How to build a large following?

[TheBMC]

So ....Other than not sucking... =-) what's the best way to get the word out about your band and actually get people you don't know to your shows?

Seems like Facebook, word of mouth, is the best way but there have to be some other tricks to get new people to your show?

[beatlemaniac]

be exceptional, know what audience you are appealing to and target them. be different. and yes use rockpage, facebook, and every and all sources of promotion you can. If you are good and entertain people your audiences will grow and grow. The word will spread . good luck and i am sure if you care as much as you seem you will be fine. jerry c. hey I've been doing this since 1968 and it works .

[TheBMC]

Thanks for the reply! This band and I have been going at it for a year now and it is sloooowly growing but I look forward to the day that we don't need to call 20 of our friends to show up to help fill the room... The day that it's full just because you are "that" band... entertaining, good, play the right music ect... I guess we just keep going at it, promote and play well....


oh and congrats for going at it 42 years! that's awesome!

[KeithReynolds]

Too many people rely on just using facebook and myspace to "promote" their shows. Unfortunately, there are ALOT more people in the area than on your friends list. Good old fashioned PAPER flyers reach more people.

Also, what Beatlemaniac said is true, play what people want to hear. If its an original project, thats kind of impossible, but if youre playing someone else's songs, just play whats popular. Your setlist is allready made for you. Just watch the top 100 list and play past top 100 stuff too.

The theory is, 'if you play popular music, you will be popular. ' The HARD work is allready done. All that songwriting junk has been done, and its allready been played & tested on the radio. The hits are in your hands, go play them.

[ToonaRockGuy]

Also, the "not sucking" part needs to be addressed. Sometimes as a musician, it's hard to take criticism from fans and/or your peers. Be open to it. I've known several cats who were in bands that they thought absolutely ruled, and they plain out sucked.

If you can consistantly put on a tight, entertaining show, you're in a good band. If people are talking about your show the next day, the next week, and the next month, you're in a good band. If people change their plans for the weekend to come see your band, you're in a good band. If not, you need to work on it.

Never, ever be afraid to ask yourself and your bandmates "How can we be better and more entertaining?" Always push yourself and challenge yourself and your band to make the next show better than the last. Involve the crowd. Show your enthusiasm for what you're doing. Nothing sucks worse than playing a show where there is no energy transfer from the band to the crowd and back again. Once that shit starts flowing, though, the band gets better with each song, and by closing time, you feel like you could play six more sets.

The easy answer is that there is no easy answer. Hard work and promotion, along with not sucking, is the only answer.

[lonewolf]

Find out who the two top drawing bands in the area are and play in between them at a big multi-band show with lots of people around.

Make sure you bring your back drop with your band's name in giant letters.

[Colton]

Candy bars & acid

[TheBMC]

Candy bars & acid

I knew it. lol

No but on a serious note... thanks for everyones input. Some very good advice that we need to put to work.

[floodcitybrass]

If we watched our borders better we wouldn't have this option....Sad but we have lots of illegal immigrants in the country that you could pay $1 per hour to show up at your gigs.

[TheBMC]

If we watched our borders better we wouldn't have this option....Sad but we have lots of illegal immigrants in the country that you could pay $1 per hour to show up at your gigs.

LOL. hmmmmm

[P MAC]

I agree with some of what has been posted, but I can offer a bit of a different perspective. I do not believe that you have to play material from the Top 100, unless that is what you want to do , and if that is the market you want to reach out to. Play what you play, what ever that may be, with integrity and emotion. Play every not as though it is the most important thing you will do that day. Play to every crowd of 1 or 1000 with the same comittment. Remember that success is the meeting of preparation and opporunity. Stay at it. A year is not a long time to develop a following for a new project unless the new project includes former members of recently popular bands. And most of all, have fun and make joyfull noise.
Good Luck!

[Jasaoke]

With the local music scene being what it is, how do we get more people out and about to experience live music? In Altoona, roughly 85% of the population is in bed by 10pm. How can we bring more in people into the scene so that everyone (bands, venues, audience) benefits? Getting people out for a single show or event is one thing, but how could we, as providers of entertainment, attract new, or larger audiences on a more permanent basis?

[RFBuck]

I'm not really fond of the flyer idea, and here's why:

For a new band, they're almost a waste. You post them up all over town, and hand them out to people, but nobody comes. Because...you're new, and if a lot of people haven't heard you they probably don't want to risk their cover charge on a band that they don't know WHAT THEY SOUND LIKE. Sure, you can put what kind of music you play on it, but that's not a guarantee to the people that you don't suck.

Granted, a lot of bars have "built in crowds" and that only works that far. A "following"...meaning people that will go from bar to bar to see you...is a lost thing these days. I won't get into the DUI stuff...we've beaten that dead horse a million times.

Myspace and Facebook can be good...if you post songs up there. Another good solution for those that don't use those sites is an "audio flyer." save up some money and go record yourself playing some songs. Make copies and hand those out. They have something they can take to their car or home and listen to...to see what you SOUND like. Now they can say "Hey, these guys are good (or not), I wanna go see them (or not). And they'll burn a copy for their buddies, and so on. Yes, CD's cost money...but so does ink & paper. But it puts something more concrete in their hands...a better lure, if you will.

Just my two cents.

[bassist_25]

New band in Altoona and need to get people out to your shows? That's easy. Just advertise that you're from out of state, and ride the local buzz that you're "from out of state," even if nobody has even heard you play yet.

[MeYatch]

With the local music scene being what it is, how do we get more people out and about to experience live music? In Altoona, roughly 85% of the population is in bed by 10pm. How can we bring more in people into the scene so that everyone (bands, venues, audience) benefits? Getting people out for a single show or event is one thing, but how could we, as providers of entertainment, attract new, or larger audiences on a more permanent basis?

85%?

I'd be surprised if less than 85% of the population of Altoona wasn't in bed at 10:00.

People are barely done watching The Office at 10.

[songsmith]

I agree with some of what has been posted, but I can offer a bit of a different perspective. I do not believe that you have to play material from the Top 100, unless that is what you want to do , and if that is the market you want to reach out to. Play what you play, what ever that may be, with integrity and emotion. Play every not as though it is the most important thing you will do that day. Play to every crowd of 1 or 1000 with the same comittment. Remember that success is the meeting of preparation and opporunity. Stay at it. A year is not a long time to develop a following for a new project unless the new project includes former members of recently popular bands. And most of all, have fun and make joyfull noise.
Good Luck!

What he said. At the last show I played, in succession, we played "How Mountain Girls Can Love" by The Stanley Brothers, "Home Getting Hammered" from a Rob Zombie movie, and "Fearless" by Pink Floyd (off the Mettle album).
The audience brought us back for an encore.
This is because we practice pretty hard, and often, and whether or not the audience knows the song, they know we love playing it. We play some pretty big festivals, and we play backyard parties, because they're both fun in their own way, and each gig makes you that much tighter as a band.
I'm pretty lucky, though. We disagree, but don't really have that toxic relationship bandmates often get. I genuinely like hanging out with them, and we have a common goal.
I agree with the CD handout thing, too. I handed out hundreds of CD's recorded at shows, did 'em up real quick on Audacity (compression, EQ, etc.) and gave 'em away. I think it really helped, by the time we played a few shows, people were asking me for new ones, because their kids were playing them too often, and it was driving them nuts. Regularly-seen fans really liked having a recording of a particular show they attended.
Lots of good ideas in this thread!

[StStanley]

I agree with some of what has been posted, but I can offer a bit of a different perspective. I do not believe that you have to play material from the Top 100, unless that is what you want to do , and if that is the market you want to reach out to. Play what you play, what ever that may be, with integrity and emotion. Play every not as though it is the most important thing you will do that day. Play to every crowd of 1 or 1000 with the same comittment. Remember that success is the meeting of preparation and opporunity. Stay at it. A year is not a long time to develop a following for a new project unless the new project includes former members of recently popular bands. And most of all, have fun and make joyfull noise.
Good Luck!

^This.

Time will tell if people like your group's sound. You may love your group's sound, but it's ultimately up to the crowds to decide that. It shouldn't detract you from playing music if they don't. Play somewhere else and keep trying.

Posters, flyers, Homegrown Rocker, PA Musician, MMC, open mic nights, and social networking are ALL important tools to help get your name out there. Use them all.

Multi-band shows, and festivals are EXCELLENT opportunities to network with potential fans as well as other bands. It is these types of shows and the true music fans that go to them (as opposed to your average bar hopper) that can help your band along its journey. Know you're target audience, and find them. Don't be afraid to make new friends!

Put some pride into your logo, and print material. Hire a designer if you need to because awful design, and poor font choices (Comic Sans, Papyrus) will make a great band look average on a good day. Stickers are cheap. Give them out. Shirts are a little more. Give them out, too. You want your name out there, right? Look at the freebies as payment for the walking billboard that someone who wears your shirt or sports your sticker becomes. You put a lot of heart and soul into your music. Follow the same in all other facets of your group and it will show potential fans that you care before they even hear your group.

Also, having a good live recording of your group in action will do wonders for you if it is a good recording and you sound great. Most people are aware of the trickery that goes on in studios these days so a live recording will let them hear what you really sound like.

Learn to accept constructive criticism. If you are not a person who is good with words, learn how to use them quickly because you're going to need some people skills. Talk to your peers, and LISTEN to your elders. Best of luck!

Excellent thread, folks!

[bassist_25]

Put some pride into your logo, and print material. Hire a designer if you need to because awful design, and poor font choices (Comic Sans, Papyrus) will make a great band look average on a good day.

QFT

[TheBMC]

Lot's of good tips. We have a demo and have used that along with music posted to our facebook, myspace and web page. Have a logo made up and have been trying to brand our self with it... Just started giving shirts out and plan to purchase some more to give out....

I really like the idea of having a live recording that we can give away, Hopefully we can add that soon.

Thanks again for all of the tips and reinforcement on some of what we already started doing.

[orangekick]

Here's one that many bands seem to forget.

Don't play too many shows in the same places.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't play a bunch of shows. I'm just saying that you don't want to always be available. If people see that you're always playing at the same places, they'll just skip this show and say that they'll just come to the next one because they know you'll be back.

[songsmith]

EXCELLENT point. I once made the mistake of getting into the fraternal club scene, Moose, Elks, Eagles, VFW, Legion, etc. It was easy to fall into, because once you start drawing, they book you for the next year, every month or even more. Next thing I knew, I was missing out on outdoor shows and other fun stuff Because I was already booked tight at the... same... few... places... over... and... over. It was killing me, sucking all the air out of every gig. I really liked my bandmates, and we got along great, but I had to bail after a couple years. I didn't play my own gigs for awhile because of it, I sat in with the Hurricanes and Blind Jonny Death and whoever else would let me play.
Don't tie yourselves down too far in advance, especially in the summer. If you wind up not playing a night, you can go see someone else.

[Jasaoke]

Their seems to be a lack of support services for musicians in central Pa. I don't mean people who 'support' the local music scene, I mean people or companies who promote, manage, & book bands. I admit that my involvement is quite limited, but I don't see much of that kind of thing around. The venues seem rather disinterested in promoting the acts that play there, (changing the marquis does not count as promotion) so the bands are left to do it themselves. And, as previously stated, it's kind of difficult to get the same people (friends of the band) to keep coming to the shows and get more people their as well.
I'm curious if anyone has ever attempted to organize groups and venues and manage the local scene.

[Jim Price]

This is continually a theme discussed during the Millennium Music Conference each year, and a lot of the tips already offered here were mentioned there, too.

Use every avenue at your disposal to get the word out about who you are and what you do. And especially early on, use every opportunity you have to play and get in front of people. During their keynote discussion at Millennium, Halestorm told the audience that in their very early years (when Lzzy and Arejay were teenagers) they played the local Friendly's restaurant, and their payment was ice cream. They played in malls, stores, and any other show situation that would come along - including even a funeral! But it all got the initial word out about them, and they started growing it from there.

Getting new people out to see you is not an overnight thing. You build it a few fans at a time, and just keep at it and keep growing it. If you believe in your music and do it well, and keep putting yourselves out there, the fan base will grow. But patience is a virtue, and it does take time.