Friends,
I’m in a small but getting bigger band called Birdmonster. Yes, I chose a rather creative log-in didn’t I? Onwards.
I read Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point a few months back and was really intrigued, as I assume most readers were, by it’s principles, strategies, and so on. I’m hoping this thread can work as a way for people like yours truly and other artsy types figuring out a way to make music a substitute for paralegal-ing, substitute teaching, or whatever 9 to 5 floats your finances. In other words, how do we find the mavens, the connectors, etc. The tried & sometimes not that true methods of mailing lists, free stuff, and press kits definately need some suplimenting. A few ideas on my end:
-Tribe.net is a good community of artistic minded people, at least in SF. I know other cities have it as well (Dallas being, I think, the originator). We’ve made contacts here that have dominoed outwards.
-Myspace.com : dorky but valuable.
-Free shows : Putting on a good free show has always gotten us more fans than a paid one.
-Some people seem shy about signing a mailing list. We always send someone through the crowd getting emails. A little pushy, yeah, but it works.
I’ll think of more, I’m sure, it’s just that my aforementioned 9 to 5 has it’s teeth in. Until soon:
-Justin