So I'm on myspace and there are a few bands I've noticed that are bombarding the bulletin board with posts about their new records coming out. I'm talking like, maybe a dozen or so per day.
To be honest, stuff like that makes me look at the band differently. I understand they're just trying to get the word out, but here's a truth that exists in my life- If you post that you have a new song / new record coming out, chances are I'll check it out. Even if I don't usually go nuts over your band. Everybody loves new music.
The bottom line is, if you have made a song worth getting excited over, you won't need to post 50 bulletins about it. The song will carry it's own weight. I don't mean to be misunderstood - promotion is usually a vital part of the process. But I GET IT. Pre-orders are up. A new song is up. Whatever else... But I'd rather you make a song that has the excitement value of those 50 bulletins, than have to scroll through your ALL CAPS OMG PREORDER bulletins. Trust me, it'll speak for itself.
Maybe this is harsh, maybe it's uncalled-for. As you can see by the post info, it's around 3am so maybe it's just my mind being dysfunctional, but i have to say it -
People are looking for songs worth getting excited over. If you're not seeing the success you'd like to see, maybe it's not your label. Maybe it's not the local kids being hard. Maybe it's not a dead tour schedule. Maybe you just have to write better songs.
August 22, 2007
thoughts
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5 comments:
not everyone thinks like you do, some people may not know anything about the band and those posts are a way to be heard... who cares if someone is exited about their band or cd... doesnt mean theyre middle schoolers for hyping it up. musicians live off of their sales, they have to do whatever it takes to get the news to people. if that means post 600 blogs... so be it. exposure is the one thing a band always needs, no matter how big or small, and myspace is the easiest (and cheapest) way in the music world today, so exploit the hell out of it. just because you may look at the band differently because of their posts and never ceasing cries out for exposure doesnt mean the rest of the scene does. if terminal came back and posted some songs on a myspace and just left them there under some random name not many people would find them if they didnt post blogs and things like that. a song can carry weight but someone or something has to get the news out to the people. think about it in modern advertising... Coke, McDonalds, 1 800 ASK GARY, etc... spend millions of dollars on advertisements and put their names on EVERYTHING to get their news out, whats the difference with myspace, in all reality it is like its own little country, it has its own Government (tom) and its constituents (my spaers) and even a town hall with news (Myspace.com) and the local businesses are the bands. i think that if you were to be in a band that made a living on what cds you sold you would think differently. you would do more than a dozen posts a day. i know i do.
As Cities Burn
Why isn't Come Now Sleep getting more promotion? The record comes out on August 14th and I'm surprised that I'm hearing so little about it
you make some very good points, this is it. i just have certain bands in mind like the devil wears prada... they dont promote nearly as much as some other bands do. however, they're incredibly popular. its because their songs themselves are enough to get people to say - hey, im gonna go out of my way to promote this band. their songs are THAT exciting.
very true... but theyre one of those bands such as burden of a day, (Rise Records) and The Almost (Tooth and Nail) that get popular because its whats "in" in the scene. and im sure Devil Wears Prada had their days of selling themselves before they got big enough that every 16 year old was listening to them so that if they did anything new, everyone would hear about it. theyre not my favorite but i do give them credit for all they've done and how far they've gotten. my only point is that not many bands can get their name out easily unless of course you have an x member of the chariot or norma jean in it, then everywhere you eat sleep and repeat someone knows. so blogging 600 times a day, although repetitive and maybe annoying, is neccesary for the underdogs and underrated bands of the ever increasing music industry to survive and grow as a band. there are too many bands out there that are WAY better than most signed bands on Victory records or even Tooth and Nail/ Solid State that deserve recognition just as much as any band on their labels, that need a way to be seen. So i say BLOG ON underdogs! and eventually we will see you on the Stages of Cornerstone and tiny overstuffed and undercooled venues of America, and if youre As I Lay Dying, then a new foreign country every week.
Actually, This Is It, everyone thinks like we do.
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