grassrootsy

READ, WATCH, LISTEN, GO – A Musician’s Guide to “Making It”

The City Paper: your local guide to city venues and events. Most cities have a City Paper, even if it's not called "CP".

As a full-time musician and publicist, I’ve learned in the past 6 years that simply being aware of what’s going on in town is more than half the battle of getting gigs, building a fanbase, and “making it” as a artist. Whether you tour or stay local, when you know what’s happening, where its happening, and who to talk to, your job is half as hard and twice as effective. Remember these 4 things…

READ. WATCH. LISTEN. GO

READ the City Paper
Always read your City Paper.  Stay on top of what’s going on in your city. In the back of most major city papers (and even those of smaller ones), you’ll see local show listings, a “call for artists” section, and write-up on what’s happening on any given weekend. A quick weekly skim will keep in the know on new coffespots, bars, clubs, lounges and the artists who are hitting the circuit on a regular basis.

City Papers will occasionally (during the right season) post Summer art festival guides, arts & culture, and general entertainment guides. These will definitely come in handy.

READ Online Music Resources
Don’t stay in a bubble. The more you do this music thing, the more you will learn. But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn from others.Grassrootsy is just one of the few resources out there. Its a blog created by artists for artists. Weekly posts offer practical thinking and innovative  ideas on how to realistically grow your fanbase and work for what you want. We recommend checking us out! And of course, there are ton of others on the internet.

WATCH others
Keep a close eye on your friends and fellow music-makers. Subscribe to their newletters, visit their websites, and see what they’re doing and where they’re playing. When I first started out, most of my shows came from contacting a venue that I had just seen my friend play at. Read this post for more ideas on that “Mimic the Artists You Respect”.

LISTEN to Local Radio
Listen to local community radio.  Your local independent music station will tell you what’s happening in the area. They will play your friends and support what is going on in your community. Pittburgh’s local radio station, WYEP, does this thing called the WYEP Taste Test.  Its a free workshop that allows you to go into their studios and learn how they pick the music they play on air. See what your local station has to offer. And visit the website regularly. Check out their community calendar to stay on top of upcoming events. And if you dare,  contact the appropriate event organizers to try booking yourself for a show. Sometimes it works.  Sometimes it doesn’t.

LISTEN to Podcasts
Podcasts are just another great way to stay current on new trends, new thinkers, and new ideas. I highly recommend Music Business Radio: They’re a fun laid back podcast that brings in an industry professional (musician, agent, manager, etc) each week to talk about what they do. I’ve never listened to a podcast and felt like I wasted my time.

GO to Seminars and Workshops
If you’re reading this, chances are your music is more to you than a hobby. And if you’ve decided that much, you’ve probably decided that this thing is a career move. In other words, its a business. And if that’s the case, you need to act like a professional.  Go to seminars!  Educate yourself. Social Networking seminars, Marketing seminars, Music seminars. You’ll never know what you don’t see…and just know that each door is an opportunity to network with like-minded folk and get new ideas to help you do what you do better.