Image courtesy of 'letthesunshine'
“How do I get noticed?”
We get asked that…. a lot.
People approach us all the time – both as a result of writing the posts on this site and in our day jobs as managers and consultants.
And then, about half of the people who ask that, follow up with a second question.
The first question is what we aim to spend the majority of our time and effort on this blog answering. It comes down to using best practice methods for marketing and promotion.
We favour a particular systematic approach to build momentum and to try to achieve a critical mass that will sustain your career.
But it’s the second question that actually really matters.
If your material is, in fact, ‘good enough’ to garner an audience, then a lot of the promotion and marketing will naturally follow. The music itself will also do a lot of the work for you on its own and you can miss a lot of opportunities and make a lot of mistakes and still reach the level of success that you deserve.
Let’s be clear.
The phrase ‘good enough’ is taken here in the context of your material being sufficiently good to appeal to a set of music fans. Generally I’ll say that ‘good enough’….isn’t.
The distinction being that actually to be of a high enough standard to appeal to a measurable niche, your music is going to need to be way better than ‘good’. It’s going to need to be truly special.
And, almost by definition, the fact that you’re asking us (or anybody for that matter) whether your music makes the grade, means it very probably doesn’t.
How can you tell?
You’ll know you’re good enough because when you play your music for people, you’ll get a reaction. If the crowd at the gig or the person you trust who you play your new song to wants to hear more, then you’re on the right path.
The effect that you need is for your friends to react with shock when you play them your music and beg you for a copy to pass to their friends. Not a mild and polite statement that ‘it’s good’. That won’t cut it.
Think about what makes you pass along a link to a video on Twitter or Facebook to your friends. It’s an instant emotional reaction to the clip and you feel compelled to share it. That’s what you need to get from people who hear your songs.
Raving fans - the reaction you're looking for!
Asking your friends to pass your material on as a favour to you isn’t enough either. They must need to do it for their own sake, not yours. So that they can be the person who gets the credibility within their own circle of friends as the person whose musical taste and judgement should be noted.
If there’s no reaction or indifference, then you’re on a heading to nowhere.
And if you are heading in the right direction, it’ll start to grow. When the music is so good that people beg you for more, then those first few people will tell their friends and so on and so on. It’ll be spontaneous and they won’t actually be able to stop themselves.
You know this to be true because you’ve done it yourself countless times!
What if you can’t trust anyone’s opinion?
Well you can…or you should.
True, they could be wrong. Especially if what you’re doing is very specialist or very niche. But, actually, most people can give you a pretty honest emotional reaction even if they aren’t well versed in your style of music.
If you’re playing songs to people of roughly the right demographic and you’re not getting positive feedback, there’s probably something that’s not up to scratch.
I’ve proffered a couple of methods in the past for those that truly feel that they aren’t getting an unbiased opinion.
They’re options that you shouldn’t need to use, but I’ll give them again, just in case.
Firstly, there are online sites (such as SoundOut) where you can submit music and get a report from about 100 or so random listeners. Is it worth the fee? Perhaps, but you’ll still need to read between the lines of what they say. Many music-focused forums (Taxi, Harmony Central and endless others) offer threads where you can ask for opinions too.
Or, go to a mall and put your song in a set with those from established acts that are in your genre. You should already understand who your music should appeal to, so spot members of that tribe in the mall, ask them to stop and take part in a survey and get their genuine feedback. Takes balls of steel and I only know one artist that has actually followed through!
As I said though, you shouldn’t really have to go about ‘checking’ whether your material is getting a good reaction. It should be plain from people at gigs, at your rehearsal room, from the online communities where you post your music and from anyone who hears it.
It’s not ‘good enough’
If you discover that you’ve been deluding yourself and the real reason that you’re not getting anywhere is that your songs are just average and your gigs are a shambles, is it time to give up?
Not at all.
It doesn’t mean it’s over and you have no chance, but it means it’s time to alter your course. Look at what you think isn’t good enough and change it.
You need to offer a new ‘product’.
If you’re songwriting or live performance sucks, work out why and take action to make it better. Whatever the problem, find a solution rather than forging ahead with a mediocre band and material.
Mediocre won’t cut it. In fact, ‘good enough’ won’t. You need to be great to rise above all the noise.
And, when that’s right, all the promotion and marketing is as simple as A,B,C.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Just found you via MTT – and glad I did so thanks for posting there – been long-time reader.
Are You Good Enough… FINALLY someone with the guts to tell it like it is – VERY refreshing and suggest also posting on MTT – be good for all.
Got your ebook and will be back to catch up on your archives – thanks Ian!
Thanks DG.
Not sure that everyone is going to agree with you about this post – we’ll see!
I genuinely think it’s right – whatever level of success you’re after.
Ian
it takes a very long time for an artist to find their “sound”. Knowing if your music is good enough to play small clubs twice a week is different than knowing if your music is good enough to get e record deal.
There is a tern “radio ready”. When your music is radio ready it means you worked with an impeccable producer and engineer, who have major label experience, and have had your album mastered.
It’s not so much about talent, it’s about quality. I have been a musician for about 12 years now and have just begun to work with an engineer who has worked with major label artists. We have been using my small home studio and rehearsal space in Brooklyn, but soon it will be time to shop for a studio for us to work it. After many years of producing my own albums and flirting with major labels, I am slowly moving my way up to working in a professional recording setting.
With saying all of that, I think if an artist has enough charisma and stage presence…and again, a good producer, they can bee successful even if they are not the most talented artists in the world.
Being a musician is a mindset. It’s good to evolve, but it’s never good to change because you don’t think you’re “good enough”. Who cares?????!!!!!
Thanks Jordannah.
I think we are broadly of the same view. I believe that talent is for most people the manifestation of many 1000′s of hours of hard work and practice and therefore people improve as they try harder and for longer.
I stick to my point though that if you’re not getting the result that you want, change may well be what is needed!
I agree that there are tactics artists can use to become successful at a slightly faster pace.
It is important to be smart about the business, or even the politics of DIY artist promotions. I just hope musicians will be smart about their careers and a bit realistic. Being a successful band is a very difficult achievement to attain, but it’s great that you’re taking the time to help artists become successful.
.jordannah elizabeth
thinklikealabel.com
Hi Jordannah – it’s a tough road for every musician – that’s true. And we are trying to help!