It's a word we use to describe lots of things- our cars, our house, our ex-girlfriends. It becomes a benchmark of sorts in musical success, but most of us don't know where it starts or ends. "Remember me when you are big!", or "I can't wait until you hit it big" are common expressions we hear. "I saw them before they were big" is another favorite among music fans. When does big start or stop? How 'big' do we have to become to be considered big? How do we get big? Who came up with the word, anyways? In becoming big, the first assumption of course, is that you are small. Don't worry- it happens to everybody. The trick is, though, not to appear small. I understand you are probably duct-taping your guitar case together and scraping just enough gas money together to get to your gigs, but no worries. You can still appear to be 'big'. One of the first steps is exposure. Lots of it. If you are in a big town or a small town, getting your band's name and music out there is key. You can do this several ways. One good way is a flyer campaign. Anytime you have a gig in town, blanket the area (malls, movie theaters, college campuses, etc.) with little car flyers. Print 8 to a page and cut them up. Print them on yellow paper, and make them look like parking tickets. Find 5 friends that will help you distribute them, but don't be too proud to get out there and hand them out, too. What this will do is increase the awareness of your name. If you play in town twice a month, and hand out 1000 flyers, then 2000 people in town have at least seen your band's name. Total cost for the month= $12.50 (125 copies @ 5 cents/ copy cut into 1/8ths). So you have now been run out of several mall parking lots and threatened with incarceration by hourly waged guards armed with little more than a set of keys. On to the next step. Record a decent-sounding demo and get it out there. Get to know the local DJ's and college radio station folks. Get them to your shows. Buy them drinks if you have to, but get them there and excited about your band. This won't guarantee you will be spun, but it doesn't hurt at all. Especially a late-night DJ that can deviate from the play list and sneak your song on. It will be harder in bigger markets to do this, but college radio is always looking to add new music, especially local music. If you are in college, then start working at the station and spin your own tunes. The point is to get people to hear the music. Another way to get people to your show is to ask a local club to put on a free show. That's right- you show up and rock the house for free. This is really good if you are just starting out, and it gives the people the lowest amount of risk to see your band. If you have been at it a while, then promote new music by giving (yes, giving) burned CD's of maybe 2 new songs with paid admission. This does cost a little more, but if 50 people leave with a CD and they like it, then they'll be back (with friends) for the next show. Are you 'big' yet? In some people's eyes, if you are playing to good crowds, and your song is on the radio, and people are talking about your band, then in your pond, you are big. The next step is to conquer another pond. Go to the next town over and do the same thing all over again. Become as 'big' as you possibly can in your hometown, then move on. Before you know it, you'll be big in lots of places. There are scores of artists who have hit it big, and have gone away. It's funny, really, because we try so hard to be big, then when we are not as big anymore, you end up on a TV show wondering about your whereabouts. Guess what? If you hit 'big', invest your money and let people talk about you all day. You may not be big anymore, but your checking account will be. Don't be misled. Big isn't necessarily gauged by wealth or record sales. It doesn't hurt, but in essence, being 'big' is a state of mind. It's the attitude of being cool. Ever see the end zone dances in football and say to yourself "What is he thinking"? The key is to act like you have scored a touchdown before. If somebody says "Hey, I heard you on the radio!", you say "Thank you", not "I know, isn't it cool?" Show class and style. Don't get cocky, now, just classy. You are in a great band, and you need to show it. Don't show your backside in public, and be respectful of everybody. Act big. Make sure your act is together, just like the 'big' boys. Don't settle for being second best or lackluster. Do your job-show up, be nice, make some new fans, blow up the stage, and move on. If you do that every single time, you can have no regrets, and your chances at 'bigdom' increase every time you play. |