Stand out!

Hey Heroes!

Do you ever get the feeling that you're drowning in a sea of competition? I mean, there are millions of bands all over the US, all looking for recognition from the same finite grouping of reviewers, and magazines, and websites........right?

What do you do to make yourself stand out? In what way do you ensure that your band isn't just another white t-shirt an ocean of white t-shirts? How do you plan to avoid the feeding frenzy and make yourself stand alone?

I'm pretty sure just following the established way of doing things isn't going to do it. I talked with a guy the other day who told me the way an Indie tour should be set up and carried out. The unfortunate thing is that this same guy was also telling me how he just didn't want to do it anymore because it doesn't work. Hmmm......imagine that.

So, what are you willing to do to stamp your tag on the world? Are you just going to do the spray and pray tactic of finding fans, or are you going to really nail down who your ideal fan is and target market, directly to them? Do you even know who your ideal fan is?

Why should you care? In music, isn't the idea to sell your music to whoever likes it? Yep, but I bet if you took a long hard look, you'd find that the biggest portion of your followers fit into an age/gender demographic, at the very least. You could even go further and pick out lifestyle characteristics, favorite haunts, favorite foods, movies..........get the picture?

It's time to get smart about it. Think of it as a race. Think of it as a game. Think of it however you need to think about it to make sure that you stay motivated and THINKING when it's time to market your music. Oh, and don't think you're too good to market your music. That bullshit about "build it and they will come" is just that, bullshit. They won't come unless they know about it, and a little bulletin on your Myspace page isn't going to cut it. Hell, the old flier on the light pole trick does a better job.

Figure out who your ideal fan is, find out where they are, and make yourself interesting to them, but don't hound them! Converse with them, get to know them, make friends with them.

It doesn't have to take that much time either.....................................