As The World Tunes
Make Yourself A Star
by Steve Bussey
GeoSynchronous Records
"I can make you a star", said the man to the quite attractive young lady behind the counter. I couldn't help to overhear this conversation in the line next to me recently as I was waiting in line to pay a bill. Naturally, I had to eavesdrop on this a little longer. The man went on to explain that he was in the video production and music business, and with a little coaching from him that he could make her as big of a star as any of the current pop divas! Now maybe this guy was sincere, and this may actually work on rare occasions, but it sure sounded like a pick up line to me, and my point for this month is that you have to make yourself a star. No one is going to do it for you.
Don't get me wrong, you will need a large team behind you to make a big dent in the music business. At some point you will be approached with a record deal. But a lot of bands and musicians waste a lot of time and money mailing out demos and press kits to every record label listed in any of the many directories, hoping that someone will love them and sign them to a million dollar contract. Well, it is not going to happen. Believe it or not, the successful labels are more interested in how many records they can sell, and not how the music sounds! They look at how many CD's the band has sold on its own, press reviews, gigs and touring, and any thing that shows interest in the band from the public. They want to deal with someone who has their act together quite well on their own. The big labels want a small flame that they can add their fuel to and create a big roaring fire.
So quit mailing out demos to record companies. Spend that time and money on things to directly sell the band and its CDs. Sell the band direct, and let the record labels come looking for you. Look for gigs, not just the usual nightclubs either. Don't be afraid to try unusual opportunities like grand openings of stores, automobile tent sales, bookstores, malls, music stores, etc. GeoSynchronous artist Mike Pachelli has recently hosted guitar clinics at various music stores in Florida. This gives him in store advertising for several weeks, and a chance to sell his Tube Driven CD and Electric Guitar Method video at the clinic itself.
Play a concert at a record store that sells your CDs. This can be as simple as an "unplugged" performance with just acoustic guitars, or bring whatever you have room for. Both Bong Water Taffy and Big Red & The Bus have done this successfully. You can sell CD's and give away autographed photos. Even if you do not sell much, it increases awareness & recognition of the band.
You can also just show up and play at any public place with a lot of people. You may get thrown out or even arrested, but even that would make great publicity. You could use what I call the "Band In A Box" approach. Set up quickly with the absolute minimum equipment. Try the back of a pick-up truck, or mount several practice amps on a pre-wired board, and just take snare and hi hat for the drums. Prepare ahead of time by surveying the scene. Know in advance where AC power is available and turned on, and where you can park and play. Then run in, plug in, play a song or two, and run out before the police come! Have 3 or 4 people working the crowd while you play to sell your CD's and hand out flyers of your next gig. In an afternoon, a band could easily hit a dozen spots along the beach, the mall, art shows, street festival, parade or whatever.
Speaking of selling CD's at your gigs, don't price them so high! You need to make a profit, but you will sell more if the price is low. And it is more important to sell a lot of CD's than to make a lot on each one. Each CD that goes home with a fan is one more person advertising your band and CD to his or her friends. Fifteen dollars is too much, people have to really love the band, ten dollars is a fairly common price. I think five to seven dollars is great, that is about the wholesale price that record companies sell at any way. You could offer a special gig sale price of five dollars, or ten dollars by mail order including shipping.
There are as many ways to make yourself a star as there are people wanting to be stars. These are just a few suggestions, use your imagination, do what works for you. (Send me some new ideas!) You will not only be making yourself a star, you will be learning the process, and you will know the difference between a pick-up line or the real thing the next time someone says, "I can make you a star".
About the author: Steve Bussey is a singer/songwriter/guitarist and is currently the owner and general manager of GeoSynchronous Records (http://www.pan.com/geosync, Listening Line 800 235 9193, ask for a free catalog), an indie label handling artists such as Les Dudek, Mike Pachelli, Bong Water Taffy, and Big Red & The Bus. Prior to this, Steve earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Electrical Engineering and Acoustics from Georgia Tech, designed sound equipment and guitar amps for Fender, and supervised design of communication systems for the Space Shuttle at Kennedy Space Center.
