10 Steps Ever Artist Must Take to Promote Their Tour

Do you have a tour or one-off show coming up? Let’s talk about how to promote it.

Now, I understand that there are many debates on where the responsibility of promoting lies (some argue the venue/promoter, some argue the artist). Those debates aside, let me say this: the time and money that goes into strategically promoting your shows will always provide a good return on investment. Who doesn’t want to gain a reputation as a hard-working artist willing to do nearly whatever it takes to make the show a success?

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Get It Together (or what the music industry can learn from Chanel)

The experience that your audience has is the most important thing to focus on. If you are a promoter you have to figure out how you are going to give them the best experience. If you are a band you are going to play your best and give your fans the best experience you are capable of. If you are a DJ you are probably going to get requests. If you are a nice person, you are going to play those requests if you can because it will give that person who asked to hear Lady GaGa or Beyonce a good experience.  

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But it makes sense to me...

There are a lot of musicians who want to artistically stretch people’s minds. They want to make people think and really dive deeply into the meanings of their songs, their name, their image and different underlying elements, thinking that this will add a hip or cool edge to their image. The problem is that this can lead to flat out confusion or, worse, become a deterrent, keeping people away from the music instead of drawing them closer. 

Don’t get me wrong: mind stretching and creativity are great things, but think about them as a later step rather than the first. Make it something that fans will have to dig into and avoid confusing the new listener. Wild stories, confusing bios, songs that make no sense or tie into the more experimental side of you can be red lights for many people to not want to dig deeper. For example, if you are a grunge/industrial type band with fast loops, dirty guitars and in-your-face samples with brash harmonies and powerful hooks, the first sample song on your site should reflect that.  

Get over yourself.

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Pretending to be more than you are - Lying in marketing.

You need to professionally present yourself, your music and your career. Your recording, promotion, marketing as all your soliciting materials and legal materials need to be done the right way. A strong professional package and promotional presence goes a very long way while a fake or weak presence will hurt you more than you know. Too many bands out there are trying to paint a picture they can't live up to and it is hurting much more than helping them.

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