Following up from my last post, we received a boatload of questions. My answers follow. Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Would you say that demo tracks are a necessity before doing a decently-produced EP or LP? If needed, where would the line be drawn for their audio quality vs. their overall usefulness in attracting a fanbase? Could one or two decently-produced tracks make up for five or so lower quality recordings?

Nearly everyone these days has access to make at least decent level recordings. Making demos is a good way to acquaint yourself with the process and minimize waste if you invest a lot of money in more pro recordings but I wouldn’t advise selling the demos or presenting them as a real release. It’ll look bush league.

For getting started, don’t spend a lot of money. Do some demo tracks, get some opinions from trusted sources and figure out what’re your best songs. A lot of times I’ll listen to something I think is good at the time and then a year later I’ll realize how much better it could’ve been.

Most of the best pro studios in the area (Cue, DragonFly, Assembly Line) will run you about $60/hr. There are a lot of budget studios in the area that can help you get something workable for a lot less.

The main thing is to understand how the recording process works and what you can expect for your budget. As a drummer it’s important to get used to playing by yourself with a metronome. A lot of your time will be spent doing this in a real studio. It’s lonely and demanding. Your singer should be prepared to sing in a dark room by himself. Your bassists and guitarists have it easy – but they should be good at their parts and be prepared to double everything.

The bigger your budget, the better quality you can get and more time you can spend on nailing parts and making it clean. A lot of bands at your stage will just do a couple of live recording takes where everyone plays at the same time and you can go for the best mix you can.

Should the audience be charged at all for tracks which are well-produced, or should production costs for recording/mixing/mastering/etc. be recuperated through other means?

Always make your music available for purchase (CD Baby is cheap and easy) but give it away for free too. As a band starting out the exposure is so much more important than the $0.99 you might get from someone. A lot of people are accustomed to not paying for music anymore. It may take them awhile to get hooked. Maybe all they want is one song of yours. Remove barriers to entry or excuses to say no. There are a million other places for them to turn if you can’t deliver what they want easily and immediately. Like dudes eating cockroaches on YouTube.

Virtually no one makes money mostly through recorded music anymore. Your best bets are live performances, merchandise (T-shirts), ring tones, etc. Real fans who want to support the band are happy to pay for premium packages with extra features but your hardcore will be too small to support the band for a long time. It takes a lot of time to grow organically.

Would you say that concepts such as “CD release shows” are outdated, since they require the audience to wait an x number of weeks before they’re able to acquire the music?

If you’re only playing locally it’s important to differentiate your shows from “just another show.” Having a CD release show can help do this. If you want to make it available online for listen beforehand, great. Bundle tickets for the show with an advance copy of the CD at a discount. Let people get to know the music so when they come to the show they can sing along. Incentivize your fans.

Beyond CDs and t-shirts, are there any items that could really benefit bands during their first few shows? One thread that I read in a music section on Reddit made it seem like vinyls and download codes were just as beneficial as CDs.

Having cool well-designed merchandise is an absolute must for a legit band. Not only will it sell well with good margins, it’s a walking advertisement for your band. Make sure it’s something people will want to wear – cool designs are a must. For instance, people frequently buy our “Love, Myself” tank top just because they think it looks cool. Many times they’re not even there for our band and don’t stay for the show. That’s a sign of a successful shirt.

Resist the urge to just make a shirt with your band name on it and a simple logo or design. Same goes for a picture of all the guys in the band. Make it something snappy or catchy that people outside your circle of friends want to wear. Include a funny saying, sweet design, or something else that appeals to your niche. Girls can probably help with this, provided your music isn’t mostly oriented towards guys.

Avoid vinyl unless your crowd is indie hipsters or you have 10,000 hardcore fans. It’s not even remotely worth it. If people don’t want to buy a CD, make sure they can download your music, preferably for free. People want a reason to say “no.” Don’t give them one.

Are there any songwriting tips that you can provide? Like I previously mentioned, I am [slowly] learning bass and guitar to better express my ideas to other members, but is there anything else I should actively pursue or research?

There are entire books on the subject and most of them are bullshit. Nobody can tell you how to write a song. There are “rules” for traditional hits, and then there are artists who break all the rules successfully. There are also people who fail spectacularly at either formula.

The best advice I can give is to be critical and don’t settle. A lot of times it’s easy to write a lyric or a riff and it’s pretty good but maybe doesn’t sit exactly right. Avoid “good enough” and strive for great. Get feedback and try to get honest reactions from people who will give you straight responses. But ultimately believe in what you’re doing. There are a lot of artists in history who did something so crazy and unlikable that it worked. Don’t be afraid to follow your gut.

As for pitching your ideas to other band members, it really comes down to the chemistry of the band. I tend to micromanage and write all melodies for a song I write, but leave room for bandmates to improvise and add their own flavoring.

Are there any other blogs or websites you can refer me to that assist in understanding the music industry?

There’s innumerable advice and opinion blogs on the web and most of them are shit or self-serving. Here are three people I like that I regularly read. Sometimes they ramble on about BS but they generally are very progressive thinkers:

• Bob Lefsetz
• Derek Sivers
• Seth Godin

This is one that I’ll probably understand with more work experience, but how exactly does a band pay taxes on their acquired funds from t-shirts, CDs, Paypal donations, etc.? I want to be as legal as possible with acquired funding, but at the same time, I don’t want to put too much effort into the band profiting from items if they’re going to be heavily taxed.

Don’t worry about taxes – at least until you’re 18 and your band is making a lot more money than your operating costs. Still, it doesn’t hurt to be diligent about tracking expenses and income. It can help you see what’s a waste of money and what’s good for business. Most venues will pay you under the table anyway – State Theatre shows are just one example where we actually had taxable income.

Seriously, don’t sweat it for now. If your band does start to bring in the money then you can form either an LLC or INC and get a service mark for your band name.

I’ve been asked several times by fans what advice I would give to a new aspiring band. After reminding them I’m borderline insane when it comes to my outlook on the music industry, I usually do my best to answer the question.

This time I decided to start posting my responses for everyone to read so next time I get asked I can refer them here. The short version of the question:

I was wondering if there was any advice you were able to offer regarding the early stages of band stuff? I know that’s pretty broad, but any tidbits of information and/or links to reading material on the subject would be perfect.

The fan in question was under 18 so my advice will skew that way. Your mileage may vary.

Congrats on getting a band together. At this stage I would say the most important thing to do is improve your skills, musicianship, and songwriting. The reality is that bands come and go, and it takes a lot of experimentation and personal development to get things right.

The first band I was ever in I had never played drums and I sucked for years. It’s important to expose yourself to lots of different types of players, styles, and attractive women who will ruin you and inspire good songs.

That aside, when you think you’re pretty serious about starting a band here are some important considerations:

Find a good group of musicians

This would seem like common sense, but too often I see bands “settle” at one position or another. It will also depend on what genre of music you want to play, but in general if everyone can identify the weakest player in the band then they’re no good. Think of all the successful acts you want to emulate, and try to pick out who sucks. Usually you can’t and that’s an important observation. Even if the material isn’t always demanding, it starts with good musicianship.

Nearly equally important is attitude and chemistry. If you have an ace guitar player who acts like Jack Black’s character in the beginning of School of Rock (i.e., a royal jackass) then he or she will be a cancer upon your band. Don’t tolerate anyone who disrupts the natural balance between band members or is otherwise a pain in the ass. Every element of the band is important, and if it’s not, then why is it in there at all? It’s important to like each other and generally enjoy the same social activities. Otherwise, the long stretches of bored togetherness on the road will quickly turn hostile and unpleasant.

Establish a common set of goals

Again, this seems like more common sense but there are tons of bands where some members are half-hearted and it drags them down. Figure out exactly what you want to do and make sure every single person is on board. Is the band playing covers or originals? Is the band just for fun or is it a real calling? Generally everyone will have that bullshit sentiment of “oh yeah if the band blows up I’ll be a millionaire and it’ll be cool” so be cognizant of that.

If it’s really supposed to be a serious thing, everyone needs to be prepared to treat it like a full-time job and make sacrifices in every other area of their lives – that includes tough life decisions like forgoing school, not raising a family, and selecting a common beer everyone in the band will drink. If that commitment isn’t there, you’ll always run into strife within the band as the more serious members work hard and resent the lazy moochers.

Lay the ground rules

This is pretty simple really and applies mostly to serious bands. Laying ground rules sets a clear expectation for each member about what behavior is and isn’t acceptable. Anyone who has trouble following the ground rules at the outset will only be worse to deal with if the band experiences any measure of success. Some suggested ground rules:

1) No drugs.

It seems anti-rock-n-roll but it keeps people dependable and on the level. Do you really want a bass player with a coke habit running the merch table with a box full of cash? Some light recreational use of drugs during personal time may be acceptable, but keep it out of shows, practices, etc.

2) Establish standard recurring practices.

Make everyone commit to it. Don’t settle for “well I’m not busy on this day next week so let’s try for that.”

3) Keep girlfriends and boyfriends out of the process.

It always leads to trouble when they’re involved, especially creatively. If they want to come support at shows or help out in other ways (art, promotion, etc.) that’s especially cool of them. They can often be very helpful people. Talking to your own girlfriend and asking her opinion isn’t a big deal. They might even have rad ideas that you can pass along if you think they’re merited.

But when they’re directly involved in band meetings or creative decisions it quickly becomes a messy conflict of interest with lots of hurt feelings. In fact, I’m probably getting a nasty email from everyone’s girlfriend in the band as we speak just for writing this. It’s not personal, but where the band is concerned there are two groups of people – those in the band itself, and everyone else.

The same can be said of family or other friends but I find this situation to come up mostly with significant others. For a direct example, just watch Spinal Tap. The governing rule here is treat the band as a unit with all decision making power and don’t give a damn about what anyone else says unless the band – as a unit – chooses to.

Don’t announce anything prematurely

If you’re just getting together a band and won’t have recorded music for at least six months, don’t bother telling everyone now. Or at least not in anything other than a casual sense. You’ll have one initial wave of interest when you’re ready to announce your big plans.

Make sure you’re equipped to handle it.

• http://sivers.org/buyable
• http://sivers.org/zipit

Persevere

Again, this only really applies for more serious bands. You will not be good right off the bat. It takes tons of inglorious practice and introspection to be good.

In the ’90s any good looking guys who could play a few power chords were given a recording contract and put on MTV, where they became Justin’s favorite bands. That’s not good enough anymore because no one’s paying attention. You have to be better than you had to ten years ago. Be prepared to work for this. The other 99.9% of people who want the same thing will eventually give up.

You have to keep going AND be great.

Closing

Since you’re too young to drive or get into a lot of clubs yet and properly tour, the best thing you can do is experiment and find your identity as a musician and a songwriter.

Familiarize yourself with the recording process by actually doing it with a professional. Learn about production. Keep your eyes and ears open at all times.

Lastly, do what comes naturally and don’t take any of this as gospel. There are innumerable strategies and some work for brilliantly for part of the population but fail miserably for others. The best that I’m hoping to do is help you focus your time and attention while avoiding some of the common pitfalls.

Good luck!