100 Tips and Ideas For Indie Artists

Tell a joke or 2 (only if you’re good at it)
Play a comedy song
Play a fun song that people love to sing along to (not a kid’s song)
Play a song that makes people want to clap along
Banter with one specific member of the audience in a fun way
Play a strong dance song (in a dance room, of course)
Use props, if appropriate
Ask for requests instead of just guessing what they might want to hear
Tell a good short story – such as telling why you wrote the next song you’re going to play
Before your show or set, introduce yourself to some of the audience members. Then call on them or introduce them by name from stage.

Ignoring the audience – audiences want to be engaged
Ignoring each other – no interaction among the band members makes it look like they’re not having fun
Take extra long solos that bore the audience
Not playing what the audience wants to hear
Playing too loudly
Having a poor mix – vocals drowned out, guitar too loud etc, not EQed for the room
Drinking too much or getting high
Playing out of tune and/or singing off pitch
Fighting/arguing with an audience member
Fighting/arguing with, or hitting on someone from the venue (waitress, manager etc.)

An Accountant/Financial Advisor
A Mentor – someone who is or has been where you want to be
An Entertainment Attorney
A Manager (even if he/she isn’t your manager, just to get some advice)
Your Raving Fans – those fans who follow you everywhere, buy your music as soon as it comes out etc.
A good Videographer/Photographer
A Producer who ‘gets you’ and can deliver the sound you want
Someone to help manage your fan list or fan club
Other musicians – you never know when you’re going to need a fill-in, or when they might need you to fill in.
Networking organizations, both in and outside of the business

Prove that you draw fans to your gigs
Show that you know how to keep audiences from leaving
Be professional – start and break on time, dress properly etc.
Show that you can win any crowd
Show that you can sell more food or drinks (whatever the establishment sells)
Be willing to be flexible with your playing time, sleeping rooms, rehearsal times
Go the extra mile – play longer if the audience wants you to and the venue says it is OK
Create a demand for your act
Stick around after shows until every audience member who wants to speak with you has had the chance
Do your own promotion instead of relying on the venue to promote you.

Bring a portable microwave or hot plate and cook in your room.
Bring an electric coffee pot.
Stay with fans instead of in hotels.
Use www.BetterThanTheVan.com to find free places to stay.
Join your local the YMCA/YWCA if you like to swim or workout. Your membership is good almost everywhere.
Find discount restaurant coupons online as soon as you get to town.
You’ll find all kinds of coupons in ‘The Entertainment Book’ (www.entertainment.com). Buy 1 for any region you’ll be in a while or will be returning to in the course of a year.
Trade out performing a fan house concert for a place to stay and maybe some meals (still sell CDs and merchandise).
Take advantage of free happy hour snacks (but don’t get drunk doing it).
Avoid driving during stop-and-go rush hour traffic.

Guitar: strings, picks and a strap
Extra fuses and tubes, if your amp uses them
Drummer: drum sticks and drum heads
Extra batteries – every kind that you need to complete a gig
A flashlight and small toolkit
Extension cords
Extra cords – carry at least one spare of everything you use, including power cords.
Backup computer battery
A duplicate of any tracks, sequences etc. that you use for the gig.
Backup microphone

Confirm the gig 1-2 weeks before the scheduled date
Confirm the start and end times as well as the break times
Be on time for set-up, sound check, the first set and every set all night long
End on time so the staff can go home, unless the audience wants you to stay longer and you OK it with the buyer/manager
Ask the buyer what his or her expectations are for the night before the gig, then do everything you can to help meet them
Stay clean and sober during the gig
Deliver a knockout performance every night no matter how many people are in the room
Be everything that your promotional materials say you are and more
Offer to help in any way that you can outside of your job description as the entertainer
Cater to the audience 100%