Wednesday, June 27th, 2007
WHy playing live is so important
Playing your music out live is vital for a band/artist for many reasons.
Putting on a concert or playing a gig enables you to get your music out there and make people aware of your band. You can also sell merchandise and CD’s at gigs, promote your website and network with people. Playing live performances means you can build up a fan base and get immediate feedback about you and your music.
Without this vital connection, how do you expect people to know you exist? Relying on the internet alone for your promotional needs won’t be enough if you want to build a larger and more dedicated fan base. Here are some tips:
Make sure you have some business cards with all your contact details and website info on to distribute @ gigs. You can get some free cards @ vistaprint.com. It’s also good to do up fliers to give to people with details of your myspace and upcoming shows.
Contact the local press and put posters up to help promote your gig. Build a mailing list and collect mobile numbers to inform people of your upcoming show. The more people you can get out, the more impressed the venue/promoter will be and the more likely they are to re-book you or put in a good word with their friends.
AT THE CONCERT no matter how small or big, here are some pointers:
Never ever put you or your band down. Be positive. Be prepared to sweat a lot. If anyone heckles you, remember, who’s got the mic and the big speakers? Don’t be afraid to make eye contact. Do a set list for each band member and try to stick to it. Tune your guitars with a guitar tuner and carry spare strings. Be polite with the staff and punters. Advertise your website or myspace between songs. Introduce each song but don’t waffle on. Offer any merchandise you have for sale. Don’t be afraid to tell any sound engineer what you want (more vocals in the monitor, your guitar turning up/down) Speak clearly. And most important of all HAVE FUN because if you are having fun then so too will the audience.
Playing live can be a bit nerve racking and if you have never played live and are weary and not sure what to expect you could try attending a local open mic night and get a taster for live performance there. In the UK there are open mic nights in all the big towns and cities. The only way to build your confidence is to go out there and do it. You will be amazed out how gigging will help boost your confidence and help build a solid fan base.
By Clare Dowling from The Moot. I have played over 100 shows so far and love it!
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Posted By moot @ 7:51 PM
Author's site: http://www.myspace.com/themoot
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digitaltraffic's comment posted August 23rd @ 9:29 AM:
RE: Why playing live is so important....
selling your music at your gigs.
When artists play live do they sell their music mp3s from their laptops ?
Take a laptop / computer setup to all your gigs with a copy of all your tracks and albums etc.
Setup a point / stall / booth / gig team / invite fans to buy a copy of your music - you could advertise this service on your flyers / tickets.
The fan simply hands over the mp3 player / USB device - and gets a copy straight onto the device for a relatively small price within seconds.
The artists saves a fortune in CD pressing etc and the fan is happy because they now have your music straight onto their players.
Obviously you have to cater for ipods etc - but with a little bit of thought and organisation you could be making more money out of your live events.
You could also offer the mp3s as freebies to promote the band.
digitalTRAFFIC
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Commentors site: http://www.digitaltraffic.biz |
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paul_nye's comment posted August 23rd @ 11:07 AM:
The only comment I have to say about "Playing Live" is do not talk to the sound engineer into the mic about your monitor needs, etc. Make arrangements to have either a separate monitor mix or a stage hand to communicate to the FOH engineer. It is very tacky to tell the FOH engineer what you need in the monitor. They also have the power to make you sound really bad. Let them do their job. The monitor mix is way different from the FOH mix. If you don't like the monitor mix, talk to a stage hand and/or the monitor mix engineer about what you want. Don't announce it to the FOH engineer for your audience to hear. Oh, by the way, playing live IS very important. I've done over 5,000 shows "live."
Commentors site: http://www.paulnye.com |
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conversation_suicide's comment posted September 2nd @ 8:04 PM:
Yup. HAVE TO agree, playing out and about is WHAT it's all about! It's true there are Studio Musicians and many artists who after years of touring, retired to studio only, but by and large: IT's ALL ABOUT the LIVE SHOW! Have to be POSITIVE and interact with the audience and go FULL-TILT to entertain.
Stage fright does exist, but for MOST performers, once you get a taste of the thrill of having folks CLAP, CHEER and DANCE/MOSH/MOVE to something you WROTE and are performing LIVE; you'll only want MORE and MORE! I've been playing/singing LIVE myself for over 10 years, and hundreds of shows, and even to a Small crowd of 10-20 people, I still give it my all, in hopes of a little adoration/praise/connection or some NEW fans! For just a MILD case of stage fright, all you need to do is be sure you, and the rest of your crew, are practiced & prepared and then JUMP on the stage EVEN if your knees are knockin'. 'Cause guess what? The audience can't see that usually, and once you get into your FLOW or ZONE, it won't matter!
If one has SERIOUS stage fright about any type of LIVE performance, than it's quite possible one should remove PERFORMER from the resume... There's nothing wrong with a person who prefers to stay in the studio. BUT... for MOST artists, GO OUT AND PLAY! It's the SHIT and if you do it up RIGHT your building future fans that won't fergit!
-Much Love for the Independent Original Music Scene,
Phlegm of Conversation Suicide
Commentors site: http://www.iacmusic.com/conversationsuicide |
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