Looking For Agents? Impress A&R Scouts, 5 Tips Right Here

12-Jul-2020 By Leave a Comment

Performance

This is more than just technical ability and having good music, but the ability to express these things by actually enjoying yourself on stage and playing the crowd. Hyping them up and drawing them in close when it’s appropriate, getting them to follow your energy, and giving them a dynamic and exciting show!
Beyond the music, being on stage is about having presence. Your body language speaks volumes, and if it’s in sync with your music and vibe the performance is that much stronger. Agents love this in performers.

Styling

This is a big part of your image and branding and is a tool for sticking out from the crowd. You can get away with jeans and a hoodie sure, but that’s not memorable. Ultimately it’s the music that’s important, but if your style is in sync with your music and performance it just leaves that much more of a mental impression on agents and anyone who goes to gigs for a living.

Bring A Crowd

Obviously a large part of what an A&R scout is looking for is your ability to pack out a venue. If you’re a small band, try and go for smaller venues, it looks much better to have a small room jam-packed with twenty to thirty people, than a large venue with the same amount spread out. Know how many people you can get to your shows, and go for the venues that relate to that number. You will grow as you keep playing, and as you do, the more likely it is that you’ll play a gig where you’ve got a scout hanging about, and when it happens you’ll want to make sure the room is full of die-hard fans that are there to see you play.

After Show Engagement

The show isn’t over until you’ve left the venue, at least not in the eyes of an A&R Scout. They’ll be watching how you conduct yourselves and manage every aspect of your music, from before you get on stage to how you meet and greet the fans afterwards. If you’re selling stuff that’s great, scouts love a band that takes charge of their affairs, it shows that they’re serious about their music and are thinking of the future. I’ll always remember what my music business tutor told me about merch though, “Don’t ask them to buy your stuff at the end of a set, just say ‘We’ll be over by the bar if anyone wants to chat’, and when they come over, don’t ask them to buy it, if you’re holding it casually in your hand they’re much more likely to ask you about it and buy it as if it’s their own idea. You’re musicians, not salesmen.”
This is a tactic that is tried and tested. People don’t go to gigs to buy merch. But they do go to see their favourite bands, and if you invite them to have a chat, and they’re wondering what to talk to you about, and see your CD in your hands, they’re much more likely to offer to buy it, than if you’re shoving it down their throats. If an A&R scout or an agent(s) sees you selling loads of CD’s, bingo!

Memorable Part of the Set

I had a friend who was in a hard rock band, and he always ended his sets by jumping into the crowd, more often than not he got them hyped up enough to be able to surf them. But even on the nights when the crowd weren’t up to the challenge, finishing a song lyric lying in the middle of the floor with the wireless mic (a very important part of this technique) was a hugely memorable moment of the night, and will stick in an A&R scouts head long after the gig, and he’s forgotten about all the music and clothes and flourishing touches. I’m not saying you need to literally break a leg every time you ‘jump’ on stage. But having something imaginative, or extreme or clever, or whatever little thing it is that suits your style to capture the attention and hook your scout it’s going to work in your favour. (As long as you don’t actually break your leg, I want to stress that, as that can go pretty wrong, and you probably won’t be hearing from the scout or agents if you can’t stand up afterwards.)

Live gigs are a very important part of any musician’s career and the shows should always leave fans desperate for more. Make sure every gig is better than the last, constantly up your game and who knows… you may even find yourself turning the head of your ideal A&R scout and end up working with agents across the board!

Thanks to Laurence Malpass from Music Gateway for this article and Jon Skinner (Music Gateway’s CEO) who spoke at the youbloom Conference back in 2014.

Check out youbloom Connect and/ or sign up here: https://www.youbloom.com/artist-apply/ where you can get partnered to perform with other local artists, build a steady fan-base, and even get your band on the road.

Being A Great Lead Singer Is Rough Business: Learn How To Be One

11-Jul-2020 By Leave a Comment

(Post via Mike Murphy) Fronting a band is no easy task and Mike examines the issue of how to be a great lead singer. Anyone that thinks to be a great lead singer is easy does not understand the skill. Sure, anyone can stand up in front of a band and pose as a lead singer and vocalize in some manner, but that is not what makes them great. Mastering the skill takes developing charisma, timing, having a solid understanding of the material being presented, delivery of the material, and a voice that fits the genre. We have all seen lead singers we have loved and hated. It’s a rough business.

How many of us have looked at and listened to a band and evaluated the singer to a higher standard? I think we all have; it is instinctive. Why? I think many people, especially non-musician types, do not recognize being a lead vocalist as a real instrument; like drums, guitars or keyboards. Being the lead vocalist is perhaps the hardest instrument to master! A band can have all great musicians, but if the singer sucks, the overall opinion of the band suffers.

Sure there have been lots of bands who have made it in the music industry without the luxury of a serious and strong lead vocalist. Some last only a short time and have lineup changes. Other bands, adapt the music around the singer’s voice and make it work. I won’t cite specific examples because my opinion may differ from someone else’s as to what is good and what is bad. However, I can think of great punk bands and rock bands that made the music work around the abilities of the singer.

When I evaluate a lead singer’s talents, I first decide how his or her look fits with the band. Let me give you an example. If you are watching a heavy metal band and the singer is dressed like he is in a surf music band, in Hawaiian shirt, shorts and flip flops, I might wonder what is going on. I would be distracted by that personal presentation because it does not fit the genre. I don’t care how good the singer is, he or she is a fish out of water. A singer has to look the part depending on the music being played.

I want to know if the lead vocalist can really sing and/or is singing on key. Granted, different genres have different ways of “singing” the lyrics. I get that, but the important part is how he or she will manage that vocal ability throughout the show. Is he or she going to lose power with their voice or lose it entirely? Singing death metal and pop music are two completely different styles and presenting the vocals are very different. Some would argue that yelling vocals and screaming are not singing. It is expression and singing is just that; expression. Some singing is just more melodic than other styles.

I grade hard on what the lead vocalist is doing with themselves while performing or while the band is playing and they are anticipating the next line. Is the posture good and appropriate for the tune being performed? Certainly, you would not want to see a vocalist presenting an aggressive posture while doing a soft ballad! Turning your back on the crowd is a big no-no in my book. Back away and go get your sip of water, tambourine or whatever you need to do. How much does the singer interact and look at the crowd; not just the people upfront, but the sides, the middle, and the back of the venue? Using the entire venue is critical.

Being a lead singer is definitely not easy. It is very much a skill. Mastering that skill takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Many will fail a bunch of times before he or she finds the right fit and can consistently perform the craft. In many ways becoming a professional lead singer is a survival of the fittest activity. The music industry, especially for a lead vocalist is a rough business. The strong will survive unless he or she has self sabotaging behaviors. That’s a topic for another blog. Happy singing!

About the author
Mike G. has been writing songs for 35 years. He studied voice at United States International University in San Diego California and has a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Phoenix.

One That Will Inspire You Forever: Keith Cullen and His Story

10-Jul-2020 By Leave a Comment

(Post by Ciara Sheahan) We’re looking for inspiration around us, aren’t we? Here’s a little something from us to inspire you forever, and more so inspire all independent musicians to truly chase their dreams, they do come true. Don’t believe us? Read on.

Keith Cullen is a singer-songwriter from Dublin who we had the privilege to host at youbloomLA a few years ago. Keith is the guy who gave it all up to follow his dream. He ran a very successful marketing company with his sister Jennifer in Dublin. They started with nothing and built their business into a profitable operation, bringing them both money, success, and a good lifestyle. So, you’d think all this would make you happy, right ? Well, actually it didn’t.

Keith-Cullen

Keith had a niggle. And it wouldn’t go away. A musical niggle, a yearning to write and perform. That voice in the back of his head that wouldn’t shut up.

A few years previously Keith Cullen had been offered a place in the London School of Music but get this — he didn’t believe in himself enough to pursue the opportunity. He chose the business option instead. In 2010 he decided to let the voice in his head take over. He quit the marketing business to focus on what he really wanted to do. “No regrets, ” he says, “I never wanted to look back on my life and have regrets”.

He started writing again, got a few professional opinions, worked on his voice, wangled a few introductions in the right places, worked the local scene as much as he could. Now as everyone knows, behind every good man is an even greater woman. Keith was blessed in this case as Jennifer took a leap of faith with him. She studied professional management in Dublin and completed her music management studies in London. All whilst juggling the combination of managing Keith, running their Believe Management Company, and rearing her son.

As a result of all their efforts and focus , Keith got a bit of a break. He landed the support slot for Shanyne Ward for three nights at the prestigious luxury venue, The Olympia Theatre in Dublin.

This was his first taste of it. He got involved with festival promoters and played relentlessly at numerous festivals around Ireland. During this stint he worked line ups with acts like Bressie, Keywest, Jack L, Jedward and Ryan O’ Shaughnessy. He showcased his own new material and engaged with his audience. Keith and Jennifer were clever here, because they quickly realised the value of social media. They used the festival platform to build Keith’s substantial social media presence. He has 3,181 friends on Facebook and a Twitter following of over 35,000. That’s a lot of fans. Fans = customers = sales = success = sustainable dream of being a performer.

In the last few years Keith Cullen has been signed by Notting Hill Music in London, he has acquired an agent in the US. He has invested significantly in his videos and self-released singles over that time. He has proven his weight and worth to any prospective labels. He is working his dream-like he worked his business and building from the ground up.

He supported Hozier at The Academy in Dublin, he has several industry legends to visit when he gets to LA. He was part of the Guinness Amplify program and just recently performed for the BBC. He has no illusions about realizing his dreams. He took a big risk. It will pay off, his talent will endure and everyone will ask about his “overnight success”. It’s truly something to be inspired forever. Check him out on www.kcmusic.ie

About the Author
Ciara Sheahan is a self confessed indie rock n’roller. Live music addict, writer, blogger, festival veteran. Native to Dublin, my degree in Journalism is from The University of Sheffield. With a proven track record in business and a creative side that refuses to recede I’m firmly focused on my future in the music/creative industry.

Maintaining some control of your own booking and touring can be made easy for those who choose to hire a manager and those who fly solo through youbloomConnect and/ or sign up here: https://www.youbloom.com/artist-apply/ where you can get partnered to perform with other local artists, build a steady fan-base, and even get your band on the road.

Street Team: How To Get An Army For Your Band

30-Jun-2020 By Leave a Comment

(Post via Ryan Stable, written by Michele Enouch) Having a street team is a great way to promote. You have less stress and things to worry about, and most fans are more than willing to help out. Just make sure you are ready and prepared before starting a street team. Is your music good enough yet? Do you have the money to purchase promoting material? Do you have anything to promote? All of those are crucial to have before starting a street team. Always make sure that people know you have a street team and that you’re always recruiting people for it.

Online Street Team

When starting a street team, it is best to start online. The fans who signed up for your email list are best to start off with because they are already invested in you and are keeping up on you. It will be easier to contact those people and you can invite them individually. A social media street team should be done next. There are ways you can make forms for them to fill out on your social media and make multiple ways for them to join. It’s also easy for fans to keep up to date and for you to post tasks for them to do. It will also help your email list grow. Having members post things at the same time on multiple social medias will help give you more of a buzz and will get others interested. Getting an online street team gives you a wider range of things to do. You can have fans share videos, tweeting and re-tweeting, and share posts. It’s a great way to get feedback on things that you want to do. They can help you decide and create posters and shirts, as well as coming up with new merchandise to sell.

Offline Street Team

Having a street team on the streets is still very important. It’s a lot easier to find out what place you’re more popular online so you know where to start the street team. You want to find fans who are willing to go out and post fliers or pass out stickers and talk about you to other people and call up radio stations to request your song. They will make things more personal when promoting and it will help with getting more fans. You have to make sure that you have the money to provide the promotional tools for them to pass out. Asking fans to promote you isn’t all you need to do. You want to make sure to reward them as well since they are using their free time to help promote you. It can be anything. A shirt, tickets, CD, stickers, etc., will all work and will make people want to do more. You can even turn tasks into contests and give out prizes for whoever did the most. Keep them interested to have them want to help you. Make sure not to do give out the same thing too many times or it will get old and they won’t be doing it as much. Make sure to do meet-and-greets with them so you guys can connect and they’ll feel more excited to help.

Engage With Your Street Team

Finding people who are most influential will help the most. They will be the ones who will talk to people about you and get them interested, whether it’s online or off. They’re the ones that their friends go-to for new music. You want to make sure that when you get people to join your team that they are willing to do things to help you out. You don’t want them to be rude and give you a bad name. They will be trying to help, but you don’t want them to be pushy are make people upset in any way. It will look bad on you. It’s not always easy to monitor that, but when you start hearing about it, you should try to fix it. Always make sure your team members know what you expect them to do for you and the Do’s and Don’ts of what you want before they sign up. And always keep them updated with events or anything coming up.

You want to make sure that there’s always a way for your members to contact you or anyone else. Email is always a great way for them to keep in contact, but creating a FaceBook private group for just the members is a great way for them to keep in touch with each other and get help from each other. Having groups set up for specific cities will help the members feel more connected with each other and can even get together to come up with ideas on what to do. Emails are great for members to report what they’re doing. They can send written reports and photos of what they’re doing. It will help you keep track of what’s going on and where. Having a forum will help each other stay in connect and have easy access to anything they have a question about and maybe even before they ask it. It’s easier to find what they’re looking for.

Make sure to reward them for their help and that they know you appreciate all that they are doing for you. If you get the right people to work on your team, they will do anything to help you out, so you want to make sure you can do anything to show your appreciation. It will be hard to get noticed without their help.

How Independent Musicians Can Build a Street Team is a guest post by 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

Improve Your Band Rehearsals: 11 Tips On Getting It Right

27-Jun-2020 By Leave a Comment

(Post via Robert Loustaunau ) So you’ve got a band. You’ve got a following. Heck, you’ve even got goals! But recently, you’ve hit a plateau and just aren’t playing any shows (not your fault at all!). But, maybe you need better sleep or better equipment, or maybe you just need to get…better. Your band needs to go into rehearsals! It’s time to unite this raw artistic fervor into a little something called rehearsal. Conducting an efficient rehearsal is paramount in improving your band’s sound. To help with this, we’ve outlined a few methods to make your sessions run like butter.

1. Scheduling

Step 1: Make a rehearsal schedule –>Step 2: (And this is the hard part) Stick to it. Going into a rehearsal with a plan is often the difference between rich, productive studio time and a jam session with the crew.

2. Build a List of the Songs You Want to Work

The more familiar your band is with the material to be rehearsed, the more songs you can expect to get through. Allot a certain amount of time you plan to spend on each track and stay true to it. Ask yourself: is this session about creating new music, work-shopping what’s already been written, or polishing off the finished stuff?

3. Document Any Issues for Next Band Rehearsal

Apps like SetBoss and Musician’s Diary make this easy by providing shareable templates and spreadsheets where you can record tracks directly, arrange them into set lists, log time spent rehearsing each track, and jot down notes as you go. Even a simple to-do list app like Things can streamline the rehearsal by getting the band on the same page through shareable schedules and to-dos.

4. Be mindful of others’ time and chops

Having a scheduled break time somewhere in the middle of the session can prevent burn-out and improve overall focus. Also, be courteous to your band mates when scheduling your rehearsal set list. If your quasi-ska band only requires the horn players in 3 tracks, then put those tracks back-to-back at the beginning so your brass can leave as soon as they’re done, they’ll thank you for it.

5. Warming up

Coming into a rehearsal “cold” can lead to wasted time and possible injury. Warming up effectively sets the tone for the rehearsal and should be used as a period to not only get the blood flowing through the relevant extremities, but as a chance
for the group to settle in and begin listening to one another. Instead of making it a private and rushed affair, factor the warm up into the rehearsal schedule.

Effective warm-ups:
~ Charts or covers familiar to the group
~ 12 bar blues & improvising
~If all else fails, Apps like Scales and Modes or FretBoard provide written and tabulated scales to play through as a group.

6. To Metronome or Not to Metronome?

When not to use one: Don’t even think about it. Tempo inconsistency is the cause for countless musical hiccups and is the ultimate killer of groove. Practice. With. A. Metronome. And, while you might think all metronomes are created equal, there has been an epidemic of stilted, inconsistent metronome apps that have developed along with the smartphone in recent years. We’ve dug through the bad and the laggy to present you some reliable metronomes.

Web: Metronomeonline.com promises a reliable tempo for free and is useful if you have a laptop handy. Free Apps: Metronome Plus (iOS), Mobile Metronome (Android) Paid Apps: Drum Beats (iOS and Android) it’s $3.99 but includes hundreds of optional drum tracks to replace the standard metronome beat. Physical Metronome: Korg Metronome. This is pretty much the standard for portable metronomes and is a worthy trade-off for the unrelenting accuracy it promises its users. You can find these little guys at any music shop and you should only ever need one. Digital Audio Workstations: Cubase or Logic include metronomes with the most consistent tempos.

7. Pick a Leader

Coming to a consensus on who’s running this thing can prevent an Oasis-style meltdown between band members. Many bands have an unspoken understanding of who is calling the shots but for those who don’t, decide who is going to keep the ball rolling through the rehearsal. You can have one member who always takes on this role or try switching it up from one practice to another.

8. Record Your Band Rehearsals

Like hearing your own voice played back to you, hearing your own music sounding back can be grating at times. Nevertheless, playback is necessary to suss out the problem spots in your sound and be an effective critic of your music. The recording process need not be high-fidelity. This is recording for practical purposes, it’s not going to be your next EP (until it is, of course). The mic on most phones or laptops is adequate. Free recording apps: There is Rev (iOS and Android) or Voice Recorder Pro 7 (iOS). Both apps allow you to transcribe the audio to various formats and export files to Google Drive, Dropbox, and Voice Recorder Pro 7 also exports to Microsoft OneDrive, Box Cloud, iCloud Drive, and SoundCloud. Handheld Recorders: Zoom makes handy little recorders in different sizes and price and while they cost a bit more than a recording app, on the whole their usability is more far-reaching in that they offer multiple recording channels, easy transfer and saving of files via memory chip, and a bevy of other features for you to peruse.

9. Remote rehearsals

When the rehearsal time is right but the location is not we must turn to remote rehearsing.Websites like jamkazam offer a platform for musicians to rehearse, record, and join open jam sessions with other musicians from the comfort of their home wifi connection and there is even an app version that promises low-latency. Another route you could go is investing in some hardware like Jamulus or Jam Link which make remote rehearsal work by providing low-latency network audio interface that is able to import and export uncompressed audio up to 500 miles at the highest quality. Think of this as Skype for your band, but with much less lag! Having said that, technology like the Jam Link and Jamulus is not impervious to a poor internet connection. They do require parties at both locations to purchase the necessary hardware so take these things into consideration as you decide on whether remote rehearsals are a must for your band. For more information on the topic you can hop over to this How-To guide on eJamming.

10. Run the Whole Show

This is an important step that often goes overlooked.We spend so much time rehearsing the music that we assume the rest will just fall in place when we’re up on stage. In a final rehearsal, run through the set a couple times. This allows you to work out any kinks in the transitions between tracks. Switching instruments, adjusting balance, and yes, even the banter between you and the keyboardist could really benefit from a practice run.

11. Make time to Jam

Hey, you got everyone using the google calendar to find available practice time, you’ve “woodshedded” those runs before showing up, you kept the rehearsal on the rails; I thought this was supposed to be fun! It is! So spend some time at the end of every rehearsal playing what you want. Whether this is a cover of the newest Yeezy or some Cream, another lap through the 12-bar blues or something all you own, make time to unwind as a group. Often, it’s here that we stumble upon our next musical invention.

Now go forth and practice wisely!

Maintaining some control of your own booking and touring can be made easy for those who choose to hire manager and those who fly solo through youbloomConnect and/ or sign up here: https://www.youbloom.com/artist-apply/ where you can get partnered to perform with other local artists, build a steady fan-base, and even get your band on the road.

Author Bio

Robert Loustaunau is a content writer for youbloom and is a member of the social media team there. He is an avid music maker and listener. He enjoys the simple things in life: coffee, a good book, and quality time with his lovely girlfriend.