Music Think Tank - MTT Open

I recently wrote this article on my own blog Musformation and received tons of great feedback and it was suggested I post this article on MTT to help get the idea out to the community.

Everyone is horrified there is going to be no money in the music industry. If there is no money then it is impossible for record labels to employ people to work hard for your band to get you more exposure. While we personally think there will be plenty of money to go around - what do you do if you are one of the 99% of bands who don’t have the power of a label to push them? It is actually more simple than you think. Below I will tell you how to start a fan based movement to give you the power of a record label and improve bonding with your fans.

Mobilize
When you have fans it is a great feeling that runs like a two way street. You appreciate their adoration and support while they appreciate how your music makes them feel. With that said there is often invisible lines that bands draw about when it is OK to mobilize their fans and have them help them. It is fine to ask your fans to call and request your music on a local radio station or click on an online survey but for some reason it is not OK to actually be in the same room with them to work on helping your band. This invisible line is silly to say the least and we are going to talk about how to break it down. In politics this is done everyday at campaign headquarters across the land and there is no reason you shouldn’t see your band as a campaign as well.

Don’t Be Shy
You may be thinking that no one would ever want to spend time helping your band outside of friends and family but you are wrong. People are always looking to bond with others with similar interests and the prospect that there is someone there who shares the same passion as them (your music) will excite people who are passionate about it. If you ask and show people that this is a place where they can both have fun and make friends you would be shocked how fast this can work. It also helps if you have some good looking members in your band since it will attract some fans of their looks.

You Build It And They Will Come
There are countless tasks you can employ yours fans to help with, all you need to do is ask. If you have a fanbase enough to draw around a hundred or so people locally - odds are you can get 10 people are so to come help you for a day or two once every month or two. Simply motivate them in a few ways. Make it clear they will be spending time with you, offer enticement like hearing some new demos or a band practice, treat them to a meal and definitely explain how much this will help you. It is important to tell them what you could potentially have if they help out. People like to see clear results and work towards something. Be detailed so they now what the work will entail and describe the day as being fun.

If you make it fun and are good to the people who are working hard for your band they will want to come back and do this again. Obviously there is work to be done but having a few beers on hand, having someone DJ and not yelling at anyone if they are being lazy will keep people wanting to come back and do this again.

Here are some ideas of what you can do with your fans.

Recommendations! - As we have discussed many times before one of the best ways to get people to listen to music is from hearing about it from a friend. One of the first things you can ask your fans is whether they have told everyone they know about your band. Have they posted a Facebook note linking your music? A tweet? Can they promote you on Last.FM and Jango? Do they have a blog where they can post your links and videos? If they belong to any Internet message boards this is a great place to promote you and can be amazingly effective if done right. Have everyone bring their laptops (just make sure you have Wi-Fi) and have them get to work.

Merch! - One of the oldest tricks in the book when you have a bunch of people together to work on band business is to do silk screening. Posters, T-shirts, patches, bags, etc. can all be silk screened and made into viral merch that everyone sees as an advertisement.

Social Networking - All the stuff we have described in our social network guides can be done by your fans. If you worry about them knowing your password just type it in yourself each time or change it before and after the party.

Packing Envelopes - If you have CDs there are a million places to send them whether it is radio, lawyers, A&R, friends in the business, magazines, websites etc. If you want to do a full court press of publicity for your music you will never have enough money or hours in the day to get out all the promos you could send out. Have your fans help stuff these envelopes.

Hit The Airwaves - If you notice a radio station is playing your music you should have everyone you know to request it so it keeps getting played. Even if it is in a far off town having your fans call in to these stations and get you played more can help spread the word. Many radio stations also take requests via the Internet so get those smart phones and laptops going.

Ideas- Talk to your fans, what sites do they like and are you on them? Do they have ideas of how you can promote your band? Do they know someone who can help you? You would be surprised how much people who have never picked up an instrument sometimes know about what your band can do to promote. Listen do not talk and you can learn a lot.

Your To Do List - Take a look at what you need to get done and see if anyone has any special talents that can get it done with? Do you need a new Myspace layout, maybe someone knows HTML and graphics? The possibilities are endless if you listen and manage well these parties can be one of the things that helps get your band ahead of the pack.