Musing No. 10 – The Beast Can Make Or Break You.

So on goes my quest to help out all the little guys out there who want to make great music but don’t have the promotional bucks of Nickelback. (Speaking of Nickelback – is it just me, or do all their songs sound oddly the same? Maybe I don’t get it….yeah they have great words and all in their new songs, but do you think they could spring for a few different chords? Sorry – back to the topic).

But Damn, They look cool with their guitars.

I would like to emphasize the power of loyalty. This is very similar to what we in the business world refer to as the power of the local market. It’s very simple – if the audience feels a connection to you because of your sharing of the same location, then they will be loyal to you to the end. For instance, we here in Grand Rapids, love our ‘Red Hot Chili Peppers’ – being as they are a native Grand Rapid band. Red Hot Chili Peppers returns that loyalty by letting it be known that Grand Rapids is where their roots are, and then they throw us a bone with ‘Especially In Michigan’ a track that get’s frequent play in these parts. It’s a very basic concept, but one you had best learn – your home base will always be your strongest.

What? You mean people outside of Grand Rapids don't wear helmets all the time?

Now when you are smaller band – the rivalry will be between cities. When I lived in New York, the Capital Region (Albany) bands got much more love than the (sometimes better) bands from Poughkeepsie or Syracuse. Why - because they were from your scene. And they let it be known where they were from every show. Their crowds would follow them to all over the state to hear them play the same damn songs, lol, because they were one of them.

The Beast Looks Hungry....

Just remember wherever you go – keep your home base in mind. Create a street team, where they can help you out with promotions, and you can give them free shit. Give away freebies at the home shows - letting the crowd know that you don’t do this for anyone else. That makes it even more powerful – because it combines the power of loyalty with the power of free stuff – two marketing dynamos, especially when it comes to the music industry.

Now in contradiction – if you don’t acknowledge your home base any differently than you do any other crowd – if you don’t remember ‘the little guy’ when you go big….or bigger anyways – then they will make you bleed. They will tear you apart.

Remember this from Oz? This is you if you forget your home base....Not cool.

Always remember where you came from as a musician, always remember the hometown – because they are ultimately your foundation, and will almost always be your biggest fans and biggest promoters.

End of Musing No. 10