Band in need of abit of direction/instruction!!

MilkTheGroup

Ok so my band has been together the best part of 2 years. We have a fairly modest goal in that we'd like to get to a level of popularity where we can play our own original music and have it supplement the income from our day jobs.

We've hit a brick wall in terms of what we should be doing to promote ourselves and get more known. We've done all the following;

-Recorded a high-quality mastered EP
-Gotten a high-quality HD music video shot
-Gotten small amount of radioplay on some shows on 2FM, Spin 103.8 and Radio Nova but were ignored by all other stations
-Balcony TV
-Busked on Grafton St. (can't seem to get everyone organised to do it every weekend, its been more like once every 4 months!)
-Gigged everywhere in Dublin (again just to family and friends)
-promoted ourselves online (100,000 views on youtube now)
-applied for almost every music festival in Ireland but did not get accepted into one!
-Contacted Irish bands like Delorentos, Coronas etc. looking for support slots but got nothing!
-We've even given out free EPs to music fans coming out of big gigs in the Aviva etc.

We don't have a clue what to do next!! Any ideas? besides giving up ha!

Pimp yourself at every available opportunity.


Example:

Ok so my band has been together the best part of 2 years. We have a fairly modest goal in that we'd like to get to a level of popularity where we can play our own original music and have it supplement the income from our day jobs.

We've hit a brick wall in terms of what we should be doing to promote ourselves and get more known. We've done all the following;

-Recorded a high-quality mastered EP
-Gotten a high-quality HD music video shot
-Gotten small amount of radioplay on some shows on 2FM, Spin 103.8 and Radio Nova but were ignored by all other stations
-Balcony TV
-Busked on Grafton St. (can't seem to get everyone organised to do it every weekend, its been more like once every 4 months!)
-Gigged everywhere in Dublin (again just to family and friends)
-promoted ourselves online (100,000 views on youtube now)
-applied for almost every music festival in Ireland but did not get accepted into one!
-Contacted Irish bands like Delorentos, Coronas etc. looking for support slots but got nothing!
-We've even given out free EPs to music fans coming out of big gigs in the Aviva etc.

We don't have a clue what to do next!! Any ideas? besides giving up ha!

Have a look yourselves at www.myspace.com/WHATTHEHELLAREYISCALLED! or our youtube video

But everyone you introduce yourself to, introduce yourself as "milkthegroup from whateveryisiscalled"

oh, and never forget the cardinal rule: Don't be a dick

SouthTippBass

Simple, write better songs.

Malice

SouthTippBass wrote: »

Simple, write better songs.

In fairness I don't think it's as simple as that.

rcaz

MilkTheGroup wrote: »

but were ignored by all other stations

So? Go again, and again, and again! Worst that happen is they keep ignoring you, but maybe they just weren't able to give you a listen the first time, which is always gonna happen to a lot of the music that gets sent in. Don't stop after one go!

thejigsaw

SouthTippBass wrote: »

Simple, write better songs.

Nail on the head. Relentless pimping will only get people to notice you. You need excellent songs that appeal to a niche audience to make them want to LISTEN to you. Any form of advertising will only be effective if people want or need your product.

LimerickAndy

Have to agree with Jigsaw & SouthTipp.

Promos, publicity & ads will only get you so far. At the end of the day if the songs are/arent good enough thats what will decide where your going.
Harsh but true (unless you have a Louis Wash or Simon Cowell to pump sh*tloads of cash into convincing stupid people you're something you're not).

Get more honest feedback from everyone you approach regarding your songs )not family and friends ! no, no, no !! they only tell you what you want to hear not you NEED to hear)

Ask the radio, TV etc WHY they wont give you airplay. Contact the festival organisers. Ask them why you didn't get accepted.

I take it ye are on facebook ? Have a bit of fun and ask your fans/followers which of your songs they like best (in order 1,2,3 etc if possible).

Anyway, good luck and don't give up. NEVER GIVE UP !
Remember, you can spend half your life becoming an overnight success !

Fandango

LimerickAndy wrote: »

Have to agree with Jigsaw & SouthTipp.

Promos, publicity & ads will only get you so far. At the end of the day if the songs are/arent good enough thats what will decide where your going.
Harsh but true (unless you have a Louis Wash or Simon Cowell to pump sh*tloads of cash into convincing stupid people you're something you're not).

Get more honest feedback from everyone you approach regarding your songs )not family and friends ! no, no, no !! they only tell you what you want to hear not you NEED to hear)

Agree and disagree. We havent heard their stuff so cant simply say write better songs. Publicity is the one area almost every band falls short on. You can have great songs but if your not marketing them right and making them heard in the right places, nothing will happen. Altho agree that you should keep trying to improve your set. If your writing songs but your set is still the same as it was 12 months ago for example, you need to take a look at the new songs and decide if a different approach would be better.

LimerickAndy wrote: »

Ask the radio, TV etc WHY they wont give you airplay. Contact the festival organisers. Ask them why you didn't get accepted.

Pappa Dolla's cardinal rule! If you are doing this, make sure you do it right. It could come across badly and make it look like your complaining about not being picked in which case they could take a disliking to you and completely blank you in future.

LimerickAndy wrote: »

I take it ye are on facebook ? Have a bit of fun and ask your fans/followers which of your songs they like best (in order 1,2,3 etc if possible).

Anyway, good luck and don't give up. NEVER GIVE UP !
Remember, you can spend half your life becoming an overnight success !

Agree fully with this. Most pages only announce gigs or new recordings etc. Make your page active and get fans involved as much as possible. The more they see you or read/post on things that take their fancy on your page, the more your band will stick in their mind.

jus_tin4

Busk once every 4 months or so? maybe your answering some of your own questions. dont mean to sound rude. But 90% of bands are lazy and so are musicians(myself included) you need alot more work. like the lads said half a life time of work for an over night success. asking once wont get you a reply in this industry. sad but true. and might been an idea to post your fb link here;) there be 7 reply and maybe 7 new fans. not if we dont have a link;) good luck with everything!

guitarzero

If you truly believe in what you do, I mean you get a bit of a hard on by your own stuff then dont give up. Keep pushing it so to never look back and wonder.

Laserface

at the end of the day you're in a band and havin the craic like.

doesn't get better than that

ElleEm

What is your band called?
Have you got a MySpace or Facebook page devoted to the band? Facebook appeals to the masses and you could get all your friends to post your songs to their pages to promote it.

Enter Open Mic nights, Battle of the Bands etc. That will get your name out there.

Feedback is very important, both positive and negative. Contact the radio stations that played and didn't play your music and ask them what they thought/ audience feedback etc.

You need to step your game up when it comes to busking, you won't get known if you're not there. You need to show more dedication if this is what you all want.

Have you had a brain storming session with the other members of the band? They may have ideas too. Everyone needs to be passionate and motivated to making it work. You need to be on the same page.

Offer to do free gigs. Whether it's friend's/ family/ friends of friend's etc. Even look out for Charity gigs and offer to play at them. You could post in the Gifts, Parties and Festivity forum and offer to play parties for people.

ALWAYS have your CD/ business cards on you. That way, you can REALLY promote yourself on a regular basis.