Promoting an Independent Band

Ausmusic; Excerpts by S.Simpson & C. Seeger's 'Music Business' (Warner Chappell)
03/03/2005

When you are starting out in the music industry, as a group or solo artist, it is unlikely that you will be able to employ a professional manager or publicist to promote your act.

The best way to go about promoting your band can be summed up in three words: Do It Yourself.

This Info Sheet will look at some practical ways to promote an act in its early stages.

Bio & Photos

The Bio

Your bio is a simple and interesting overview of the band's members and career highlights, but it is NOT your life stories! Keep your bio to one sheet of paper if possible - then it is more likely to be read. It should contain the following basic information:

· How many members in the band e.g. five piece. Members' names and the instruments they play do not have to be included if you are writing to a booking agent, but a potential manager may want to know.
· Describe the type of music you play, e.g. Rock, Soul, Funk, Rap, Reggae, Country, etc.
· Your experience, even if you've only played at parties. As you gain more experience, update your bio to reflect your new level of expertise and popularity.
· Special features that draw attention to your act.
· If critics have made favorable comments include these.
· Do not forget to put your name and a reliable contact telephone number.

Photos

When you start to promote your band it is wise to invest in a good photographer if you can afford to. Choose one or two really good photos to include with your bio when publishing your band.
Never underestimate the effect that a good photograph can have on the viewer. As well as using photographs in your promotional kit they can also be used as the basis for artwork on posters, CD covers etc...

Reviews & Press Releases

Reviews

Good reviews are always good publicity, when and if you get them.

To get a review of a live show or CD you will need to contact your local music press and invite one of their reviewers to a show. But make sure you've got a few gigs under your belt and your act is sounding tight before you do.

Too many bands try to get wide coverage in the media too early, i.e. before they are really ready for it. This can be a painful experience. Some reviewers attack you personally rather than constructively criticize the band. Fortunately there are also other reviewers whose critical perspective may help you improve your act.

Press Releases

When promoting an independent band, press releases are your communication to the public at large. For them to be published it's important they contain the following points:
· An interesting opening
· Who
· What
· When
· Where
· How
· Why

Generally speaking new bands write their own press release and they are usually published as is, although sometimes a music journalist may expand on it or use it as the basis for editorial or an interview.

Other material you can include with a press release can be any reviews (both live or of recordings). If your press release is relating to a tour it is a good idea to include a tour itinerary.

It can take time before a band rates a mention in a published magazine, newspaper or newsletter. The more popular you become then the more likely you will have a press release published. Most independent bands will start out chasing publicity via the local street press where the old scenario of "you scratch my back..." comes into play, so it may be wise to invest in some advertising.

Contacts & Press

Making Contacts

Making useful contacts is called networking. Who you know in the music industry can make a big difference. The more good things people hear about your act the better, but randomly sending out promotional kits can be costly and a waste of effort.

You must follow up each kit with phone calls or a visit after a reasonable amount of time. A good approach is to politely request feedback. Keep your call as all feedback is a valuable opportunity to learn! As mentioned previously, the contents of your promotional kit will vary depending on who you send it to.

Radio

The chances of a new band getting airplay on the Triple M network are fairly slim, however good radio exposure can be gained by independent bands in most cities and towns of Australia. Public (or community) radio is the lifeblood of the indy music scene and can be accessed by anyone (hence the name public radio).

Find out what public radio stations exist in your areas and develop some contacts within the station. This can be the music director, program director, station manager and even the announcers. Most public radio stations have specialized music shows that make up their daily programming schedule. Find out what shows play your style of music and get in touch with the presenter of those shows.

Gaining airplay is much the same as gaining press - it is a matter of sending the right people your bio, demo or CD and a photo. Ask them to play on their show and find out if you can go into the studio for an interview.

Airplay on a number of shows can lead to your music being picked up by the station "across the board" and receiving some significant airplay.

The national Triple J network also supports independent bands with a very wide ranging format that dictates its music selection.
However, trying to gain airplay on Triple J is very difficult indeed, with literally every new band that is releasing material chasing airplay on the station, not to mention all the established acts that release new material.

Commercial radio should not be completely ruled out of your promotional plan. Quite a few commercial stations have Australian music shows or new music show that are open to submissions by independent bands. Also regional stations are quite open to new music. Obviously the amount of airplay may be limited but remember loads of people listen to commercial radio.

Free Press

Gaining publicity for free is always desirable and there is a lot of free press opportunities out there. The usual outlets are gig guides in local street press, major newspapers, radio stations and magazines.

Television

Although there is not a lot of avenues for independent bands to gain publicity through television, there is the opportunity to get video airplay on shows like Rage, and, in some cases Video Hits.

Rage is usually very accommodating of videos by new bands and, depending on the quality of video and product availability, Video Hits may also play a video by new bands.

On a limited budget you may decide that the money spent on a video could be more usefully spent on advertising.

Live performances by independent bands can also be gained on shows such as Good Morning Australia or The Midday Show.

Posters

The obvious promotional tool is your band's poster. Your normal gig or venue poster is the most common with your band's name printed clearly and of sufficient size. It can also contain a photo of the band if desired and details of a CD that you may have out.

Café posters are a very handy way of promoting your upcoming gigs in the surrounding cafés of a venue. These can be the same size as your gig poster. However most new bands usually put up smaller poster that are specific to each gig they are promoting.

The top end of the scale in posters is pole posters or street posters. Once again these usually promote a particular gig or release of a CD. These usually only stay up for two weeks or so. Beware… you can get in trouble for posting these in illegal places. Most capital cities have contractors that do these poster runs and you can usually find out who they are by word of mouth.

IMPORTANT!
You will find all your promotional contacts including radio, journalists, street press, newspapers, publicists, managers, recording and publishing companies in Immedia's Australian Music Industry Directory. This is a must have.

Source

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EXCERPTS TAKEN FROM THE
WARNER CHAPPEL PUBLICATION…
MUSIC BUSINESS
BY SHANE SIMPSON & COLIN SEEGER