Unless you have major label money behind you, the ability to self
promote your music is one of the most important skills you can have.
When you don't have money to hire PR people to run media campaigns for
you, it is up to you to make sure people know about the music you are
making. Getting started can be a little overwhelming, however. These
steps will help you start out on the right foot, to make sure all of the
right people are standing up and taking notice of you.
Time
Required: OngoingHere's How:Identify Your Goals - When you set out to
promote your music, don't try to cover too much ground at once. Look at
the way larger artists are promoted - they have specific campaigns that
promote specific things, like a new album or a tour. Choose one thing to
promote, like:
A single
A show
A website
Once
you know what to promote, you will be able to make clear goals for
yourself, i.e. if you want to promote your website, then your goal is to
bring traffic to the site. With these goals in mind, you'll find it
easier to come up with promotion ideas, and you'll be better able to
judge the success of your promotions.
Target the Right
Audience - With your promotional goal in mind, figure out who the right
audience for your campaign is. If you have a gig coming up, then the
right audience for your promotion are the local print publications and
radio stations in the town in which your show is happening. If you have a
limited edition single coming out, your primary audience is your band
mailing list, plus the media. Going for the right audience is especially
important if you're on a budget. Don't waste time and money letting
town X knowing about an upcoming show in town Y or a folk magazine about
your new hip hop album.
Have a Promo Package - Just like
when you send a demo to a label , to self promote your music, you need a
good promo package. Your package should have:
A press
release detailing your newsA short (one page) band bioA CD (a demo
recording is ok, or an advance copy of an upcoming release)A package of
any press coverage you have had so far - press coverage begets press
coverage
Your contact information (make sure to include an email address - people may hesitate to call you)
A
color photo, or a link to a site where a photo can be downloaded. The
press is more likely to run a photo if they don't have to chase it.
Find
Your Niche - The sad truth is, every writer, radio station, website, or
fan for that matter, you are trying to reach is likely being bombarded
with info from other music hopefuls. You a reason to stand out. Try to
find something that will make people more curious about you - give them a
reason to want to know more. Being elusive worked wonders for Belle
& Sebastian at the start of their career and people write about
Marilyn Manson for being, well, Marilyn Manson. You don't have to devise
a huge, calculated persona, but giving people a reason to check out
your show or your CD before the others can only help.
Bribe
'Em - Another way to stand out from the crowd is plain old free stuff.
Even press people and label bosses love getting something for nothing,
and you'll whip your fans into a frenzy (and get new fans) by giving
stuff away. Some ideas:
Put some money behind the bar at a show and give free drink passes to all the industry people who come to check you out.
Give people on your mailing list an exclusive download once a month (be it a new song or an alternate version of a song)
At
gigs, raffle (for free) mix CDs made by the band - everyone who signs
up to your mailing list at the show gets entered in the drawing.
Branding
- Get your name out there. Make up some stickers, badges, posters,
lighters or anything else you can think of that include your band's
name. Then, leave the stuff anywhere you can. Pass them out at your
favorite clubs, leave them on the record shop counter, poster the light
posts - go for it. Soon, your name will be familiar to people even if
they don't know why, and when they see your name in the paper
advertising an upcoming show, they'll think "hey...I know that name, I
wonder what that's all about.."
Keep Track of Your
Contacts - As you go through all of these steps, chances are that you
are going to pick up a lot of new contacts along the way. Some of these
contacts will be industry people and some will be fans. Never lose track
of a contact. Keep a database on your computer for the industry people
you have met and another database of fan contacts. These databases
should be your first port of call for your next promotional campaign -
and these databases should always be growing. Don't write anyone off,
even if you don't get much feedback from them. You never know who is
going to give you the break you need.
Tips:Know When to
Act Small - This step ties in with targeting the right audience and
identifying your goals - you can save a lot of time spinning your wheels
by keeping the small stuff small. While it's always useful to keep
other people up to date with what's happening in your career, that guy
from Rolling Stone doesn't really need to know every time your band is
playing a half hour set at the local club, especially if the local press
really hasn't given you much coverage yet. When you're getting started,
the easiest place to start a buzz is your local area. Build up the
small stuff to get to the bigger stuff.
But Know When to
Act Large - Sometimes, a larger campaign really is in order. Go full
speed ahead when you have something big brewing, like:
A
new albumA tourAn important piece of news, like an award or a new record
dealThis kind of news warrants contacting both the media and people you
want to work with, like labels, agents, managers and so on.Find the
RIGHT Niche - As mentioned, finding your niche is helpful in getting
noticed. There is one caveat however - make sure you get noticed for the
right reasons. You certainly will get some attention for bad,
unprofessional behavior, but the problem is that your music won't be
what everyone is talking about - and isn't that what you really want to
be recognized for? Don't do yourself the disservice of self promoting a
bad rep for yourself. Make sure you get noticed for your talent instead.
Also, don't be fake. If you're not sure what your niche is yet, don't push it. Stay true to yourself and your music.
Grow
your Database - In addition to keeping tracks of the contacts you have,
don't be afraid to help your database grow by adding some "dream"
contacts to your list. Is there an agent you want to take notice of you?
Then include them on your press release mailing list or promo mailing
list when you have big news to share. Let them know you're still working
and still building your career - pretty soon, they may be knocking on
your door.
Take a Deep Breath - For many people, the idea
of self promoting their music to their fans is easy, but the idea of
calling up the press is downright terrifying. Relax. Here's the truth -
some people you call will be nice, some people won't be. Some people
will never return your calls or emails. Some will. You shouldn't take
any of it personally. You definitely shouldn't be afraid to try.
Covering bands is the job of the music media - they expect to hear from
you. Don't be discouraged by someone who is rude, or someone who is
polite, but still says "no". Don't write them off, either. Next time,
you may hear "yes."
The news comes after months of speculation as to whether Platt would join his former boss Martin Bandier at Sony/ATV when the publishing giant, along with a consortium of investors (including the estate of Michael Jackson and industry veteran David Geffen),
merges with EMI (pending regulatory approval; EMI's recorded units will
be split off and sold to Universal), but one source hints that Platt
has already been there, done that.
