It can’t be stressed enough just how important it is to make a great first impression.
The reality is that artists neglect this aspect of what they do. They are careless with their image. It’s not even that there is just one single thing that they do wrong. There are several activities and behaviours that undermine all their hard work.
Table of Contents
Releasing Music Before The Artist Or Their Songs Are Ready
It used to be that new artists would rehearse to reach a reasonable standard before performing in public. You would then play local gigs and start building your following. Now new artists seem prepared to release their music when it is just a new idea, poorly performed, arranged, recorded and produced. They make their mistakes very publicly. Very loudly.
The question is, does releasing music like this achieve what they want? Does encouraging the very public dissection and discussion of the merits of their half-baked tracks really help them?
Even when comparing earlier internet behavior with today, artists regularly mix up talking to different distinct audiences and the different needs, wants, and benefits of engaging with each specific audience.
Social media is a common place for indies to promote a music release. Often the only place they use. The problem is that artists use it for everything. Talking to fans, fellow artists, family, friends… anyone. Without any separation at all. It really isn’t a good idea to mix your audiences (see The Problem With Mixed Audiences) in many scenarios.
Activity Levels
Regular activity is the name of the game. Much of this is in the pursuit of engagement when they feel they have little to talk about. Especially their own music.
Because of the need to keep talking they push themselves to put out music too quickly. Often it is ideas for songs, drafts, below par performances. In addition they talk about their lunch, what they did at the weekend and anything else they can think of, as they struggle to look relevant.
In the big push to release music they post early releases to the public, of tracks, even simple ideas, drafts, rough versions, asking for feedback. Don’t do this. See “Artists Releasing Music Before They Are Ready”.
Losing All Your Magic
Imagine an artist engaging with their fans, the general public, fellow artists and songwriters in the same way, with content really only meant for one specific audience group. That might not seem like much of an issue, but imagine you are going to see a magician… you are looking forward to being blown away. While you might appreciate their sleight of hand and their dexterity, it isn’t the same as the feeling of wonder and amazement, stumped by “how did they do that?”.
Like any show the audience builds anticipation and excitement before the event. Imagine then what would happen if, before the show, the magician went on Twitter and Facebook. Imagine they spoke to fellow magicians, explaining the different tricks they plan to perform, but imagine they spoke to them publicly, not via Direct Messages. Picture them publicly weighing up the merits of each trick, showing earlier, less impressive versions of tricks, and asking for feedback. When you have digested all that and go to see the magician sometime later and they perform their tricks, and you know how every trick is done, how do you think you would react? Would you think you would be as surprised as if you didn’t know how the tricks were done? Would the show have as much impact as it would have, had lesser versions of the tricks done the rounds first?
True, you might really appreciate the skill and dexterity involved, but the mystery, the magic is gone.
Artists do this all the time. For the lack of some real thought into what they could say, they give the game away. Instead of building excitement and anticipation, they blow it. Death by a thousand cuts.
Ask yourself this: Do you see mainstream artists releasing their music too early? Or do you think they rehearse the hell out of songs, experiment with all sorts, over and over, making sure they get every detail right and even then try to only ever put the best the best version of themselves and their music into the public eye?
Why Is This A Problem?
As a general point for bands, it is really important to make a great first impression. It’s really important to keep making a great impression. For every performance, song release, or broadcast, for a significant number of people that will be their first impression. That aside, listeners and viewers should always be given a great impression.
Yes, you want to get your music in front of people quickly, but unless you are performing a punk derivative, your audience almost certainly expects you to have your music together.
As an ongoing issue, if you keep giving a poor impression, the pool of people willing to give you a chance evaporates.
Releasing Half-Baked Tracks
Imagine an artist engaging with their fans, the general public, fellow artists and songwriters in the same way, with content really only meant for one specific audience group. That might not seem like much of an issue, but imagine you are going to see a magician… you are looking forward to being blown away. While you might appreciate their sleight of hand and their dexterity, it isn’t the same as the feeling of wonder and amazement, stumped by “how did they do that?”.
Like any show the audience builds anticipation and excitement before the event. Imagine then what would happen if, before the show, the magician went on Twitter and Facebook. Imagine they spoke to fellow magicians, explaining the different tricks they plan to perform, but imagine they spoke to them publicly, not via Direct Messages. Picture them publicly weighing up the merits of each trick, showing earlier, less impressive versions of tricks, and asking for feedback. When you have digested all that and go to see the magician sometime later and they perform their tricks, and you know how every trick is done, how do you think you would react? Would you think you would be as surprised as if you didn’t know how the tricks were done? Would the show have as much impact as it would have, had lesser versions of the tricks done the rounds first?
True, you might really appreciate the skill and dexterity involved, but the mystery, the magic is gone.
Artists do this all the time. For the lack of some real thought into what they could say, they give the game away. Instead of building excitement and anticipation, they blow it. Death by a thousand cuts.
Ask yourself this: Do you see mainstream artists releasing their music too early? Or do you think they rehearse the hell out of songs, experiment with all sorts, over and over, making sure they get every detail right and even then try to only ever put the best the best version of themselves and their music into the public eye?
Remember - Make A Great First Impression
- You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression
- Don’t post development tracks/rough versions/drafts in places designed for talking to the general public.
- If you keep giving a poor impression, the pool of people willing to give you a chance evaporates.
- If you do post live streams, or other representations of live performances, rehearse enough to know that you can put on a good, mistake free performance.
Related Articles
Do you want to find out more about independent music artists here on Songstuff? If so, you can find articles and interviews on our Indie Music Blog page.
Read more about the music business and music marketing in the Songstuff Music Business Artcles.
Dos and Don’ts On Social Media
Mastering Social Media For Artists
Independent Artists On Social Media
10 Suggestions For Independent Artists On Social Media
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