A COUPLE THINGS EVERY ARTIST SHOULD HAVE #4
The longer you live in a house, the more stuff you accumulate. I feel its the same way with music. The longer you do it, the more things you’ll acquire to help you do what you do better. If you’d like to see the first 3 installments of this post, check it: [1] [2] [3]. And here are the latest additions.
A lock box
So i had a show a few weeks ago where I forgot to bring my “money bag”. I keep a wad of $5 and $1 dollar bills in there so I’m always prepared. On the one evening that I left the bag at home, someone handed me a $50 bill in exchange for an album and some change. I spent roughly 10 minutes walking around the venue asking anyone if they had change for a $50. It made me realize how these little things can make a world of a difference. Carry change – in a box, a zipper bag, or even just an envelope.
A booking email account
Yea, you could use joe@joemusic.com but there’s something about having a booking@joemusic.com address that makes you look more professional. I can’t really prove it, but it changes how a booker relates to you the artist. Emails automatically become more formal, more of a business exchange and less of an anything goes “hey wanna do a show” thing. Its a formality, but it just looks more professional.
A lamp
It might sound silly (and we’ve talked about this before), but after playing in so many clubs, bars, and dark lit rooms, and going to these types of shows, I’ve noticed that artists with a lamp get more traffic at their merch table and, in most cases, sell a bit more “swag”. See WHAT’S YOUR MERCH SETUP?
Have any suggestions? Leave them in the comments section below.
