Here are a few steps to take when you are starting off in the music industry that may help you on the road to success. This advice is geared towards non-headlining bands.

1. Be kind and thankful – this sounds easy enough, but can be tricky at times. The industry has many bumps in the road that will push you into places that are uncomfortable. Remember to be thankful for the opportunity that is ahead of you. ALWAYS be thankful to the venue, producer, promoter, or individual that got you on stage. Make sure you introduce yourself to as many people backstage as you can. Tell the other bands how great their sets were, and how excited you are to play with them. First impressions lead to lasting impressions.
2. Do not ask–Anyone that has ever put on an event knows that there are a million questions that always need answering. You and your band might be the least of a producer’s worries, so try and find a solution to the question you may have before asking it. For example, if you have a sound question, do not ask the producer to find the sound tech; take the initiative and find the sound tech yourself.
   1. Do not expect free drinks
   2. Do not expect free food
   3. Do not expect a sold out venue
   4. Do not expect a huge guest list
3. Get off the stage – If you are finishing your set, never ever walk off the stage without your arms full of your equipment. Events are on a timeline that does not circle around your time. Hugs and high fives to other band mates are for after the stage is cleared.
4. The venue is not a storage house – Make sure you come to the event with a plan to get your gear home at night. Remember DO NOT ASK (see subject 2). The last thing a venue manager wants to do is come back to the venue in the morning so the band can get their equipment.
5. Be on time – This is not only for the load in and sound check, but the set time the producer/promoter has given you. DO NOT OVER PLAY, it’s one of the worst things you as a band can do. Make sure you practice a set that is shorter than the time allowed. Make sure that your instruments are in tune before going on stage, and laid out in the way you’re going to play them. Set times always run longer when you’re in front of an audience. Short and sweet will make the audience want more.
6. DO not get overly drunk ­– although this may seem easy, but remember: you are in a bar. All your friends have just watched your set and want to buy you a drink. Make sure at least one of your band members can handle a serious discussion at the end of the night.
7. Do not do an encore – Keep in mind that there are other bands in the night. Do not expect time for an encore.
8. Know the details of the event before doors open – make sure you are clear on all of the show details before it starts. If you are not clear on something, do not expect it to go your way on the day of.  It is your responsibility to ask questions and get answers before the event starts, not during!

- George Carlin

It has been awhile since I last sat down to write a post. But the time has come, as the world changes around us and markets collide, changes are coming…

Before diving into any kind of rant about what the future holds, it’s important to reflect on what is going on right now. North America is experiencing a big change from the global economic shift;  job are being lost  and the rich are getting richer. We are in a time of change—and the music industry is no different. The bar industry in western Canada is taking a substantial hit on liquor sales and overall attendance. On top of this, the times of musicians making large sums of money from album sales and having strong label support are long gone.

What does this mean? In the short term, desperation and high expectations; in the long term, tougher barriers of entry. Bands are not selling like they used to. This is mainly because the only way a band can make a buck is by spending long, stinky hours in a sweaty tour bus cruising from one late-night show to the next. As appealing as that sounds, the market is flooded with shows. So what comes up through the ranks? Electronic music. Why? Mainly because DJs can travel cheaper, play a variety of genres and offer musical values that kids can relate to; that is, music that relates not to the emotion, but to the standard of what partying is labelled as. But I wouldn’t suggest hopping on this bandwagon; its trend has already shown signs of weakness, as DJs are often more to one hit wonders than continual success stories.

This trend does not play into the hands of local bands trying to come through the ranks of a market that is collapsing. Money is harder to come by because of a failing venue scene and markets over saturated with tours. Local bands have a hard road ahead of them. How do they get to the next step? My advice is to start off by having low expectations; even local bars don’t have the kind of money they used to have access to. Also, don’t over play to one crowd. As music-industry guru Bob Lefsetz has said, “if you are playing to a room that is not consistently getting fuller each time you play, you’re doing something wrong.”

It really comes back to the fact that being a talented artist isn’t good enough anymore; you need marketing support. Music is now more accessible than it has ever been. This has resulted in huge amounts of material to sort through. You may have a unique musical offering, but “Fred” from Alabama has the same and is willing to play for free, and has all the marketing tools you do not. This has what it has come to. It might not be present in every market, but if you have yet to experience this, you likely will soon.

It’s a nasty reality check. If you used to get paid $500 for your one hour set in a local watering hole, get used to being happy with $250 this time around. Until you can gain a risk-free investment, promoters, bar managers and production companies will be much more cautious of what they pay forward. Sure, you might be able to find the odd bar or individual willing to give you your accustomed pocket change, but it won’t come without cost.

The bands of old are still struggling to get on top of this trend. They can’t understand why a room that used to be at capacity only has 15 people in it now. Or why promoters/bars/production companies are asking to carry less risk. When you’re fronting all of the costs for a show, you have to put a lot of trust into the product. It’s hard to encourage your inner trust to be the same as old when you’re in a time of uncertainty.

Is getting ahead possible? Is making money possible? Yes it is. It has just become harder, and you now have to work harder to get it. It all comes back to the risk associated with the market. If you do not have any overhead for performing the show, then do not expect to get paid based on the trust of your word. Times have changed. Money isn’t growing from blackened livers anymore. If you trust in yourself, offer the bar or promoter a return with as little risk as possible (splits, personal sales, promotion offerings are all options). Instead of focussing on how much you should make, focus on how much you can make — for both yourself and the respected parties. As a general rule, bars want to make at least five times the amount as you, and concert promoters are looking to make at least twice what you are asking for. They are both taking on the costs and risks of having you or your band play their venue. Without each party making those numbers, the business would not continue and pockets would become tighter, not deeper.

True, most artists are in this industry for the music, not the business. But really, if you dove into music thinking you will make a ton of money, GET OUT. The top 10% of bands in the world are taking what could be considered a living — and that has an expiry date. The big players of the production world are old and rich and don’t care about you or your music; they care about how marketing your band can get them richer. Be certain that your music sells not only in the form of dollars, but also — and more importantly — as an impression. Use marketing to create an impression, which can in turn create dollars. Be ready to spend long hours on the road and break into markets that aren’t local with poor attendance. Drive attention and breed positive association, be happy to play and let your part time job pay your rent.

My parting words are: play for the music.

A side note to the BC readers: The slump in the BC (and primarily Victoria, where I’m based) market can be accountable to a few things. One is the downturn in the global economy, which is halting tourism revenue. This means that the service industry (the strongest supporter of night life) have less money to spend on going out. The second is the introduction of HST. This very controversial tax meant the service industry again took a hit and saw a decline in tip revenue. The tax meant folks buying tickets have to pay a 12% HST on ticket as opposed to a 5% GST, which resulted in higher ticket prices and lower attendance numbers. Even though the tax has been voted out, it will take years to phase this price structure out, which means its cost will be seen for years within the entertainment industry. Also, the downturn in job creation has left many searching for employment, creating weaker spending budgets. Plus, the debt-to-income ratio ($1 made – $1.49 debt incurred) is increasing daily and has made buyers weary of spending and more focused on cheaper alternatives to entertainment. All in all, the economics of gaining entertainment-based employment will be a dark cloud for the foreseeable future.

“Without music, the greatest marketing plans in the whole world don’t mean shit.”
–Eddie Rosenblatt, Geffen Records

Before getting into the depths, or the differences, of promoters and production, here are the definitions of both:

Production is the act of organizing and presenting.

Promotion is a person or thing that promotes or encourages growth.

Sourced: Dictionary.com

So let me ask you this. Is creating a concert promoting? Or is creating a concert simply one part of the production?

The simple answer is creating an event or concert falls under production. Promotion on the other hand, is a tool that can be used in the production of an event, although not always used. When a band or person is starting off in the entertainment industry it is important to understand the difference between these two concepts. It will allow any artist to get ahead in the industry.

When a band is looking to get a gig booked and marketed it is engaging in work with a production house. This means that the company will run the logistics of the event, including but not subject to: timelines, design & distribution, musical talent, ticket allocation, etc. None of these represent promotion specifically.

Where a production house takes on promotion is when the show is either unknown by its surrounding market, therefore needing encouragement to do well, or the act is not local or represented by an agency. When the act is not local the production house takes on the role of promoting the show via its marketing methods. This is only for non-local shows as the production house buys into the artist for a reason. If the production house has done the work properly then the promotion will handle itself.

So why write this blog? The issue for anyone running a production house is the expectations and misconceptions artists can have about what production is versus what promoters are.

So where do you see promoters? Usually promoters are individuals that work for a venue that promote the shows for the venue purposes. They are not paid by the value of the show, but as a salary or budget of the venue.

No one persons perspective is 100% right. I invite you to let me know what you think – comments? Thoughts?

When bands are before agencies and signed management it is crucial to sell tickets. This is because the show is dependent on how well your band draws. At this level marketing does very little. Remember you are what sells.

Here are a few tips on how to sell tickets as a band:

1. Invest in relationships –take on relationships that build you and your band. Find a friend or a “team mate” to help you sell tickets. It will help if this friend has a different friend’s base than you. This will make you have a larger reach.
2. Incentives – Going hand in hand with creating a friend that sells tickets is creating incentives for them to sell those tickets. Offer them free cover, drinks, hugs, CDs, or the chance to hang with rock stars. Or for people buying tickets offer a free download code for your latest hit, a free t-shirt with x amount of sales. People love free stuff when it’s done right. They will see it as not as they are buying a ticket but getting a deal. Let it overshadow the fact they bought the ticket or sold a ticket.
3. Understand your target market: One of the biggest steps for a band to become successful is to understand what market they are going after. I.E. age, sex, genre, location they hang out at, what motivates them etc. When selling tickets its important to hunt down your target market and deliver the information on the show. This will increase your fan base and make cold calling sales a lot easier.
4. First impressions are everything. When you sell tickets to the unknowns its important to remember that first impressions are everything. Be friendly, ask them how they are doing before going into a pitch, find out what gets them interested and play off that. E.g. “Hey, that is a great shirt you are wearing. Prince is an amazing act. I perform in band that is the same style!” Wait for them to answer. Then end the conversion with it would be great if you could come out. Try not to end the conversion forcing them to buy a ticket, rather just say it would be nice to see them out.
5. Play on social environments: Ask a friend or a shop keeper to talk your show up and for people to be directed to you for tickets. It’s amazing what word of mouth can do for ticket sales if it’s done positively.
6. Make Announcements: Fans aren’t going to buy a ticket unless they know the show is happening. Use social media and word of mouth to your benefit. Don’t just post the show and how you excited you are to play it. Talk about the show and how you’re going to make it an experience for the attendees. Tell them about ticket deals, downloads, and how great you are. If you have been picked by Surge it means you got something, let the rest of the world know.
7. Play on emotions: Music is a business of emotions. People react to music by primarily their emotions. Figure out what type of music you have and how it plays on emotions. I.E. Jazz for some creates a relaxed setting that allows for leisure. Let people know that you understand why they are coming. Use that information to pitch your show. Remember that people want you to tell them why they should go.
8. Do not over sell: It is important to remember that not everyone will want to come to your event. If you see that the consumer is nervous, does not hold direct eye contact, looks towards an exit or tries to start another conversion do not keep pressing. It is important that the person knows the facts of why you want them to buy the tickets and that’s it. If you leave them with a positive impression they will think about buying a ticket once you have left.

(C) Surge Ahead

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Expectations Package

After many shows of people, I usually don’t know well asking me to get on the guest list, I figured its time to describe how events work.

Guest Lists

First off guest lists for concerts (not club nights) are for bands and close friends only. This is because every dollar given up by a guest is paid by the promoter and/or producer. If you are asking to get on a guest list then that is asking the producer to pay for your ticket. Promoters do not see anything but the door in return for the production of the show. That means we see no liquor sales at all. So please keep in mind if you are asking for a guest spot that means you are asking the promoter to give you XX amount of dollars back.

Anything that is given to you by the promoter or production team is given at cost to them. So please beware next time you ask for that free beer, or guest spot that it’s the same as asking to borrow xx amount in dollars. Would you ask a stranger for money? Or your friend?

Money

To clear air the money works like this. Promoters pay all costs associated with the show that means: rental fees, sound fees, band fees, hospitality fees, production fees, advertising costs, printing costs, ticketing costs, and of course guest list spots.  If production does get paid then bands take a hit as well.

Promoting Shows (BANDS)

In line of promotion the promoter is only responsible for putting the show together and getting the word out. That does not mean they are solely responsible for getting people to show up. Keep in mind that a promoter is the tool that allows for the bands and/or show to run smoothly and precisely. They take on all the risk, yet depend on the bands draw or promotion tactics to push door sales. If you are a band that is starting out aka does not have management or a major record deal, please keep in mind that the happier a promoter is the faster you will move up the ranks of the music industry.

I am interested to hear your thoughts, as bands, attendees, or other promoters

So I wanted to get down to the dirty on what really happened with Rock of the Woods and its Cowichan Valley location.

The normal process for a getting approved for a liquor license is contacting your local RCMP and Local body of government and asking them to endorse the event. I started this process over two and half months ago to find out that everyone I needed to chat with was on there lengthily summer vacation.  After asking the RCMP what my next step could be they forwarded me to the local government (CVRD). On my first phone call to the CVRD they told me that I did not need there blessing because it was on private land and to wait till the RCMP officer got back from vacation for approval. I found this a bit iffy. I called the following day to be forwarded onto the local bylaw officer. This is where it went all down hill. The bylaw officer told me what he was expecting for the event to get approved, and that the material had to be in by noon, it was 11:30am when I called… Fighting through the day I got the material to him at 3pm. This material was to be submitted to the local council meeting the following Tuesday. After following up five times and numerous emails I hadn’t heard a peep back from the by law officer. Finally Tuesday arrived and I was sweating bullets as I had still not heard anything. At 4pm I got a call from the bylaw officer who told me that I had not submitted enough information referring to a 1970 bylaw that had never been updated, and was hand typed… He then went on to tell me that the meeting that I had so desperately tried to get heard in was already in process.  At this point I declared that we just wanted to see this festival happen and we would do it without a liquor licences. Flustered, he stated that because the land was zoned for industrial he would serve an injunction to the land owner if it took place. He then went ahead and called the land owner stating the he had to submit a letter stating they were removing our application of land use.

I was fucked, and heart broken. The festival I had put so much effort into, and my team and I seemed to be hitting a major road block. I ran around getting the documents he asked for and called the replacement electoral official as the electoral official was on vacation of course… Finally I got some new information that there was another meeting that could out rule this meetings decision, that there wasn’t enough information at hand. Working like crazy I met with the Health Authority, Chief of Fire, and BC ambulance all that gave us blessings and were stoked on the event. The next in line was the RCMP officer that had just gotten back to work from his Vacation. After chatting with him it was evident time wasn’t on my side. Meeting him I took him around the site and handed him a 20+ page document highlighting any issue that could arise.  To his credit he was nervous because he had not done anything like this before. He had also come at his on good will as the local government was not supportive at this point. He highlighted some of his concerns and we ended up bringing the attendance down from 1000 to 500 and brought in water trucks to manage fire issues.

The final meeting came. We had submitted all our documents and had all our ducks in a row. Or so we thought. In the early afternoon one of the board members of the non-profit this was benefiting got a call saying that we would not be added onto the minutes and there was no point in us showing up, as we would not be approved to host this event.  We later were CC’d on an email from the RCMP to the electoral body that highlighted he was worried about sexual assaults, arrests, fire, and drugs. To his credit this letter did state that he was not comfortable doing this event as he had not done anything like this before. He had based these thoughts on the negative VEMF article in the Times Colonist.

So heart broken we went back to the drawing board and ended up with a three day festival at two different night clubs. We created the line ups based on type of music and now have gone to work on decking out the venues. Trust me we have put our heart and soul into making this event happen, it isn’t a money maker and is all about a good time. You will be blown away by the inside of these venues, the free gifts, and the amazing music. All of these bands are major up and coming acts that will be very costly to see in the near future. Come out and have a drink with me, we are sorry this couldn’t happen at our original site but promise next year will be bigger, with camping, and at a beautiful site.

To sum up this was an event that had a great loving team that took there time at a cost to them to make this happened.  It’s very hard to understand the decision the CVRD made as this event was giving the local high-schools five scholarships in arts and culture. Now the festival will not make enough money to give back to that fund.  This is the result of fear of the unknown, and local bureaucracy.

Does sex sell? Does it only sell to men?

What makes you personally come back to an event outside of the performers?

The fact is its relativity easy to get exposure for events but to make a lasting impression that breeds the desire to make an attendee to return to future events just because of the vibe is another breed of branding, marketing, selling, featuring, financing, and advertising.  Is it crazy light shows? Half naked models? Cheap ticket prices?

To direct your train of thought please keep in mind that budgets are tight in events, and gimmicks work. Two word answers are loved.

Fame is a fickle food upon a shifting plate.
Emily Dickinson

It’s amazing what fame has done to business. More over what fame has done to the entertainment business.  It’s in our face. It’s on a TV.  It’s in social media.  It is in almost every visual source our eyes see. What is it? The need, and the want to be famous.

So fame = needs, and wants? You think it would be easy to pick apart consumers by creating needs and then marketing the need. Consumer behaviour specialist would want to tell you that it can be all documented in a few customary traits. But really hasn’t it come down to how you can conduct fame to your advantage?

Nike, Reebok, and Gillette are easy targets of “fame marketing”. So how does the small business owner take fame and mash it into positive outputs? Cocaine in Coke at the local pizzeria [times of past maybe for consumer addiction legally]?  The bottom line is small business faces an uphill battle to create “fame marketing” at dollar figure that doesn’t break the bank.  One way that we seem to see daily is by creating “local” celebrities and push marketing them. This seems to work but I would suggest it limits your market growth by confusing non-local consumers with what the real message is.

So what does “fame marketing” come down to? How do you attract customers by the needs and wants of their inner goal to be famous? Do you give them a chance to taste fame? Or do you drive their need to be famous by giving them a substance to grow fame? I.E Youtube… Or is it gimmicks? Clothing styles? Anorexia? Drugs?

After a few years of watching advertising, thinking advertising, and working in advertising, I began to wonder… Is marketing taught in graphic design school? Are the basic marketing fundamentals of how to create a message discussed amongst graphic designers?

If you have ever taken a course or worked in marketing I am sure you know the communication process. If not it is put simply as a message received, decoded, encoded, and sourced or sent. There is of course more jargon to add but let’s keep this short.

My question arises from this very process. I see ads [constantly] that represent creativity but lack a message. An example of this not to hark on any one company is the following picture:

Great picture, interesting perspective but where is the message? I am stuck in the decoding phase and can’t get out! Well at least until I read the fine print. So question one is do you read the fine print?

A marketing ad should create a decoded message in your brain within seconds. Maybe this ad wanted to draw you in with creativity alone? But instead I just flip the page and moved on.

Marketing ads should place their top content in the middle of the ad. This is where our eyes go first.  It should create a message within a few seconds, and deliver readable content that links to a direct source of information (i.e. landing page, sales package, those pesky free brochures, etc). The message should be so clear that it alone could be placed in any advertising medium and create successful exposure.

This is where I am a bit lost… I see great creativity, eye catching ads, but no content backing it. This only decreases the reader retention and increases wasted marketing dollars.  Take a look at this ad and let me know what you think? Does it play into creativity and meet marketing objectives?