What Does it Mean to Launch a Band or Artist?




You may find yourself wondering “How do I launch my band? Or How do I launch my music career?"  In order to find out the answer to this question we first have to understand what it means to launch yourself.

The word launch tends to mean different things to different artists and can vary widely depending on many different factors.   For example, if you are a singer who wants to make a steady income using your vocal talent, launching your career may be having a diverse income stream involving regular gigs and studio sessions.  If you want to get signed to a record label, launching your career may mean  crowd funding a demo and paying a service like Taxi to shop it to the major labels until you get a 360 deal.

In any scenario I think we can safely say that launching yourself is all about setting a goal and working toward it no matter what that goal is.  Below are just a few of those steps that most artists need to take to launch themselves or their career.

Songwriting- You should ask yourself "What type of songs should I focus on writing for my audience?"

I know this seems to be an obvious one but in order to launch a career most artists need to perform some original music.



Performing- Ask yourself "Where should I be performing? What type of music should I perform for my audience?  Does my audience seem to like what I am doing?"

Another obvious one here, but in order to make that unbreakable emotional connection to your audience you will have to perform live.



Booking-  Ask yourself "Who should I contact to book performances?  Can I find this information online?  Should I do it on my own or hire a service?  Should I build an EPK? "

Booking is simply scheduling an appointment to do a live performance. Most artists need to be able to perform in front of potential fans so booking is a way to do that.  At first plan on playing for free just to get your name out there. After you can prove to a club owner or booking agent that you can draw a crowd you can begin negotiating pay.



Recording- Ask yourself "Where should I be recording? Can I do this on my own? Should I hire a sound engineer?  How much should I budget for recording?"

Recording your music is a huge part of launching yourself.  You definitely want your super fans to be able to hear your music whenever they want.  Recorded music can be great for revenue as well as a great marketing tool.



Marketing- Ask yourself "Where can I find new members for my audience?  How is my audience spending their time" Where does my audience hang out?"

Finding potential fans and putting your music in front of them.  Be it digital marketing online or passing out flyers before a show, marketing is one of the most important things you will do.



Publicity or Public Relations-  Ask yourself "Where do my potential audience members hang out online? Where do they get their news from?  Where do my current audience members hang out online and get their news"  Where do the people writing about music hang out?  How do I invite a writer to a show or to review my latest record?  When is it time to pay for a PR firm to obtain press?"

Often lumped in with marketing, PR or Publicity for you means having your music and or your schedule reviewed or aired on a media source, be it the local television station or radio station, or having your latest single reviewed on Pitchfork or YourEDM.



This is just a short list of the hundreds of things you will need to do to launch yourself as an artist. Please make sure to comment below to let me know weather this was helpful or not.
Thanks for reading!
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Ryan



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