So you've got your act together and sound brilliant! Now you want to take your music to the next stage, do gigs, release music and become a superstar. The only problem, you've got a 9-5 job and you find it hard to work out what you need to do.
If you want to move from just jamming for fun to being a serious player in the music industry, you need to be really disciplined with time management and planning. The first thing is that you need to ensure you keep your quality and standards up. The best way to ensure everyone turns up is to have a regular day/time for rehearsal and get everyone to commit to keeping this time available.
You also need to ensure everyone knows when and where they are going and what they have to do. You'd be amazed how often members of bands, sometimes well known ones, turn up on the wrong day or don't come to rehearsals. Set up a WhatsApp band chat to manage logistics for rehearsals, gigs, etc and make sure all dates, times and even setlists are posted here. That way, no one has an excuse. Use your online calendar. Put reminders in for everything.
If you get a gig, you need to promote it. If you don't, no one will come. Have a set plan for gig promotion and releases. Here are some pointers you should bear in mind, when setting up your band management calendar.
Most people need 7 social media engagements to register an event. You have to plug away at it, and post regularly. It is better if you post different things and they are eye-catching. I always try and work a six week cycle for gig/release promotion and set Instagram so it posts to band page. Do at least 2-3 posts a week in the run up to gigs and post to relevant facebook notice boards, etc (Ie if you are metal, post to the Metal Gigs page) there are similar pages for most genre's so join them, engage and post). Set a 20 minute slot on your calendar 3 times a week specifically to plug the band and it's shows and releases. If anyone likes your band page, engage with them. Make sure you set up Facebook events for shows and invite all members.
Also have a list of target pages and also set a fixed time of the week to design promos. Get the promo posts prepared in advance, then use the set slots to post these. share the work amongst members and ask them to share posts with their networks and check they do. Send reminders on group WhatsApp to at least get them to amplify posts, like them and tag their mates. If they want to be in a successful band, it is in their interest to do this.
A key thing to work out is how often the band can gig. I'd suggest that if you are just doing local gigs, You'd want to play every 6-8 weeks at the same venues/locality. More than that and people will get bored. If you are throwing the net further afield, make sure that it is at a level that everyone can commit to.
So how much time in all should you be spending?
Rehearse weekly, usually for 3 hours, when you are getting the band together. If you have a set show, then a couple before shows as necessary.
For Gig Bookings/ Industry Engagement: Allocate 2 x 15mins slots per week for industry engagement/gig booking, emailing, etc. As part of this slot, do research and make sure that you get to play venues that suit the act. Also spend time trying to engage with influencers/radio etc.
For Social Media : Allocate 2 hours a week in 20 minute slots on a calendar for social media and 1 hour a week for designing media posts. So I reckon allocate 7 hours a week in total to your band. Plan it in to regular slots and stick to it. If you can’t commit to that, either pay a manager or accept your music is a hobby. When you start, you will have no followers and get little engagement. Many bands get discouraged and give up. Don't. I always recommend building up by joining networks. In the UK, the Bandup network is a great place to start.
Your biggest superpower is that most other bands are a bit lazy and disorganised. If you do the work, you will find that it reaps great rewards.
Next Steps:
Set up you calendar!
Get gigging!