To boil it down to an acronym, "F.I.A.: Friends, Influences & Appearances."
In the beginning, there is a band or a solo artist, with the following assets: 1. Name. 2. Song/Songs 3. Friends. The problem is, how do you go from that, to being a recognized Artist with an album length release, booking agent and fans (as evidenced by a mailing list, streaming plays on the internet, and acknowledgment by critics.)
One of the impacts of digital era technology is the explosion in the number of Artists who are "getting in the game" with zero prior experience. The break-through success of a few of these artists serves to obscure the ground work that they do to create the appearance of a "break-through." One of the main things that new Artists in this category need to bear in mind is that jumping high is easier if you are standing on a platform that is raised off the ground. That pre-fashioned step can take the form of work in prior bands, professional experience inside the music industry or even formal education, but if you lack any of these traits, you might want to consider starting with a blog.
Blogs are good because they allow the new Artist total control over their image. Unfortunately, merely starting a blog does not ensure an audience, and that is where the "FIA" acronym comes in handy- following those three principles is the best way to develop an audience for your project.
1. FRIENDS: For the ground-zero Artist, nothing is more important then friends. Friends are more important then Shows, more important then Songs and frankly, even more important then the underlying merit of Songs. Friends are people who will pay attention to your project EVEN IF IT SUCKS. A key insight that I feel is often missing from younger artists is that they can band together in a group to help one of their number rise in prominence- it's not always predictable who and how it will happen, but if you are sitting in a room, reading this on a computer monitor, you need to realize your chances are better in a group then all alone. This grouping can be as simple as "we all go to the same high school.;" or "we put on diy shows together." More advanced examples can be starting a record label, forming side projects, but generally speaking the idea here is to generate activity that the non-interested can take notice of. The "FRIENDS" level is where the internet truly makes it possible for "SOMETHING" to arise from "NOTHING" provided there is underlying merit in at least one of the Artists.
2. INFLUENCES: I think many young Artists feel like the first thing to do after starting a blog is to "POST A SONG" but this is a big mistake. It's more important that you establish some context for people who are going to be listening to you on the internet. There should be no shame in not feeling prepared to post original songs, provided you limit the information provided on your blog. The obvious solution is by blogging about "INFLUENCES." Influences can be classic acts from decades ago, bands that are still in existence or your buddies projects. Influences can be musical or non-musical. By blogging about influences, you can create an audience for your own music, so choose wisely and carefully.
3. APPEARANCES: If you have managed to generate some measurable attention from FRIENDS & INFLUENCES, you can use your blog to discuss Appearances, either of you, or your FRIENDS projects. The key here is not the size of the audience for these Appearances, only that an audience an exist and the idea that it ought to be expanded over the course of time.
The idea behind using a blog to promote a specific artistic project lies in providing CONTEXT to the AUDIENCE. It is also a useful way to generate feedback. A lack of interest is negative feedback. An email from a record label is positive feedback. New Artists need to be equally prepared for both, but there is no reason to speed the songs being made public- that is the beauty of the Internet and Technology for new Artists.
It also opens this process up to much smaller geographic areas then was possible prior to technology. Personally, I think an Audience of 50 people in a specific city is enough to generate interest to launch a musical act nationally. According to my Business Control Atlas, there are 316 different markets in the United States alone with more then 12,000 people between the age of 18-34. 50 people is less then one half of one percent (60 people.) Those same markets each have at least 10,000 people between the age of 5-17- perhaps the low end for a potential audience, but certainly young people can play an equal or greater role- especially today. That 316 market figure contains every city in the United States with more then 55,000 population.
In conclusion, if you are one person in a small town with artistic inclinations reading this and wondering what to do next, you could do worse then "start a blog and find one person to read it who lives nearby." Nor is this process limited to those big markets- Oxford Mississippi boasts a variation on what is described in this post, and they don't even belong to a specifically defined market. (close to Memphis and Jackson, though.)
In the beginning, there is a band or a solo artist, with the following assets: 1. Name. 2. Song/Songs 3. Friends. The problem is, how do you go from that, to being a recognized Artist with an album length release, booking agent and fans (as evidenced by a mailing list, streaming plays on the internet, and acknowledgment by critics.)
One of the impacts of digital era technology is the explosion in the number of Artists who are "getting in the game" with zero prior experience. The break-through success of a few of these artists serves to obscure the ground work that they do to create the appearance of a "break-through." One of the main things that new Artists in this category need to bear in mind is that jumping high is easier if you are standing on a platform that is raised off the ground. That pre-fashioned step can take the form of work in prior bands, professional experience inside the music industry or even formal education, but if you lack any of these traits, you might want to consider starting with a blog.
Blogs are good because they allow the new Artist total control over their image. Unfortunately, merely starting a blog does not ensure an audience, and that is where the "FIA" acronym comes in handy- following those three principles is the best way to develop an audience for your project.
1. FRIENDS: For the ground-zero Artist, nothing is more important then friends. Friends are more important then Shows, more important then Songs and frankly, even more important then the underlying merit of Songs. Friends are people who will pay attention to your project EVEN IF IT SUCKS. A key insight that I feel is often missing from younger artists is that they can band together in a group to help one of their number rise in prominence- it's not always predictable who and how it will happen, but if you are sitting in a room, reading this on a computer monitor, you need to realize your chances are better in a group then all alone. This grouping can be as simple as "we all go to the same high school.;" or "we put on diy shows together." More advanced examples can be starting a record label, forming side projects, but generally speaking the idea here is to generate activity that the non-interested can take notice of. The "FRIENDS" level is where the internet truly makes it possible for "SOMETHING" to arise from "NOTHING" provided there is underlying merit in at least one of the Artists.
2. INFLUENCES: I think many young Artists feel like the first thing to do after starting a blog is to "POST A SONG" but this is a big mistake. It's more important that you establish some context for people who are going to be listening to you on the internet. There should be no shame in not feeling prepared to post original songs, provided you limit the information provided on your blog. The obvious solution is by blogging about "INFLUENCES." Influences can be classic acts from decades ago, bands that are still in existence or your buddies projects. Influences can be musical or non-musical. By blogging about influences, you can create an audience for your own music, so choose wisely and carefully.
3. APPEARANCES: If you have managed to generate some measurable attention from FRIENDS & INFLUENCES, you can use your blog to discuss Appearances, either of you, or your FRIENDS projects. The key here is not the size of the audience for these Appearances, only that an audience an exist and the idea that it ought to be expanded over the course of time.
The idea behind using a blog to promote a specific artistic project lies in providing CONTEXT to the AUDIENCE. It is also a useful way to generate feedback. A lack of interest is negative feedback. An email from a record label is positive feedback. New Artists need to be equally prepared for both, but there is no reason to speed the songs being made public- that is the beauty of the Internet and Technology for new Artists.
It also opens this process up to much smaller geographic areas then was possible prior to technology. Personally, I think an Audience of 50 people in a specific city is enough to generate interest to launch a musical act nationally. According to my Business Control Atlas, there are 316 different markets in the United States alone with more then 12,000 people between the age of 18-34. 50 people is less then one half of one percent (60 people.) Those same markets each have at least 10,000 people between the age of 5-17- perhaps the low end for a potential audience, but certainly young people can play an equal or greater role- especially today. That 316 market figure contains every city in the United States with more then 55,000 population.
In conclusion, if you are one person in a small town with artistic inclinations reading this and wondering what to do next, you could do worse then "start a blog and find one person to read it who lives nearby." Nor is this process limited to those big markets- Oxford Mississippi boasts a variation on what is described in this post, and they don't even belong to a specifically defined market. (close to Memphis and Jackson, though.)
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