Freedom Through Self-Reliance

To think that nothing is original anymore is to disregard the individual’s genuine emotion, brought upon by his or her unique circumstance, that which fueled the need to create art and invent technologies. It also leads to people overlooking future innovators, while extravagantly idolizing past innovators. I see this happening all the time on Facebook. Listeners post music and videos of “the greats” from the past, as if the high point in music had already come and gone. And listeners who post new music for their Facebook friends to see are faced with a social network full of musical cynics and skeptics.

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Promotional Tool Idea

With street marketing being one of our most popular services, we’re continually asked for new promotional tools which grab the attention of potential fans here at The Syndicate. The item needs to be eye-catching,  pocket or purse-friendly, needs to make people act, and ideally, is trackable. Not many physical promo items have all of these aspects, but one has solutions to address all of these, and because of that, we end up using and recommending Dropcards. Often.

For example, we’ve used them in many street marketing campaigns, such as Tropicana’s “Rescue the Rainforest” campaign with Cool Earth, where we used FSC- and SFI-certified cards and had Dropcards print unique codes on them for people to redeem to save their own area of the rainforest.  Twin Atlantic, a band from Scotland on Red Bull Records, also used the seeded cards to promote their album “Vivarium” with a code to redeem a free song, unique videos, and other information about the band.

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Ten Tips For Do-It-Yourself PR and Publicity For Bands

1. Learn how to sell yourself.  Want media coverage? Ask.  Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and ask to speak to the person in editorial who handles music or entertainment.

2. Be Creative.  News doesn’t happen.  News is created… and develop a sense of humor, especially about yourself.  If they’re laughing, they’re listening.  Let’s be real… you’re playing music, not curing cancer.  Try not to be so serious, but don’t be a buffoon either. 

3. Grammar. Learn how to spell and know the fundamentals of grammar.  (Use the spellchecker).

4. Proofread your work.  Then have someone else proofread your work… and then have someone else proofread your work.  Then let it ‘marinate’ for a few hours or overnight.  You’ll be amazed at how many spelling and/or grammatical errors will appear, as well as glaringly required edits, when you come back to it with fresh eyes.  Sloppy, incoherent press releases or introductory pitch letters will result in their instant deletion.  You only get one chance to make a first impression. 

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Music Is Not A Competition…

“If I promote other bands, my band won’t be noticed”… It’s not something I hear musicians say a lot but it is certainly often implied. This post is here to kick that way of thinking right in the ball-gina. Musicians, bands: I implore you, help support each other! Stop thinking about your own music as the only music deserving of praise & attention. There is lot’s of cool bands out there, lots of cool artists & many of them work just as hard as you do on your art. Here’s the rub…

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