23 Black
Stage banter: How to win your audience over between songs Do you know what the difference is between stand-up comics and a musician is? They tell jokes, you play music. That's about it... ok, obviously that's not the only thing, but I'm driving...
There are PLENTY of places you can pitch your press. Think outside your circles into international waters, baby! If you don't know what your local press looks like, it's time to figure that out. It's as easy as searching Google or Instagram. They're not trying to hide from you, you just have to look through all the garbage out there.
Did you know that only around 10% - 20% of your followers actually see your posts? So how do we get to that other 90%? Well, you have to pay, of course! Duh. But all of this can get super expensive, super fast. We are on a budget, working the barista wage to make our creative ends meet. But for $365 a year, you'll be able to reach most of the people following you.
Sure, you see that your buddy has thousands of spins, and somehow they got on a playlist, and you're wondering how the hell they do it!? Deserving or not, there are ways to get on the playlist, and it comes down to the same thing that always does, a little extra preparation and a lot of luck.
I would venture to say that everyone has someone they can work well with! Just think about this, if someone can work with Morrissey and make the incredible band The Smiths, objectively Morrissey's best work, then you can stand to work with a few different people and see what you can come up with together!
Even during our current lockdown, we can support other acts. It's as simple as talking! Start today! Pick and local band and follow the crap outta them!
Our audience is our friend! They make or break our show (duh) if we can learn to turn the heckler into a fan, they will usually turn into one of our biggest fans! I have seen it happen more often than not!
Just like there is more than one way to skin a cat, there are multiple ways to write a song, but first, we must ask ourselves. Who is skinning all of these cats? And why are they doing it enough to know that there is more than one way?
Now I'm not saying that your friends are useless, or that they're not necessary for a musician's vocation. This post is just a little reminder that you being able to get five of your friends to listen to your music is the least amount of effort you can put into expanding your career (I'm sure you don't need that reminder)
