Recording Artist Advocate: ROI…

ROI is return on investment. Most people just say “return”. Another term you’ll hear is “margin” for the difference between what something costs and what you sell it for. If you buy band shirts for $5 each and sell em’ for $10, you have a $5 margin. Using those numbers, when you sell half your shirts, you'll start to have some return. 

Here’s a break-down for a recording project: Spend 10 thousand dollars to record 10 or 12 songs. Send em’ through TuneCore to iTunes and others, and duplicate a thousand CD’s. Now you have something to sell at your shows and give radio stations and reviewers. Sell the first batch of CD’s and you’ve made your original investment back. Your second batch can make you that much again. I know of several Texas Country bands that spend thirty thousand or more to produce their CD’s. (That’s just production with no CD duplication or downloads.) Obviously they sell a lot.           

Think about how many ways you can make more money as a band. You get paid to perform. You sell CD’s and merchandise. Can you get sponsors? Will a company pay you to wear their clothes? Drink their beer on stage? You’ll never know if you don’t ask. 

As you get more popular it gets easier. With a break-out song you can think about licensing for commercials or movies. Are you willing to make money that way? Some folks aren’t. You have to decide how you feel about that.

My advice is to know who you are and only seek out or accept sponsorships for something you would do anyway. If you already wear Vans, why not get paid for it. Or Levi shirts… or whatever.  

Your fans will follow your lead. If they perceive that you like something they will look at it more favorably. There is value in that. Don’t waste it.

In the same way you are willing to invest in t-shirts and CD’s to make more money, (...return) companies are willing to invest in you to sell more of their stuff.  

Recording Artist Advocate: Your best sound…

A big part of promoting your band is getting your music played on radio, internet stations, and getting it in front of reviewers.

Don’t send them practice tapes. Unless it’s so good they could go on a CD, you’re not giving them your best.

I take that back. Some things that go on CD’s are still pretty bad. So just don’t send in a recording of a band practice... no matter how good you think it sounds.

In front of a crowd you have your sound, your looks, your stage presence… and the audience is there to see a show. You can almost get away with murder in a live show. But recorded music is different. The standards are higher because all you have is the recording.  

A really good band practice recorded well may be alright to play for a bar owner to help you get the gig, but don’t expect them to listen to more than a minute of one song. They just won’t take the time.

I’ll do an article on a “Get the Gig” presentation for Electronic Press Kit (EPK) or just to put up on your website soon.

So, if you have several songs worked up but can’t do a CD right now, choose one or two songs that you feel really good about and produce those. If they turn out to be good enough to get attention, you are in a better position to produce the rest of the CD.

It would be great if every band could pony up the money to produce a full CD and do it right, but sometimes you have to break it down into small parts. The end result can still be a CD that will make you a good return on your investment.

And a CD you are proud to send to radio stations and reviewers.      

Recording Artist Advocate: It's not about talent, always...

You play and practice. Put together a tight set list, and try to put on a good show. Heck, a great show. But people who don't play as well, or even write as good make a lot more money.

What is the difference? What sets the high earners apart?

The most successful performers are entertainers. In addition to everything else they truly surprise and entertain and basically work their asses off in front of a crowd.

But they do more.

Surprise is good. I've talked about how your brain loves to be suprised and how you can open your audience up and really get in their heads. Do all that, but you still have to do more.

OK. I won't drag it out anymore. You need to attract an audience. That's the bottom line.

It's bodies through the door or tickets sold or downloads or views. That's it. If you can deliver an audience you will get paid.

So look at yourself. Look at your band. Do you stand out or blend in? Does the crowd root for you or do they even know you from the rest? Find that connection and use it to build an army. That's what it takes.

Reach out to them and thank them for joining. "Send us an e-mail telling us where you saw us play and we'll send you an mp3"or "Send in your pictures showing how great a time you had at our show" Do things that only visitors to your website (and their friends) can know about. Gain their loyalty and don't let them down. Create the club they want to be a part of.

What could you do if just a thousand people really liked your band?
What if it was ten thousand? or 50?

Are you starting to get the picture?
 

Recording Artist Advocate: An Exclusive Club...

I overheard some dads talking about their sons and their sports teams. It wasn’t the sort of talk I expected. They talked about how each son had to grow as a person as they got better at their sport. More than just learning the nuances of the game, they talked about how humbling it is to do everything right and still loose. It was how their sons reacted to those set-backs that made them proud. They also talked about kids who didn’t handle things so well.  

As a musician you will have good days and bad days. It’s how you react to the bad that sets you apart. An immature artist will look for someone to blame and throw fits. It can destroy a band.

Be realistic. If someone was consistently going to the wrong chord or coming in late, decide if you need to practice together more or if you need a new person in that position. If it was you having a bad night, do the same thing. You can spend all your energy blaming someone else or you can man-up and work on getting better. When you’re immature it’s the hardest thing to do, but working through it is the best choice you can make.

There is a very obvious dividing point between someone who plays an instrument and an artist you’d want to work with. The immature member of a band stands out and is like a heavy weight the rest of the group has to drag along. But, when you get a group of artists together that have gotten past that, there is no limit to the success they’re capable of.

Hold yourself to that higher standard. Don’t make excuses. Own up to your skill level and work on improving. Do the same with the rest of the band. Hold each other to that standard. The immature part of you will fight at every step. Push through and you can go from being just alright to being great!

It isn’t easy. Some people will never let go of their childish impulses. They will only make excuses. Get as far away from them as quickly as you can. Don’t let them drag you down.

You can be the artists successful people want to work with. You can be the band people want to hire, and at a higher price. Pros want to work with people like themselves.

It’s a pretty exclusive club for good reason; the people who make it in don't stop working to get better.

Recording Artist Advocate: So Gay, or Straight, or Whatever…

Recently, I talked about appealing to your audience and really connecting with them. They change as they grow and you do too. Some artist follow and some lead their listeners. They only have so much time to give you, so you better make it count or they’ll listen to someone else.

It’s a delicate dance because you don’t want to push them away but you don’t want to be thought of as pandering. My advice has always been, “be yourself”. That is; know who you are and find where you can connect with your audience. There are universal themes that transcend ideology and politics so I’ve always advised artists to explore in those areas.

But…

If you’ve decided to be in a niche market, you better be all in. There are a lot of niche markets where the niche is so narrow, there are only a few bands doing that music. It’s a small slice, but they get all of it.

If you go to white power rallies and want to get on stage you better be the most racist person there. If there is a gay genre of music, and I think there is, you better be super gay.

I’m not equating these niches. I’m saying that a niche audience wants to be validated by someone who they can connect to. You better be real or they’ll reject you.

That reminds me; does anyone remember when Ellen Degeneres had a TV show? Not the daily talk show. It was a situation comedy at night. As in life, the character she played was gay. The writers made the mistake of focusing on that one thing. It just got old and the show fizzled out.  

Ellen found success when she showed that she was a complete person who can connect with a wide audience. She could have gone the other way and filled a niche, but I think she made the better choice.

If you’re quirky, that’s OK. Be yourself. But be the quirky person people can still relate to. Then you can blow em’ away with your talent.  

Between a niche and relatable, I choose relatable.  But you have to choose for yourself.