Wow. When one first starts to think about being a musician you are lured into the whole romantic version of the career that you see on TV. Some dude (or dudette) writes some good tunes, is found by mainstream or underground media, is signed to a label of some sort and then just travels a lot and plays gigs and makes some money.
I was not naive when I left the comfort of my bureaucratic job to be a musician. I knew it was going to be hard. I just didn't realize how hard. The hardest aspects of this business aren't actually the songwriting or performing (not that they're easy); it's the business end of the stick that hurts. Promotion and marketing, two things which are essential to the success of any new enterprise are incredibly difficult to implement and see results in the music world.
First they require money. There's only so far that Facebook invites will get you. You need posters, freebies, and other things.
Second you need to know people. Network. For a social phobe like myself, this is actually a lot harder than I thought it would be. A lot of it probably has to do with my age in that I'm not of an age where going out 5-6 nights a week to see shows and meet people in the industry is feasible. My body just can't take it anymore (plus it requires money that I don't have). But getting people to respond to emails/calls for bookings or reviews is like pulling teeth. Bloggers, reviewers and bookers are exceptionally hardworking, busy people, and getting their attention requires a jumbo jet to land on their lawn.
Anybody out there have any tried and true methods for getting some notice?
Also, if you like our music please pass it on to your friends, it would be very much appreciated.
Cheers,
Alex
