That Jazz - Monkey Max Music and File Download

Chapter 16: So You Wanna Be in a Band: Fitting into a Jazz Ensemble
James, Gwen Stefani, and Stevie Wonder. The more I think about it, the more I
can imagine what a wild time you would have with your versions of funk and
soul tunes. Get those horns swinging in unison!
Publicizing Your Band and Landing Gigs
A lot of folks want to get gigs, make CDs, and grow an ever greater following
for their music. Very few of them reach their goals. Musicians tend to focus
on their music, and it’s rare to find one who has an equivalent commitment
to marketing himself and managing his career. If you really want to succeed
in the music business, then you need to work as hard on marketing yourself
as you do on your music. In this high-tech age, there are more ways than
ever to put yourself out there, as I show you in the following sections.
Harnessing the power of the Internet
Publicity isn’t difficult, but it’s time consuming. Musicians who sustain
careers have their act together communications-wise. And what faster, easier
way to communicate these days than via the World Wide Web? Here are some
ideas and examples (see Chapter 17 for more about using the Internet):
� One guitarist I know has, over the years, compiled an e-mail list of about
3,000 names. Every week he sends a personal newsletter full of humor
and anecdotes, as well as upcoming dates and news about his career. If
only 20 or 30 of these people turn up at each performance, he has a solid
core audience.
Names from your list come from several sources: sign-ups on your Web
site (the address should be listed on business cards, tickets, fliers, and
CDs), sign-ups at gigs, referrals from friends, and names (and e-mail
addresses) that you acquire in every social situation. Every situation,
including meetings at work and casual dinners with friends, presents
an opportunity to talk about your music.
Any e-mail program is capable of keeping your mailing list, but some programs
let you enter more data (such as multiple phone numbers) and
sort your list by zip code, length of time on your list, last CD purchased
from your Web site, and so on.
� Another musician I know is religious about getting her performances listed
in newspaper calendars. It’s surprisingly easy with the Internet. Almost
every paper has a Web site where you can submit event listings, and these
lists amount to some of the most effective free publicity you can get.
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