[....Read Part 1] The guys got through it and to the untrained ear it would have sounded ok. Obviously after that gig we had a few questions for our sound guy. After all, it was only the two bands on that evening (the opening band and the one I manage), and they had sound checked at 3pm that afternoon for at least two hours. So, understandably, we wanted some answers.
He told us that the "PA was out of phase" and that was the cause of all the sound problems. The question I have - but unfortunately never asked him was why the hell did the opening band sound good then? No problems with the phasing then!
The band and I regrouped and had a chat about it as we had a local festival coming up here in our city. It was a festival that I was organising myself, along with our sound guy. We had chosen 4 other bands to take part - the headlining band being very well-known within New Zealand, and the band I manage opening for them. I was pretty happy with that and it was going to be great exposure for them.
The event turned out to be a huge success with an audience of approx 3,000. The whole event was going really well, the bands all sounded fine so I was glad that the PA was fine this time and there were no problems. The third band comes off and the band I manage set their gear up and hit the stage. Only... there were no vocals!!! The backing tracks were playing, the drums, bass, guitar (only just) but no damn vocals!! I looked up at our "sound guy" who was twiddling his thumbs... but halfway through the first song he managed to "fix" it.
Their sound this time was ok... at least the singer could hear himself this time and was able to hit the notes. But the sound, as far as we were concerned, was nowhere near quality - you hear the headline act come on after (they used their own sound man of course) and their sound was perfect. Absolutely different from any other band that had been on! Since then... we have sacked the sound guy and the guys do the sound themselves. They had a recent gig where they did that and there were no problems at all - in fact, the sound was awesome.. not the muddy/drum/bass at previous gigs.
Anyway, we learnt a lot from all this drama - so just remember, only work with people you trust... always!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sabotage In The Music Industry... (Part 2)
Sabotage In The Music Industry... (Part 1)
As with every industry there's a lot of backstabbing and general nonsense that goes on. I now have two rules:
1.) Never work with someone you don't trust; and
2.) Never divulge your plans unless you explicitly trust that person; otherwise, they may screw you over
I learnt this the hard way!
Some people in this industry just don't want to see you succeed, and that's what happened in this case - or at least, that's what I have pinned it down to. A question for you: Your sound man, do you trust him? Ask yourself this question. If the answer is yes, that's great - keep him on. If not, lose him. It's that simple. A sound man can make or break your live performance - and if you don't trust him, or he doesn't give a damn about your music - you need to move on and find someone that does. A sound man is like another member of the band, hence the focus on them for this post.
The band I manage had finished recording their album and were putting together their live show. They practiced hard and got it perfect and were ready for their debut performance at a New Years festival. We did our part, arrived at the venue on time and the guys were ready to do their thing. The opening band sounded pretty good - and we heard that they were mates with our sound guy - which is how they got the opening slot. Cool.
They finish up, the changeover happens and the guys hit the stage. Their keyboard intro kicks in - the lights flicker and do their thing and I'm sitting back thinking "it's all good, I can relax". Then I notice that something is wrong with the sound - there was heaps of drum and bass, but there were no guitars and the vocals were somewhere in the mix!
I was getting pretty frustrated because we had specifically met with and talked to the sound guy about the sound we were wanting (i.e. as close to the sound on CD as possible). The mix was completely wrong, the singer couldn't reach the notes because he couldn't hear himself on stage and when he could it was so weak and had no guts - so it ended up being a struggle for him, and to be honest - the mix sounded like cr*p. What a let down... [to be continued here...]
Sunday, April 27, 2008
10 Tips To Get New Fans ...
1. Promote on YouTube - get some good sounding acoustic video's of your music up, keep them interesting. Also video 'behind the scenes' footage and upload that - give fans a glimpse into the 'Rockstar Life'!
2. Social Networking - Get involved in the online social networking buzz e.g. MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, MOG etc - promote your music, upload some tracks and comment on people's profiles. Remember to always reply to every comment or message.
3. Blogging - Yep, it's the new buzz, and another great way to show people the 'behind the scenes' of it all. The good, the bad and the downright ugly - blog it all!
4. Live Gigs - Go out and play live as often as you can - your first gig might start off with a small amount of people (friends and friends of friends), but if you have put the work in and put on a great show, then next time those friends will bring along another friend etc and so on...
5. Internet Radio - Don't underestimate the power of internet radio. It's a great source for getting your music to people that are keen to hear new indie music! That's where they go to get away from the commercial mainstream music that's shoved down their throats.
6. Opinion Leaders - There are internet-only publications with readerships in the tens of thousands, whose writers may wish to say nice things about your music - find them and contact them! Their readers rely on their opinion and it will drive traffic to your site.
7. Local Press - Don't forget your local music magazines/newspapers - they will generally be pretty supportive of local talent, so ensure you develop a great relationship with them. Let them know about your album and any news that you wish to announce - they may even have a music section that will review your album.
8. Website - Ensure you have your own website up and running! Not just a random little website that's like a publication - that was Web 1.0 - make it fun, interactive and keep people coming back for more - Google 'Web 2.0' to get an idea of what your website should have!
9. Email List - Whatever you do - ensure that you have an email list!! Those that sign up for it want to hear more from you!!!! So... make it easy for them - it's simple, just name and email space - if you're not sure how, or aren't html literate - visit Freedback Forms, easy as!
10. Promowhoring - Now you're sitting there wondering what the hell this one is?! Once your MySpace and other social networking sites start developing - head to bands sites that have a similar sound to you (that reach the same target market), check out their friends lists or those that leave comments on their page - recommend them your music. Ensure that it's done in a polite manner..! And you're on your way!
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!
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"
