While it remains a huge challenge for everyone, it's a noble goal to shoot for. Of course, I"m talking about "Making a living making music". In this article, the drummer from PERIPHERY gives some truly sage advice They came up from nothing and like the rest of us, used EZ drummer, reaper and even PODS to make their first recorded music.
Here is the link
http://www.decibelmagazine.com/featured/how-to-build-a-successful-metal-band-without-wrecking-your-life/#sthash.7nq9oTB5.dpuf
Understand what you’re getting yourself into — AND FULLY COMMIT
This business is hard, and you need to be prepared to invest a lot of time and energy. Realistically, it’s going to take years of hard work for your band to make it, so exercise patience and just focus on being productive every day.
Find the right partners in crime
It all starts with having the right bandmates. Some bands consists of a bunch of best friends, others consist of the right players. For others, it’s a business relationship. If you don’t surround yourself with people who you get along with, can communicate with, and who are dedicated, then you’re screwed from the beginning. Find people who can play, have the same artistic vision, and who are willing to put in the work. Dont be afraid to change your lineup early on if someone isn’t working out — it’s better for the group to weed out the weak links.
Have a direction, and be yourself
With more bands than ever putting their music out, it’s easy for your music to get lost in the shuffle. Your music should stand out from the crowd, and the way to do that is by having a point of view — being original. Don’t try to recreate what another band is doing. Write and play the music YOU love, the music YOU want to hear, and put yourself into the music. If you do this, and it’s honest, people will listen (especially if you have something to say).
Get on the radar of the right people aka “networking”
I hesitate to say “network” because it’s not about being a social climber who wants to “know the right people,” it’s about making genuine connections with people in the industry, and helping them even when it doesn’t seem like there’s something in it for you. Build real friendships and relationships with other bands, FANS, managers, promoters, venue staff, labels, etc… It will benefit your band in the long run.
Tour a lot, and give your music away for free!
There are exceptions to this, but for the most part, the coolest and tightest bands are the ones who tour the most and share their music with their fans for free! Give the music away, build an audience online, and then GO TOUR! Giving the music away allows you to reach fans without boundaries. If they like your music, the fans are going to support you when you come to town, AND they’re going to want to meet you – go meet your fans, build relationships with them and they’ll continue to support you.
Build the right team
Management, label, agents, etc — there is no formula for what “right” means. It’s different for every band, so you need to
figure that out for yourself — it’s about relationships and chemistry. Communicate what you need to the people you want to work with. If they’re the right team, they’ll be receptive and help you come up with actionable things you can do to reach your goals.
Put out a great first album (and be yourselves!)
With all the business talk, its easy to lose sight of what’s most important: your MUSIC. Push yourself and your band to make a great first impression by putting out music that truly represents and communicates who YOU are! BE YOURSELF and write what YOU want to HEAR!
Keep touring your ass off (on the RIGHT tours)
All tours are not created equal. Make sure you are getting on the right ones at the right time. For example, when Periphery was fortunate enough to tour with the Deftones, that really helped us out: we were introduced to a new fan base and it allowed us to be in front of large, receptive crowd each night. Again, that tour came to be because of a friendship and relationship between band members — be excellent to each other, and good things will happen.
Keep putting out great music
The sophomore slump is a real thing. A lot of bands get caught up in the mess of the industry and lose sight of MUSIC being most important, especially when you factor in your now-hectic touring schedule. Lots of bands start strong then fizzle. How many times have we heard “I only like the demo/first album”?” Don’t let that be your band. Focus on your music, your message, and again, BE YOURSELF!
Stay humble, hungry and motivated
Once you’ve “made it,” the work has just begun. Stay hungry.
I think that it's harder to get out there and do your thing, as long as a lot of venue owners are interested in cover bands because those attract the biggest crowds. Now, one surefooted way is to build a strong online presence and put out great vids and audio files with your compositions. In this way, you shoot two rabbits in one shot: you gain audience and fan base on a large scale not only locally and you get the attention of potential band members. Let's face it, who wouldn't want to be a part of a project that sounds great and is already having a fan base? It's just a beginning theory but it is a place to start from.
Well said!!! Venue owners like cover bands quite a bit. It's a better draw in many cases. So finding places to play can be REALLY tough. So vids/youtube/soundcloud is more important than ever. If you can build any kind of following and then translate it live like TESSERACT did, BINGO!!!
What is the world didn't exist tomorrow, what then?
More to the point, what if facebook still exists and bands have to find a way leverage it for the net few years? What then? That's probably a more relevant question. It's a changing lanscape and facebook won't be around forever, but when it goes away, something will pick up the slack and it's time to reinvent one's strategy
Todd
It also depends on what you do in music and what you want to do.
I freelance and I like it. It's what I'm good at. Nobody cares if I'm present on FB. They like to meet me and talk to me in person. Sure, when I play gigs I post most of them on FB but before that I'd just call people and frankly, that got more folks out to hear me now that I think about it. I know personally I'm more apt to go to a gig if I get a call or a text a day or two before or even on the same day.
Facebook, Twitter and whatever the next one is, it doesn't matter. Use all that shit but you should still go out to gigs and hang out where musicians and fans hang out. Be on the scene.
Good point!! Always have a plan b The web is just one thing. It's crucial to think of a broader world where interaction with actual people offline can really help propel a project forward.
There really is something to say about the importance of "pressing the flesh" as it were Well said!
Todd
I think it should be a combo of both, where possible I always like to mingle and get to have a drink with people - see how they are, how they react, when they can't hide behind a screen away from being seen and felt directly
Also, building real live connections is far more beneficial at leas here in Romania - let's suppose that you want to present your band to a promoter, who could place you in the biggest festivals in the country. If you send him a presskit, chances are that REGARDLESS of how good you are, he will not even notice. IF you get introduced by a friend at a concert/party - real life event - he will notice and he will most likely DO something for you because HE TRUSTS the opinion of THAT friend who introduced you That's how things work and that's what you need to have in mind as well. So as I said, it should be a harmonious co-existence of the two environments - online and offline
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