PART IV - Promotion, Publicity and Merchandise

I have had a lot of bands and artists ask me for advice over the years. Everything from forming a band, touring and management to songwriting, producing and licensing, so I decided to write this article in hopes to answer some commonly asked questions about both the music and the business of the Music Business.

I love using analogies …

Imagine that you are at the starting line of the big race and you and everyone else competing in the race are all lined up and ready to go. Your heart is pounding, you’re anxious and excited and just waiting for that starter pistol to go off. BANG! The pistol goes off and you start to run as fast as you possibly can, but to your shock and dismay, everyone is pulling way ahead of you. What is going on? You look down and you realize that you don’t have the right kind of footwear. You are not in the kind of shape you need to be in to run this race and you don’t even know how long the race is.

Sounds like a nightmare, but for many bands/artists it might as well be reality.

Before you even start, you have to know where you want to finish.
I’d like to share some basic facts with you and let you know about some tools you will need.

The #1 rule in starting a new band (that a surprising amount of people overlook…)

Find the right people!
This means, like-minded people. Other musicians who are on the same page as you and want the same things as you.
For example, if you want to rehearse once every 2 weeks and play for fun every other weekend at a pub downtown, find other people who want the same thing. On the other hand, If you want to tour the world and live and breathe music every day, then find somebody who wants that as well.

I have found over the years, that even more important than having common musical influences, is that everyone should have a common musical goal. Meaning that everybody involved should have the same idea of what kind of music they want to write.

It may seem obvious, but during auditions/meetings ask a lot of questions and treat it like a job interview.
How long have they been playing? Can they tour? How available are they? Where do they see themselves in 3 years? Do they drive? How many responsibilities do they have outside the band? Etc, etc…

You also want to ask what does each potential member bring to the table?
Who will write the songs? Who will pay for rehearsals? Who will drive to the rehearsals and in what vehicle? Does anybody have any experience that will be useful to the band? Anyone have any connections that will be helpful? Etc, etc…

Now start thinking of possible names for the band and go rehearse.