Should we release an EP BEFORE singing to a label?

I just got off the phone with a manager friend of mine who works for a great firm representing bands most of you would know.  They deal regularly with both indie and major labels.  She’s great…very smart, works incredibly hard, and loves her bands.  One of her acts is in the process of figuring out WHAT to do.  They were dropped from a major-indie label about a year ago and have since continued to write, record, and play as much as possible.

They’ve found themselves, yet again, with a few label A&Rs kicking their tires… The band wants to release an EP…but do you wait for the deal to happen, if it happens, or just throw something out to your fans without any major push in the meantime?

THROW SOMETHING OUT TO YOUR FANS!!  I told her…look…IF a label signs your band again it’s going to take AT LEAST 12 to 18 months before the antiquated sloth of a business could turn around a new product.  You think your fans are going to wait that long?  If you do…best of luck.  Labels are dying.  I keep saying this and you know it.  You need to keep your fans engaged and entertained.  You cannot exist on your myspace page alone and assume people will come to you…you need to reach out to them.  You need to provide something worth keeping their interest…and that’s great songs.  That’s your job.

Get out of the album mentality.  When you have a great song…record it and release it…we have the means to do this now!  Albums exist so that labels can make money… I highly recommended to her, and you, to record what you have and offer it to your core fans.  By doing so, you’ll keep the fans you have entertained while the label drags along.  Further, her band will then OWN that EP…and if you own it you keep the money from it.  I questioned why she wanted to sign her band to a label again, but some still go for the gold…and god bless ‘em…but you have to understand what you’re getting yourself into at the moment..particularly with the majors.

Quality songs over quantity….I’d rather you offer me 3 great songs than wait for 15…from which I’ll most likely only buy 3 from iTunes…so why wait?  Get the songs out there….because if you wait…you’re A&R guy will most likely be fired, the album budget will disappear, and you’ll most likely get dropped and the album shelved.  And I’m not being pessimistic, this is what the current situation is and the reality for most new bands.  Bet on yourself.

Ben

War Stories – Hangin’ On

Evan Robinson (Singer) : “We’re not a political band by any means..in fact we’re the furthest thing from 4 politicians…but as artists we can’t help but be inspired by and write about the world we see.  So take from this what you will…it’s not a soapbox, only one perspective.”

Hangin’ On VIDEO

This is cool.   War Stories released their debut album 8/19 and is currently #15 on the specialty radio charts.  They’re playing locally, press is gravitating, and they are finding true fans one at a time.  They wrote this song after the album, but rather than just sit on it, wait for another 9 songs for an album, and miss the opportunity to impact at a relevant time…they recorded a follow up single, offered it digitally, partnered with a great organization, and made this video.  All for about $200.

Whether you like the song or not, there’s something here for you to learn.  Flexibility and striking when the iron is HOT!  Don’t wait to record and offer a great new song and product…keeping content fresh keeps fans engaged.

Ben

Promote Your Music

First off, I know I’ve been MIA for a little bit.  So much going on this past month it’s been hard to find the time to sit down and knock out another post!  Lame I know, I’ll be better…promise!

So Brian hit me up asking for some advice on how to best promote his band’s upcoming EP release.  Sounds like they’re totally independent so I’ll assume the marketing budget is tight.

Brian, first you have to answer the question: who is my audience?  Once that’s answered, then: where do I find them?  Bad marketing is taking your band and just throwing it out there…you need to pin point who you believe will most likely enjoy your type of music…get it to them…then if it’s good, hope they help you spread the word.  Once you’ve identified your audience, I suggest hiring a publicists to help build your story.  Find someone who works both online and print press.  Tell them what type of publications you want to hit, what webzines make sense, and who you think will most likely react and embrace your songs.  Be realistic in this attempt.  You’re one of many many bands and it takes a very long time for people to accept your debut effort.  A lot of the times press will react with, “cool EP…maybe we’ll cover them when they release a full length.”  So be prepared.

I think it’s also worth the few hundred bucks to create promo goods like free stickers and posters.  Make sure every venue you’re performing at has posters in advance…you want people to discover you..so make sure the band name is out there in your scene.  Give stickers away at shows and to friends.  It’s simple, not going to make you a rock star, but it’s a reminder of your band.  Further, and I’ve said this before, give your music away.  I’m not saying the full EP..but at least a song.  I’m working with this company now that provides a digital experience in our physical world.  I’ve purchased stickers and buttons from them, both bundle a digital song with the product.  SO, instead of just selling a fan a button, they get the button with a digital code on the back instructing them to go to “xxxx.com”, hit redeem, enter the code, and there’s your free song!  It’s very cool.  So essentially, you’re selling digital downloads from your merch booth.  Yeah the song is “FREE”, well, actually your just combining the sale price into your button.  More on this later…

You may also want to consider a new media marketing company to help with your viral awareness, online press and blogs, and overall media strategy….but honestly, this can cost a lot of money, most of which you wont make back on an EP.  Just see to it that your online experience is fully executed…meaning you must be sure you have a profile on every major network site, each is constantly updated, provide an abundance of content like videos (live and produced), pictures, songs, artwork, merch, etc, and utilize free tools like mailing lists and mobile texting.  I don’t recommend over doing it, though.  I hate visiting pages with more widgets than fans…

Remember to build locally, expand regionaly, grow nationally.  It take a very long time…so get ready for the long haul!
Ben

What’s the best way to keep our fans informed?

It’s hard to stay on top of everything.  If you’re moving forward as a musician you should absolutely put as much time as possible into writing better songs…that’s your job.  However, you must also never neglect the marketing of yourself and those great songs you write.  I know, common sense, right?  But I’m amazed at how many artists don’t take advantage of the FREE tools available for their use.  Jason is wondering what tools I’ve found to be most useful for keeping in touch with fans.

Great question…something every new band needs to not only know, but utilize.  There’s no excuse not to.  If you want to rise above the clutter you need to actively promote yourself, find new fans, and stay in constant contact with those fans…they are you’re lifeline.

You absolutely need a mailing list.  I know, I almost feel ridiculous saying it…it’s one of the least techy tools out there..but still the most important.  Contrary to what you might think, not everyone is on myspace.  So what good is posting a tour date or news bulletin that people may not see.  Some might, but others wont.  You need direct contact.  It’s also a great indicator of how many true fans you have.  You may sit on tens of thousands of myspace friends…but you know as well as I that only a fraction really care.  I highly recommend ReverbNation’s mailing list tools.  They really are great.  Very easy to use, provide a ton of statistical information, and best of all…FREE.  Go to http://www.reverbnation.com and set yourself up with an artist profile if you haven’t already.  While you’re there, you’ll find other valuable tools like street team functions, tour widgets, banners, and “tunepacks” (links you can send to people to hear your music).  With all the options and distractions your fans have, why rely on the assumption that they’ll continually come to you for information?  You need to feed it to them.  Seriously.  You wouldn’t believe how many times I’d receive messages on my bands’ myspace pages asking “When’s the next time you’re coming to ‘insert your city here’?” when it’s right there in our tour dates…trust me, the best way to keep your fans informed and a part of what you do is still e-mail.

Also, don’t just exist on myspace.  I often wonder what would happen to the independent musician community if myspace went bye bye…think about that.  You’re trying to start and run a business and most likely your main point of contact, information, and media is 1 website that you have no control over.  You think that’s wise?  Trust me…I know it’s a pain updating ALL the various community sites…but do it.  Set up pages on the top 5 or 6 and link them all together.  It offers more exposure and less dependence on one source.  By the way…I heard myspace is no longer going to allow ANY external links from band pages!!  No links to merch, youtube, itunes, mailing lists, touring…nothing.   I don’t know if it’s true or not, but if it is…you might want to start thinking NOW about setting something else up…like your own website.

I can go on and on…but the question is staying in touch with fans.  Set up your mailing lists and send out at least 1 newsletter a week with interesting information!!

Ben