The Jazz Lawyer

I have been following this thread on LinkedIn and I thought this post by Simon Tam was right on the money. DIY can work, but you must put in the time and effort and treat your band like a business.

If you think of it this way, the band is like a business. It was the exact same needs – inflow of cash, marketing/publicity, deliverables, a loyal customer base, distribution, and services. The problem is that many creative types aren’t very business savvy so they don’t know how to achieve “success.” That alone is a tricky term since one person’s definition of fame and success might differ from another. I think being able to do your craft full time for a sustainable living is being successful – and there are many, many independent artists who are doing this today. I’ll give two short examples.

The first is my friend’s band who has worldwide recognition has being the premier horror punk band. They have one of the most recognizable images of any band, their logos are everywhere – from the record store to Hot Topic, to Spencer’s Gift Shop. They are The Misfits. They created their own label – Misfits Records. But through a creative marketing position, aggressive promotion (they tour 8-10 months out of the year), and a dedicated fanbase, they’ve had a career lasting over 30 years. They’re currently in the studio recording yet another album after a long hiatus of releasing new music.

The second example is myself. I started a band called The Slants in 2007. I purposely used all of the tactics touted by DIY musician guides and combined that with business expertise, existing contacts (I’ve been playing music for a long time), and of course, developed niche marketing for a specific crowd. I even got a 2nd mortgage on my house to fund the project – paid for our first record, touring van/trailer, plenty of merchandise. Within one year, I was doing the band full-time. I spent my days seeking sponsorships, developing co-branded marketing campaigns, communicating with fans/media, etc. I hired on a publicist who took over all press. It was a lot of work but it was a labor of love and no label was needed.

If you think of the band as a business (which it is if you want to make a living…mine is set up as an LLC), then the major label is often just a very high interest loan. I’ve had many label offers thrown at me, including a million dollar contract, but I believe that the personal involvement in all facets of my bands “branding” is really what led to our success. If you want to know our secret, you can read the Indie Max Guide by Ariel Hyatt – the first first chapter on how to be successful at this gig was written based on my band’s model.
Posted by Simon Tam