing anywhere they are allowed. Performing live is a great way to get your message out there, and engage an audience in a personal way. This is also a great way to develop contacts, sell CDs, and make new friends (get your mind out of the gutter). While on tour, I always recommend that you have some product to sell. Whether an EP or a full-length album, people often impulsively buy “mementoes” immediately after a strong performance. In addition, an audience often will develop a more personal connection with a band if they've had an opportunity to see them live.

Another great way to get your name out there is through street promotions. Amazingly, very few bands print up well-designed, high-quality flyers. In the club circuit, DJ events always employ this strategy. However, sloppy black-and-white Kinko's printouts are all bands seem to produce. The funny thing is, you can often get 5-10,000 professional flyers for under $200, and you can ever list numerous gigs on them. With well designed flyers, you and your drummer, and his girl friend can target other bands with a larger fanbase, and stand outside their show both before and after the performance, handing them to every single person that goes in or comes out. It's also important to come up with catchy, quick one-liners to convey the meaning of this unsolicited advertisement, like “hot indie rock, this Saturday night”. Rather than let them develop a judgment about your flyer, you are telling them what to think about your flyer! Most of the time, you will get ignored and it's important not to get discouraged. For every scoff, or flyer thrown on the floor, you may get another person who might turn into a potential fan. It is also important to leave flyers everywhere you can: Bars, Laundromats, cafes, clothing stores, bus stops…everywhere. Every time, someone sees your band logo, it becomes more and more familiar. Plan to go out often, and you will soon start hearing people say, “I see that flyer everywhere!”

Next, you should be focusing on getting your band interviews and album reviews in both local and national publications. While you can try to do this yourself, I highly recommend hiring a professional publicist to work on your behalf. In the music business, it's all who you know. And who better to have on your side someone who knows everyone? That's what a publicist does; network. They send out press kits to their friends and associates in the industry, and “sell” your band. You essentially pay them for indirect introductions to writers at newspapers and magazines who would otherwise never listen to your CD. Writers receive hundreds of submissions for reviews every week, and they rarely open most. The ones that do have a chance of being heard are sent by people they trust and have worked with in the past. Try to find a publicist who specializes in your genre of music, as a well-connected hip-hop publicist would have a difficult time getting a review for an alternative rock band.

While a publicist, usually specialize in printed publications, radio promoters use the same methods of networking to get your music played on the air. Because commercial radio stations are disproportionately owned by corporations, it is rare that artists not backed by a major label will be played. Due to this business structure, it is more likely that a radio promoter will push your music to independent and college stations. A good radio promoter will drop off your CD to DJs and generate an interest in your music. They also will work to set-up on air interviews, build hype about your upcoming release, and ultimately get your songs played. While touring, they can arrange for geo-specific, on-air appearances to support your tour schedule. Radio is still a very effective way to present your music to a mass-audience.

While these services are not cheap, with a combination of constant touring, heavy street and radio promotion, and a feature story in a music magazine, you may be well on your way to developing a legitimate “buzz”. Making the music was the easy part, it's convincing people to listen that's difficult.

For informative reading, check out the following books:

This Business of Music by Sidney Shemel

All You Need To Know About The Music Business by Donald S. Passman

The guerilla Music Marketing Handbook by Bob Baker