Suggestions for viable indie band business model?

[TomF]

So, the youngest and his friends are seriously considering their band. An ever-changing animal in terms of players, the two core guys are my lad and his best friend the bass player. Between the two, they've enough musical chops to develop into decent songs, with some guidance - and enough stage presence and charisma to "sell" a performance.

Is anyone familiar with resources to try and put together a viable business model for beginning creative artists these days? Whether specifically musicians, or other folks making a living from their performances and skills? I've got a bit of this, but only a bit - enough to know that the surest way to fail miserably is to put all your thought just into the music.

I find myself wondering about even what a decent set of goals would look like for indie musicians, in an era when being able to eat without going into debt is an achievement. Where would one look, for instance, to learn how the distribution models for music work, and what kinds of rights the artist needs to be careful to retain?

[leikec]

Re: Suggestions for viable indie band business model?

So, the youngest and his friends are seriously considering their band. An ever-changing animal in terms of players, the two core guys are my lad and his best friend the bass player. Between the two, they've enough musical chops to develop into decent songs, with some guidance - and enough stage presence and charisma to "sell" a performance.

Is anyone familiar with resources to try and put together a viable business model for beginning creative artists these days? Whether specifically musicians, or other folks making a living from their performances and skills? I've got a bit of this, but only a bit - enough to know that the surest way to fail miserably is to put all your thought just into the music.

I find myself wondering about even what a decent set of goals would look like for indie musicians, in an era when being able to eat without going into debt is an achievement. Where would one look, for instance, to learn how the distribution models for music work, and what kinds of rights the artist needs to be careful to retain?

I have a good book on the subject--somewhere. I'll look and see if I can find it and pm you.

Jeff C

[David G]

Re: Suggestions for viable indie band business model?

I'll be interested to see what surfaces. I have a young friend who has a hip-hop act. He does the traditional musician thing - having a day job to support his musical endeavors. We've talked a bit about how to make it in the industry, and my impression is that - despite some new channels for distribution - not much has changed. It's still a 'who you know' industry, and making it big still highly dependent upon both luck and the ability to PromotePromotePromote. And Promote some more. But that's just an impression - so I'm looking forward to hearing other perspectives.

[TomF]

Re: Suggestions for viable indie band business model?

Thanks Jeff. The kids have no illusions of superstardom, but they do have a moderately-greater-than-typical amount of talent ... and enough cheekbones and hair-growing-potential to cultivate "the look." And lots of performance presence.

The old joke in many sectors is that the quickest way to become a millionaire is to start with $2M and quit when it's half gone; truer here than most. It would be lovely enough if they found a way to keep themselves for a bit and end up a little ways ahead (or at least not a lot behind).

[oznabrag]

Re: Suggestions for viable indie band business model?

Sorry, this is all I got!

[amish rob]

Re: Suggestions for viable indie band business model?

What type of music, Tom?

Peace,
Robert

[TomF]

Re: Suggestions for viable indie band business model?

What type of music, Tom?

Peace,
Robert

Depends on the week Influences range from vintage Clash and Ozzie clear through to modern folks like Kurt Vile or even July Talk. They each also have played a bunch of blues and jazz standards, which adds a bit of flavour. Fans of folks like Radiohead, but nothing like that in complexity in anything they're doing yet. The lad's been a Highland Pipe and Drum snare drummer in an award winning band, so his drum grooves and fills are a bit more complicated and energetic than many.

It's gonna probably settle out somewhere near a bluesier and more driven version of Kurt Vile.

[Vince Brennan]

Re: Suggestions for viable indie band business model?

1: Never play the same gig twice for "the exposure". Exposure is how you develop pneumonia. Playing a gig for little or no money is fine... ONCE. If they ask you to come back, you did something right, so have your manager start negotiating the money side. Remind the manager that the more YOU get, the more THEY get, and if they can't produce, change managers.

2: NEVER sign a "Personal Contract" to a manager unless you have Vito C. in your pocket. Yes, you can break them but it's usually expensive and if the manager is not producing, you can't switch managers.

3: DO go advertise a LOT at open mic's and the like, but see rule 1 for actual bookings.

4: Be the "Good Time NOT Had By All"... Keep a bit of mystery/reserve to titillate the audience.

5. Gauge your music to the audience/crowd! I once took a blind booking from he who became Napoleon XIV. At the time,I had a 'folkie' trio but the gig (which he didn't bother to inform me) was a volunteer firehouse and they wanted Sinatra and Como stuff. Luckily we escaped with our instruments but no paycheck. I didn't talk to him for six months.

6. Be at least decent... Able to play, everything committed to memory, ready to go at the bell. DON'T DRINK PRIOR!

If the band is good and the music is good, there's always somewhere to play that'll pay. My Irish trio could have been booked every weekend, but we had lives in addition to the music, so we stayed large fish in a small pond and were quite happy about it. The sky's the limit and the only factors to stop them are talent and luck.

Best of luck to them.

[amish rob]

Re: Suggestions for viable indie band business model?

http://www.jazzfresno.org/content/view/18/

Check out this guy, is one reason I ask. I've known him for some time. He's a working musician. Basically, he plays music to, support his band. Really.
He plays funk tuba like nobody, too.

This is just one way it can work, especially for hyper-talents.

Peace,
Robert

[Landrith]

Re: Suggestions for viable indie band business model?

I have a friend that owns a small city's only Alt/Punk bar. Some acts play it as a regular stop over on the highway to big cities but he encourages regionals and locals. He finds that very few locals do any marketing for a gig and that it makes all the difference, especially since social media has lowered the cost to almost nothing.

[Paul Pless]

Re: Suggestions for viable indie band business model?

Depends on the week Influences range from vintage Clash and Ozzie clear through to modern folks like Kurt Vile or even July Talk. They each also have played a bunch of blues and jazz standards, which adds a bit of flavour. Fans of folks like Radiohead, but nothing like that in complexity in anything they're doing yet. The lad's been a Highland Pipe and Drum snare drummer in an award winning band, so his drum grooves and fills are a bit more complicated and energetic than many.

It's gonna probably settle out somewhere near a bluesier and more driven version of Kurt Vile.

No hiphop or bubble gum country pop??? They'll remain forever broke. . .

[TomF]

Re: Suggestions for viable indie band business model?

No hiphop or bubble gum country pop??? They'll remain forever broke. . .

Probably. That observation is simply lousy with silver linings

[Chip-skiff]

Re: Suggestions for viable indie band business model?

When I was a uni undergrad, I started playing in club bands, rock and soul, mostly rhythm guitar and back-up vocals. After I graduated, I worked on a wildland fire crew during an active fire season and banked so much OT that I could afford a really good PA system, mixing board, mics, stands, etc. That pretty much gave me the pick of the local musicians. As a grad student, I started a cover band that played dance hits (good stuff, not cheese or bubblegum) and got a regular solo gig at a different club, doing acoustic standards and taking requests. I also got a job in a music shop, mostly to get discounts on gear, which branched out into doing contract repair work for 3-4 music shops. At that point, I was supporting myself with music.

Did that for about ten years, with breaks for summer jobs in the outdoors, when I'd rent my PA to the folks in the band so they could keep gigging.

Over the years, I learned a few things about the local music biz:

1. Learn what the ops are for your area. What clubs book live acts? What promoters book opening acts for touring shows? What student and campus orgs hire bands for events? Are there street fairs? And so on. Do some legwork: go to clubs to catch live acts, talk to the musicians on their breaks, and talk to the bartenders, giving them a flyer or CD. At the local level, a manager is just another expense. Only one of the bands I was in had a booking agent, and he put us in some pretty dodgy gigs, just to collect his cut.

Fredericton seems to be a good area for local music, with unis and arts events.

"An important cultural, artistic, and educational centre for the province, Fredericton is home to two universities, the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design, and cultural institutions such as the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, the Fredericton Region Museum, and The Playhouse, a performing arts venue. The city hosts the annual Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival, attracting regional and international jazz, blues, rock, and world artists."

2. Be able to present your work. We had cassettes with different mixes, one leaning toward C & W, one rock hits, and one for upmarket clubs: broadway show tunes, jazzy stuff, light rock, lots of harmony vocals. For other bands (acoustic folk, blues, and swing; bluegrass) I put together a mixtape of part studio and part live, with audience reaction. Now, you might have a CD, or downloadable MP3 files, or post cuts on YouTube. But the basic idea is that to get hired, you have to be heard.

3. Work hard to promote your band. We did our own posters, putting them up ourselves, with the help of friends. We also kept a clip file of news items, photos, etc. and made photocopied collages of positive coverage, to hand out with the cassettes. Most bands accumulate followers who are dying to help with this sort of thing.

4. Get serious: rehearse and record your rehearsals, with regular playback sessions to identify problems and fix them. Work particularly on dynamics (varying sound levels) and vocal harmony. Identify at least one person who can engage with the crowd between songs, and put them up front. Be entertaining— learn some jokes or brief comedy monologues. Nothing's more boring than watching a bunch of musicians (no matter how hot) tune up and mutter about what song to play next. Craft your set lists for each gig, rather than playing the SOS in the same order. A good act creates momentum, and sweeps the crowd up in the energy.

5. Always set up early and do a sound check, playing your demo through the PA system. I used to measure dB levels with a meter to find dead spots and ID feedback problems. If you're depending on a house PA system, a sound check is mandatory. With a bad mix, you can play and sing really well and sound really crappy.

6. Be flexible— if you only play one style, you'll limit your appeal. Most people enjoy more than one sort of music. Throw in a couple songs per set from different genres, or mix it up— my most successful group, moneywise, had a single rule: play stuff we all like. Each member would audition a song or two at each practice and if it passed, would teach it to the band, fixing the arrangement. You can also recast popular songs in your own style (e.g. Beatles bluegrass, or Rawhide by the Dead Kennedys).

7. Expand your range and sound spectrum— three guitars and drums is the industry standard. Having keyboards or a sax (or Uillean pipes, whatever) helps. Having a female vocalist helps more. Having two female vocalists is killer: you can charge double.

Once you're established locally and want to start travelling, it helps to work out the logistics in advance: bank account, tax records, vehicles, expenses, lodging, etc. A booking agent will find gigs, but they seldom handle the gritty details. If you're making enough money to need a manager, you'll need one– look for solid business chops.

There's an hour of daylight, poof! Wish them luck from me.

[TomF]

Re: Suggestions for viable indie band business model?

Thanks so much Chip. That is one whole lot of help.

[Chip-skiff]

Re: Suggestions for viable indie band business model?

Thanks so much Chip. That is one whole lot of help.

A lot of what I know is old news. These days, instead of photocopying posters, they might find a video wizard and spend their PR time on FaceBook, Instagram, etc.