Planning For A Showcase

With the showcase being only one week away, a suggestion was made by a good friend of ours (aka top roadie) to video the events leading up to it. For instance, rehearsals, packing the gear, organising transport etc along with the actual show - or at least, parts of it. With the idea of it all being collated together and used to create a documentary of the event.

I think it's a great idea and has a bit of merit! Always great to have the live footage - even if we take the audio out and throw the studio version of the song onto it. So am just putting down my thoughts on what we can include in it. I'm thinking an interview with the band will be a good base for it - and have bits and pieces of the recorded events spread throughout it.

Also, don't forget these sort of things make great promotional tools! No doubt some parts will end up on YouTube and the like. Also good to keep some parts of these things and make them available for fans only - i.e. those that have signed up to the newsletter on your website. You do have a small form where they can sign up to a newsletter, right?! If not, get one - now! (More on that later). But basically, fans love to get up close and personal with the artist - so if you give them unseen behind the scenes footage, they will love you for it.

So, on that note, if you have a big event coming up - or any event/gig etc, video some backstage footage, or behind the scenes stuff - great way to keep the fans coming back for more.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: "Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance"

YouTube.. Is It Worth It For Musicians?

Now, here's where it all gets interesting. I thought it was time to forget about the so called "commericial" avenues and work on getting it out to the people instead - after all, it is the 'people' that make the difference - always remember that! Don't get hooked on trying to be "commercial". If the people love you, then you'll make it there eventually.

So armed and ready, we uploaded the video to YouTube. In the first 5 days it received over 300,000 views!! How the hell did we do that? I'll tell you how. It all goes back to two crucial elements: 1.) have a damn good song; 2.) look after your fans! The latter one is most important. Reply to every comment - even if it's just to say "thanks". It shows that you actually give a damn and that they are appreciated. After all - they take the time out to not only listen to your music but to comment. Always remember - you never know WHO they are or WHAT they do. Every comment my artist receives gets a reply.

So, in answer to the question of how we 'worked it' on YouTube: it turned out that one of the guys I replied to absolutely loved the song and just happened to run an internet TV station! He decided he really wanted to help promote this band and threw it up on his front page. We were pretty stoked! After that, the views rapidly increased - and so did the email messages of people wanting to know when they are touring!

So... in a nutshell - is YouTube worth it for musicians? Hell YES! That is the people talking! Get the picture? Every single fan has the potential to help you - one way or another, some more than others - but ALL are important!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: "Identify your problems, but give your power and energy to solutions"

Music Video Time... Did It Work?!

...[continued..] Well, I certainly didn't let the lack of support from commercial radio stations bother me. Actually, it empowered me and made me more determined. I was completely committed to getting this artist out there, and I still am. Next up on my list of things to do, was to get a video done. We had already created a YouTube account and thrown up a couple of acoustic versions, which people really seemed to enjoy.

Time for a real video, now that the album was finished and fully produced and mastered - let's see if the TV stations are any more helpful than radio! We created the video - we did it on a very limited budget, and had a lot of help from friends and contacts we had made - came together nicely. Not the best video - looking back, there are many things I would change - but it was what we could do on little or no budget. Comparing it to other New Zealand music videos - it was in the same league.

So, we sent that off to 2 of the main music video stations here in New Zealand - C4TV and Juice. Result? C4 said they might show it in their Homegrown section - they thought the song was awesome, but didn't think the video did it justice. I'm happy to agree with that. Juice? They were just downright rude! They were not interested - I inquired as to what they thought of the song itself... and they said "it wouldn't fit in amongst Beyonce and Justin Timberlake" (I still have the email - with the very rude tone in it!). I must admit, I had to laugh, because whilst they do play that kind of thing - there's also a tonne of New Zealand content, and this track is by far, as good as (if not better) than any other New Zealand song currently playing.

How the hell do you break into the commercial world ...??? More soon!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: A hidden wisdom is like a hidden star; it shines nowhere"