By Tim Des Islets
I started writing this because my friend, James Pew, turned me on to the idea of creating a resource, called Studio Manifesto, where musicians and producers can come together and learn how to better manage their careers in an industry that is changing daily.

While I was taking music at Humber College, I realized that I was spending all my time playing music in my classes and bedroom but really had no idea how to take it any further. I started reading every book and website I could possibly find about how the music business worked and what I could do to ensure that I could be a part of it as long as possible.

I believe the key to success may be the DO IT YOURSELF method. Unless you’ve got a killer record, a great video, and money to burn, you’re not going to get anyone’s attention. Learn to DIY and you will enjoy a long career doing what you love music.

Below are some tips on how you can become your own world-class Manager and Agent without ever leaving your desk.

Manager

Many artists believe that having a manager is the be-all end-all key to making it in the music business. Not according to DIY tactics. Having a manager is an important step for any artist but does not have to come until much later in the game. For now, become your own manager. Do everything you can possibly do to expose people to your music. Don’t wait for people to open doors for you, kick them down yourself.

The internet has become the most important way for people to discover you and your music. Make it easy for them. Make a Facebook fan page, a Myspace page, a Sonicbids page, and a website.

Make it Web 2.0!

Keep these pages up to date and add to them regularly. Nobody wants to hear about old news and if you’re always adding to your page, your fans will keep coming back for updates.
This is a Myspace page for a Toronto artist named Jadea Kelly. It’s up to date, has all of her upcoming gigs, features new music, and is neat. Use this as a model when creating your own page.

Have a friend film your next gig and put the videos up http://www.youtube.com. Set up a camera and take some basic photos of you or your band. This doesn’t have to be flashy, just let people know what you look like.

Most big cities have annual music conferences. In Ontario there is Canadian Music Week, North by Northeast, OCFF, and the Blues Summit . Attend these festivals and represent yourself! Introduce yourself to everyone and spread the word about your music. A CD in the right persons hand can be better than your best show to a thousand people. Make the connections that you would be paying a manager to make for you.

Agent

This is the ultimate DIY. Playing live is the best way to grow your fan base and draw more attention to your band. All you need to keep your band on the road (besides talent) is a phone and a calendar.

Start locally. Think of every venue in your city that you’ve ever seen live music. Do they play the type of music you play? Does the club have a good reputation among your peers? Is this the type of venue you would want to bring your fans and friends? Most venues have a website listing the bookers name and contact. Send the booker an email introducing yourself and listing your contact info (phone and email will do). Include your Myspace, website, Sonicbids link or any other page where someone will easily be able to hear your music and learn about you quickly.

Think of an artist you admire, now search the internet for gig listings from when they were starting out. Surprised to see that their first gig wasn’t Madison Square Gardens? It was probably the same venue you stumbled out of last night. Every band started somewhere and so will you.

There are a few great sites on the web that allow you to become your own booking agency.

http://stillepost.ca/ is a really helpful site that is divided into province and has discussion boards for each city which talk in depth about everything from contacts at clubs to which hotels are musician-friendly and where to rent a bass amp an hour before you hit the stage.

http://www.montrealshows.com/ is a good site for you guessed it Montreal. I’ve only been to Montreal a couple times but after fifteen minutes on this site I know more than enough to confidently book a show anywhere in the city.

http://www.smashinglumber.com/directory.html This site is absolutely huge. You could book an entire tour solely from this site. It is a bit outdated but there is so much information I’m not even that mad.

I hope this information helps you take the next step in your music career.
Feel free to contact me anytime with questions or if you need help taking your music to the next level desislets@yahoo.com

Good Luck!
Tim Des Islets

“The music business is a dark, plastic hallway; where pimps and thieves run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.”
- Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

The DIY Movement Has Never Been Better For Indies by Tim Des Islet is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008 at 12:51 pm and is filed under Music Culture, Music Promotion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.