Since launching in December 2011, Webdoc has experienced great fan engagement. When British-Irish boy band One Direction asked their fans to wish happy birthday to group member Zayn Malik on Webdoc, within 48 hours more than 6,800 fans had created rich media posts to show their love; spending on average between 15 to 30 minutes on the page, while creating, consuming and looking for One Direction material online.

Webdoc

British jazz funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai have experienced similar results, with the band’s Digital Manager Neil Carwright commenting, “As a fan engagement site it really surpassed my expectations. Engagement was far higher than I thought was possible.”

The social sound platform SoundCloud is now officially represented on Webdoc through a drag-and-drop widget. This allows users to incorporate SoundCloud tracks in their Webdocs, played via the HTML5 player.

Songkick allows fans to track their favorite artists’ live performances and to be the first to know when tickets go on sale. Performing musicians can now insert the new Songkick widget in to their Webdocs to sell tickets to their gigs and shows to the public (a nice way to create a digital flyer!).

Topspin is a direct to fan sales and marketing platform used by artists and filmakers to grow their online audiences and convert fans into customers. We here at Dotted Music were really excited about this particular integration, allowing Topspin users to insert various widgets inside Webdocs, but were a bit confused this morning, vainly trying to test the new feature. While it wasn’t a problem to connect a Topspin account and insert an E4M widget, for some reason it didn’t want to show up on the created Webdoc. Let us know in the comments if you have tried the same and it worked fine (or did not)!

Here’s a Topspin video, describing the integration with Webdoc:

And below are links to some of the recent Webdoc implementations:

• Sharing of Nirvana memories around the 20th Anniversary of the group’s album ‘Nevermind’
• A promotion to create a Christmas Card for One Direction

Music is pervasive in society, appreciated by the young and old to the fashionable, religious and sporty. So it’s not surprising that labels license musician’s tracks to high profile programs and recognized brands as a near guarantee to boost the band’s profile in the mainstream eye. But more so, the importance for such deals are paramount for musicians. For example, Michael Grubbs, the face of Wakey!Wakey! has One Tree Hill to thank for launching his career and placing his name in front of the public eye and into the public ears.

But of course, unless you’re lucky to have met the right person at the right time, as Grubbs had done, or you’ve signed to a music licensing service that happened to catch a producer’s or company’s eye, you’re stuck in a waiting game.

What appears to be an in-house traditional music video typified by the collaborative effort of bands and friends, “Punk Kids,” the latest hip hop and rock single by Portland duo Shadows on Stars, is in fact a strategic partnership with L.A. based womenswear designer Hellz Bellz, and indie menswear label, Gentleman by Day. Philosopher by Night. Pervert by Choice. Rebel by Fate. A third collaborator, Crooked Engine, directed the music video. In doing so, SoS is able to leverage the collaboration in two ways.

• Resources

SoS’s decision to choose clothing labels to work with is based on the vision for “Punk Kids,” starring a rebellious teenage antagonist in his anticlimax. What best exemplified Crooked Engine’s artistry was Hellz Bellz and GPPR’s sassy and subversive personality, embodied in their collections, but what SoS had also gained was the styling expertise of these fashion inclined labels to hit the video’s message home.

• Cross-cultural marketing

More importantly, from a marketing perspective, short of having your music featured on high profiled outlets including Grey’s Anatomy and Apple’s commercials, the cross industry collaboration with the fashion labels provides Shadows on Stars with an opportunity to reach out to a non-music demographic in addition to those that have Spinner and Pigeons and Planes bookmarked. Shadows on Stars saw its brand cross promoted through Hellz Bellz and GPPR’s respective social networks and blogs, that typically sees a fashion-centric demographic, but one that, like music, tends to have dedicated fans.

Shadows on Stars’ Reach

The recently formed Shadows on Stars, with 358 likes and 477 Twitter followers indirectly encompassed a secondary circle through their collaborator’s promotion of “Punk Kids” on their respective social media accounts – Hellz Bellz’s 3.6K Facebook fans and 6.8K Twitter fans and blog readers, GPPR’s 1.3K Facebook fans, blog readers and its founder’s 832 Twitter followers. So when you haven’t yet had your music tacked to a Ford or Starbucks commercial, but are considering filming just another music video, think about how you can leverage your resources and expand your band’s reach, outside of your own closed circle of fans.

Guys, DIY projects aren’t just for ladies. Roll up your sleeves and get ready to paint-splatter your own digs!

Coldplay

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Army-style jacket
• Pants – jeans, chinos, khakis… it could be anything really
• A regular old tee shirt
• Funky blue shoes – Chris’ aren’t new high top Nikes, but I liked the crazy pop of color.
• Fabric paint – I think the neon variety works well for this look, but you can choose whichever you like.
• Paint brush
• A paper plate
• Cup of water

Obviously this DIY project can be done to any outfit, but I’m copying Chris’ look as closely as we can.

Here’s what you’ll do:

1. Find an area where you’ll be able to fling paint without worrying about it splattering on furniture or walls – the garage, open space in a basement, or outside probably works best.
2. Spread newspaper over a flat surface to protect it from the paint and then lay clothing out flat.
3. Put a dollop of paint on the paper plate and pour a small amount of water on top of the dollop – about a teaspoon. This will thin out the paint a bit and give it that drippy/sloppy look you’re going for.
4. Use the paint brush to mix together the paint and the water. There are several techniques for paint application. You can fling the paint on the clothing to make small paint splats all over, or you can messily paint it on in a few spots, clustering colors together like the photo. There’s no need to be exact (or have any kind of painting skills); this looks better done haphazardly.
5. Lay it out to dry and voila! You’ve got an instant, one-of-a-kind piece with a funky flair.

You can go crazy with paint or leave it as a small detail. It’s all a matter of preference! Who said the paint splatter look got left in the 90s? Psh…

And, how apropos would it be to listen to this song, while you are crafting your outfit?

Author Bio: When I’m not accessorizing with zebra print handbags in my day job, or schooling people on the importance of solid travel adapters, I enjoy discovering new artists and music genres. My current favorites range from Coldplay (natch), to Sam Cooke, to mah girl Beyonce.

An oft-applied method of relieving some financial hardship in this industry is to acquire an endorsement deal. In a nutshell, you get easier access to your favorite products and services in exchange for some form of advertising to the supplier.

Everybody knows that celebrities help sell stuff. Television commercials are nearly plagued with appearances from actors and athletes confessing their love for some kind of a sports car or cold medicine, and the viewers aren’t ignorant to the rewards paid out for these cameos.

Musicians, however, often enter the world of sponsorships from a different angle. In the time leading up to their chart-topping success they can be found spending their last penny on that piece of gear, signature outfit, or stage prop that allows them to charge on and break new ground in this industry. Though they effectively mean the same thing, the music industry tends to prefer the word “endorsement” to “sponsorship,” something that hints to a feeling of support and passion rather than charity or corporate image. Musicians are quite vocal about the brands they trust, whether they partner with them or not; you won’t usually find an actor tweeting about their favorite toothpaste or eye cream without some hidden motivator.

What It’s All About

It’s pretty clear how an artist benefits from an endorsement, but there are more lenses to use from the manufacturer’s standpoint. “The feedback that we get from players using our pedals helps us refine what we do and improve our products,” says Aimish Wallace, Director of Operations at Diamond Pedals. Fans of bands become fans of the brands they use and this Nova Scotia based company has attributed a lot of its sales to its association with Buddy Miller (Band of Joy/Emmylou Harris). “He’s known as a real ‘tone guy’ and I think the people that are aware of that look pretty closely at the stuff he’s using to achieve his sounds.”

When you’re looking to get free gear you’ll probably think you have to be famous. SABIAN Cymbals’ Sales and Artist Relations Manager, Terry Ryan, describes it as visibility. Drummers like Daniel Adair of Nickelback and Neil Sanderson of Three Days Grace are keeping brand recognition alive when they beat their splashes and crashes in front of thousands of fans every night.

Image credit: steviep187 on Flickr

That being said, Ryan also thinks it’s very important to foster the relationship at an early stage when you find the right act. “Artists tend to need you more when they have no money,” he says, outlining the importance of fostering loyalty in order to keep your advertising economical. “You hope they elevate their career.” Assuming they do, a band that becomes an international success will prove a worthy investment for any endorser. “If you’re in Spain and Rush performs, our logo is the same… It gets us a wider visibility at a minimum cost.”

Ask Fred DiSanto of Godin Guitars what matters most and he’ll say: “Heart! All of our artists have played a Godin even before we were aware of it.” The company’s artist program is a vital part of its success as a manufacturer and goes hand-in-hand with media coverage and a great dealer network.

Rarely do reps like Wallace, Ryan, or DiSanto find themselves scouting for new artists when they get so many sponsorship requests from bands all over the country, but it can happen. When it does, the terms of the relationship are quite varied. Dan Hay, guitarist of Amost The Transparent, cites how his deals with Empress Pedals and Wicked Guitars came together: “When [we] started touring more and playing some bigger shows, they asked me if I’d like to use some of their gear on stage.” While working with these suppliers, Hay can happily play whatever piece of equipment he likes on stage. “They’re pretty easy going about my obligations. Unlike other companies, Wicked doesn’t require me to only use their guitars… same with Empress.” Amost The Transparent’s latest album features many tones shaped by his Empress pedals, including one that sounds like “a backwards spaceship.”

Advertising requirements are usually a big concern for somebody considering an endorsement deal – everything comes at a price, right? Simple Plan guitarist Jeff Stinco says it’s circumstantial but it can happen: When they weren’t busy recording, touring, and releasing their latest album, Get Your Heart On!, they were doing ads for manufacturers like Sennheiser, DiMarzio, T-Rex, Mesa Boogie, and Fender. “It’s a case-by-case thing and we always make sure that the company understands our desire to expose a product that we love in a very organic way. We don’t wish to become sales people; we are here to help spread the word.”

Image credit: katrinalopez. on Flickr

Being on the roster for a gear company comes with other perks than discounts and promotional outlets. Occasionally you’ll be privy to new products or services. Stinco explains: “We have access to some special tweaks that are not necessarily useful or available to the general public but help us out on the road.”

The other issue you might face with an endorsement is your ability to continue using the other brands you enjoy. Vans – well known in the music industry for their annual Warped Tour – expect a certain degree of exclusivity from their athletes but like to keep things more organic with their artist roster. Chris Overholser, Senior Marketing Manager for the company, says: “One of our main tenants is to support creativity. By being heavily involved in music we get to be front and centre.”

Holding a global perspective has allowed Vans to give back to those in need. An effort between the shoe company and Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament will see the proceeds from a signature sneaker help build a skate park on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota – a community with a tragic past and high rates of poverty. Overholser says that working with musicians has opened doors to these types of opportunities and is a very important bi-product of endorsement. “We want people to wear Vans because they care about what we’re doing.”

Originally posted in the September/October 2011 issue of Canadian Musician magazine. Chris Gallant is a singer-songwriter and touring musician from PEI who likes to write about the things he wished he knew before entering “The Industry.” He can be reached at chris.s.gallant@gmail.com.

The trick to not looking over the top is keeping the rest of your wardrobe pretty basic. Some skinny jeans and a black top will set a blank slate for you to accessorize. Add an edgy handbag for function and glam.

Guys, don’t think this look doesn’t translate for you! Nix the handbag but keep the color palette, shades, and bling. BAM instant rock star wardrobe achieved.

Look like Fergie!

• Tee: Agent Ninetynine Cropped Box Tee: $40
• Jeans: La Garconne: Knight Skinny Jean: $42.50
• Handbag: Handbag Heaven: Logan Quilted Hobo: $84.95
• Sunglasses: Sunglass Warehouse: Shield Style Sunglasses: $16.95
• Earrings: Max and Chloe: Blu Bijoux Geometric Drop Earrings: $40
• Bracelet: All Saints: Sandyha Bracelet: $30
• Bracelet: G By Guess: Metal and Rubber Chain Link Bracelet: $19.50
• Bracelet: G By Guess: Dotted ID Bracelet: $19.50

When I’m not accessorizing with handbags in my day job, I enjoy discovering new artists and music genres. My current favorites range from Mumford and Sons, to John Coltrane, to Beyonce.

Interest Through Release

The most difficult job for any budding musician, developing band or heavyweight contender is simply to keep people interested. The music itself is never enough to glue people to your sound and style, you have to ensure that people are always tuning in and checking up on the latest developments, however small they might be. Strategic release is a great way to do that.

First off: the album is not the only release. That’s a myth that should die right now. Singles, b-sides, press releases, videos, blogs, pictures and all sorts of other things are types of release that will keep people watching. Let’s examine what makes it strategic.

Image credit: photosday on Tumblr

Timing is everything, and, when considering timing, the best thing to look at is just how much material you have. If, for example, you intend to spread the releases over a year or so, you can then use each piece of material at certain times. Six videos could be released one every two months, with two press releases coming up every six months.

The most important thing, of course, is to ensure that releases are constant, and that you don’t end up with everything being released at once in order to overwhelm people.

• Press releases can be done from the moment you first form a band, and never have to halt. A local paper, the smaller the better, can announce the forming of your band and, from there, you just go bigger. Aim for websites, music magazines and onwards. If you’re planning to write them yourselves, spend some time studying the press releases for other bands.
• Videos are an easy release. YouTube has proven that of late. As early as before your first gig, talk to a venue during a quiet day about doing a gig that isn’t a gig. Basically, you perform and record without having a dedicated audience and for no pay. After that, you split the video into tracks, then release them slowly and with different titles.
• Pictures are more difficult. Having your own website is good for it, but your own website will always be more difficult to draw people to. MySpace and Facebook are in ideal positions here, as is the generally successful Facebook fan page. Pictures can be taken from practice spaces, performances or they can be stills taken from videos.
• Blogs are likely the most difficult to engage people with. Yet again, your own website is the ideal solution, but a mix of MySpace, Twitter and Facebook can make up the difference. A blog for a band serves the same purpose as a blog for a person; it allows people the chance to connect with you on a deeper, more personal level, since you will be speaking about more personal things.

The limited release can be your best friend, especially in regards to singles and b-sides. Heavily advertising a one week release that might potentially never be seen again. It acts as a treat for those loyal fans who keep track, and acts as further enticement to keep track for those that don’t.

Some parts of marketing are very simple, and strategic release is a great way to keep a buzz going and to slowly increase the numbers of people aware of you. The only thing you need to do is never miss a deadline.

That’s like betraying fans.

Tom Colohue is a writer from Blackpool, England. Though he specialises in Fiction, he also writes music theory articles, and new media articles based primarily on the internet. On occasion, these also intermingle. He is well recognised by numerous critics and analysts for his integrative descriptive work and his cynical textual mannerisms. For more information, Tom Colohue keeps a Facebook Fan Page, which contains updates from new articles and his personal blog, Mental Streaming. This page can be found via this link.

Part Fourteen: The Self Against The Professional

This is always a tough one to write about.

Several times already, during this series, I have shown the importance of always acting in a professional manner, regardless of your own opinions, thoughts and intentions. However, being the concummate professional, while doing wonders for your professional career, can be a little bland. First off, let’s take a look at the meaning of the world.

The meaning of ‘professional’ is ‘paid’. That’s it. ‘Amateur’ means ‘unpaid’ as the flip side of that coin. It’s really that simple. As a professional writer, I am a writer who gets paid. That’s all there is to it. Acting professional is simply acting as worthy of payment as possible, presenting a face that people want to be associated with when it comes to performances and the local scene. Why is this potentially a little bland? Easy. Nobody’s perfect. Everybody has to let go now and again, and the fans have a different concept of value for money than, say, a venue or a competitor. They want to see you do something awesome, which might be a very poor way to show value for money to a venue, but might be brilliant overall for attracting fans.

Image credit: alwaysgreen on Tumblr

The balance here is in always being seen by venues and promoters as somebody entirely reliable, so there are some lines that you don’t cross. For one thing, there is no such thing as fashionably late to a meeting or a performance. You’re not going to a party; you’re working.

When you’re on-stage, you’re permitted to do whatever you want, within reason. Damaging equipment might look cool to an audience, but you’re going to seriously piss somebody off if it just so happens to be their equipment that they’re tampering with. If you’re going to bust stuff up, make sure it’s your own stuff.

Hecklers are brilliant for this, because you can be an absolute cock to them and still come off as the consummate professional. Have some lines ready for dealing with hecklers and you’ll earn a lot of respect.

Respect continues to be a key word here. Any time that you show a lack of respect is not good. An audience might love to see you taking the piss out of somebody for their hair or their taste in music, but venues, and the person you’re mocking, know better. Respect your audience.

There’s another one that’s really simple, and is often overlooked, but it’s something that will make everybody much, much happier to have come and see you perform. Look like you’re always having fun. Sound like you’re always having fun. Invite the crowd to join in with banter, try to get them clapping, be energetic. Everybody loves an energetic show.

If you’re in the street talking to people, you don’t have to act like a professional, but it’s still a good idea to name drop and self-advertise through subtle means.

“Yeah, come and have a drink with us, we’re at on Saturday,” as you walk away, as an example.

When advertising, or handing out fliers (essentially the same, but with different levels of social interaction) you should always be yourself instead of showing a professional face. People will connect with you much more strongly if you just seem like a normal person with a band who happens to be trying to make the world explode.

But, when the crowd gets bigger, it’s time to put on your happy face.

Tom Colohue is a writer from Blackpool, England. Though he specialises in Fiction, he also writes music theory articles, and new media articles based primarily on the internet. On occasion, these also intermingle. He is well recognised by numerous critics and analysts for his integrative descriptive work and his cynical textual mannerisms. For more information, Tom Colohue keeps a Facebook Fan Page, which contains updates from new articles and his personal blog, Mental Streaming. This page can be found via this link.

Part Nine: Not Forgetting The Individual

Success does not automatically decide to come. Also, it’s often forgotten how easily it can slip away from you because of poor choices and forgetting people. Once you ‘make it’, it’s important to recall the people that got you there through their own work.

This could be a venue owner who gave you a show every month, even when sometimes nobody would book you in between. It could be your friend Dave who walked around town handing out leaflets for one of those shows and talking about your Facebook page for eight hours a day, for three days. It could be that girl Jenny that stood at the merchandise table in a provocative top and asked for barely anything from the amount that she managed to make you.

Image credit: joshuamellin on Flickr

The list goes on. Amateur producers and promoters, sound technicians who listened to what you had to say, lighting designers who just seemed to make things more glamorous. A friend who let you crash on his floor because he was nearer to a venue you hadn’t played at before. As a musician, you’re not going to be rich until you actually are successful. In the interim period, chances are that you’ve survived on a lot of kindness from strangers, friends and your family.

It’s often under appreciated that you have a responsibility to these people, not as a band, or a unit, but as a person. These are the people that kept you afloat, and it’s good to keep this in mind to keep you honest and to make sure that you continue to look after the people that matter in a sea of fans you’re unlikely to meet, greet or spend any actual time with.

Yes, it does mean that you might have to treat some people differently than others, but that’s alright. As per the last article, we talked about a line separating people anyway.

So what are the options? How can you reward these people? Well, that’s fairly simple.

Even if you’re huge, go back to that old venue that used to book you every month for one big show and make that person a ton of money on drinks and on a door charge. Get your friend Dave backstage and give him a commission on the amount of people he got through the doors. Give that girl Jenny free tickets to your shows so that she can keep selling. Reward the die hard fans with discounts or extra activities. Reward the skilled technicians with your continued patronage as a form of endorsement.

Most importantly, meet the fans that truly want to meet you. If you have any intention of connecting with people, even if you have no idea who these people are, connect. Meeting people after your shows is good, but limited. Joining a forum on your own website to talk to people is also good. Ideas like newsletters and press releases going to particular areas are also good.

Obviously, don’t organise a mailing list and then go to all of their houses, but you’re getting the point of it. Your entire fan base is made of individuals. How you treat the earliest ones will show any in the future how you operate, so take care of everybody, now and in the future, that has taken care of you in the past.

Tom Colohue is a writer from Blackpool, England. Though he specialises in Fiction, he also writes music theory articles, and new media articles based primarily on the internet. On occasion, these also intermingle. He is well recognised by numerous critics and analysts for his integrative descriptive work and his cynical textual mannerisms. For more information, Tom Colohue keeps a Facebook Fan Page, which contains updates from new articles and his personal blog, Mental Streaming. This page can be found via this link.

Pros And Cons Of The Dirty Image

There are a lot of people guilty of it, ranging from film stars to factory workers, but it’s a proven fact that showing off a bit of the bad boy style can work to marvellous effect.

Photo credit: Ryan Russell

It works with the ladies, it works with the fans and, as long as it’s not directed at them, it even works to bolster your marketability with your direct rivals, but there is a downside. There’s a line that you need to be aware of, and that line is what this piece covers.

Respect is one of the most important things that you can display if you’re trying to get a booking. Biting the heads off of bats in a packed stadium might be ridiculously cool, but biting the head off of a guinea pig owned by the twelve year old daughter of a booking agent is never going to get you very far, is it? You can’t afford to treat venue owners and talent scouts in the same way that you treat your fans because that’s just going to lead you onto a sinking ship.

Marketability is what gets an act signed. This goes in two ways. One way is for the fans, and for them, you need to stand out from the crowd. A clean metal act is just strange, while a classical opera singer who admits to cocaine-fuelled nights in with fourteen prostitutes and a family of pigs is more likely to just be cannon fodder on Buzzcocks than a success of any sort. You need to suit the needs of your fans, but you also need to suit the needs of the press, publicity and venue options.

The rule is fairly simple; treat officials like your mother, treat fans like your girlfriend.

Half of a relationship is spent with one side attempting to impress the other. With music, that’s almost exactly the point. Impress. Show off, do what you can and make yourself look as cool, as hot or as dangerous as you feel you need to be in order to impress the people you want.

However, that doesn’t work when it comes to people of official stature. They want to hear respect in your voice, and see dignity in your posture, like your mother does.

It’s a weird rule, but it works.

A good example of a successful bad boy image is Russell Crowe. People follow his life with avid interest in order to see who he’s going to punch next, but, behind the scenes, he’s still earning work.

A bad example is Charlie Sheen. Let’s not even go any deeper into that.

Tom Colohue is a writer from Blackpool, England. Though he specialises in Fiction, he also writes music theory articles, and new media articles based primarily on the internet. On occasion, these also intermingle. He is well recognised by numerous critics and analysts for his integrative descriptive work and his cynical textual mannerisms. For more information, Tom Colohue keeps a Facebook Fan Page, which contains updates from new articles and his personal blog, Mental Streaming. This page can be found via this link.

Self-advertising is present in almost everything that we do. When you’re trying to convince somebody to go on a date with you, you’re advertising yourself as you would advertise a product. When you go down to a job interview, you’re advertising yourself as an employee. When you’re putting up posters and handing out fliers, you’re advertising your upcoming gig as a dramatic and exciting experience. Not living up to expectations mean that you lose fans, struggle to earn enough money to make a living, or quickly get bored of using your hands.

With a band name, longevity is key. You can’t flit back and forth between different band names, styles and projects. You know what you’ve got, and you know what you’re capable of, so you need to set up marketing solutions.

Online, the presence of websites such as MySpace, Facebook and about a million other standard social networking platforms are available for the budding musician, not least Ultimate-Guitar. The point of longevity is what separates this from the previous piece based on drawing a crowd. This isn’t about getting people to one venue, this is about keeping them interested in seeing you perform. Updates and music on social networking is very handy.

Your reputation is always going to play a big part. You’ll get some random people turning up at your gigs either because they like the venue, they were dragged along or they know somebody in the band. Your reputation ensures that they don’t pre-judge you, and your performance ensures that they want more in the future. People who haven’t seen you either haven’t heard of you or have only heard your general reputation, and that’s the basis that they’ll use to look you up.

Image credit: szymon on Tumblr

Any sort of performance, gig, appearance of just scattering business cards, is going to provide a huge benefit. Gigging often will keep you in the public eye, but you don’t just poster for the sake of performances. If you can have a poster just advertising yourselves up for a month somewhere then people are going to see it, and when music comes up in conversation, that name might be on their tongue.

Positive experiences with venues will carry to other venues. Respect is very important, since that will determine how word of mouth spreads from the people booking you. The fans might love you, but if nobody books you then you’re limited to disturbing the neighbours. In the same way, respect to the fans goes a long way.

Once you have these things in place, stick to them. If, for example, you’re a graphic designer with an established Facebook fan page, then decide to go by a different sudonym and create a new fan page, it doesn’t matter what you do, you will be alienating some people and losing some numbers who will choose not to go over. Numbers themselves are powerful, and people tend to forget what they’ve clicked ‘like’ on. This works in your favour more often than not, since people are more likely to become a fan of something that several hundred people, including two of their friends, are already fans of.

There’s no limit to how far you want to get your name either. One isolated performance several miles away from home might seem unappealing, but a solid showing to a brand new market will have results, even if it takes a little while for the effect to be felt back where you live. If you live in a small town outside of a big city then you know where the market is and it isn’t with you. Even if you can’t get gigs there, promote yourselves. You’re more likely to earn a gig when the person you call up says ‘yeah, I’ve heard your name somewhere around here’.

Building this sort of thing takes time, and there is no quick fix for it, as many people hope that there is. Thankfully, every single thing that you do in life will all add up to make you perfect for a quick google, a Facebook search or a comfortable chat in a bar with a close friend.

Tom Colohue is a writer from Blackpool, England. Though he specialises in Fiction, he also writes music theory articles, and new media articles based primarily on the internet. On occasion, these also intermingle. He is well recognised by numerous critics and analysts for his integrative descriptive work and his cynical textual mannerisms. For more information, Tom Colohue keeps a Facebook Fan Page, which contains updates from new articles and his personal blog, Mental Streaming. This page can be found via this link.