Indie musicians are sprouting every second in every corner of the world so in order for a musician to become established, he should not only possess great talent but he should also be wise and charming at the same time. If you are an indie band, here are some very sound tips that will help you get to the top: Never Quit Your Day Job Unless you are already sleeping in a bed of cash or your parents have saved up enough money to give you a trust fund, it is wise if you do not quit your day job just yet. We know how challenging it is to earn from music alone especially with what’s happening in the industry today-tough competition with lots of indies sprouting, decline of CD sales, piracy, etc. Be a wise artist. If you really love it so much, you can manage to multi-task and deal with the boredom of your day job. In time, when you have saved enough to feed you for 6 months and when you already profit from your music, maybe you can consider quitting. For now, be as dedicated to it as your music because that’s what feeds it. Try Really Hard but Don’t Look Desperate Don’t you get turned off when you know someone tries too hard to get our attention? Even if he’s really great but the moment we notice his great efforts just to please us, we smell desperation and just lose interest eventually. That’s how our brains are programmed I guess. There is an art to attracting someone without looking pathetic-it’s called charm. This takes a lot of work than you think. Everyone likes “effortless”—effortless beauty, effortless fashion, etc..but the effortless effect takes a lot of effort. I think the best way to do it is to genuinely have fun. If you feel good while performing onstage, if you have fun creating your photo shoots, then I bet the message you are giving them is “ We don’t care if you like us, we just love our music” and not “please buy our CDs. We’ll do everything to please you”. Create a Fashion Statement Okay this may sound silly but what can we do? People are visual creatures. They care about the packaging as much as the music. Whether you are pop, metal, punk band, you should have a fashion statement. It should grab attention and it should be effective in creating a good recall to first-timers. You do not have to go out of your way and have a stylist dress you up every time you have gigs, you can just choose a simple item that you wear everytime so that people will identify you. Lady gaga and her gaga outfits, Marilyn Manson and his pale face, Jason Mraz and his fedora hat. Come up with your own and claim it. Connect with the Right People I am not saying that you morph into a pretentious socialite who goes out of his natural self just to get up there. I am saying be with the right people because you will help each other in this tough business. Develop good ties with other bands, managers, record label owners because you will surely need each other. They will give you some tips, recommend CD Manufacturing houses, and maybe give you a back rub when you feel like giving up. Get as Much Exposure as Possible Press release, radio and TV interviews, blogs, music videos, social networking sites. Exhaust each one of them for your band promotion. No matter how great and unique your music is if no one knows that you even exist, it would be useless. You must never come to any interview, or make music videos and websites that are mediocre and half-baked. Each of them should be really polished and very entertaining otherwise it would still be useless or worse, it would turn-off some of your fans. ____________________________________________________________ Unified Manufacturing is an L.A. -based one-stop-shop that offers very affordable CD/DVD/USB replication, custom printing, promotional products, warehousing and fulfillment and many more. If you need an Instant Quote on a project and you want FREE SHIPPING, simply CLICK HERE. ]]>
