100 Valuable Tips For Indie Artists

10 Things That Keep A Musician From Being Hired For A Lot Of Gigs

1. Unkempt (messy, dirty, etc.)
2. Poor equipment or equipment that keeps breaking
3. Bad attitude
4. Foul mouth
5. Putting down others
6. Sloppy playing
7. Not a team player
8. Not willing to carry his or her own weight
9. Inability to memorize songs and licks
10. Unwillingness to rehearse often

 10 Things You Could Sell At Gigs That You Might Not Have Thought About

1. Find inexpensive items at flea markets to sell as merchandise
2. Create your own line of jewelry or clothing
3. Get postcards made from band photos or photos you’ve personally taken on the road
4. Digital photos of you with your fans
5. Record or videotape your show and take pre-orders for the CD/DVD
6. Guitar straps or picks with your band name and/or logo on them
7. Products related to your brand (e.g. If you’re The Hearthrobs, you could sell small heart shaped pillows with your name, logo or picture on them)
8. Band Screensaver
9. Flash drive with your band name or logo on it, preloaded with your complete anthology, EPK and more.

10 Steps Toward Hitting Your Goals For This Year

1. Write them down and review them to see that they are realistic
2. Ask people you trust if the goals you set are the wisest goals to pick right now
3. Quantify them with a way to measure your progress towards them
4. Focus on the things you need first, then the goals you want
5. Break each goal in each category into small steps
6. Put them into a realistic timeline
7. Make sure they are honestly attainable within the time frame you specified
8. Create a schedule of events that will enable you to work steadily towards attainment
9. Get to work, taking one step at a time
10. Reward yourself each step of the way

 10 Things Most Drummers Love

1. Bass players who know how to play tightly with them
2. Help with their equipment
3. Having their own monitors
4. Hearing the bass and vocals prominently in the monitors
5. A bandstand that they fit comfortably on
6. Musicians with great timing and who don’t slow down or speed up at the wrong times
7. Drum solos, or at least a song to shine on (some – know your drummer!)
8. Getting paid the same as the other band members
9. Being challenged by more intricate songs
10. Easy load-ins

10 Considerations When Pricing Your Shows

1. The size of the room and price at the door
2. Are you the draw, or does the venue already have its ‘regulars’?
3. How far do you have to travel to get to the gig from home or from your last gig?
4. Is it prime time (Saturday night) or does it fill an open date or time slot?
5. Are you in demand?
6. Who is providing the light and sound?
7. Do you need to pay for hotel rooms or will the venue put you up?
8. How difficult is the load in?
9. How will playing that venue look on your resume?
10. What is the going rate for your kind of act in that venue?

 10 Things Singers Love

1. Bands that can change keys if necessary (e.g. singer has a sore throat and wants to sing some songs down a step)
2. Players who don’t step all over their vocals
3. A rhythm section that doesn’t speed up or slow down
4. Great monitors
5. Harmonies that are tight and on pitch
6. Room to move on stage
7. Bands with a great sense of dynamics
8. A secluded place to do warm up exercises
9. A tight and well rehearsed band
10. Cordless or headset mics

 10 Gigs You May Never Have Thought About Seeking Out

1. Senior centers
2. School dances or proms
3. House concerts
4. Nonprofit events
5. State parks and beaches
6. Campgrounds
7. Network marketing conferences
8. Riverboats and cruise ships
9. Store openings
10. Street fairs and block parties

 10 Things That Will Eat Up Or Waste Your Time If You’re Not Careful

1. Rehearsals that are not pre-planned
2. Musicians who aren’t prepared for rehearsals
3. Chasing down club owners who aren’t interested in your act
4. Ineffective social networking (there are right ways and wrong ways to network)
5. Getting lost going to a gig (use GPS)
6. Babysitting players who drink or get high
7. Chasing down musicians who are unreliable
8. Extremely demanding or over zealous fans
9. Chasing down or worrying about the band’s money
10. Obsessive text messaging or video games

10 Things You Should Study Constantly

1. The trends in your genre of music
2. The price of acts similar to yours
3. Effective marketing tools
4. Technologies as they apply to your performance or marketing
5. Other similar bands to see what they are doing to be more successful
6. Your instrument (including your voice)
7. The music business in general
8. Legal issues as they apply to you (e.g. changes in copyright law)
9. Current affairs in the cities you are performing in
10. Performing opportunities

10 Things That You Should Know Before You Show Up For A Gig

1. Name, address and phone number of the venue
2. Your contact at the venue
3. Performance time(s)
4. # of sets and set times
5. Total pay
6. Provisions for extending the length of the performance, if applicable
7. When and how you will get paid
8. Stage size and layout
9. What equipment is provided by the venue and what you have to provide
10. What kind of audience to expect