This is the final installment in the series about things that typically go wrong and how to best respond.  Again, the audience is newer, less experienced artists.  The goal is to share experiences so that others would benefit.  At the end of the day the focus is on the songs and the performance of those songs.  The catchiest hook ever created means nothing if it cannot be shared with others.  We have covered sound issues and how others have responded.  Were you able to add something to your repertoire?  We covered knowing your environment and responding to the unforeseen.  Were you able to glean useful information from that?  The final piece speaks to the skill of creating genuine rapport with others.  You never know when the success of the gig boils down to who you know…

Collette McLafferty – collette@thewinkwinks.com
Lead Singer – edibleRed
http://ediblered.tv/
http://www.myspace.com/ediblered

After touring for years in cafeterias, prisons (Ok only one…Riker’s Island), parties, dive bars etc., we finally got a shot at opening up for our first national act…a LEGENDARY 80′s band…

The show was last minute… there were many details to coordinate and it literally became a full time job setting up the show. I even got the band good openers in other markets and on our own show.

About 36 hours before the show, I got an email from the venue saying that there would be no time to have edibleRed play the show. Earlier in my career, I would have cried and not played the show. But I decided that come hell or high-water, edibleRed was playing!

First, I emailed the venue and explained that we would not have time to “unpromote” the show and that we had so many fans who were expecting us to play. I also gave suggested that the other opener condenses their show so we could play a short set.

Then I wrote to my contact at the national act and nicely explained that after all the work I had put in that not doing the show just wasn’t an option. They agreed! The national act then told the venue that if we were not playing, neither were they!

I never actually told the rest of the band that we were getting bumped until the show was over…I was confident we would play no matter what. And we were going to show up ready to play despite the circumstances.

And the gig was awesome! I ended up bonding with the lead singer from the band and made some great friends that night! If there is anything I can pass on to other bands… learn how to stick up for yourself and do it nicely!

Eric Whittington – ewhittington@piercom.com
Band – Exit 314

In February of this year, we were set to play a corporate function at the House of Blues in Houston, Texas.  A couple of days before the show, our bass player had a heart attack and was, of course, totally out of commission.  Then, the day before the show, the drummer’s wife became ill and had to be hospitalized, so we lost our drummer less than 24 hours before hitting the road to Houston from San Antonio.  Amazingly, we scrambled and lined up a substitute bass player and drummer.  Fortunately, the drummer had played with some of us before so he at least had a sense of our style.  And the bassist turned out to be extremely talented and versatile, so the show was fine.  We found the bassist as a referral from another bassist who had filled in for us several months earlier.  So the lesson here is to maintain a network of musicians and phone numbers so you can quickly find someone to fill in.  I’m still amazed that we were able to find TWO substitutes for a road trip on such short notice!  Keeping all those phone numbers handy really paid off!

Can you relate?

Did you see yourself in any of these situations?  Were you able to improvise, adapt and overcome like the artists in this article?  Or did you handle the situation differently?  If so, share your wealth of experience and knowledge so others may benefit.  All artists experience challenges like these, it is how one responds that dictates growth as an artist as well as a human being.

One of the hardest things for an artist or band to do when they’re just starting out is to grow your initial following. You can only rely on bugging your friends and family to come out to your shows for so long.

Growing your email list is crucial to securing and keeping a following. It’s the most effective way to communicate directly with the people who make gigging and recording worthwhile.  In this article, I will talk about ways to increase your email subscriber count.  Be sure to check out the next article in this series, where I discuss the most effective ways to craft and send out your promotional emails.

There are several ways to gain new subscribers to your email list.

The first and best method is to promote your mailing list at all of your gigs. Mention it at least once while you’re on stage. Place lists with pens throughout the venue – near the stage, at the bar, at the door.  Be sure to provide a dark ball-point pen that writes well!  I have made the mistake in the past of using a pen that’s running out, or a sharpie marker only to find a list full of addresses that I can’t read!

Ideally, you should have somebody walking around with a sign-up list while you’re on stage.  If people are enjoying your set, they’re more likely to offer their contact info.  But they have short memories!  You can’t expect many first-time listeners to sign up for your list an hour or two after you get off-stage.  They’re already wrapped up in the band that came on after you, or they have left the bar and moved on with their bar crawl.

If you’re rolling solo, and don’t have a girlfriend or buddy to help you out with the leg-work during your live set, then you must get out there and promote your list yourself.  Do this immediately after wrapping up your set, so you are still fresh in people’s minds.  This is not the time to be shy.  Be friendly and outgoing and politely ask the people who watched you play if they’d like to offer their email address.  If they decline, you must respect their decision and simply move on.

In addition to grabbing email subscribers at your shows, you should have an email sign-up form on your website, Myspace page, Facebook profile, and all of your online social networking tools.  There are lots of easy ways to implement this.  I will write about this in depth in a future article.  For now, try Googling to find an email sign-up widget to place in your myspace profile (or contact me directly for web design inquiries).

You might also consider using a service such as iContact.com or aweber.com for managing your email list, adding sign-up forms, sending and tracking email blasts.  These are very powerful tools and they’re quite easy to use.

Get creative by adding incentives to signup for the mailing list.  If you’re promoting an album or EP, you might want to offer a few of the tracks as free downloads to those who enter their email address.  At your shows, offer a free sticker or other merch for signing up.

The next article in this series focuses on how to use your email newletter effectively.

I now turn it over to you – Which methods for growing your email list have worked for you?  Share your ideas in the comments!

Well, the answer to the title of this post is nicely summed up in the quite awesome song, “You’re No One If You’re Not On Twitter” by Ben Walker

By now the Twitter phenomenon is far enough along that it’s fair to say you have at least heard of Twitter.  If you haven’t, or are not clear on what it is exactly, then let me explain. Or at least try.

Twitter is a “micro-blogging” service where you broadcast simple messages about what you’re doing right now. Most users don’t stick to only this topic though. Many “tweet” about an interesting link they came across, promoting their blog, website, or upcoming event (gigging musicians, that’s where you come in). You can also use it to reply directly to other users, publicly or privately.

Who do you broadcast TO? Good question. And it’s a question that every Twitter newbie continuously asks themself during their beginning days of using the service. Basically, you follow people, and people follow you. When you follow someone, all of their tweets are fed into your constantly updating list on your twitter homepage.

The way you find followers is to first follow many people who interest you. Try searching twitter for people who interest you.  You can also use the advanced search options to find people in your area (good for forming a local network of potential show goers).  Join twitter conversations and use @reply to send messages directly to other users (send me a shout @casjam!).  Promote your recent tweets on your website, blog, facebook, myspace.

I would also suggest using one of the many Twitter clients out there for reading and posting tweets without having to log on to the Twitter website.  The one I use is Twitterrific.

For Musicians

Twitter is yet another online tool for you to use to promote your music and gigs.  As your following (both real and virtual) grows, Twitter can be a great way to continuously interact with your friends and fans.

Use it to promote your gig tonight. Keep it interesting by announcing a tip on which rare cover or old tune will be making it’s way into the setlist.

Use Twitter to promote your music. Keep your people informed and updated on the progress you and the band are making in the studio.  Send out a link for them to download new mp3s, or a see a video of last night’s performance.

Use it to network.  Twitter has become a proven tool for networking with others who share the same interests, or profession.  This can certainly be true for the music world.  Tweet a call for a drummer who digs playing live hip-hop, or an audio engineer in the Chicago area, or a rehearsal space for rent.

It’s a little strange at first, but it quickly becomes both addicting and very useful.  For more stuff than you can possibly handle in one sitting, check out Darren Rowse’s new blog TwiTip.

It’s clear that the web is at the center of today’s music industry. Buying and selling music, watching concert videos, catching up on the latest music news, following the tour dates of your favorite artists, and most of all sharing music and the all important “word of mouth” — it all happens online.

Songwriters and bands embrace social networking sites to promote their music and gigs, reach out to fans, and create their web presence. For musicians, Myspace has long been the go-to resource, but the massive popularity of Facebook certainly makes it a community not to be ignored.

Each site has its advantages and disadvantages. I’ll break them down here based on the needs of songwriters and bands:

Promoting Songs

Myspace is still the easiest way to get your songs online and available for public streaming. They also just recently added some nice tools for selling music right on your page.

Facebook has music streaming capabilities however they require you to provide valid ID and wait for manual approval by Facebook admins. In addition, all Facebook pages are only viewable by logged in members, which leaves out many who haven’t signed up for Facebook.

Gig and Tour Promotion

Promoting events on Facebook is much more interactive than on Myspace. Friends can respond with comments and RSVP on the dedicated page for each event (gig). Since Facebook users tend to be obsessive about checking in and chatting it up, this can be a great way to create online buzz about an upcoming gig.

For larger tours, Myspace may be better suited here. Myspace friend lists tend to be much larger than those on Facebook. This is due Facebook’s structure as a network for your real world friends whereas Myspace is geared more towards meeting people and befriending strangers, which results in a lot of spam. Still, Myspace tends to have wider reach for keeping fans outside of your hometown informed.

Web Presence

On the one hand, Myspace pages are very customizable and finding a skilled designer who specializes in Myspace web design can do a lot for your online image.

On the other hand, Facebook lends itself well to constant interaction, making it a great way to reach out to your fans on a more personal level. Artists both small and large benefit from an intimate fan-artist relationship, resulting in a more dedicated and loyal fan base.

Bottom Line

My recommendation is to invest time in both Myspace and Facebook for your music networking and promotion. Each have very different communities so it pays off to find ways to get both into the mix when it comes to advancing music and growing your network of fans.

I’d love to hear your feedback about which of these sites works best for you, and hear about struggles and successes in the online space.