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10 Lessons from 10 Years in the DIY Underground

The post you’re about to enjoy was written by Lance Waste, vocalist and founding member of the indie punk band Darling Waste. Lance has spent more than a decade of his life building a career in music, and along the way he has been able to secure some amazing opportunities, including multiple song placements on major television networks. Through it all however, Lance has struggled to continue chasing his dreams while barely making enough to pay his bills and keep a roof over his head. Still, where there is a will there is a way, and in today’s guest post Lance shares the biggest lessons he has learned from his time in music. 

After you read Lance’s words, please head over to Bloody-Disgusting and watch the new video from Darling Waste. From there, follow the band on Twitter and give them a ‘Like’ on Facebook. Helping one another succeed is the fastest way for any of us to make it where we want to be, and we thank you for helping us help Lance further pursue his dreams.

Hi there. My name is Lance. Over the past 12 years I’ve been in an indie rock band. I’ve also ran a record label, ran an artist management firm and worked for various labels and management firms. A couple times over the years I’ve been approached to write books on touring or marketing your band and various things like that, but I’m really no expert and I’m not sure I have much to contribute that hasn’t been said a thousand times before. This is a list you’ve probably already read before, and you will probably roll your eyes at how obtuse and general these “Lessons” are, but I promise, they come from a place of honesty. If you follow them, you will succeed.

1. ART COMES FIRST. ALWAYS.

BE ORIGINAL BUT BE ACCESSIBLE. DEFINE WHAT YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU STAND FOR.  Work harder than anyone else. be obsessed.
The first thing I will say is this. Always put the music first. If you want to be romantic about it, art is the reason we are doing what we do. If you want to be practical about it, you are selling a product. That product is your music. It doesn’t matter how good of a salesman you are or how flashy your pitch and branding is, if the product ain’t there, nobody’s buying. Spend time thinking about who you are, what your music wants to say. Find your voice. Find that line between being original but being accessible. Don’t ape your favorite bands. But find a perfect blend of your influences while finding your original voice. Be tireless in perfecting your craft.

2. LEARN HOW TO PROPERLY RECORD YOUR MUSIC

There are no short cuts while being a DIY musician. You’ve got to write the songs, perform the songs, find like minded individuals who want to play your music, teach them your music, sometimes even write their parts for them and sometimes even teach them how to play their instruments. 

When it comes time to record you need to know your stuff as well. You could pay to go into a studio but the reality is you probably won’t have a good enough budget to get the sound you are looking for. So get a DAW, get an interface, get a couple of decent mics and start recording. Just like anything, practice makes perfect. Be diligent. Can’t get the sound you want? Unsure of how something works in your DAW? Youtube it. The answers are all there.

3. BOOK AND PROMOTE YOUR OWN SHOWS

Booking shows in your region is as simple as doing our homework and putting in the calls and emails. Often times I look up bands that are slightly larger than mine, I research their tour schedule and contact all of the venues and promoters they are working with in my region. I ask for available dates and send them a one sheet. Make sure you follow up. Don’t ask for more money than you are worth. If you can only bring 5 people to an out of town show don’t ask for $100 for gas. Why should a club or promoter pay out of their pocket for you to live out your rock n roll fantasy? Take door splits. Ask for food. You may lose a little money the first couple times out but nothing burns a bridge faster than getting a big guarantee you didnt earn. 

4. PLAN YOUR LIVE SHOW

Growing up, I loved music, comedy and magic. As i got older, I realised something they have in common: Each artform takes something that involves a ton of preparation and makes it seem effortless. In jazz, you can’t improv and solo before you have mastered the basic track. This is true for live music. You can’t have those “magic moments” during your live show if you don’t have your songs down perfect. Your will see your songs begin to evolve and take on lives of their own the more you play them. Over the years I learned to drive to the next town after the show. This way we would be hours early to the venue. We would have time to meet locals, promote the show, do radio interviews, lineup in store performances and get a great sound check. All while not being rushed or stressed for time. 

We play roughly the same set each night. We play around 45-60 minutes if we are headlining and 30-40 if we are opening. We have our first three songs and our last three songs practiced perfectly. They stay the same each show. Then we add in songs to the middle as needed. Before we start our tour we think of what type of set list we would like to have. We plan our lighting schemes (we use foot switches, smoke machines and work lights most of the time), and even plan out the segways and interludes between songs. I like to think of our live show as a Vegas show or a Broadway play. I always want it to be an experience the fans will remember. 

5. TOUR SMART

You don’t need to stay in hotels. That drains all of your cash. Sleep in the van. Or set up places to crash with your friends,fans and family. Ask the clubs and promoters for places to crash. Also as I said earlier, I like to drive to the next town after each show. Part of the reason is to have a great show the next day in the next town, but part of it is also to save on places to sleep. Rotate your drivers. One person drives for two hours, the copilot stays awake and plays the music. The Copilot is so vital to keep the driver awake and keep you all alive. Everyone else sleeps in the back. Every two hours, rotate. The Copilot drives, the driver sleeps, and  every two hours one of the sleepers becomes the Copilot. 

Also, try and plan your routes so there are no days off on tour. Nothing bankrupts a tour more than a day off. No income is coming in, everyone is bored and hungry and spending money. Book every day of the tour. Days off will happen anyway. Vans will break down, clubs will cancel, clubs will close unexpectedly.

6. BUY INTO THE LIFE …..

If you are in this to get rich, get out. Save yourself the years of disappointment. Spoilers: you won’t make millions. Especially if you are in a subgenre. My biggest idols barely make ends meet. Lead singers are living with girlfriend’s parents and their children are on WIC.

On the other end of things, you also can’t half ass this life. If you want to work a full time job, have a nice house and a social life, just resign now to make music a hobby. If you are going for the brass ring, mentally prepare yourself for the life of crashing on couches, eating dollar menus and having no real friends or relationships. 

Understand that touring at this level is to grow your name and your brand. It’s to show your music to people and to build a fanbase. Do not tour with the frame of mind that you will make money or even break even. If this is what you want out of life. Do it while you can. Do it full on. Take no prisoners.

7. ….BUT NOT THE LIFESTYLE

You are about to run a sleepless, thankless marathon with no monetary reward. No need to destroy your body in the process. The best way to not become an addict is to never start. Don’t cloud your mind with drugs and drinking. You aren’t a rockstar, no need to party like one. Also, most of them die. And being dead probably sucks, so no need to rush to it.

8.  REFUSE DRAMA

When I was young, I would watch football with my dad. I love the endzone celebrations. He loved when a player would score and hand the ball to the ref on his way back to the bench. He loved the quote “Act like you’ve been here before.” The older I get, the more I realize how right he was.

One thing I see at almost every local show is the one band (or one member of one band) kicking off. Getting loud and angry over something stupid. Usually time slots, sound checks, drink tickets etc. For some reason, bands think that being the loudest makes it look like you are important. It is absolutely the opposite.  The pros have seen it all before. We all want to play right in the middle of the show, in front of the biggest audience, but at the end of the day, we get that it’s just music, and it’s just not worth getting upset over most nights.

This also goes for drama in your band. If something happens on stage, wait until later to discuss it. Nothing is less professional than a band arguing before, after, or god forbid during the show. Also remember that things seem a lot less dire after a good night’s sleep.

9. BE KIND ALWAYS

One of the keys to our longevity is our kindness. Sure there are people I’ve fought with over the years, promoters and other bands who hate me. You can’t please all the people all the time. But I’ve learned the easiest way to exist in the DIY scene is to hold no grudges. There are promoters and bands I don’t work with anymore. Maybe they screwed us out of money or were just personalities I don’t gel with. That’s fine. I don’t hold any ill will. It’s just entertainment at the end of the day. Kindness is important and will get you far. Don’t yell at the sound guys. Don’t fight with the bartenders.  Strive to be the nicest guy in the room. Don’t back down on what your band needs to have a successful show. Don’t be a pushover. But find the nicest way to express yourself.

This goes for your fans as well. Don’t blow them off. The cute ones aren’t your personal playthings. Have restraint. And this should go without saying but never ever ever touch another band’s merch or gear. Ever.

10. TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND ENJOY.

Just by writing a song, releasing an album or getting up on stage in front of people ,you are doing something most people only dream of. If you are on tour, take lots of pictures. Keep a journal. Live blog each day. Record your memories and share them with others. This is a very special time in your life. Meet new people. Explore each new town. These will be the memories you cherish for a lifetime and the stories you tell your family for the rest of your life. Remember, live in the moment, don’t stay mad. Band members will quit. People will flake out on you. Your songs may flop. Fans will abandon you. You will make mistakes. Promoters will fuck you over. And it’s still awesome. Take a deep breath, relax and have fun.  

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MERCH ADVICE: Six Tips For Lowering The Cost Of T-Shirts

Hello, everyone! Thank you for finding some time in the midst of your assuredly hectic schedule to spend a few minutes on this site. The post you are about to enjoy was written with independent artists in mind, but the information being shared may be of use to record labels and signed musicians as well. Merchandising is a very important facet of life as an artist today, and we’re here to help ensure you keep your costs low.

This site exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

There are many ways to get attention for your band, but regardless of what tips and tricks you may have picked up throughout your experience in music there is nothing that can impact your career like a great hook or brilliant melody. This is not a theory or a thought, but rather proven fact that has worked for artists trying to make it in every corner of the music business. Everything else that follows, from touring to merchandise, must take a back seat to songwriting. 

All that aside, artists still need to make money. Music sales have dipped across the board over the last decade, and with streaming services like Spotify and Rdio on the rise it seems like the amount of money most artists see from their new releases will continue to dwindle for the foreseeable future. Great music still sells, yes, but only a fool would rely solely on the strength of their music sales to support themselves in the entertainment business. Merchandising beyond albums and singles is an absolute must in today’s music business, and the one item every artist can use to generate income while trying to craft that perfect song is a t-shirt. There are a billion ways to customize shirts, some far more expensive than others, but by considering the following tips you can keep costs low while furthering your marketing efforts:

——————  SUPER BASIC TIPS —————— 

  • Two-sided designs costs more than those with a design appearing on either the back or front.
  • Shirts requiring the use of many inks (colors) will cost more than those created using a single ink. 
  • Dark fabric often costs more than light fabric because more layers of ink must be applied in order for the design to stick

—————— THINGS TO CONSIDER —————— 

Large designs can make a big impact 

Why incur the cost of creating a two-sided shirt design when you can make a bigger, more cost effective impact with a large, single side design. The vast majority of printers charge the same rate for a design measuring 3”x5” as they do for those measuring 12”x12”. That said, not everyone is a fan of big designs, so it would be wise to check with your fan base prior to moving forward with any design.

Stop printing on both sides 

The occasional two-sided shirt design can be cool, but trying to cover both sides of every shirt you create will only raise the overall cost of merchandising. Using the knowledge you gained from the tip above regarding design sizes, artists should think twice before incurring a potentially unnecessary extra expense.

Use fewer ink colors

Fans of alternative and punk music have been one of the leading forces behind a recent trend toward more color-heavy shirts. Bands like A Day To Remember and Asking Alexandria have found great success with shirts featuring cartoonish designs and many bright colors. Similar branding efforts may work for smaller artists as well, but those musicians should first consider the additional costs incurred from use of multiple inks. The number rises with each color, and unless artists plan on ordering a large quantity of shirts up front (500+) the up front cost may be more than some are willing to pay for a few extra color. Our advice is this: Keep it simple. Try and use one color whenever possible unless you know the idea you have is going to be a hit with listeners.

Order larger quantities of shirts

We touched on this a bit in the tip above, but one way musicians can lower the cost of their merchandise is to increase the number of shirts they order at one time. The price due up front will increase, but the cost per unit will drop, which in turn raises the revenue potential for your order. 100 shirts are better than 50, but 500 shirts at a time would be an ideal place to start. Of course, if you don’t have an engaged audience large enough to support such an order then you should keep things small.

Consider offering shirts for a limited time only 

One way to cut out essentially all costs from merchandise orders is to create the exact number of items needed. Most print shops will tell you the per unit cost on whatever design you wish to print, as well as the number of units you must purchase in order to lower that cost. With this information in hand, artists can launch shirt designs that are available for a limited time as pre-sale only items. Once the purchasing period ends, artists can order the exact amount of shirts needed without having to make any investments out of pocket.

Think twice about upgrading your shirt choose to a fashion brand

One determining factor in how well your merchandise will sell is how comfortable that item is perceived to be. There was a time not that long ago when artists with shirts printed on any type of fabric would sell, but in an age where brands like American Apparel exist this is no longer the case. There is demand for high quality fabric, and if you meet that demand you will give listeners another reason to consider purchasing your 

—————— —————— —————— 

We have plans to share additional merchandising tips for bands in the weeks ahead. If you have an idea for a column, or if you have a question about merchandising and branding that you want us to answer, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We look forward to hearing from you.

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What Is Involved In Creating A Music Video?

Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for making time to visit our blog and spend a few minutes talking about life in the modern music business. The post you are about to enjoy was written by our friend Andrew Jones, founder of Checkered Owl Media. To learn more about his work, click here.

This blog exists to promote the future of the music industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your music-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

Every band wants a great music video, and they are right to. There is no other marketing tool quite as powerful.

When people first check out a band, most head straight to YouTube. When I have tested emails to see what promoters click on most, it’s always the videos. They are more sharable than an iTunes link and more engaging than a playlist. In fact, one study recently found that 91% of people check out a song on YouTube before purchasing. NINETY-ONE PERCENT! So, yes a great video is important.

But what does into a great video, what is the process? Everyone’s is a little different but here is mine, I tried to keep each section brief in order to give you a broad overview, any of these could be a blog post unto themselves:

Choosing a song

When a band decided to make a music video, the first step is to select a song. As a producer, sometimes I help with this process, but ultimately I leave it up to the band. Make sure to remember two things:

#1. Remember this video is going to be the first impression of your band, make sure it’s representative of your sound.

#2. Secondly, make sure there is a hook. Stick it in people’s mind’s and make sure they come back to watch again!

Writing a treatment

Next it’s time to write your treatment. This is what you will give to everyone else you want to bring on board.  A treatment outlines the core story, a few key visuals and the general feel and ethos of a project. Writing it should also force you to think through some of the issues of your video and make sure it’s cohesive. I always find it helpful to put a few pictures in as visual references for your other team members as well!

Writing a budget

Now that you have written your treatment you are ready to start to figure out your costs. Key things to remember are crew, location, gear (lights, cameras, rigging, etc.), costume, props, editing and FOOD! Trust me, hungry people aren’t fun people to get performances from.

Remember full scale videos are pricey. Most bands are poor. Find a balance and perhaps find a sponsor.

Hire crew

Next pick your crew! Most cities have a local film scene, find people that both do good work AND you like to work with. I don’t pick all my crew at this stage, but if there are key people you want in key positions get them locked down early so you can start co-ordinating schedules. Every shoot will require a different team, but to me the most critical positions on a music video are: Producer, Director, DP/Cinematographer, Make-up, Lighting, at least one swing/grip

Some of those positions can easily be combined, some can’t. Find people who know what they are doing!

Set locations

With treatment in hand, it’s time to go scouting! Find the places you created in your imagination! Hopefully you budgeted for at least a little set money…right?

Set schedule

Work with your key players, plan on everything taking 33% longer than you think it should.

Storyboard or Shot-By-Shot

music video story board rough example

Lots of people do this earlier but I like to really plan my shots at this point. I know my rough schedule, I know where we are shooting, I know who we are working with and what gear I will have at my disposal. Depending on the video, I may do a storyboard or shot-by-shot. A storyboard is more precise, which can be nice; but sometimes you want to feel things out rather than snag exact shots.

A storyboard includes drawings of all major shots and can be great help to some DPs. It should also include a brief shot description.

A shot-by-shot Lists every shot the director envisions. I typically also assign a shot number to each shot and include this in my scheduling.

Shoot

Nothing like it! Get everyone together and shoot everything you need. Don’t decide to fix it later, it always ends up being harder. Keep a creative and fun atmosphere. Be flexible. Listen to ideas from everyone, a lot of genius ideas can pop-up out of the blue!

Editing

This is obviously a huge topic with a million variables and worth about 5 blog posts.

In short, this is MY advice and workflow: My advice would be to use either Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premier. They are the industry standards for a reason. First you need to crank out a rough cut. Get a feel for all the clips, get them in an order that feels good, run it past a few friends. Once you are feeling good about the building block that you can get into the more finicky work of colour grading and getting a final cut that you feel really great about!

Marketing

Another whole world, which I blog about fairly often. But for this post suffice it to say, make sure you share your video. Use Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, E-mail lists and whatever else you have in your arsenal. Don’t be afraid to ask fans to share. Consider Facebook ads, consider YouTube ads.

Just make sure if you took the time to do everything I described above that you get that video OUT THERE!

This post was written by Andrew Jones, editor of Checkered Owl. It originally ran on his blog, but we loved it so much we felt it deserved to shared once more on ours. If you like his work and want to read more of his writing, or if you want to be super cool and offer him full time industry employment, reach out and connect with him on Twitter.

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Haulix Tips: Setting Up An Exclusive

In recent weeks we have talked a lot about breaking the ice with journalists, and the reaction from all of you has been overwhelming. We want to continue helping you lay the groundwork for a genre takeover, and today we’re outlining one avenue to ensuring your music reaches as many potential new fans as  possible: Setting up exclusives.

This probably will not come as a surprise, but bloggers LOVE exclusives. It’s the only original content aside from opinion pieces they have to get ahead of the competition, and if you play your cards right they may see your music as the latest ‘must hear’ piece of content on the net. 

The first thing you need to know about setting up exclusives is something everyone who succeeds learns early on: Relationships are everything. While bloggers are always open to discovering new music, but using their brand to back a new project is serious business, and most are not likely to jump at an offer from someone they are not familiar with. Before you even consider attempting to setup exclusives, make sure you’ve taken the proper steps to first introduce yourself and your efforts to the publication in question. This can be as simple as an email with a link to your music, or as over-the-top as a physical press kit sent to their home office. Either way, first impressions are everything. Journalists will associate everything you do and offer moving forward with however you first came on their radar, so make sure your introduction is fitting for the brand you’re trying to promote.

Secondly, make sure your requests provide the publication with everything they need in order to create great content. If you offer a song, make sure there is an mp3 and Soundcloud link ready to go. If it’s artwork or other information not available when making the initial offer, outline when the content will be available and provide as much supplementary information as possible. Keep in mind that time is something no journalist has to waste, so doing as much of the legwork as possible ahead of time reads to them as less work required on their part. It doesn’t guarantee they will bite, of course, but it never hurts to be present yourself as prepared as possible.

Finally, always keep in mind that every publication is different and not every piece of content you create will be loved by everyone. Even major artists sometimes struggles to lock in exclusives, so don’t be discouraged if your initial efforts fail. It can take awhile to properly network within the music industry, especially when you’re trying to get new content to people who are metaphorically drowning in unheard music, but with patience, kindness, and just a bit of chivalry you will see doors open in time.

I know some of you may be reading this and thinking, “As much as I love your attempts to help, nothing in the preceding paragraphs is all that description.” If that applies to you, pat yourself on the back because you, my friend, are correct. The reason we kept things vague this week is because there is no one way to setup an exclusive. Every publication is different, and the variety of things they each look for in potential exclusive content is as numerous as the number of sites in existence. Following our guidelines will aide you in getting your foot in the door, but after that point your continued success is on you. Still, in an attempt to be slightly more helpful, we asked a number offer industry peers to send us advice they had for bands hoping to setup exclusives. Here’s what they had to say:

“Be sure your pitch includes all the key information that the website will need in order to run the exclusive including what they’re premiering, when you’d like it to run, what you’re promoting and a bio/fact sheet on your band.” – Jamie Coletta, SideOneDummy Records

“I would highly recommend researching the proper editor (plus contact information) and send them your best pitch that exemplifies what the band has going on and showcases your top accolades.” – Jen Appel, The Catalyst Publicity Group

“Clear subject. Realized intent. Short body. Social links.” – Zack Zarrillo, PropertyOfZack.com

“I prefer to write about and promote my friends. Reach out to me on Twitter, start a conversation about a mutual interest. That’s a good place to start.” – Jacob Tender, Underthegunreview.net

“What I do is this: I approach a publication with an album, telling them that I’m seeking an exclusive with them. I allow them to listen to the album. I tell them they have 24 hours to say pass or take before I move on to the next publication.” – Josh Hammond, Publicist

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