Random Questions (and Answers) About Music & Marketing
So you’ve sent us alot of questions in the past few months. Even though we regularly answer them for our Ask Grassrootsy segment, we thought we’d give short answers to some of the ones that have been lingering for quite a while. Here goes… Question by ~Blues Love & Trouble (Dallas, TX) Do you have resources/packagesfor DIY [...]
6 Tips For Making The Most of Every Open Mic
Open Mics can either be a huge waste of time or the most rewarding experience for a newcomer. That outcome is usually up to you. Below are some tips for making the most your of 2-song show; because in most cases, 2 songs are all you got! CALL AHEAD The website might say 9pm [...]
An Interview With David Craver of OpenMic.us
If you’ve been playing out for any amount of time, chances are you’ve been to OpenMic.us. It’s the world’s largest and most extensive resource for finding, you guessed it, Open Mics! In today’s post we interview Atlanta-based musician and founder, David Craver. He gives short but sweet advice on how to make it as a [...]
5 Easy Ways to Get Last Minute Shows
If you’re a touring artist, no doubt you often find yourself looking to fill a random Tuesday or Sunday evening while on tour. Finding a good show can be hard to do, especially when you’re two weeks out. Here are some ways to fill a last minute hole. ASK TO BE AN OPEN MIC FEATURE [...]
Starting From Scratch: Tips for the Brand Spankin’ New Musician
This is a post I’ve been meaning to write for quite a long time. Having talked to many of our readers online, I realize you all are coming from different places in your careers. Some folks have been playing for years, some have been touring for years, and some of you are closet musicians. Well, [...]
Breaking Into a New Scene
A good friend of mine has just moved to a new city and has, for the most part, put his music on hold. He doesn’t know much about the music scene, he doesn’t have any fans in the area, and he doesn’t know where the good venues are. Maybe you’re running into something similar – [...]
The Best Way to Book a Tour
Booking is hard. Here are some valuable tips on how to hopefully make things a bit less stressful. If you have other tips, post them in the comments section. 1. Start with the Weekend Where do you want to spend your weekend? Book your Friday and Saturday gigs first? Its likely that these will be [...]
The Things You’ll Hate To Do…But Should Do Anyways #2
To see the first post in this series, visit The Things You’ll Hate To Do…But Should Do Anyways #1. Ummm…read! I imagine this is hard for many musician (and not just me), but you’ll find that when you do take the time to read magazines like American Songwriter, Music Connection, or BMI Music World (i think you must [...]
10 Things I Learned from my 10-day Tour
Ok, so it was an 11-day tour, but 10 sounds better. 1. Think Locally. You don’t have to put 5 hours of driving between every show. That’s lame. Put show 1, 2, or 3 hours apart. You’ll minimize your driving and have more time to lay low in between gigs. Just because you’re on tour [...]
What Do You Think About Local Touring?
THE ARTIST: Samuel Storm (Pittsburgh, PA) THE QUESTION: What are your thoughts on “local” tours, including “Open Mic” performances as part of the tours? THE ANSWER: Hey Samuel, I think it depends on what your definition of “local touring” is. Do you mean touring within the same city or touring in the same region – [...]
Pursuing Music as a College Student
We’re only a few weeks away from the start of Fall Semester, so its about time to start thinking college booking. I was hanging with a friend of mine, Ife Kehinde, a few months back and we were talking about how to score college gigs while living as a student. The following thoughts will apply [...]
Stand-out Artists and What We Can Learn from Them #1
This post probably isnt anything new in relation to other posts on this blog. But here’s a spotlight of some artists you may/may not have heard of who are doing some interesting things to make a name for themselves. I think the best way to get better at what you do, is by surrounding yourself with people [...]
Helping Yourself #3
Here is the 3rd installment in this “Helping Yourself” series. Also check out the Helping Yourself #1 and Helping Yourself #2 posts. To recap, Derek Sivers wrote a blog called “Nobody’s Going to Help You. Does that encourage you or discourage you?“ Several singer-songwriters and industry reps responded to the post with their two cents. Here is [...]
