My musician friends... this might be worth a read. Many local musicians, and most of them friends, have posted about the music scene in Wichita Falls. Its ranged from blaming cover and tribute bands to their own friends for the decline in show attendance. When people dont think your band is as amazing as you do..I think its like wondering why people dont think your child isnt amazing. Anyone whos put time,thought,passion, and countless hours(or years) into something; wants everyone else to appreciate their work. Blaming another genre of music : This is stupid Red dirt, Country, EDM, Radio Rock, Polka, Jazz, One Direction ..whatever. Does country and red dirt draw more crowds in this area.. YES. Do they get paid more ... YES, but heres something that we dont talk about often... Not all of them get paid 5,000 for a gig. Most of them play for a few hundred or less. The bands that draw consistently over 3-5 shows negotiate a better contract with the venue and get paid more. Simple as that. What can YOU do to gain some of those fans ? Ever been to a larger concert at Kay Yeager ? There are hundreds (if not thousands) of fans thatll show up wearing their hard rock/metal/classic rock/prog/chick rock/stonner metal band shirt and go watch stone sour.... Why arent you reaching out to those people? How can you market yourself to them ? Why arent they coming to local shows??? ****************************************************************** Bars and Venues are taking advantage of local bands: Are you serious ? There isnt one bar,club, or venue that wouldnt pay you for putting them at capacity every time you played. They will not pay you,however, if you havent proven in the past that your going to generate them profits. Weve all eaten crow to play shows... and we should starting out. Why should a horrible band that runs people out of a club (seen this happen) get paid the same as a band that has people lined up at the door?? If you can prove on paper that your band pulls a certain amount of people per show... then use it. Negotiate with owners and managers to up your pay.. but youve got to deliver at the door and with beer sales. If they wont budge on paying you more.. then play somewhere else that will. Ive never been taken advantage of when my band held our end of the bargain. ************************************************** Tribute and Cover bands are ruining it for the original bands: come on guys.Like it, love it, or hate it... get over it Ive seen just about every tribute and cover band that plays around this area. There are several fantastic cover bands. Top notch quality, professional, and great musicians. Ive seen some not so great ones to. Same goes for tribute bands... Queen for a day = awesome... Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute = horrible. One packed the house every time and one never came back to town. At the end of the day your blaming someone elses success for your lack there of.. *********************************************************** People just dont come out to shows like they once did: Your right. It isnt 1986. Youtube, Netflix,Amazon Prime,Roku, and PPV are now very entertaining options . All happen to be a very cheap monthly subscription and with in reach of your comfy couch at home. People who once came out to shows every week have other entertaining options. Ones that dont include cigarette smoke, spill boozed, and loud music. To gain new fans and retain old ones, you have to market your event.. As an EVENT. Not a gig or show, but something that is amazing and that theyll regret missing. How many of your friends are musicians ? How many times have nearly all of your friends had shows the same night as you ? How many times have you played in the last 8 weeks? Are you overplaying, underplaying, not playing at the right venue, only playing at one venue, playing the same set, not writing or playing new covers, etc.. ***************************************************************** Is Facebook invites your only means of advertising ? : We get it.. you have a show. One reminder is cool, but 4 different people having an event invite and sending reminders that update your to phone for 3 weeks in advance are annoying and wont help the cause. One person, one invite. Also, Facebook is great for friends and family, but it isnt the best for grabbing NEW fans. Put boots on the ground, engage people face to face, hand out flyers and spread the word. Text, email... hell even bribe people into coming. No one should be more passionate as you are about this.. Go sell it ************************************************************** Weve been playing for ever and just cant get people to come out.. Here is the real , Its gonna hurt, question... Is my band good? Im not asking if your band and girl friend think your awesome. Im asking if a random person would hear your band play and say Holy #hit, thats awesome.... or would they say Thats cool man.. yeah Ill check you guys out.. Be honest. Is there something that your band or even you work on to be better? Is there dead air between songs, and the awkward Hey, Whats the next song ?? on stage? Do you practice how you truly want the show to go? Have you gotten other peoples (not musicians) input on your songs ? Can you yourself improve in some way? Have you set short term manageable goals ? ******************************************************************** Im in this boat with the rest of the musicians in this area.. I want all of my friends to have fun, and be successful with their music . But when looking at why the scene has declined, or how to improve turnout or merch sales..... Maybe we should ask ourselves what we should improve ourselves, and not point the finger at other people/band/ genre.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 02:23:28 +0000
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