Friends to Friends: Coast to Coast

07-Jun-2021 By Phil Harrington Leave a Comment

Starting a local band can seem like a daunting task. How do you get venues to book you when you are still “unknown”? How do you grow your fanbases to other countries? How do you get those fans to keep buying your music?

youbloom has the answer: youbloom is helping to uncover the many hidden talents around the world that are often overshadowed by the relatively few mainstream artists/bands who dominate the music industry. Independent artists have partnered with other bands on their own, but youbloomConnect opens the doors to many other opportunities that may have been outside a band’s immediate connections in their hometown.

youbloom is also helping keep fans connected with the artists they love because fans have the opportunity to request artists to come to their city or perform virtually. These direct connections are the bedrock of youbloom and they keep fans interested as bands/artists continue to create new music. Artists love to know they have dedicated fans and fans love the direct connection with their favorite artists!

Even if a band/artist only has a small group of fans, the dedication of those fans to their music is what can help ground them and create a concrete platform to branch off of. Similarly, creating a few great connections with other artists will form a strong web with connections from around the world, coast to coast.

Visit our Artist Matching page to discover new artists from across the globe to start building those new connections!

You can also check out our facebook page and join the Emerging Music Connection Hub group to talk with other artists currently working with youbloomConnect.

Writing Song Lyrics Right

12-Jun-2020 By 1 Comment

As musical styles progress and change with the times, one thing is for certain, writing song lyrics continues to play a vital part in what sets artists from being good to be considered great. So for those of you currently in a creative drought, here is some advice from a few of the greats.

Jimi Hendrix on Artistic Liberties with the Facts

“Imagination is the key to my lyrics. The rest is painted with a little science fiction.”

–Jimi Hendrix

Many artists pigeonhole themselves by believing that every word written must be 100% accurate to their lives and story they are telling. Of course, speaking from your own personal experiences is vital in creating meaningful music. But the point is to get your message across in the best way possible. Sometimes, this might involve a little science fiction.

Dolly Parton on Throwing Yourself into the Process

“It’s therapy. It’s fun. It’s creative. I love getting on a big writing binge and staying up a couple days working on song and knowing at the end of those two or three days that I’ve created something that was never in the world before.”

–Dolly Parton

If this is your passion, don’t be afraid to throw yourself into your work. The stories of artists writing a hit song in 5 minutes’ time, on a napkin, in an airport is incredible! But most great songs come from hard work, dedication, and focus from the artist. This mean sitting down and wrestling with a song until it feels right.

John Mayer on Speaking Your Own Truth

“I hope that what it comes down to at the end of the day is that people believe that I believe what I’m singing. It comes down to being believable.”

–John Mayer

Authenticity is key in songwriting and producing. This may seem strange since the first piece of advice was to stretch the truth in the songwriting process. Don’t be confused, there is a difference between writing a nonfiction story to produce a personal truth, and writing a meaningless song for the sake of staying on trend. Be true to your artistic endeavors and creative process because the song will thus come across genuine to the listeners.

Now go on and be inspired to create and then when it comes time to perform, remember to Sign up as an artist today and get the chance to connect with your fans and other artists to grow not only your fan base but your connections in the industry.

If you enjoy this blog about music and want to know more about youbloom Connect be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Power to the fans with youbloomConnect

20-May-2020 By Leave a Comment

Via Petra Cugalj

The power that music gives fans

Petra Cugalj shares with us the power of music and what makes her feel empowered. she adds, “coming from a small town, lots of good gigs were often not accessible to me. Either too far away, in bigger cities or simply too expensive for my budget. I often found myself daydreaming about how cool it would be to see my favorite bands and artists play live in my city”. At the same time, she expresses how powerless she feels because they wouldn’t ever come to a city near her. Here’s how youbloomConnect impacts fans from across the globe.

Get invited to the show, before anyone else

One of the biggest benefits of signing-up as a youbloomConnect requesting fan, is right there in the name itself – you can request bands and artists to come and perform live in your city! Get your friends involved and requesting too ‘cause the more you request, the higher your chances are to see them play live in your city! By signing-up, you’ll always be the first one to know when the next youbloomConnect gig is happening. Before you know it, you’ll be relaxing with friends and enjoying an unforgettable, uninterrupted, live music show just for you. Even though live music is limitless, the seating might not be, so sign up to be the first one to secure your ticket and we’ll keep your wallets a little bit fuller by giving you a 15% discount on ticket prices!

Get involved today!

Don’t wait for a chance to see your favorite artists and bands play live. Take the power into your own hands and bring the bands you love to watch perform to your city . The music industry would not exist without the fans! We at youbloom know this is true, this is exactly why youbloom launches youbloomConnect to give the power to you – to us, the fans.

It doesn’t cost you anything to sign-up, but you’ll have the power to help create the show you want to see! So, sign-up as a fan today and become a part of this ecosystem.

If you enjoy this blog about music and want to know more about youbloomConnect be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Indie Artists: Time Be Your Own Booking Agent

09-May-2020 By Leave a Comment

Via Luca

Indie artists, it’s time to drop the Booking Agent

No one knows better than indie artists how frustrating and stressful it can be to book shows, tour, and perform. Hiring a booking agent may seem like the easy answer, but if the royalties aren’t exactly flowing in yet, you might not be in the financial position to do this. What to do, then? Let’s not forget that we are the DIY generation, we do it ourselves. Here’s how to book your own shows.

Perhaps you’ve made a list of all the venues that would fit your music, sound, and style, and yet it’s nearly impossible to get them to give you a decent time slot. You will most likely get an 11pm weeknight spot or a 3pm Sunday afternoon one, and we all know that no one is going to miss brunch to catch your new band at what promises to be an empty, desolated venue.

When you ask for a better, higher profile slot, the booking agent usually says: “Well, how many people can you draw?”. If the answer is more than 20, then you’ve got yourself a Friday night show. However, if your response is anything less, you’ll have to wait patiently in line until your following is bigger.

Which brings us to our next point.

Book others, to book yourself.

How is a band supposed to grow a fan base if the only shows they can play occur when people are watching Netflix or in a yoga class? Good question indeed. Those who manage to bring a good crowd are those who are either already established or have a lot of friends in town. Venues are not going to bet on a new indie artist nor are they looking for the next big act to feature before they blow up. Venues want to break even. They want to see the money they spend on a typical Friday night come back in full, and if possible make a little profit.

Be your own booking agent. Look for an equally unknown band that shares your ambitions, ethos, and sound and put a show together. Perhaps, pick a less reputable venue in your town; smaller and more intimate is ideal. Make sure you market the show as a party; a night to have some fun and enjoy some live music. Startups like Sofar Sounds have built a brand around this exact experience and platforms like youbloomConnect match local indie artists with one another, making it easy for bands to come together and book.

Each band will bring their friends, and if you advertised the event properly, their friends will bring other friends looking for a fun night.

Play the show, distribute some t-shirts, have a beer and repeat.

One of two things will happen. You will either get a call from the bigger venues looking to book your band or you won’t need them anymore because your fan base has been growing without their help.

You should hope for the latter.

About the Blogger

Luca a freelance writer, blogger, musician and songwriter. Born and
raised in Italy, his passion for Rock n Roll made him move to London where he
lived for one year and gained a certificate in Songwriting from ICMP.
Luca relocated in NYC in 2014 to pursue jazz music and liberal arts at the
The New School from which he graduated in December 2017. Luca currently
resides in Nashville, TN

Curate An Affordable Live Music Experience: Change The Game

11-Apr-2020 By Leave a Comment

Let’s take you our 3 stage process in being to curate an affordable live music experience in your local neighborhood! Your local music scene needs YOU: a local hero

Ever wanted to be a part of something big? Now is the time!

If you’ve always been someone who’s daydreamed about big ideas to manifest into reality, there’s a ninja in you. Look around, there’s talent everywhere and they all need someone who can take initiative to guide them. Your passion for music can be infectious in more ways than one. It’s your chance to steer the ship, create an enriching experience, curate that special live music experience. All you need to do is provide your local talent with a platform that YOU help build: it is after all, your scene, so let it be seen! The first step is to acknowledge that you yourself can be the person that you’ve always felt your local music scene needed.

Don’t own or have contacts at a music venue? How about your friend’s backyard!

We all know that one person in our neighborhood that we can find complaining on a regular basis about there being nothing to do in the area, or that there aren’t enough venues where live music can be played anymore. Well, you being the ninja that you are, have found a solution. The creative, ideas person is always prone to think outside the box; why not use this to think up alternative locations for live music? Go ahead, give your friend’s backyard a fresh spin! Getting a bunch of artists to play at unconventional settings is how a lot of legendary music and artists started their journey.

Give your ‘scenesters’ a chance to pay what they want: using crowdfunding as an effective DIY tool

Crowdfunding is a perfect gauge of how much your fans are willing to contribute to a local show, particularly with the first few shows you run. It is imperative to learn more about the purchasing power and engagement level of your audience. You want to make all your shows not only accessible but also affordable: the best way to do it is by allowing your community to pay what they want. Over a period of time, you’d have an estimation of the exact price at which you want to sell tickets to your show, thereby creating a sense of value in return to your fans, artists, and hosts.

We’re very excited to hear from you! Click here to sign up as a CityRep and you’ll hear from us in 2 weeks’ time! To find out more or sign up as a CityRep, click here

If you want to learn more about the youbloom community follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

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