Are You Getting More Fans?
Before I was ever a mixing engineer I was a musician and songwriter. What’s cool about being a musician and an engineer is that these different skills compliment each other so well. Imagine making a record with a producer or engineer that didn’t play an instrument for example. I’ve been in that situation and there can be some communication problems to say the least. When I’m working with a mixing client we are speaking the same language so it makes things easier for both of us. More and more, musicians are doubling as engineers. It’s a smart move for your creativity and your wallet.
Fairly soon I’m going to be making an announcement about a new band I’m part of. I’ll have more details about that in the coming weeks. I’m stoked! I’ve actually been recording our debut for a while now which has been an awesome experience. As I’m sure you know, putting together a rock record is no small feat. Between writing the songs, doing pre-production demos, recording live drums, etc. it’s a time consuming project. And I’m a perfectionist type so there’s that too.
The good news is we haven’t signed a record deal yet so there isn’t a label breathing down our necks. At one point in time that would be the exact opposite way most people would have looked at the situation. In those days it was all about getting a record deal. I’ll be the first to tell you that a record deal is not necessarily the end all be all. That however is another blog post unto itself. For right now we will be concentrating on developing a following, i.e. fans.
If you have a band, this should be one of your first big goals: develop a fanbase. A fanbase equals power. Power to book better shows, sell more merch, and make your band a self sustaining business. So how do you get these fans? Just throw your songs up on a streaming platform and hope for the best? NO!
Remember the movie “Field of Dreams” where the idea is to build a baseball field out in the middle of nowhere? “Build it and they will come” being the idea that if you create something people will travel to the field and be fans. This works in a movie but is not a marketing strategy in real life. In other words just because you’ve dropped your latest song or record doesn’t mean people will sit up and take notice.
So how do you go about getting these die hard fans? Well, before you even think about marketing your release the first thing you must have is great songs. Not good songs, not ok songs, but GREAT SONGS. This means the writing and performances must be stellar as well as the production.
Hopefully you have high standards and are writing some great songs. If you already have well produced, great songs that are ready to be marketed I suggest taking my mentor’s course called “The One Funnel Away Challenge.” I’ve done this myself and can tell you it is an insane value for what you take away from it.
If you are currently or about to be recording your band or project yourself I have created a course that you absolutely NEED to achieve those stellar recordings I was talking about. Thankfully, I’m putting the final touches on it and will be releasing it very soon. It is going to be a game changer for many musicians.
If you aren’t already, make sure you sign up for my email list because I will have a discount for my subscribers. Go to rockmixingengineer.com to subscribe. You’ll also get a free guide on recording heavy guitars.
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Need More Fans or Clients? There’s still time to pick up your FREE copy of “Traffic Secrets”! This is an AWESOME book that I highly recommend.
Also, in case you didn’t know, I mix singles, EPs, and Albums for Rock and Metal bands. You can check out my work and get more info at mattclarkmixer.com/secdir/ as well as get prices, etc.