Local Gigs: How to Know When You’ve Outgrown Them

15-Jun-2018 By Leave a Comment

Is your local bar circuit starting to feel like a song on repeat?

There is a sort of stigma, for some artists, around playing local gigs. Performing in the same city or the same rotation of venues can begin to feel repetitive- but how soon is too soon to expand your fanbase and seek venues further from home?

NORTHLIGHT at local gigs in youbloomDublin '18

NORTHLIGHT at youbloomDublin ’18

First, it’s important to note the benefits of a solid local foundation.

1) Building Origin Loyalty at Local Gigs

It’s no secret that fans who can claim to be “day-one fans” or to have “seen them before they were famous” will maintain type of loyalty to your band that cannot be matching by fans, no matter how die-hard, you acquire later on in your career. Because of this, it’s important to stay local long enough to build a solid following of fans with a strong sense of “origin loyalty”.

2) Saving Money

Dreaming of Jupiter at youbloomDublin ’18

As your group is beginning to grow and venues are starting to pay higher wages for gigs- it’s important to not be spending more than you’re making on transportation to and from shows. This includes sticking with the free drinks at shows and Being your own Booking agent. Attempting to play shows far from home too quickly can set an artist or band up for financial issues later- another benefit of local revenue.

With that in mind- there will be a time when branching out is not only preferable, but necessary to pursuing the dream. The question then becomes when (and how)?

When?

When to take the risk and hit the road for a tour or remote gig will vary from artist to artist. However, before attempting to broaden a fanbase, artists should a) be confident in their local/foundational following and b) be prepared for an initial hit to the wallet.

How?

There are many ways for an artist to expand their following when the time comes, but who says they have to do it alone? youbloomConnect is designed for these very sorts of ventures. youbloomConect helps musicians expand their fanbase and seek gigs further from home by working alongside other artists on the rise, by exposing to other fanbases, and by creating performances in their ‘partner band’s’ city. Learn more at youbloom.com!

Making Money in the Industry

20-Mar-2017 By 1 Comment

Making money doing what you love is never easy. Most have to have at least one other job while they have their passion as a side job or even just as a hobby. There are a few things that you can do to help make money with your music, whether it’s writing for yourself or being a song writer for someone else. It’s always good to keep your mind open when trying to make money. Try something different and exciting that will get peoples’ attentions and make them want to support you. I will be talking about a few things that might help, but always think of new and exciting ways to generate money, especially since it’s very easy to download music for free.

Merchandise:

Selling merchandise is a great way to create money. Everyone wants to show off their support for bands that they love or for bands that they just found out about. They will wear shirts and pins to shows and on the street, which will get others around them interested in checking you out and will mean that they will purchase things as well. It’s very easy to buy and sell merchandise anywhere. You can sell at shows, but you can also sell online in many different ways. There’s always social media you can sell on as long as you have a PayPal account, multiple websites that help you sell online, as well as selling on your own website.

Live Shows:

Live shows are always great to get money at. As noted above, you can sell your merchandise at shows, but you can also make money in other ways. Some venues will pay you for playing there, others will let you set up a tip jar on stage where anyone at the show can donate money while you’re performing. You can also put a tip jar on your merchandise table for anyone who would like to donate more money or still show monetary support if they cannot purchase anything.

Another great form of “live shows” are to do it online. It’s not exactly “live” but you will be live streaming and performing live for fans. Streaming sites, such as StageIt, will let you set a price for a live streaming a concert and your fans can pay to see you perform from all over the world.

Crowdfunding/Pledge Music:

There are multiple forms online to have fans donate money to your music. Things like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo will let people donate money to your cause if they feel connected to it. Sites like Patreon help artists support each other and have fans support them as well. Patreon usually has it where you have something to give to the person who donated the money. Doesn’t need to be anything big, just something small to say thank you. I believe it’s always good to give back to those who help out. If you can do that while they’re donating, it would help so much.

Exclusives:

Having something extra for fans will make them more excited about purchasing things. You can have certain songs be free, but if they want to be able to download a special video from the band or an exclusive song, then they’d have to pay for it. Make it seem special. Having a few songs free for listeners to check out and download before purchasing the album will make them able to listen to you and want more.

Cover Shows:

A lot of bands don’t care for doing cover shows and would rather play their own music, but most (if not all) bands who do cover gigs will get paid. Most places would like to hire performers that sound or can at least perform popular songs. It gets the crowd excited and want to people to show up. It may not be the best o most popular around performers to do, but it is a good way to get some money and sometimes even be heard by someone in the industry.

YouTube:

YouTube is a great way to get money and to be heard. A lot of venues and even labels go to YouTube to see what you’re about. It shows how many people are listening to you, what you can creatively do with the music in terms of writing and music videos if you have any, and they will be able to see your music persona and how people react to it. YouTube also has ads that will generate money overtime someone watches one of your videos. You can decide which video you’d like the ads to be on and will generate more income. Yes, the ads are annoying, but it’s not going to stop anyone from listening to you. Performers all over have gotten signed thanks to YouTube and many that haven’t been signed yet are getting paid through the ads.

Sponsorship:

Having someone sponsor you is a great way to have money. Whoever is sponsoring you will donate money to whatever you need, whether it be to go on tour, buy new merchandise, help with recording, or getting instruments. You may not always be able to use the money as you want, but it will help pay for the important “business” things so that when you do make money from sales or anything, that will be your money and you won’t have to worry about business expenses. Sponsors also make it easier to get booked at shows and at festivals. You both can help each other out and booking agents will notice.

There are plenty of ways to make money doing what you love. You just have to keep an open mind and be creative. These were a few ideas that may help, but should only be a starting point for trying to make money with your music. Some are not as popular as others and some are very easy to do. You just have to find out what works best for you and your music, as well as for you fans.

The Benefits of Touring

05-Mar-2017 By 1 Comment

Touring can be one of the best or one of the worse things to happen to an artist. It will either make or break you. Bands can get noticed while touring, or they will break up. There are many things bands need to know before touring. The biggest one is to make sure you are going on tour with people you can deal with and who can deal with you. You will be stuck with them for weeks and even months in a small van, or even a tour bus.

Networking while Touring

When on tour, you can find plenty of people to work with who will help you out. You’ve just got to be nice to them and treat them with respect. Even if they aren’t the greatest to you, still try to be kind and respectful and it might turn them around. They will definitely remember that when they have to work with you again and will help your shows be better.

Becoming friends with bands on tour will help out a lot. They can help you get shows in their towns and in return, you can help them get shows. Trade offs are always great to do. Local bands already have fans going to their shows and becoming friends with the ones you’ll be playing with will help you have people willing to see you when in town. Become friends with them before asking for favors, though. You actually want to have a friendship and bond with these people. Talk to them on FaceBook or Twitter before going on tour to get to know them.

Everyone you work with on tour is important for how it will go. Get to know the promoters, sound guys, and anyone working the venues. Learn their names and remember for the next time you play there. They will be impressed and more willing to help you for future events. They will also talk you up to other venues and promoters and help you get more shows in the area, and possibly in other cities as well.

Details of Touring

Everyone always skips over the details because they just want to get out there and start doing things. The details are always what screws people. You want to know about everything you can before you get on tour so that nothing is a surprise. Always get together before going out to figure out personal things and business things.

Some venues give out contracts before booking and band, and some of those have very specific details you need to know. It tells you if and how you’re getting paid, the equipment they have there and what you need to bring, guest lists, etc. There’s one thing that most artists don’t look at before booking multiple shows at once and that’s if a venue has a distance limit for shows. Some venues don’t want you to book another show near them for a week that’s about 10 miles away. That’s just an example, but it could be more time and a wider radius. You always want to know if the venue expects you to sell a certain amount of tickets, otherwise they will most likely charge you for the left over tickets you couldn’t sell. I’ve noticed a lot of venues in bigger cities tend to do that and aren’t always upfront about that.

Before going on tour, you want to have a meeting with everyone in the band to figure out things. You want to make sure everyone agrees on a budget and what that money will be used on. You might not always get the money you’re expecting at shows, so you really shouldn’t rely on it. Everyone should be able to split it evenly and help out with things. Have an itinerary showing when everyone needs to be at the venue, when loading is, when you’re playing, etc.. It should also have the contact numbers of everyone (band members, promoters, venues, driver if you have one) and emails for the venue. You all want to also are on a set of ground rules. Everyone may think that they know each other well, but someone will have some pet peeve that will get to them too much and might make things tense among the group.

Booking hotels and finding places ahead of time is always great. Once you have the shows set, you know when and where you’ll need a place to stay. You can ask fans or friends/family in the area, but if they don’t get back within a week or two, move on. You don’t want to get stuck last minute trying to find a place. I went on a small tour with a band once and they kept telling me that they had people who were going to let us stay there. The day we get the city, they tell me they haven’t heard back from anyone and that we might have to find a hotel. Well, every place was having some kind of conventions going on and only had expensive rooms left. We ended up finding a hotel last minute, but you don’t want to get stuck in the kind of mess.

Map route before leaving. It helps you figure out how much time it takes to get from one place to another and will be easier to plan things around travel time. It also helps to keep you from getting lost if you can’t get internet on your phone for google maps.

Going on tour can be a great thing. Get everything done ahead of time, talk with the rest of the members and take care of yourself. You don’t want any surprises and you want to be able to fix anything if something goes wrong. Don’t rely on others with everything and make sure you and the rest of your group can take charge if need be. Always know where everyone and everything is and how your equipment is being taken care of. The tour should go well if you at least do those things.

This is a gust post by youbloom contributor Michele Enouch

Michele Enoch is a music business graduate from Musicians Institute who has managed and promoted bands for years. She is now working on her photography and helping performers advance in their career. Her passion has always been music and she is exploring all aspects of the industry. Michele appreciates all kinds of music and seeing music in all kinds of environments. She enjoys crocheting hats and toys, reading and writing mystery and horror stories, taking pictures of everything she can, food from around the world, and adorable animals. She is always on the look out for anything new and exciting.

The Best (and Worst) Ways for Independent Musicians to Make Money

03-Nov-2016 By 8 Comments

When independent musicians are just starting out, the road can get pretty bumpy. Digging for change in the crux of your band’s van to come up with enough gas money to make it to your gig one town over might sound bad, but when your equipment gets stolen after the show and your bandmates leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere, you might begin to second guess your career choice.

No one said that the life of a struggling musician would be glamorous, but for those with passion, talent, and an insatiable drive to succeed that keeps them practicing their latest song until the sun comes up, the payout is even more real than the struggle it took to get there.

Unfortunately, the hard truth is that too many musicians are wasting their time and energy trying to make money doing things that simply don’t move the needle. So, let’s set the record straight here and now. These may be a bit hard to swallow, but it will make you a better musician at the end of it. [Read more…]

TOUR DIARY: Foreign Affairs NI at youbloomLA 2015

07-May-2016 By 1 Comment

Every time we at youbloom put on a music festival, we are humbled and awed by the insane variety of talented acts that manage to make their way to us from all around the world to share in a few days of the celebration of independent music.

In December, we were thrilled to welcome Northern Irish punk band Foreign Affairs NI to sunny Los Angeles for the youbloomLA 2015 Music Festival and Conference. They played a cracking set, brought amazing energy to the venue – La Cuevita – and were a top highlight in LA last year.

Foreign Affairs NI have since been busy writing and playing up a storm, so pay attention, punk fans, because this band have a lot going on in 2016. When we found out they’d written a tour diary about their time in the US of A, we just had to ask if we could share some of it.

It goes without saying that we are beyond sweatin’ to have them back again for the upcoming youbloomDublin 2016 Music Summit & Festival, going down this June 1-3.

In the meantime, check out what they had to say about their time with us under the palms out west:

Day 1, First Impressions

‘Everything in America is bigger! The size of their drinks, their airports, their buildings, all of it was on a much grander scale and it would be easy to get consumed by it all and feel lost. We made a pledge to make the most of every second we had in The City Of Angels as time was short and we didn’t know when we’d be back. With this in mind, after checking in we set off on our first ever Hollywood adventure! Not realising the scope of LA we learnt the hard way that taxis are not to be used unless necessary, especially during rush hour!’

Day 2, Permanent Memories

‘We had heard amazing things about American breakfast. The stories are true, believe the hype! In our hotel we had complimentary breakfast and the ability to make your own waffles was life changing. Fed and watered we would plan our day. Not losing sight of why we were here, we all crowded round Matt and his guitar and listened and played our songs together. We had an amazing feeling for the Music Festival and we were prepared! We decided after this to see if Santa Monica and Venice Beach lived up to the hype.’

Day 3, Amazing Sights

‘Most of Los Angeles was in our sights as well as the infamous Hollywood sign. A few band photos were taken and like always, the whole trek and experience was filmed. Inside and out the observatory was an amazing sight and it was overwhelming to realise that we were there taking it all in, and that was made possible by our music. We couldn’t take too much in for too long however as we were warned at night mountain lions venture up and down the mountain and we didn’t want to find out if that was lies or not.’

Day 4, Gig Day:

‘Gig day had arrived! We were to play an amazing venue, ‘La Cuevita’. We didn’t do very much in the lead up to this as our primary focus was putting on the best show we could and remaining focused.

On the way to the gig we exited the train with a few people and we all walked together towards the same area, however we all had different intentions. The man beside us ripped down a car window and broke into the vehicle. The alarm went off and the man scurried away. LA was a different breed entirely compared to anywhere else.

We entered the venue and watched the bands perform and noticed that every artist had great energy and crowd interaction! This is something we had targeted and improved! Armed with a wireless guitar system to run about the venue and crowd interaction worked into our set, we were prepared! An overwhelming experience at the venue was that people were asking, ‘When are the Irish band on?’. Thousands of miles away from home, people were asking for us. That was a feeling we’ll never forget.

9.15 approached and it was time for us to take the stage! We launched into the opening song from our new E.P., ‘Heartline’ and there was an instant positive feeling. People were listening, clapping with us and most importantly having a good time!

Moving through the set each song went down very well. We were premiering a brand new song at the show! One we had never played before. With nerves of how it would go down, Matt announced that, ‘Pennies’ was about to make its debut and we launched into the song. Quite possibly the best reaction of any song of the set was received here. This filled us with so much pride. Our current music had brought us thousands of miles away, and where we’re going in the future has been met with an overwhelming response, it was just a surreal moment and filled us with positivity.

As our set came to a close we ended with, ‘Television’. The song that had gotten us there in the first place. It was an emotional experience and we give (sic) it everything we had! Enjoying every second of it. After the set we had our photos taken by YouBloom (sic) and had drinks with the other bands and just enjoyed the vibe and experience.

A special thank you is needed for Kittenhead who helped us out with a bass and electric guitar. Without you we may not have been able to play.’

Day 5, YouBloom Conference:

‘We had the conference to attend now where we could interact with big music industry names and make connections.

The whole conference was amazing! Armed with a notepad and pen we documented so much valuable information. Attending talks from Tom Sturges, a man who signed The Smashing Pumpkins and has shook hands with The President Of The United States because of his musical achievements was surreal. We met with him directly and he was overly enthusiastic about us and music in general. A very inspiring man.

We were then interviewed by YouBloom and enjoyed that experience. Straight after that we attend a panel titled, ‘Making A Statement’. The panel was made up of: Joe Sib of Sideonedummies Records; Marko DeSantis of a band we look up to, Sugarcult; and Don Grierson who signed Celine Dion, to name a few. Again we learnt so much and made direct contact with both Joe and Marko which was surreal in itself to meet these people and talk about our music.

The trip was worth it just for this alone.’

Be sure to check out the entire tour diary over on ChordBlossom.

*If you’re a youbloom Festival veteran and have similar content you’d like us to share on our blog, get in touch with a link in the comments below.