2. Thou shalt have a product to market BEFORE you start promoting.

     Here we are back again for another installment of our TEN COMMANDMENTS of Indie Music!   Today we will be taking a look at one of the biggest mistakes i see out there. So without further ado, let's get started...

     You have booked a saturday night slot at the biggest club in your city.  You are playing with another band that has a great draw...  You have a great time slot. A killer set. Life could not get any better.... Right?


WRONG...

     You decided to start playing shows and you don't have T-shirts, a debut album, merch, a 5 song ep, not even business cards pointing to a website. YOU LOOSE.  THIS IS A BUSINESS.  Of course there will be startup costs to any business those of you out there with any level of financial sophistication are wondering if the costs incurred at these shows can be attributed to market research before you release any of the material....I have two words to say to such defeatism.

FUCK OFF....

     This is a business you shall take no losses to be just part of the game...Imagine if your in Los Angeles and you are even paying to be there in the first place.  Go ahead and do some quick calculations for the expenses you incur playing a standard show.


PAY TO PLAY (assuming no tickets sold)  $500.00

Gas/Transportation 
(4 members 20 miles (20 mpg) @ 3.75 a gallon   $15.00      

YOUR TIME
(you don't work for free do you? Union scale is near $75 hr.)
(4 members x 2 hours including setup tear down 8x$75)(or                $  960.00      

That's     $1475.00

                             OUCH!~

             


     $1475.00 that's crazy you say. No, that's what it costs you to take the gig. Expenses and opportunity costs.  Let's re-work it. Say that you sold 20/50 tickets at $10 each. You want to figure the pay scale as $100 a gig for each member. You all carpooled. lol.

$1475.00 - [200+{$960-(125x4)] = $815.00


     First of all If you pay to play just FUCK OFF AND DIE NOW....Second for that same amount of money you could have started your album. Put out an ad in Revolver magazine.   Hired a high end hooker...you get the idea.  Bottom line is this. You don't put the chicken in the fryer then turn it on... Get your package together. Get a cd out. Get your website up. Get on I-tunes. Create IT. THEN SELL IT.  You wanna play? START A COVER BAND. You want to make yourself into something new? DO IT RIGHT.


YOU DON"T ASK A GIRL OUT AND THEN LEAVE WITHOUT GIVING HER YOUR NUMBER, DO YOU? SO WHY PLAY A SHOW AND THEN LEAVE WITH NO CONNECTION MADE TO THE AUDIENCE, YOUR CUSTOMER?

Till next time...JM



Listen to some of my music here!
    

1. Thou shalt treat thy career like a business.

     Last week i posted a blog detailing the TEN COMMANDMENTS of Indie Music.  Throughout the coming weeks we will visit each commandment one by one.   You will learn what actions and inaction will cause pain, and which ones will result in cause for celebration.

WOE UNTO YOU THAT DISREGARD THE TEN COMMANDMENTS!

Today we will look at the first commandment: Thou shalt treat thy career like a business.


     First off we you must honestly answer the question; "Does anyone in the band really know what they are doing when it comes to business?"  If the answer is yes, then great! More often than not you'll be in a band that has not one member experienced in the realm of accounting, marketing, pr, business plans, financing, law. You are lucky if one of you can pay your cell phone bill with any regularity.

     This article is for you.  It would take several volumes of literature to cover everything that needs to be touched in those few topics. I will skim here and leave you with the legwork.
Your best friend at this point is the Library. Go There now. Get a book on each of those subjects.

    I cannot give legal advice here and remember nothing written here is to be construed as an attempt to do such, but get together as a band write down everything you expect out of each other, what you plan on doing with any assets or revenue that comes in, and how someone might be deprived of such. Write it down, type it up, take it to a notary and sign it.  Use this as your ad hoc agreement until you can find a lawyer....TAKE YOUR TIME WITH THIS.


                                                     visit her at: HRX.com

   



     In parting i will say one more thing: LEARN QUICKBOOKS,PHOTOSHOP, ACT!, and your Recording software of choice. These are your tools.  For now...

TO GO BACK AND READ OVER THE REST OF THE TEN CLICK HERE:
http://josephmichaelmusic.blogspot.com/2011/02/ten-commandments.html



   

The Ten Commandments

1. Thou shalt treat thy career like a business.


2. Thou shalt have a product to market BEFORE you start promoting.


3. Thou shalt not even say the word "tour" until you can grasp the numbers.


4. Thou shalt not ever utter the words Pay to Play.


5. Thou shalt not be in a band that has no songwriter(s).


7th day break...
                            say hello here...

6. Thou shalt always have promotional material at hand.


7. Thou shalt have a contact database.


8. Thou shalt be more concerned with songs than getting a sound.


9. Thou shalt not build a band around another bands sound.


10.  Thou shalt not Fuck your bassplayer.

These are you commandments i will expound on them in the upcoming months. They will be explained one at a time...

For now... JM

                          To listen to Midnight Reign click here!

Valentines Day Blues

     Trolling craigslist can be a lot of fun, but today is not such a day... Today is a day for those fortunate/unfortunate musicians who do not have significant others to go out and talk to everyone you meet.   Use this wretched holiday as an excuse to flex your networking muscle.

                                                CountessGrotesque

  
1. Take fifty of your promo/business cards and go out to the most populated area in your city.

2. Talk to everyone you meet.  I mean EVERYONE, homeless and prostitutes included.

3. Smoothly work in what you do into the conversation.

4. For every person interested in what you are saying hand them a card. Tell them you have a

(party, show, orgy, anything make it up...if anyone calls you host the damn get-together)

THAT'S NETWORKING...


In your face gorilla marketing...

Here is my facebook page...Join my Network and feel free to ask anything...

Joseph Michael

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