{"id":290,"date":"2006-01-18T12:34:50","date_gmt":"2006-01-18T19:34:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/archives\/2006\/01\/18\/breaking-an-act\/"},"modified":"2006-01-18T12:35:54","modified_gmt":"2006-01-18T19:35:54","slug":"breaking-an-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/2006\/01\/18\/breaking-an-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking An Act"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. Material<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s an old cliche, but you’re only as good as your songs.\u00c2\u00a0 But DON’T make the mistake of believing there’s only one song formula.\u00c2\u00a0 If so, you’ll miss out on Yes’ "Roundabout".\u00c2\u00a0 The point is, how you look, how you fit into the scene, your IMAGE is secondary to what you’re actually playing.\u00c2\u00a0 And, if you want career longevity, you’ve got to write your own material.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh, there are exceptions.\u00c2\u00a0 Very COSTLY exceptions.\u00c2\u00a0 Try breaking a diva.\u00c2\u00a0 But, by writing your own material you give people a chance to BELIEVE IN YOU!\u00c2\u00a0 Without revealing yourself, there’s no hook.\u00c2\u00a0 Revealing yourself in "Vanity Fair", or god help me "Us", is not like revealing yourself in your songs.\u00c2\u00a0 Music has a power, a way of conveying meaning that NOTHING ELSE CAN!\u00c2\u00a0 No image, no other words.\u00c2\u00a0 If you’re truly smart, just put out the songs and say very little.<\/p>\n

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2. Website<\/strong><\/p>\n

Create a place where fans can rally, where people can discover your music.\u00c2\u00a0 Be SURE the URL is your band name only, that your site is not hosted at another server and the URL is mac.com or msn.com or ANYTHING ELSE dot com.\u00c2\u00a0 And, this site must be FAST!\u00c2\u00a0 And never run out of capacity.\u00c2\u00a0 How the site itself looks is ALMOST IRRELEVANT!\u00c2\u00a0 One can make a strong case that the fancier the site, the bigger the turn-off to the public.\u00c2\u00a0 If you can afford a Flash programmer, what are your priorities?\u00c2\u00a0 Music or image?\u00c2\u00a0 Your site doesn’t have to be as basic as craigslist.org, but Craig has got it much more right than wrong.\u00c2\u00a0 His site is intuitive, and FAST!\u00c2\u00a0 You can find what you need immediately.\u00c2\u00a0 Which is why at the top of your homepage you’re going to have: Bio, News, Music, Tour Dates, Message Board, Contact.\u00c2\u00a0 Put these in BIG LETTERS at the TOP OF THE PAGE!\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t make it TOUGH for people.<\/p>\n

And, if you’re VERY smart, you’re going to give away MP3s.\u00c2\u00a0 Hopefully on the homepage, with no click-through required.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s the key, to GET YOUR MUSIC OUT THERE!\u00c2\u00a0 DO NOT STREAM YOUR MUSIC!\u00c2\u00a0 If for no other reason that at today’s Internet speeds there’s a delay, and most of the streaming software sucks.\u00c2\u00a0 And NEVER have music launch with the site itself.\u00c2\u00a0 This is anathema to the surfer.\u00c2\u00a0 If he can find your site, he can find your music, assuming you make it easily locatable on your page!<\/p>\n

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3.\u00c2\u00a0 Empower Your Fans<\/strong><\/p>\n

DON’T create a street team.\u00c2\u00a0 At least nothing CALLED this.\u00c2\u00a0 Just give fans tools to get the word out.\u00c2\u00a0 Make it easy for them to e-mail MP3s.\u00c2\u00a0 Make it easy for them to communicate with OTHER fans.<\/p>\n

And when you go on tour, EMPLOY YOUR FAN BASE!\u00c2\u00a0 If you’ve made it and are flying, have them pick you up at the airport.\u00c2\u00a0 But, since you’re developing, have them host you at their houses.\u00c2\u00a0 For dinner, to SLEEP!\u00c2\u00a0 This will be a story they’ll never forget.\u00c2\u00a0 You can count on them FOREVER!\u00c2\u00a0 They’ll be HEROES in their town if you ever make it.\u00c2\u00a0 Let the hard core into the gig for free.\u00c2\u00a0 And give a discount to others on your Website.\u00c2\u00a0 And, at the gig, give them stickers, and posters, and any other kind of memorabilia you can come up with.\u00c2\u00a0 People want a piece of you, it helps them believe, GIVE IT TO THEM!<\/p>\n

And put up an MP3 of the show on your site.\u00c2\u00a0 People want to remember the gig THEY were at.\u00c2\u00a0 And, if you can afford it, give away music at the show.\u00c2\u00a0 It would be best to allow them to plug their iPods in to get tracks, but you can always give away CDs.<\/p>\n

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4. Embrace File-Trading<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you want to break an act, you MUST support P2P.\u00c2\u00a0 Because it spreads the word that you’re into spreading the MUSIC!\u00c2\u00a0 That THAT’S what’s important.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s a signal for your fans to do their work, that you’re supporting them.\u00c2\u00a0 As for losing sales…\u00c2\u00a0 True fans want the CD anyway.\u00c2\u00a0 At least for now.<\/p>\n

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5. Touring<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you don’t play live, you can’t make it in the new paradigm.\u00c2\u00a0 Non-tourers should sign to a major label, and utilize their marketing dollars.\u00c2\u00a0 Otherwise, buy a van and some gas, and hit the boards.\u00c2\u00a0 Play ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE you can.\u00c2\u00a0 Hopefully, multiple times\/gigs a week.\u00c2\u00a0 Because NOTHING builds a fan base like live shows.\u00c2\u00a0 People can feel the energy, they can feel the MUSIC!\u00c2\u00a0 They have an EVENING, where they hang with their buddies, and make new friends.\u00c2\u00a0 Every gig should resemble a night at summer camp.\u00c2\u00a0 An indelible life-changing experience that you’ll never forget.\u00c2\u00a0 Start locally, and then build regionally.\u00c2\u00a0 DON’T worry about conquering the whole nation, or world.\u00c2\u00a0 There’s TIME for that.\u00c2\u00a0 Great acts develop slowly.\u00c2\u00a0 AND, unlike in the olden days, with the Internet and a mobile society, if you make it in one place the people from that region will go to college or move elsewhere and create a fan base you can play to live in this NEW market.<\/p>\n

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6. Radio<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don’t pay anybody to get you on.\u00c2\u00a0 And don’t service a station.\u00c2\u00a0 If a station isn’t coming after you, FORGET ABOUT THEM!\u00c2\u00a0 Except for non-commercial stations.\u00c2\u00a0 Play ball with college stations, and public radio stations that have music shows that expose your genre.\u00c2\u00a0 People who listen to THESE stations BELIEVE IN THEM!\u00c2\u00a0 And thus, will be prone to believing in you.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, if a big station plays you, and if you’re hot, eventually they will, things are changing, SUPPORT THEM!\u00c2\u00a0 Go give an interview.\u00c2\u00a0 But DON’T play the radio show\/radio station concert\/gig.\u00c2\u00a0 This cavalcade of stars behemoth rapes you of your specialness.\u00c2\u00a0 You specialize in blowing people’s minds at a special event that burnishes YOUR image, not SOMEBODY ELSE’S!<\/p>\n

And, support satellite radio (send THEM your music), and in the coming years, Internet radio.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, the footprint is now small, but so was FM’s in the late sixties.\u00c2\u00a0 XM is programmed by believers FOR believers.\u00c2\u00a0 XM breaks acts.\u00c2\u00a0 Just VERY slowly.\u00c2\u00a0 But that’s your strategy, so THROW IN WITH THEM, establish a RELATIONSHIP!<\/p>\n

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7. Never Sell-Out<\/strong><\/p>\n

It stops your fan base in its tracks.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh, you might get some casual listeners exposed to your music, but the hard core will now be done with you.\u00c2\u00a0 They thought you were THEIRS, but now they realize you’re Madison Avenue’s.\u00c2\u00a0 No one’s lining up to get endorsements from THEM!\u00c2\u00a0 The corporations are the ENEMY!\u00c2\u00a0 If you switch teams, you’re done!<\/p>\n

Once you make it, your image is EVERYTHING!\u00c2\u00a0 It must be guarded PRECIOUSLY!\u00c2\u00a0 You have to make sure people still believe in you.\u00c2\u00a0 Partying at star waterholes, buying Rolls-Royces which are featured in tabloids…you become a CARTOON, and nobody believes in a cartoon (other than the REAL cartoons, like "The Simpsons", which have more credibility than today’s musicians).<\/p>\n

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8. Maintenance<\/strong><\/p>\n

A constant flow of product.\u00c2\u00a0 A new record a year at least.\u00c2\u00a0 Look at the Dave Matthews Band, there’s at least one authorized live CD package a year.\u00c2\u00a0 Constantly give away new material on your Website.\u00c2\u00a0 Even DEMOS!\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t KEEP the music from people, GIVE IT TO THEM!\u00c2\u00a0 They want the WORK projects along with the FINAL projects!<\/p>\n

Don’t repeat the formula.\u00c2\u00a0 Constantly evolve.\u00c2\u00a0 The Beatles taught us this, and Madonna reinforced the paradigm.\u00c2\u00a0 If you’re not growing, you’re losing your audience.\u00c2\u00a0 THEY’RE getting married, having kids, getting fired, getting divorced, having grandkids.\u00c2\u00a0 Why should they expect you to always look the same and play the same music?\u00c2\u00a0 The more normal you appear, the more you write about your life or explore new musical styles, the more people can relate to you.<\/p>\n

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9. The Game<\/strong><\/p>\n

Only the game is changing, the music remains the same.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s about sheer creativity.\u00c2\u00a0 Capturing lightning in a bottle and exposing people to it.\u00c2\u00a0 The only thing that’s different is how this exposure is accomplished.<\/p>\n

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1. Material It’s an old cliche, but you’re only as good as your songs.\u00c2\u00a0 But DON’T make the mistake of believing there’s only one song formula.\u00c2\u00a0 If so, you’ll miss out on Yes’ "Roundabout".\u00c2\u00a0 The point is, how you look, how you fit into the scene, your IMAGE is secondary to what you’re actually playing.\u00c2\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-4G","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}