JUMPING DARKNESS PARADE: EYAL WANTS YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN AN EXPERIMENT
When I wrote my last blog, I wasn’t expecting a huge response. I was expecting pretty much what I got. A few people sharing their experiences at NAMM, and a few people calling me a negative nancy mainly because they weren’t there so they had no real concept of what I was getting at. I know it sounds negative and whiney but, hey, I call things like I see them. Not everything in life is fucking awesome, and some things are downright annoying. I illustrated a few of those things.
One of the things I touched on in my last blog was the inefficiency of handing out demo CDs at an event like that. What’s the point of giving out your music to people? Obviously it’s to get them to listen to it. To spread the word, if you will. If you play a numbers game, obviously the more you give out, the more people will hear and possibly listen to your music. The more that actually listen, the more that may possibly like it, and will be that much closer to becoming a fan.
I’m not claiming to be a master of statistics, but it seems to me like that numbers game will be slanted in your favor more if you hand those demos out to a group of people who want to hear new music in the genre you are closest to. For instance… if you play in a black metal band and you hand demos out to the crowd after a Behemoth show, there’s a decent chance that if you are good that somebody will pay attention. That’s a target market. If you are just handing out demos to people at an industry trade show, you are basically just taking shots in the dark. What use does an A&R rep at a huge amp company who doesn’t listen to metal have for your black metal CD? Coaster. If that.
That’s not the way to go about getting your music heard.
What I said above about handing things out to the right types of people is paramount. Its not just the numbers game, though… there’s another reason why giving music to fans instead of industry peeps is the better path. How does metal spread? Word of mouth. No review, no banner ad, no full page ad in a guitar magazine, no video on Headbanger’s Ball, and no Blabbermouth blurb will have nearly the same power as an excited fan turning someone else onto your music. People can sense canned hype. Nobody believes commercials anyways. The above things definitely help to get you some name brand recognition, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is more powerful or more important than igniting word of mouth.
That being said, I want to try an experiment. I’ve thought about this and I couldn’t think of a way to keep people honest, so I’m guessing that some of you will cheat. If you cheat, just realize that you are defeating the purpose of this experiment. And I think that the end results will reflect that.
I want you, the readers, to post links in the comments section. I want these links to be to your two favorite unsigned bands. With those links, tell us why they kick fucking ass, and should be beyond the local level. Band members: don’t post to your own band. That’s not the point of this. I want referrals, not commercials here.
I’m sure you all know of a band or two who is unsigned who you feel deserves some sort of recognition. Well, fucking let us know who they are. I will check out every single one of them. I know some other peeps that will as well. It means much more when somebody else is recommending your music. Lets see how much honest word of mouth can be started for some bands that really deserve it.
-AR
Speaking of links, why don’t you click through to Daath on MySpace and become their fan on Facebook?
