Artist Resources
Free Database of Canadian Folk Festivals [UPDATED- December, 2011]
Since releasing the first version of the database in January, 2011, we received a lot of feedback from the folk … [Read More...]
Attending Music Conferences 101
I’m thrilled to announce the release of a new eBook for musicians called “Attending Music Conferences 101”. It’s … [Read More...]
Cool’s Corner
Post-OCFF: Public Apology to Paul Mills, Andy Frank Makes Us Look Bad, & Crushes Galore
Another OCFF conference is in the books, and it was probably my favourite so far. Big thanks and congrats to Peter, … [Read More...]
Latest Posts
Free Database of Canadian Folk Festivals [UPDATED- December, 2011]
Since releasing the first version of the database in January, 2011, we received a lot of feedback from the folk community with many suggestions of festivals that could be added to the database. Here is the latest version of the database for Folk Festivals in 2012. Big thanks to Roots Music Canada for sharing their database as well as the many members of the folk/roots music community in Canada that contacted us. Collectively we built a fairly comprehensive database of folk festivals in Canada. You can download the updated versions of the database below. Cheers! -DC
My good friend Emma Julien and I compiled a database of Canadian Folk Festivals. It includes a listing of folk festivals in Canada along with their contact information, deadlines and application guidelines. It is a powerful resource for any folk/roots artist inside our outside of Canada.
You can download the database for FREE in either the original Excel format or as a PDF file.
Cheers!
Dave
P.S. We encourage you to share this resource, which you can do by:
Social Media Trends: Focus on Your Website, Songwriting, and Playing Live (?!)
This post was written for Bandzoogle, a website platform for musicians. Bandzoogle is a Montreal-based company, founded and run by musicians, and has every tool a musician needs for their website. Visit Bandzoogle.com to take the tour or get started right away and build your website free.
I had the pleasure of moderating a panel called “Social Media: New Trends for Current Users” at the recent OCFF conference in Niagara Falls. After 90 minutes of discussion, the end result of this social media panel was that artists should focus on their own website, their mailing list, songwriting and live performance. Say what?! Allow me to explain.
Social Media Trends: Focus on Your Website, Songwriting, and Playing Live (?!)
The goal of the panel at OCFF was to examine the latest trends in social media, how to manage all of your profiles, and to discuss new tips/tactics, etc. On the panel were Selena Burgess (social media maven for Borealis Records), Tom Power (host of CBC Radio 2’s Deep Roots) and singer-songwriter Ember Swift, who manages her social media accounts in both English and Mandarin since she’s now living in China.
So I threw out questions about how to manage several social media accounts (Hootsuite was the popular choice amongst panelists), what everyone thought about some of Facebook’s new features (not very popular so far), Twitter trends, and the latest, greatest social media network, Google+ (not too many people using it apparently).
But in the end, no matter what I did to steer the conversation towards a social media geek-out session, the panelists and artists in attendance always brought the discussion back to the basics:
1. You still need your own website
Any work you do through your social media networks needs to bring people back to your own website. Bandzoogle founder Chris Vinson just wrote a blog post about why this is so important:
3 Reasons to Drive Fans to Your Band Website (and not to Social Media)
But essentially, it’s because you own it, you control it, and you can give your fans a focused experience of your band through your own site. By bringing fans back to your own website you can deepen your relationship with them, encourage them to sign-up to your mailing list, and shop at your own online store.
2. You still need to collect email addresses
Email addresses are gold for an artist’s career. It is still the most reliable way to stay in touch with your fans. Regardless of what happens to the social media sites that are popular at the moment (remember all the fans you had on MySpace?), you can stay in touch with your fans through email.
Just recently, Facebook changed the way pages worked, removing the “Update Your Fans” feature, which sent a message to all of your fans. Ember Swift brought this up during the panel discussion, as she had been using that feature’s geo-location option to target fans by region while on her current North American tour. Well, halfway through her tour, because Facebook decided to make the change, she could no longer send those updates, let alone target fans geographically. Luckily Ember had always kept her mailing list going, organized by region, so she could still send out newsletters and email fans individually before she came to their city. But had she relied solely on Facebook Pages, that could have potentially been disastrous for her promotional efforts on tour.
Statistics from TopSpin, one of the top direct-to-fan marketing platforms, show that email is still the best way to convert fans to paying customers. With all of the fancy Facebook stores, and sales links being sent out through social media, sending a newsletter with a call-to-action to purchase through your own website (preferably) or through services that people recognize (iTunes, Amazon, etc.) still seems to work best.
3. Your music and live show must be GREAT
Nothing, I repeat NOTHING will be better for the promotion of your music than having other people talking about it. New fans are often created because they hear about a band through a trusted source. So if your music or live show is so good that it gets people talking about it, it’s going to spread naturally.
Tom Power’s last words during the panel talked about how social media marketing can’t make up for bad music. It reminded me of a great quote by Bob Lefsetz:
“No amount of Tweeting and Facebooking and online dunning will make up for lame music.”
Should you be active on social media? Yes. It is an important tool in your career and a great way to connect with your fans. But it should never come at the expense of your art. I actually wrote a blog post recently asking if social media was hurting creativity, and in the responses, Bandzoogle member D. Anson Brody mentioned another great quote from comedian/actor/musician Steve Martin:
“Be so good, they can’t ignore you”
And that is what will make you stand out more than any amount of tweeting or Facebook updates. Being so good, people have no choice but to pay attention to you and talk about you to their friends.
A Failed Panel Discussion About Social Media?
In my opinion, not at all. While these aren’t exactly new trends in social media, I was heartened by the fact that people are realizing that they can’t let go of these basic principles. Without solid music, a great live show, and a home base for your fans, your best efforts on social media are likely to fall flat.
Post-OCFF: Public Apology to Paul Mills, Andy Frank Makes Us Look Bad, & Crushes Galore
Another OCFF conference is in the books, and it was probably my favourite so far. Big thanks and congrats to Peter, Jennifer, Bob, the OCFF board, and all of the great volunteers, with a shout-out to Kim for helping out with my social media panel (oh, and with the exception of Aly, who pretty much ate all of the chocolate at the Bandzoogle table).
I had the time of my life at OCFF 2011, and it was another reminder of how wonderful the folk community is. Here are some personal highlights:
Conference Highlights:
Being Interviewed by Andy Frank
I had the privilege of being interviewed for an educational video series for the OCFF being put together by Andy Frank (Frankcasting/Roots Music Canada). I had a blast reconnecting with him and doing the interview. But Andy, you made the rest of us look bad with your slick suits, you looked like a million bucks sir!
Estelle Klein Award Presentation & Paul Mills Tribute Video
Speaking of Andy Frank, he did an absolutely wonderful job putting together the video tribute to the 2011 Estelle Klein Award recipient, Paul Mills. And I would like to take this opportunity to both congratulate and apologize to Mr. Mills. You see, sometimes members of the younger generations (speaking for myself) have a tendency to focus on the present and the future, and don’t take the time to examine what came before us. We can read bios, or hear things from other people, but watching that video really made an impact on me.
I don’t think I truly appreciated the work that has been done by real pioneers like Paul Mills, who are responsible for building this vibrant and wonderful community. So thank you sir, we owe so much to you, and to put it mildly, this was a well-deserved honour. I’m grateful I was there to witness it.
Moderating Social Media Panel with Tom Power as Panelist
Because of a scheduling conflict, I found out 24 hours before my social media panel that I would actually be moderating it, not just serving as a panelist. I think it turned out just fine, and the highlight for me was having Tom Power, host of Deep Roots on CBC Radio 2, as a surprise panelist. The guy is a superstar, and it was great to get the perspective of a member of the media on that panel.
Some Musical Highlights:
- Annabelle Chvostek: An old friend from the Montreal folk scene, her voice gives me goosebumps every time.
- Lindy: Same goes for Lindy, his vocals are shiver-inducing. Can’t wait for the new album.
- The Sweetness: Probably my favourite discovery at OCFF this year, and admittedly I have a huge crush on the band (actually on 3/4’s of the band, so that would be everyone except Aly; see above comments re: stealing our chocolate). They create a different vibe with their show than most other acts, and the combination of 4 individually talented artists has obviously resulted in something special. A band to watch out for.
- C.R. Avery: Had heard his name before, but didn’t know what to expect, certainly was not expecting a beat-boxing/harmonica playing/spoken word artist. Holy wow that was good.
- Dave Gunning: His storytelling & impersonation of Ron Hynes were incredible!
- Lake of Stew: One of the best bands in the Montreal music scene, I was so proud to see them showcase officially, as the band includes a few childhood friends and the singer for my old pop-punk band from way back when I was a teenager. My hands hurt after their showcase from clapping along to their songs, so much fun.
- Ember Swift: Watching Ember put on a great performance, 7+ months preggers and all, during the Global Cafe showcase was a reminder that she is truly one of the best live performers around.
- Suzie Vinnick: So much talent wrapped into such a lovely human being, totally have a crush on her now (don’t worry James Dean, your name is much cooler than mine).
- The Magnificent 7’s: Bandzoogle CEO David Dufresne highly recommended this band, and he was right, they’re a lot of fun, thoroughly enjoyed watching them.
- Rob Szabo: I had the pleasure of booking Rob many times in Montreal, easily one of the nicest human beings I’ve come across. I was thrilled to see him up there during his official showcase, and he played my favourite song “I Live for the Summer” with a very special guest, Peter Katz, who is another wonderful singer-songwriter. I think I might have man-crushes on both of them. Love those guys.
- Gospel Jam: For obvious reasons. It was also great to meet some fellow gospel choir geeks (that’s you Andrea Simms-Karp!)
Thank You
A huge thanks to David Dufresne and Bandzoogle for investing in the folk community and for sending Elida & I to the conference. We had a blast, it was so much fun to work and hang out together that weekend.
And to everyone who came up to me to tell me that they enjoy my blog posts, or thanked me for the work I do, I was completely caught off guard by your kindness. I can’t express how good it feels to know that the work you are doing is appreciated by your community. I was truly humbled, and am so grateful for your kind words.
It was great to see so many old friends, and meet lots of new ones. So thank you my fellow folkies for being such a great and supportive community, I’m already counting the days until OCFF 2012. In the meantime, please stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, email, etc.
Cheers,
Dave
Facebook: facebook.com/davecool7
Twitter: twitter.com/dave_cool
Musicians and the Art of Polite Persistence
This post was written for Bandzoogle, a website platform for musicians. Bandzoogle is a Montreal-based company, founded and run by musicians, and has every tool a musician needs for their website. Visit Bandzoogle.com to take the tour or get started right away and build your website free.
Musicians and the Art of Polite Persistence
A few weeks ago I went back to a venue that I was the program director at for 3 years. The band playing that night was a jazz trio called “Apartment 5”. I realized that the bass player Paul is the perfect example of polite persistence, because it took almost a year for me to first book his band, but they have been playing regular gigs at the venue ever since.
I first heard from Paul after I had started booking a space called the St-Ambroise Centre here in Montreal, which is owned and operated by local micro-brewery McAuslan Brewing (if you can find their St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout, it’s considered to be the best stout in the world by many beer geeks). Anyway, his jazz trio had played at a visual arts event at the venue (the artist had hired them), and he called me shortly after to see if we would be interested in hiring his band for other gigs. I explained that it was something we simply didn’t do. We didn’t charge to rent the space, but we also didn’t offer guarantees to bands. But they were a work-for-hire band, so there was nothing I could for them at the time.
A few months later, I got a voice mail from Paul, asking if we had any need for his jazz trio. I didn’t call him back this time because I was swamped with work, and there was still nothing I could do for him. A few months later, he called back and we spoke on the phone once again. I didn’t have anything different to tell him, but he was a nice guy and I honestly didn’t mind talking to him for a few minutes.
Opportunity Knocked
These phone calls and messages continued every once in a while for most of that year, until one day we got a call at the venue to host a private event for a company. It turned out they wanted a jazz trio for entertainment during the evening. Guess who I thought of first? My friend Paul. So I called him up and offered him the gig. It was for less money than they normally charged, but Paul said they’d take the gig to show me what it was like to work with the band and to prove themselves.
As it turned out, they were perfect. Great musicians, totally professional. They came in, set-up on time, played their sets, tore down and got out of the way (and they didn’t get drunk, eat all of the client’s food, etc.). They knew they were there to do a job and that’s what they did. I was really impressed.
I got a thank you phone call from Paul shortly after (remember how much I love those). He of course reminded me they were available to do more gigs, and I reminded him that this was a one-off kind of thing, but that I would keep him in mind if anything else came up.
The Pay Off
Well, the following spring I was given the keys to the much larger outdoor space at the micro-brewery, the St-Ambroise Terrace (250+ capacity versus 50+ capacity). We also made a decision to invest a considerable amount of money into hiring entertainment throughout the summer, a good portion of which would go to weekly music nights. I think you know who got a lot of those gigs, and they’ve been playing regularly at the space for 3 years now, even after I left my job as the program director.
Everyone Needs a Polite Reminder
So when I saw Paul recently after his set at the St-Ambroise Terrace, I reminded him how it had all started with his regular phone calls and messages. We laughed about it, but then he thanked me for reminding him. He admitted it’s not easy to do for an artist, and he had lost sight of the fact that polite persistence can indeed pay off. He realized that there were a bunch of potential clients that he had stopped phoning simply because he had lost confidence after he wasn’t getting calls back, but he said he would pick up the phone and try again.
I figured since the guy who was in my mind the perfect example of polite persistence needed a friendly reminder, then other musicians might need one as well. So take it from someone who was fielding dozens of booking emails/calls every week for 4 years, polite persistence can indeed pay off.
IMPORTANT: Why Paul’s Polite Persistence Paid Off
It’s one thing to say that polite persistence works, but I want to take a closer look at specifically why it worked in this case:
1. They never sounded bitter, angry or frustrated
Whenever Paul called, he never came across as pushy, and never sounded bitter, angry or frustrated that I wasn’t booking him. He was always upbeat, asked me how things at the venue were going, and was just fun to talk to. The reality is that had he given me any attitude along the way about not booking the band, the story probably would’ve ended there.
2. They didn’t take a non-reply as a “No”
There were several times when I didn’t call Paul back, but he didn’t take the non-reply as a “No”, and neither should you. If a booker or media person (or anyone else you’re trying to reach) doesn’t return your phone call or respond to your email, all it means is that they didn’t return your phone call or respond to your email. It doesn’t mean the answer is no.
People are extremely busy, especially any gatekeepers in the industry, and emails and phone calls often get lost in the shuffle. Heck, even when I did tell Paul the answer was “no”, he still persisted, but that’s because I always left the door open to the situation changing in the future, so he kept following up until the answer was a definite “No”, which it never ended up being.
3. They persisted, to a point
Yes, Paul persisted, but he didn’t call every day or even every week. It was more like once every few months. Had he called me every day or every few days, I probably would’ve blocked his number and never booked the band. He struck the right balance.
4. Once opportunity knocked, they exceeded expectations
Once the band got the first gig, they did an amazing job and exceeded my expectations. They even took the gig for less money than they were usually paid, just to get their feet in the door. They made sure that if ever another opportunity came up, I would have no choice but to think to book them, which is exactly what happened.
Have you ever used polite persistence to get a gig? How about to get an interview in the media or song on the radio? Let us know in the comments section below!
21 Ways to Collaborate with Other Artists & Bands to Get More Fans
This post was written for Bandzoogle, a website platform for musicians. Bandzoogle is a Montreal-based company, founded and run by musicians, and has every tool a musician needs for their website. Visit Bandzoogle.com to take the tour or get started right away and build your website free.
One of the best ways for emerging bands to gain new fans is to be exposed to another band’s audience. Especially if you have similar target markets, fans are more likely to trust a recommendation coming from a band they already know and like. Here are some ideas on how you can collaborate with other artists and bands to grow your fan base:
21 Ways to Collaborate with Other Artists & Bands to Get More Fans
Collaborate on Live Shows
Likely the easiest and most common way to collaborate with other bands is to play gigs together. Here are a few different ways to collaborate on gigs:
1. Gig Swap
This is of course a no-brainer. Find other like-minded bands whose musical style either compliments you, or even better, that would make for an interesting combination, giving fans of both bands a unique experience. You can open for each other at different shows, and this will work especially well if the other band is based in a different (but nearby) city. You can do gig swaps to help each other break into new markets.
2. Festival gigs
If you’re playing a festival and there is an artist or members of a band that you want to collaborate with, why not create a special environment at your festival gig by collaborating on a song or two? I’ve seen artists collaborate on festival stages big and small, and it usually makes for a buzz-worthy performance that gets people talking.
3. Conference showcases
Same idea as with festivals, but if you manage to get a showcase at a music conference, why not bring in another artist to collaborate on a song? Just be sure to have rehearsed it live before showcasing.
4. Tours
Take the concept of playing live with another band even further and book a tour together. It could be just a weekend tour of a few cities close to home, or a full-out regional/national tour.
Collaborate on Recordings
For your next album, try and think of some like-minded artists that you can collaborate with. Collaborating on recordings can be done in many different ways, here are a few to consider:
5. Guest performances
The simplest thing you can do is perform on each other’s recordings (sing, play an instrument, DJ, rap, etc.). If you want to get the most bang for your buck, make sure that in the song title it actually lists the other artist “X Song Name (Featuring X Artist)”.
6. Co-write a song
Next step would be to co-write with another artist. This will not only be great for the sake of collaboration, but might help with each of your songwriting abilities and open up some new ideas, which is never a bad thing.
7. Cover a song
Why not cover a song by a fellow emerging band whose fan base would like your music? It’s a great way to flatter the band and also generate buzz for both of you.
8. Produce each other’s music
An even more involved way to collaborate in the studio is to take turns producing each other’s songs. This can give each of you a new perspective on the songs you choose to produce for each other.
Often emerging artists can’t afford to hire a producer, but having that objective ear can really help improve the songs. So if you have an opportunity to have a peer produce a song, it might be worthwhile to give it a try.
9. Remix songs
Another great way to collaborate is to approach an artist to do a remix of one of your songs. You can even remix each other’s songs, or take it further and do remix albums of each other’s music.
10. Release an exclusive single/EP
If you’ve collaborated with another band through guest appearances, songwriting, production, remixes, etc., why not release an exclusive digital single or EP through your website?
Even better, couple that digital release with the release of a limited edition vinyl: Vinyl sales already up 41% on the year
Collaborate Using Video
There are also lots of possibilities to use video for collaborations:
11. Official music videos
If you’ve guested on a song, or co-written a song together, collaborating on an official music video is also a no-brainer.
12. Live videos
If you’ve collaborated with another band live on stage, be sure to get some footage of it for both bands to use to promote to their fans.
13. Cover song videos
Even if you haven’t covered the band’s song on your album, you can still release videos covering songs of fellow emerging bands that you want to collaborate with. Chances are that both of your fan bases will get a kick out of this.
14. Videos from the Studio
If you’re doing any kind of collaboration in the studio, be sure to get some footage of it to release on your website/YouTube, etc. Remember, when you’re in the studio, don’t shut out your fans.
15. Live streaming video
Why not use live streaming video while in studio, at a live gig, or even after a gig to chat with fans of both bands?
Collaborate Using Your Website
Don’t forget to use your website to help in your collaboration with other bands. Here are some of the ways to drive people to your website:
16. On Your Blog
It can be as simple as blogging about the other band. You can:
- Talk about why you like their music
- Do a review their album
- Interview the band
17. Photo Galleries
Use photo galleries to highlight collaborations with other bands, including pictures from studio sessions, pictures from live shows, or just the bands hanging out together.
Note: Live Video & Exclusive Music
If you do decide to use live video streaming in your collaborations, be sure to host the video on your own site and not the streaming service’s site. Most services will let you embed HTML to host the feed directly on your own website.
And as mentioned earlier, if you do collaborate on a recording with another band, why not release the track(s) exclusively through your website? Take advantage of any excuse to drive traffic to your website where people can sign-up to your mailing list, shop at your online store, etc.
Collaborate Using Social Media
And last but not least, probably the quickest way to collaborate with other bands and help each other out is to use social media. You can:
18. Exchange Tweets
Tweet praise about each other and encourage your fans to follow each other’s band.
19. Host a Twitter Chat
Why not organize a Twitter chat session for fans of both bands so you can chat with each other’s fans. What’s a Twitter chat? Here’s a great article that explains what it is and how to set one up: http://mashable.com/2009/12/08/twitter-chat/
20. Use Facebook status updates
You can each talk about why you like the other band and be sure to link to each other’s fan page.
21. Post a Facebook Note
Create a Facebook note talking about the other band, just be sure to tag the other band in the note as Madalyn Sklar pointed out in her guest blog about Facebook Notes here on Bandzoogle.
Note: And it goes without saying, use social media to drive fans to your website to view your blog posts, video blogs, live video and other exclusive content on your website.
The bottom line is that the more emerging artists join forces to help each other out through collaborations, the more buzz it will generate, which will no doubt result in more fans for each band.
Rappers do it best
The amount of collaborations and guest appearances that happen in hip hop eclipse’s other genres. As discussed in a Digital Music News Article “The Top 8 Reasons Why Rappers Make Better Businessmen…”, guest appearances help amplify your music to new audiences, and rappers use this tactic often and to great effect.
Making the news these days is the high-profile collaboration between Kanye West and Jay-Z called “Watch the Throne”. But I’ll end this post with a more old-school example.
Here’s a video of one of the most famous collaborations that crossed over genres and garnered both groups increased sales, awards, and arguably spawned a new genre of music:
P.S.- A Shout-out
In the world of music blogging, with so many blogs and writers out there, the chances of overlap are great. Case in point, this blog post was in the can and scheduled to go up a few week ago, but with a back-log of content, we delayed publishing it until this week.
Well, ironically, David Hooper over at Music Marketing [dot] com posted a blog recently called “5 Ways to Collaborate (or Partner) with Other Bands”. And although there are of course some similarities, there are a few ways to collaborate with other bands that didn’t make it onto my list, so head on over there if you’re looking for a few other ways to collaborate with bands.
Question: In what creative ways have you collaborated with other artists or bands? Please leave us your comments below.
