5 more mistakes indie music artists make
- Mar 14, 2011
This is the second part of a guest blog describing common mistakes indie artists make. Part two deals with everything from press tips to band image, photography to equipment...
6. The band has no image (just some guys in jeans and sneakers)
Every successful artist of every genre has spent a long time thinking of a visual image. Even if people call it the music business, the way that you look is as important as (or maybe more than) your music. Don't buy the myth of: "our music is honest so we need no disguise." Honesty is needed in business and politics, not music. Art and entertainment are about creating a fantasy world for the audience. Get dressed properly.
7. The band spent a fortune on unnecessary stuff (and run out of money for the important things)
While producing, releasing and marketing an album there are some important things that you should pay for, but other stuff is completely optional. Many times the artists spend fortunes at expensive studios because they want to record using top of the line microphones or vintage compressors, or they want the album to be mastered using valvular (tube) equipment, whatever. Or they pay fortunes for HD cameras to shoot videos in order to get the best image quality. This is not bad in itself, but if after all this expenditure you can't afford to pay a good press agent or promoter (who will get airplay for your album or video) or produce a cool live show (so you'll get fans interested) you'll be wasting your hard-earned money.
No matter what all your hi-fi magazines say, a $500 microphone sounds almost like a $5,000 one for the purpose of recording an indie album and a mastering session using plugins will do the trick as well as if you pay thousands for it (assuming you have an engineer who knows what to do). Having a good Electronic Press Kit (EPK) with good pictures and a good press agent is way more important than the mic you used (most people will listen to mp3s using a cell phone anyway).
8. The band has no professional pictures taken
Go to a music page about mainstream rock and pop stars and look at the pictures, then go to a site that deals with underground indie bands. Do you see a difference in the pictures? Well, that's one of the reasons some guys achieve stardom (make money) and some guys stay under forever (make no money). The press (online, offline, TV, whatever) is visual, they need great pictures and they will write about you if that's an excuse for adding cool pictures to their sites or pages. Instead of wasting your money on vintage recording equipment that no one cares about hire a pro photographer and take cool pictures of yourself.
Don’t assume that a picture of the band lying against the wall in everyday clothes (no makeup or production), taken by your little sister using her average camera, will do it. Even if your cousin lends you an expensive reflex camera you need someone who knows about picture composition, focal depth, lens, post production (the Photoshop part) and more important, the current trends on photography (which evolve just like music does, that's why you can tell a picture from the 60s from a picture of the 90s). Live pics don’t count, don't get fooled in thinking that because there was a guy taking pictures at your last gig you are covered in the photo department – you are not. This is extremely important; it's your pics that'll get you press coverage, not your music. I'm sorry, it is not fair, but it’s true.
9. The band has no press agent/promoter
Press coverage is crucial to the process of releasing an album. Even if you have a CD distributor, the stores won’t carry your CD until at least they are sure that people will pay for it, and to demonstrate this you need press (most digital stores will add your music, but this won't mean sales). Even if you are not into mainstream music, you need coverage from specialized magazines, blogs, etc.
A press campaign is pretty complicated, you need professional written bios, newsletters, websites, pictures, CDs and gifts for the critics and many more things, including the ability to carry a conversation on radio or on TV (I’ve witnessed many bands struggle to be interviewed and make fools of themselves because they have no clue as to what to do or say in an interview). Most of all, your material has to be interesting from the news point of view, not from the music angle, so you need assistance from some who knows about this. Be aware that critics and journalists try to avoid direct contact with bands and musicians.
Use the money you saved by not going to that expensive studio to hire a good press agent or promoter who’ll do the press job. And remember: the best press agent in the world cannot turn an uninteresting album or band into a cool one, and a solid press reputation is built over time. A critic or magazine may get your first three CDs and only write about the fourth one. Be patient and don’t take bad (or good) reviews personally.
10. The band has prejudices that create unnecessary obstacles
I recently had a discussion (while recording an album) with some musicians because they refused to use Autotune (a plugin that corrects tuning in vocal takes). They said it was immoral and that it was deceptive to their fans. The funny thing was that we were mixing vocals and there were already many processors and FX’s added to them, like reverb, delay, heavy compression, some extreme EQ, a subtle flanger, and some more. Why using all of them was ‘honest’ and honesty stopped when Autotune was added was a mystery to me.
Again, your role is to create a powerful fantasy to your fans, not to be ‘honest’, and the idea that honesty is achieved by not using certain tools only complicates your career and the careers of everyone involved with you (This also applies to using Photoshop, or to refusing to play because you don’t agree with the venue or the festival sponsors).
Emiliano Canal runs www.eternalsunday.com.ar
Photo by Robert Bejil Photography on Flickr
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