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How to be a good support act: Part 1 - Getting a gig and preparing for the show

2014-04-16T08:35:09+00:00

J Willgoose, Esq. performs for Public Service Broadcasting as part of a �� Introducing showcase

UPDATE: Read part 2; Dealing with the show day, here.

When I first spoke to �� Introducing about writing an article about support bands, I thought – and still do now – that such a guide would need to start with a few caveats, so best to get those out of the way first. The most important one is that I am not pretending to know everything about being a support band, playing live, headlining and so on. The below advice is based solely on my own experience playing in bands for over ten years and experiencing countless support slots of our own, as well as having had many support acts playing with us as headliners.

The second is that this is almost entirely based on the practical aspects of being a support act and offers no advice on musical content or the quality of that content.

The third is that this applies mostly to what I would call ‘proper’ gigs – not the ones we’ve all done or been to in London or countless other cities where they cram four, five or even six bands onto one bill in a desperate attempt to fill the venue and slots are allotted at random. In those situations, there is no real headliner or support.

Anyway. Enough pre-amble, let’s get down to it…

This can be quite a simple process but there are still several factors to take into consideration that might help you. They can be relatively simple – checking bands’ upcoming shows in your area, working out which ones you might be available for and would like to offer yourselves for and seeing which ones have already announced support acts.

The first thing you can do is to focus your resources and be realistic. There’s no point emailing the Arctic Monkeys or Coldplay and asking to support them – it’s just not going to happen and is just going to waste your time. Once bands get to a certain level the support slots become almost impossible to obtain, unless the band themselves ask for you by name.

For smaller, more local shows it is often the promoter who puts bands forward for support slots, so having a good local reputation (both for performance and for attracting a crowd) can immediately place you several steps ahead. Try and play a few gigs in your local area with good promoters who put on decent bands as they are likely to be the ones that bigger bands use when they tour your area. And if you can’t get a slot or don’t have time to do this then make sure the promoters know about you – send them your details and music, tell them a bit about you, suggest some bands or styles you’d be suitable for as support, assure them that you have a local audience and let them know that you’re available. You never know when a support act is going to drop out at the last minute and you might get a call that ends up leading somewhere good.

Otherwise, it’s often worth finding out who the band’s booking agent is and emailing them directly. Some bands are notoriously publicity-shy, not putting email addresses on websites or social media, but I would bet a modest sum of money that one email address you can always find is that of the band’s booking agent. It is how they get their gigs, festivals and essentially how they earn their money. You ought to be able to find it with a minimum of effort.

It might sound obvious to encourage you to ask this question of yourselves before firing off an enthusiastic email, but I assure you that I receive many, many emails from bands who have clearly given this question approximately zero seconds’ thought.

What is going to make you stand out? How are you going to persuade them to take five minutes to actually listen to your stuff rather than just pressing delete and getting on with something else?

However cynical it may seem to label it as such, a support act relationship is a two-way transaction. Do they just want a ‘cool’ local act or a good name that reflects well on them? Do they have a good record of selling tickets for shows in your area, and if not, can you draw attention to your own local shows that have sold well and drawn crowds in? Are they a band with a big setup (like us) who would appreciate smaller scale support acts who can fit in and around their gear so they don’t have to pack down twice every day? Are they a band who might be seeking an act to get the crowd well and truly warmed up, or a more low-key, subdued affair to set the mood.

Having an answer to even one or two of these questions will allow you to adapt your approach in a way that will set you apart from a great deal of other bands who don’t bother to put this thought in.

You should also consider who from your party is the best choice to make contact. The best and most professional method, in most cases, will be to allow your manager or agent to establish contact with their counterparts, but perhaps if you met the singer personally somewhere and mentioned your band to him or her then it might be worth taking a more personal approach.

This might seem obvious, but I strongly recommend against having money extracted from you and / or your label to play support shows.

Obviously there are occasions when it might be reasonable to be asked to pay towards costs. If you are sharing a tour bus, for example, you may be asked to pay for your share of it in terms of bunks and so forth. What’s definitely not reasonable in my opinion is to be asked to pay for the whole bus, though, or money on top of that as well. We’ve never been asked to do this, and would never ask anyone else to do it either, but I know there are tours where this is quite a normal thing.

The people who suffer in the long run are the crowd – they get a support act who aren’t there because the main band like them, merely because they can afford to be, and who quite possibly resent having been forced to pay to play on the tour. It’s not a good situation all round. I wouldn’t do it, anyway.

If you’ve actually got yourself on a bill then well done – that’s the hardest part of the whole process, I’d say. From now on your goal should be to put on the best show you can, win a few new fans over, and to make sure you leave a positive impression with the headliners.

A big part of making a good impression is fulfilling any promotional commitments that you’ve made. They might be an important part of why you got the gig in the first place. If you’ve secured a support slot on the basis that you’ll do your best to create a bit of local buzz around the show and maybe even shift a few tickets to your fans and friends in the process then please don’t book another gig (even another support gig) for two weeks or so either side. It just doesn’t look good and doesn’t help anyone, least of all you. If you already have shows booked in the nearby area and are asked to support then come clean about it and let the headliners’ promoter or booking agent know; honesty is nearly always the best policy!

Liaise with the band’s management or the band themselves and find out exactly what’s expected of you. If there is a date they want you to announce on, announce on that date and definitely, definitely don’t do it beforehand. Normally they’ll want a few Facebook posts, a few tweets and a mention to your mailing list, for example. All of this is very simple and painless. If in doubt, I would say tend towards over-promoting rather than under-promoting – you’re unlikely to annoy a headliner by talking about a show too much, whereas you’re very likely to annoy them by not doing your bit.

It’s a very good idea to sort out all technical aspects of the gig well in advance. Do you have all your own equipment? Are the headliners happy for you to bring it all, or would they rather you shared some of theirs to save on changeover times and stage space? Are you allowed to sell merch on or near their merch stand? I’ve never met a band who’ve said no but it doesn’t hurt to ask. Do you have any unusual technical requirements that need addressing? Do you have visuals? Make sure you are allowed to use them. Asking nicely is a very important part of all this, by the way. It’s a lot harder to say no to someone who is polite and considerate than it is to a pushy upstart.

Also make sure you find out what time you’re needed for load-in and soundcheck and that the rest of your band know about it well in advance. You may be at the stage where you have full-time day jobs – make sure you can sneak out early on those days or take the afternoon off.

Most importantly get a few phone numbers for the day – a point of contact for the band, for the venue and the promoter, too. You will need to speak to them if you are running late.

Hopefully the above points go some way towards providing some useful advice about getting and preparing for a support show. The second part of this guide will deal with advice for the show day itself.

And don't forget to share your advice and experiences in the comments section below.

Raising funding for your music

2014-01-07T11:56:06+00:00

One of the biggest challenges for musicians can be funding what you do. It can be expensive to buy equipment, master recordings and go out on tour. And if you haven’t got a deal with a record company, publisher or management company yet, you might need to raise your own funding.

We asked author Remi Harris for tips on how to do this. You can have a look at previous blog posts by industry experts here.

To get started with raising funding, describe what is it that you want or need, whether that is a few hundred pounds to buy an instrument or thousands of pounds to give your career a major boost. Here are some simple examples:

I am a promising young drummer and I need help to buy my own drum kit so that I can play gigs.
We are a band with a tour of small venues booked, and we need to raise funding to cover the cost of travel and accommodation to get to these shows.
I am a singer who normally performs on my own, but I would like to get some funding to book other musicians to collaborate with me on writing and recording my upcoming album and touring.

Next you will need to identify funders who would be interested in backing your idea. I found six types of funding being used these days for artist development: money from friends and family, grants, crowd funding, sponsorship, loans, and investment (from companies or individuals who invest in small businesses for profit). Let’s have a look at two of the most popular: grants and crowd funding.

A grant is money you don’t have to repay that is given for a specific purpose. For example, grants are available for things like putting on a live performance, creating new music, buying musical instruments or developing an artistic project. There are dozens of organisations that give grants for music, the best known include PRS for Music Foundation, Arts Council England, Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Arts Council Wales, Help Musicians (formerly the Musicians’ Benevolent Fund), and EMI Sound Foundation. These organisations have application forms and criteria online, so you can find out more.

Crowd funding involves getting money from many individuals in advance to fund the costs of your music. It is typically done online through web-based platforms such as Pledge Music, Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Crowd funding is great for projects where there is an existing audience who want a product, and cash is needed upfront to make it available. Each fan can donate money in return for rewards offered by the artist or project. Typical rewards are a copy of the album or an artist to perform a private gig at your home – but others include writing a song with the artist or having a music lesson from them. It does take a lot of time and preparation to run the campaign and keep feeding it with updates, but it can be a great way to connect with fans and make them part of your work while it is still being developed.

I’ll leave you with three tips to get you started with your fundraising:

It might surprise you to know that the majority of fundraising attempts fail at the first hurdle because they don’t meet the rules set down by the funder – for example, some funders allow you to apply to buy equipment and others don’t - so check the terms and conditions carefully.
Once you have your basic idea, think about how to make it stand out from the rest. You could market what you do in a creative way or collaborate with artists from other genres. Paint a picture of what impact the funding you receive will have and how interesting the idea will be.
Make sure that the aims of your proposal meet the aims of the funder. If a grant funder is looking for ideas that help the general public experience live music, and your idea is a studio project, then it won’t be a good fit. Likewise, if you are creating a crowd funding campaign then what you offer as rewards will have to be targeted at what your supporters want.

Good Luck!

@RemiMcHarris

This information is based on the book: Easy Money? The Definitive UK Guide To Funding Music Projects. Visit MusicTank.co.uk for more on the book and other music blogs.

Festivals: The lifeblood of the British summer and new music

2013-09-03T15:15:38+00:00

Ben Turner from the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) writes a guest blog post for us on how they work with �� Introducing to help deliver unsigned and undiscovered artists to even bigger audiences.

My Panda Shall Fly at Radio 1's Hackney Weekend 2012

Festivals are the lifeblood of the British summer, whether attending multi-venue events in the city or rambling around fields in the English countryside. The festival members of the Association of Independent Festivals, launched to nurture and develop the most creative sector of the UK events industry, have something to offer everyone. The teams of all our festivals work all year to give people an unforgettable experience and the chance to escape from reality and music is at the heart of everything we all do.

AIF is delighted to be working with �� Introducing again to bring new acts to the attention of our 590,000 combined festival attendees over the course of the summer. Developing our initial collaboration with �� Introducing at the Radio 1 Hackney Weekend last year is an exciting prospect for all involved. Not only have we now gone national (last year's acts were all from Hackney for obvious reasons) but we will also be teaming up with the regional �� Introducing shows to provide coverage and interviews around the country.

Festivals should be an eco-system when it comes to artists – form new acts to the headliners - which of course is an inspirational experience for the acts involved. We're thrilled to see people like Savages and My Panda Shall Fly, �� Introducing acts who played on the main stages of AIF festivals last year, go on and do so well. They all work extremely hard to get their foot in the door and it's important to reward this - something we're proud to help �� Introducing accomplish. Championing new music is a priority for all of the promoters within AIF, they're excited to be able to help open doors for future headliners. Encouraging and developing great British talent is something to be proud of.

Ady Suleiman performs on the �� Introducing Stage at Glastonbury 2013. He heads to Bestival this September too.

AIF's annual research shows that for festivals goers that attend our events, it’s not just about seeing headliners, they want to discover new acts and experience new music. Each year we ask our audiences why they attend our festivals and one person summed it up perfectly when they stated: "Participation. We're not just consumers here". Like the leading specialist DJs that the �� appoint, including AIF co-founder Rob da Bank, they thrive on being tastemakers, they want to discover a range of new music and be able to feed it back to their friends. It's important for us to be able to team-up with an initiative like �� Introducing so that each year we can deliver the best in emerging acts to our audiences.

A full list of the acts that our promoters have championed this year can be seen below. You can follow AIF on Facebook or Twitter for regular updates on the partnership, or even better, come and check out our festivals, and get involved in the full experience!

Camp Bestival - Ady Sulieman

Brownstock - Arthur Walwin

Belladrum: Tartan Heart Festival - Camp Stag

Kendal Calling - Camp Stag

Stockton Weekender - Collectors Club

Larmer Tree - Cymbals

Y-Not Festival - Dexters

Truck - Dingus Khan

Wakestock - Esco Williams

Belladrum: Tartan Heart Festival - Dingus Khan

Secret Garden Party - Indiana

SWN Festival - Masters in France

Tramlines - Masters in France

SWN Festival - Story Books

Leefest - Story Books

Tramlines - The Heartbreaks

Major and indie record labels - what works best for you?

2013-06-19T15:42:21+00:00

Whether it's DJ Target explaining how to build a hip hop track, Jake Bugg on touring or a guest post from the Musicians' Union on copyright and royalties, we love getting advice from the experts. If you feel the same, you might just enjoy this video featuring Ed Howard, A&R Manager for Asylum Records.

He talks about the differences between major and indie record labels and advises on the best approach for unsigned artists to take. Ed feels one key job for a label is to 'make the artist and vision strong enough to travel the world' - something he feels both majors and indies can do well.

Check out the full video below and watch more videos on finding the right deal here.

Step this way for the full �� Introducing Advice section and if there's something you feel is missing, let us know on this very blog post.

Copyright, deals and royalties in the music industry

2013-04-23T09:44:32+00:00

A few weeks ago we featured a blog post on making the most of touring by Generator's Joe Frankland. For this post we hand over the blog to another industry expert, Alex Mann, regional officer for the Musicians' Union. Read his guide to copyright, publishing deals and royalties.

What is copyright?
Copyright is basically the right to prevent copying of intellectual property - in this case music, lyrics and sound recordings - so the copyright owner can protect their work and control how it’s used. It’s worth noting that copyright doesn’t exist until an idea is written down, recorded onto a tape or disc, onto a computer. The copyright owner can be the author of the work, or anyone else they’ve assigned the rights to. Copyright exists separately in recordings and songs, which means that recording owners (usually record companies) and publishers can use the rights in different ways.

With songs, the composer of the music and the writer of the lyrics are the first owners of copyright, and the copyright in musical works lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. Copyright in a recording is slightly different in that the owner of the recording is the person who arranges for the recording to be made. Often this is whoever books and pays for the studio where the recording takes place, so this could be a record company or it could be the band themselves. Copyright in a recording lasts for 50 years from the end of the first year of release, although this term will be extended to 70 years by November 2013.

How do record and publishing deals work?
Throughout their careers artists and songwriters have to make important decisions about how the copyright in their recordings and songs will be exploited, and this often means entering into complex and sometimes long term deals with record companies and publishers. Record companies pay artists either on the basis of a royalty from record sales, or via a split-profit arrangement. If the contract is long term, a cash advance on account of the artist’s future royalties should be paid which at least allows them a reasonable living wage until initial costs are met and royalties are being received. It’s wise to try and secure some control over things like budgets, producers and choice of material in your contract too.

Music publishers seek out music and composers whose works may generate an income and their role is generally to promote their catalogue of works to potential music users including in film, TV and advertising. Publishers may for a smaller share of income offer an administration only deal, which involves collecting royalties due to their writers and identifying income streams that might have been missed. A publishing contract can be just for one song, or cover everything you write for a number of years in which case there may be a ‘minimum commitment’ stipulated which a songwriter would have to meet in order to fulfill their side of the deal.

It’s not always necessary to assign copyright in your songs for the full life of copyright, or at all, and a shorter term may be preferable as it allows the writer to extricate themselves from the agreement should the publisher not generate as much income as hoped. Like record companies, publishers will often pay a writer an annual advance on account of future royalties, which again should ideally be enough to live on.

How are royalties paid to musicians and artists?
Musicians and artists receive royalties through different ’streams’ depending on their musical activities and involvement in the creation or exploitation of musical works and recordings. It’s important to know which streams might apply to you, and especially which collection societies you may need to join in order to receive royalties. PRS for Music represents songwriters and publishers, collecting and distributing licence fees when member’s music has been performed or broadcast. MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society), which is now part of PRS for Music, collects and distributes licence fees to writers and publishers when their music is released or sold on CD or as a download. PPL collect and distribute royalties from recorded music to recording owners and performers when it’s either broadcast or played in public.

Artists signed to recording companies receive a separate royalty stream direct from their record company. This can be between 12-18% of the Published Price to Dealers, which is basically the price at which record companies sell the CD to retailers; alternatively this can be between 8-12% of the Retail Selling Price. Alternatively, the profit share model generally means that both artist and record company share profits 50/50 once costs are recouped – this model is quite common with independent labels.

For published songwriters, royalty income is split between the writer and publisher, often with 70% in favour of the writer. The writer’s share can be as low as 50% in some cases but The MU advises its members to aim for more than that.

Ultimately, the deals that musicians and artists sign can impact on their careers forever, so contracts should always be checked out by a solicitor before signing.

For more advice on this subject, head to the Musicians' Union website.
There's also more information on getting the right deal for you in our own advice section.

Other useful links:

PRS for Music

PPL website

Hitting the road: How to make the most of touring

2013-04-04T10:56:16+00:00

[Editor's note: While this year's Musician Masterclass may have flown by, there is no reason to stop sharing pearls of wisdom around the issues that matter most to unsigned artists. We invited Joe from Newcastle-based music development agency Generator to share his tips for maximising exposure and interest by touring. Take it away Joe.]

With venues closing down and promoters in small towns struggling to break even as the recession affects audience numbers, it’s hard for emerging artists to tour the UK. Assuming you’re not yet working with a booking agent, securing gigs and managing a successful tour can be daunting. But hitting the road is one sure-fire way to build a fan-base and industry interest.

If you’re thinking of touring the country for the first time, there are a few basics you’ll need to get right.

Timing

Many artists start to book tours before they are truly ready. Ideally you’ll have a good buzz and national media coverage before you tour. You’ll know the timing is right when promoters start to approach you or when a number of fans are asking you to play their towns.

It’s a great idea to plan a tour around a release so all efforts are aligned and related merch sales can help to cover your tour costs.

Securing gigs

The most important thing a DIY artist can do is thorough research. Search online and ask other artists to identify suitable venues and promoters to approach. And if you’re being offered a gig, make sure the promoter is reliable and right for you.

When contacting promoters for the first time, take a personable approach and supply them with key information and links to truly sell yourself. This should include information on key gigs you have under your belt already.

Promoters are understandably reluctant to book touring artists who can’t guarantee a crowd. They are more likely to take a risk on artists who have secured national radio play, press and blog coverage. So plan your tour around releases and send your music to national and regional media to build a buzz at the right time in each town.

Gig swaps can be really useful so build a network of similar artists across the UK and offer slots at your hometown gigs in return a support slot at their busy gigs.

Planning

You’re better off playing a small number of suitable gigs than booking a 40 date tour of any town you can think of. Try to secure consecutive dates to limit the number of expensive ‘off-days’ and make sure your tour works logistically. Playing Exeter then Glasgow then Bristol is wasteful so plan your tour carefully.

During the early stages of touring, you’ll want to travel as light as possible. You may be able to get by with one or two cars or public transport. Eventually you should consider investing in or hiring a tour van.

For your first tour, you’ll want to save money wherever possible. Look for great value accommodation or ask to stay with friends, fans or the promoter. Ask ahead about catering options and promoters will usually help you out as best they can. Don’t forget to budget for ‘per diems’, equipment and spares and instrument insurance.

Make sure all parties are aware of the terms of the booking. Always agree a suitable fee in writing well in advance of the gig and find out if the promoter is paying you in advance or by cash on the night.

Who do you want on the road with you?

A Tour Manager is responsible for liaising with promoters, agreeing sound requirements, looking after an artist's interests on tour and arranging transport and accommodation. The Tour Manager is usually responsible for making sure you get paid. Tour Managers are available at reasonable rates and experts really can make a massive difference. But for early touring, an organised and reliable band member or contact may fill this vital role.

An ideal scenario for early touring is to book a Tour Manager who also drives and perhaps is able to do your sound. If you can’t afford additional personal, make sure your tech specs and riders help in-house sound techs to capture your sound and make the most of your soundcheck time – meaning you’ll want to arrive at the gig in good time!

Making the most of touring

Once you’ve booked your tour dates, start to spread the word. Work closely with the promoter to ensure that you are getting as much coverage as possible. Target regional media with an updated press release and make sure your tour dates are listed or mentioned in coverage elsewhere, and on your own web pages. Start engaging with fans and key tastemakers in each town and keep an eye on ticket sales to ensure momentum translates to ticket sales. You can also build a buzz by posting tour updates from each town.

Hopefully once your tour is over you’ll have picked up whole load of new fans and customers. Use the buzz you’ve created on the road to secure more coverage and industry interest (including interest from booking agents), and don’t rest on your laurels – start booking your next tour!

Joe Frankland works as an Artist Development Manager for Generator.

For more information on making the most of touring, head to our extensive advice section containing videos and text guides.

Tips on how to write a band biography

2012-11-13T10:18:06+00:00

Most normal human beings find writing about themselves excruciatingly painful - whether it's a CV, job application or a band biog. Which is why many emerging artists avoid writing anything about themselves at all. Time and time again I fall in love with particular tunes, decide to play them on the radio - and then find the artist's Facebook or Soundcloud contains no information whatsoever.

Imagine someone sending you music on a plain unmarked CD. Or emailing you an MP3 with the words "check us out" and nothing else. And now imagine a hundred people doing that. Every week. Well, luckily they don't. When record companies and pluggers send us records they understand how helpful it is to set the music in some kind of context, and even the simplest story can catch people's interest:

*Here's an early demo by David Bowie before he got famous. *This is the latest underground hit with clubgoers in Mumbai. *This was written by a Scottish 13 year old in her bedroom and has had 50,000 plays on YouTube... that sort of thing.

But since writing about ourselves is so hard, many bands type something like "four-piece indie trash from the UK" and leave it at that. After all, the thinking goes, our music's so great it can speak for itself. The trouble is, you're not the only great band out there.

Every week thousands of artists are vying for the attention of fans, managers, bookers, bloggers, journalists, record companies and radio stations. We're spolt for choice: and if you don't tell us clearly and loudly what's special / interesting / different / funny / loveable / unique about your particular group, we'll click away in seconds to some other artist who does.

Some bands fill the "about" section on their website with reviews, imagining they've then got a biog. But think about it: these quotes are just descriptions of your music. They don't tell us anything about who made it, or where, or when, or why. If you've gone to the trouble of making wonderful music, then why not take the trouble to give us some backstory to that music. The easiest way is to provide a few basic facts:

This is my first bedroom demo. This is the lead track on our forthcoming EP. This got used on a VW commercial in Latvia last year. The whole band are still at school. Three of us are retired jazz musicians. We're based in Rotherham. We formed in early 2012. This is the title track of our EP released in May. Here's the tracklist. Here's a list of our upcoming gigs. We've just released our first album in 9 years. It's on heavyweight vinyl and available from...

Some bands - and some low-budget publicists - imagine that having "a story" means loads of pretentious waffle about said band's wonderful music. See my original blog post about this at Fresh On The Net for a few outstanding examples. But what's the point? We only need to click "play" to hear for ourselves how wonderful - or otherwise - your music actually is.

As interactivity guru Steve Lawson puts it: 'Don't tell us how great you are - tell us how interesting you are.' Is one of you a bilingual Bengali bellydancer, a part-time piano tuner, or a forty-something Danish quantity surveyor? Are you collectively on a mission from God, plotting to end to capitalism as we know it - or just hoping to get rich, famous and laid as quickly as possible?

And do bear in mind that something being true isn't the same thing as it being interesting - nobody wants to read every tedious detail of how and when you all first met. In his memoir, Christopher Isherwood claimed that 'anything you choose to invent about yourself is part of your personal myth and therefore, in a sense, true'. As an artist you have full license to exaggerate or even rewrite the facts if it'll make for a more interesting story.

Personally I'd much rather read out a load of entertaining lies on the radio than a series of dull, boring facts. So long as your early Bowie demo sounds great, who cares if it later turns out to have been made by that Scottish 13 year old after all?

Needless to say this blog post is entire my own invention and no warrenty is offered as to its factual accuracy. Decide for yourself how much of it is interesting, helpful or even true.

A version of this post first appeared on Tom's Fresh On The Net blog. Click here to read the original post and see some of Tom's favourite and least favourite band bios. Don't forget to download his �� Introducing Mixtape too.

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