Everyone loves a quick tips list right; well I’m no exception so here are 5 SIMPLE THINGS YOUR BAND CAN DO TO GROW YOUR PROFILE TODAY & the only thing that is going to cost you money is the hosting cost of your own web page, the rest are all free!

1) Buy your own domain name www.yourbandsnameexactly.com (purchase the dot.net and .org also if you’re going through someone like godaddy.com $10-$20 approx per year). Then get yourself some reliable hosting (I’d recommend HOSTBABY for bands/artists/authors) as it’s powered by CD BABY and is fully featured for musicians (Including email collection widgets, music sales widgets, access to CD BABY online stores at reduced prices, free upload of an album to CD BABY’s worldwide digital network upon purchase, and much much more music specific widgets). It’s also very affordable at $24.95 per month.
tip: It’s very important to have your own page so you own the content, traffic, email list and you control the experience that your fans have with your band online

2) Create a Facebook profile page and also get a free Reverb Nation account & link your Reverb Nation account to your Facebook. Reverb Nation is able to provide several free and paid services that function very effectively through Facebook. For an example of what a well set-up Reverb Nation band profile for Facebook looks like, check out DuckPuppy from Wagga (just search Duckpuppy in Facebook search)
tip: Remember as great as Facebook is for connecting with new and exisiting fans, your band still needs it’s own website to avoid losing all those Facebook fans/likes in an instant if for some reason your Facebook profile is cancelled, lost, hacked or other.

3) Start a jobs list within your band, as growing your independent band relies on all your groups members delivering upon alot of small tasks that simply would be too much for a single member. So start a list of who is responsible for what (whether it be booking shows, making gig posters, updating the mailing list, running the merch stand etc) and make each member accountable for the completion of their specific jobs. Although this might sound a “little too businessy” it will infact lead to less friction within your band in the long run.
tip: Use a simple free message service to let everyone know about your progress and list new jobs/tasks and possible resources within the same program for all members to look over. A CANDELA LIE for example uses a private DM conversation on Facebook as we all have SmartPhones and the Facebook App Installed

4) Get on Twitter and start following people of interest + join all conversations about things that interest you and your band members for example: the genre of music you’re in, the guitars/amps/pedals you use, the producers you like, the venues you want to play, music festivals, political conversations, sports, hobbies, personal interests etc etc (USE TWITTER SEARCH TO LOOK FOR CONVERSATIONS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW)
tip: Look at the bands you most sound like and or the bands whos fans would be most interested in your band and follow the people following those bands. Make sure to begin with that you follow back any and all people who follow you (except spammy porn sites) most people will be more willing to engage after a simple followback

5) Start a Youtube channel and start posting video content! Gigs, rehersals, funny behind the scenes footage, studio sessions, interviews and anything else thats engaging and visually interesting!
tip: Make sure you use a great video title, use the most engaging thumbnail image from those offered, always put your bands own website address as the first item in the description area (always use the http:// when linking as it ensures the hyperlink will work). Bonus tip: when thinking about what terms to use as tags for your own Youtube videos just search your favourite or similar bands videos and copy all their most used tags

Hope that helps guys and gals, have a great week
josh

Ps. Remember to email me at fretfanaticsaustralia@gmail.com if you need any advice on anything yout independent band is up to

As we all know getting out and playing live shows can be alot of fun, it can also be stressful/confusing and expensive, so hopefully everyone can find their own little pieces of gold through FFA’s new TALES FROM THE ROAD BLOG SERIES. Where I’ll be sharing lots of tips, tactics and insider know-how taken from recent interviews with Australian based independent musicians big or small across all genres. Below is the very first guest in the series regional Victoria’s own ONE-MAN-BAND “RICHARD PERSO”; who’s mix of folk/acoustic and mutli-instrumental blues has been winning over festival goers by the folk-load since he was merely old enough to hold his now famous 12 string Matons. Check out what Richard had to say below.

What is the number 1 or 2 way your act makes money on the road?
Merch sales all the way. Being a solo act the money I get for the actual gig covers most of the travel and accomodation costs but the profit comes from CDs and shirts all the way. A bit of busking here and there goes alright too.

What is the number 1 or 2 way your act saves money on the road?
Subway’s $7 subs. Those beauties will fill you up and it’s half healthy too.
Staying with Friends rather than in hotels as much as possible.

What would do differently on past tours if you could do them over again?
There’s always a few areas in any tour that could do with smoothing out. Every one is different though. No gig is ever going to be the same even if it’s the same venue. Doing research on where you’re playing or planning to play is a must too. That way you can ‘target’ your tour and make it more effective.

What tools are you currently using to help promote upcoming tours?
Facebook is the main one. First of all, it’s free and second, everyone is on it and can share information with their friends too.Radio interviews or press releases too.

There you go, some great advice from a young artist with Live Performance in his veins!
Say hi to Richard by “searching” RICHARD PURR RSO on FACEBOOK. Great guy, great song writer and awesome live performer!

Just a quick post to share some great recording tips for engineers/bands and home studio owners from Rubicon Studio’s David Wilson (Former Studio 2 Geelong, now Rubicon Studios Wagga)… Both my own bands are currently working with or have previously recorded with Dave and we’re so so happy with the results!

Over to you Dave;

1) Use gear you are comfortable with. You will find the results much more predictable than hiring an expensive compressor or microphone that may not suit you or the artist.

2) Take the time to get things right. The performance is what will help sell the song more then anything the mixer can do. Try to provide inspiration and a creative environment.

3) Take advice with caution. The internet is a great source of knowledge but sometimes the advice can be slanted towards a very different outcome to what you’re after.

4) Be decisive. There is often no one correct way of doing things and no need to spend an hour debating which is best. Go with your gut feeling and move on.

5) Experiment. Once you have tracked an instrument or vocal try doing an add lib track you may come up with some surprising ideas.

6) Make backups and save regularly.

7) Put the Song first. Understand what energy the song needs and what is driving the song. Find good reference material similar to the song you are working on to compare.

If you’re interested in speaking with Dave more (he is a great dude, who really knows his stuff!!!) or you’re looking at booking some studio time contact David Wilson.
Email davewstudio2@yahoo.com

Instead of giving you a massive list of tips and advice that will either have no real insight or just add to the existing overwhelm that most of us DIY Artists feel these days; here is one Simple Tip to help give your week some clarity

1 – Focus On One Or Two Social Network At A Time
If you’re wondering which Social Network or Networks to start working on as an Indie Artist (there are so many these days I know) I’d suggest starting with ReverbNation & Twitter! Both are easy to set-up in their own right and Twitter in particular provides an easy entry into communicating with your fans and takes only a few hours to have a strong grasp on! Reverb Nation has been busy updating their Free and Paid services and is now a complete music business solution for your band! Their Free Widgets (or web applications) are getting better and better (check out their Facebook Band Profile App if your act happens to already have a Facebook Fan Page).

Twitter Tips
- Use the Twitter Search function to look up other Twitter users commenting on your genre of music, the gear you use, the producer you love, other bands you like, or anything else you know loads about. Follow those people and start a conversation! Help them with a problem etc
- Follow the people that are following the bands you most sound like and or the bands that have most ideal fans for you band. For example, if you happen to be a Socially Motivated Heavy Rock band, the people following Rise Against may still be your ideal fans even though musically your not that similar
- Make sure you keep a decent ratio of Following to Followers (really you need to have at least 50% or more people following your band as your band is following for example Following 150 – Followers 85)

You can add me on Twitter @fretfanaticsaus or email me at fretfanaticsaustralia@gmail.com
Have a rocking week!