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I Want To Be Like Brian (They Say...)
I feel that artists, who wish to enter in
the music market professionally need to
invest in their career. I state this in my
free e-book "Marketing
Your Music - First Steps" ,
"...just like in any other business, you
will need to designate a quantity which you
are prepared to invest. Treat music like any
other commercial adventure in your life..."
Good, useful, free information that is
available for the independent musician is
very fragmented, and much of the time is
quite difficult to find, you really have to
look under the surface of what is being said
to understand the real message. For example,
I took the liberty of using one of my long
list of touring tips to show you what I mean
- this following text was taken from a
musicians forum:
"We have some friends in a ska band called "Regatta
69", from Chapel Hill, NC. Their front man,
Brian, has been touring & living off the
band since he was 16 or so. First thing he
did was go to a government auction and buy a
big tour bus for a couple of grand. Then
Brian
learned how to fix diesel engines - to save
on the mechanical costs. When they're on the
road, the band scores places to crash from
the other bands they're playing with. They
use the kitchen wherever they're staying to
cook (beans & rice - woohoo!), and NEVER eat
out.
The band members buy their own beer,
cigarettes, & other crap & the band fund
does not contribute. If they can't find a
place to stay, they crash on the bus -
though I don't know how they cook in those
situations.
Brian must be doing something right, because
he's been living off of this for 10+ years
now.
He got married a few years ago, and he & his
wife are both living off the music (she
helps book their tours & manages the band
business when they're on the road)".
I know this may seem long winded but here
goes...
"First thing he did was go to a government
auction and buy a big tour bus for a couple
of grand".
The first thing that Brian did was to invest
in his 'business'.
"Then Brian learned how to fix diesel
engines - to save on the mechanical costs".
Then Brian planned ahead, invested his time
in learning new skills to eliminate possible
problems in the future.
"...the band scores places to crash from the
other bands they're playing with".
The band members do active networking to
keep ahead of the competition, to know the
latest information and maintain contacts
with the right people who can help them.
"They use the kitchen wherever they're
staying to cook (beans & rice - woohoo!),
and NEVER eat out".
The band sticks to a strict budget.
"The band members buy their own beer,
cigarettes, & other crap & the band fund
does not contribute".
The 'company' - band - account is never
mixed with 'personal' accounts (very
important).
"If they can't find a place to stay, they
crash on the bus - though I don't know how
they cook in those situations".
The band members are flexible and accept
that there will be difficult times ahead and
they should be prepared for those times (and
not complain!).
"Brian must be doing something right,
because he's been living off of this for 10+
years now".
All the strategies mentioned above must be
important and must work as Brian has been
doing his thing for ten years.
"He got married a few years ago, and he &
his wife are both living off the music (she
helps book their tours & manages the band
business when they're on the road)".
Brian managed to expand his business, employ
another person, delegate tasks to allow him
to concentrate on the more important things
of his career.
So let's get all the information I added
together:
Strategies
1. The first thing that Brian did was to
invest in his career.
2. Then Brian planned ahead, invested his
time in learning new skills to eliminate
problems in the future.
3. The band members do active networking to
keep ahead of the competition, to know the
latest information and maintain contacts
with the right people who can help them.
4. The band sticks to a strict budget.
5. The 'company' - band - account is never
mixed with 'personal' accounts (very
important).
6. The band members are flexible and accept
that there will be difficult times ahead and
they should be prepared for those times (and
not complain!).
Results
1. All the strategies mentioned above must
be important and must work as Brian has been
doing his thing for ten years.
2. Brian managed to expand his business,
employ another person, delegate tasks to
allow him to concentrate on the more
important things of his career.
So here's the thing. The vast majority of
people will look at the original message and
picture it all as a type of fantasy and it
stays just that, a fantasy. They will think
that Brian is a lucky git, or that he
probably has time to do this sort of thing,
or that his parents are helping him out...
but what they don't see is that all touring
takes is work, planning and management.
The real information from the message is
missed.
It's really funny as frequently, this
information when presented, is frowned upon
by independent musicians, the very musicians
that want to be like Brian. :)
Success.
Steve Allen
Steve Allen is consultant and music producer
Author of "Marketing Your Music – Success
Strategies", "Personal Management in the
Music Industry" and "Street Teams – Expand
your Fan Base"
http://www.marketingyourmusic.net
You
may copy this article and post it in your
site, without onus, as long as you keep the
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