I’ll be the first to admit that I thought that the pandemic would be over by now. I convinced myself that I was giving it too much attention here in this weekly blog as well as on my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast. Now that a third vaccine has been approved, the tendency would be to think, “Yeah, c’mon, the Covid era is over. Move on.”
While one need look no further than the daily Coronavirus cases and deaths that still get reported to know it’s not over, the fact of the matter is, some independent artists haven’t moved on, meaning, they’re still sitting around saying, “Well, I guess there’s nothing I can do since venues still aren’t having live music.”
In fact, I talked to someone late last week who told me about friends of theirs who’ve given up their place in Nashville and left Music City – intent on being finished pursuing music!
Meanwhile, I get on Instagram and see people performing this weekend from Natalie Duque at The Mint in Los Angeles, to Paralandra at the Burlington Memorial Auditorium in Iowa, to Frankie Raye yesterday afternoon in Plant City, Florida.
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Granted, I realize that there are still plenty of places not ready to host live music, and certainly not the arenas and stadiums we were all used to going to. But the point here is that you have a choice. You can give up or you can pivot and say, “What else can I do in the meantime?” Well…
• Write, record, and release new music! Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. It doesn’t have to be a 13-song album that gets released on CD, vinyl, cassette, and digitally. Just give your fans something – even if it’s a single.
• Collaborate with someone you know or start a new relationship and partner up with someone you’ve only been introduced to before.
• Create either a music video or at least a lyric video to show people that you are creating new content. This can even be for a song that you put out a year or five years ago. If the video is well done, no one will say, “I like the video, but isn’t that an older song of yours?”
• Get new photos taken. You’ll have them for when you’re ready to release your next project, and this only requires you and the photographer, so you don’t have to worry about Covid protocols.
• Do a contest/giveaway and/or a poll/survey to – and I know you’re sick of hearing this expression – keep your fans engaged.
• Perform live online. Go ahead and cringe. I know about the video conferencing burnout. But, you have to stay present.
• Learn that instrument you always said you’d get to “some rainy day.” Always been a guitar player? Great. Try ukulele or mandolin or banjo. You only play the piano? Nice. What else can you add, though?
• Spruce up that website. Maybe it’s time for a re-branding. Or maybe you’ve never had a logo and can use this time to get one done.
• Start a TikTok account. Regardless of what you think of it, that platform is obviously here to stay. But more importantly, it’s another outlet to get your music out there.
• Keep in mind that ALL of the above can be social media posts. So, keep your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram followers tracking your activities.
The even better news is that there is more that you can be doing, in addition to the above. Just don’t bury your head in the sand and give up. Remember, you have a choice. Plenty of others have put their best foot forward and are staying busy and keeping the momentum going.
What else should’ve been on my list? Tweet the omissions to me via @NHT_tweets. Or, post them on Facebook or LinkedIn. You can even send them to me in an email. And, if you need help, take advantage of my more than 15 years in the music business. Schedule a private, one-on-one video consultation with me and let’s make sure you’re moving forward.