I spoke with a number of bands today about where they want to go with their music, what they get their kicks out of, why they started playing music and then something dawned on me. Not one of them mentioned technology, facebook, myspace... no one said I just love to send messages on social networks, updating my latest movements or spending hours in front of a computer updating 15 websites, subscribing to 30 distribution outlets.
I reckon a change is coming... about time too.
Year 1995
So, you and your friends start a rock band... you've got guitars and drums. You're wanna change the world. What's the first thing you do?
You jam. You play songs, jump around, all in preparation for when you hit the big time... which means actually playing in front of people, strangers, some friends, bar staff, meeting and playing with other bands.
You've got a gig. You spend hours with a pen and paper designing your poster artwork to ensure it truly reflects you band. Then you promote the show... you talk to people and gauge their reaction (you'll know if they are gonna buy a ticket)... you speak to girls, cos you know the guys will then come along... you talk about what a great party it'll be, just in case they don't like the music. But you are focusing on the show... the killer 45 minutes that will change your life, until the next set list.
You take control of your destiny. You know when you've done everything you can to make it a success. If you've been lazy, you only have yourself to blame. But because you know you've worked hard the gig is a success. Whether its 50 or 100 or 500 or 5000 people, it's all relative to what you've done up to that point. You know loyalty has to be earnt... and you give everything to get it, sweat, cds, t-shirts. Cos you love playing music and want to do it forever.
Year 2010
So, you and your friends start a rock band... you've got guitars and drums. You're wanna change the world. What's the first thing you do?
You create a website, groups on facebook, MySpace, you subscribe to the many distribution services available. You tell your friends and build up an impressive 1000 people on MySpace, 500 people on Facebook and your music is available on every download store in the world.
You've got a gig. So you turn on your computer and send everyone a message, maybe a few, and you wait for the magic to happen. Everyone clicks they 'like this' and 'attending'. You might not have seen Frank for 10 years, but he's said he likes it. Maybe you should have booked a bigger venue?
I wonder if Noel and Liam sat in front of their computers in the 90s planning out there marketing strategy... or they just played their hearts out, gigged everywhere and anywhere, rehearsed, wrote songs, told people to check them out. They've done great and thankfully technology makes supply and distribution easier and cheaper... of course, they also built up an audience.