All Performances Have Value

Just over a week ago I put on a “Promoting Your Music Career” seminar (accompanying photo) at the 37th Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival. Something that I alluded to during that 90-minute session was showing people that you’re busy.

When people who might have an opportunity for you see how much you’re doing, it creates the mindset of, “Look how much work he/she is getting – how busy they are. He/she must be good/doing something right. I need to contact and get involved with him/her.” Boom. More work.

One of the ways you can show that you’re active is to list each and every performance you do – whether in-person or virtual – online, and in more than one place. So, absolutely on your website, but also as Facebook events and on BandsInTown.com. The latter is a resource I like when I’m preparing for a guest interview for my weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast. More specifically, it helps me see past shows! So, even if someone only has a couple upcoming shows, I can still tell the audience how much they’ve been performing.

Don’t overthink whether you should list a performance or not. Put them all down. As I tell clients of mine, “Remember, nobody has to know how many people were (or weren’t) at your gig. Nobody has to know how long you played for. Nobody has to know whether you did covers or originals (or both). And nobody has to know how much you did or didn’t get paid.”

That being said, don’t overlook the value of each and every performance, even if you did only perform one song or even if it was “just an Open Mic.” In the case of the latter, I have taken clients to vaunted music venues such as the FloraBama and Kulak's Woodshed and it didn’t mean any less to them that it was “just" an Open Mic.

When you perform, of course you want to get paid. But, there are so many additional benefits.  In no particular order:
1.    Getting the reps. Even a seasoned pro can benefit from keeping up muscle memory. For newbies, of course, there’s the experience of being on-stage in front of a crowd that isn’t your immediate family in the living room.
2.    Acquiring pictures and video so you continue to build up your inventory of multimedia.
3.    Trying out new songs, whether covers or originals.
4.    You never know who might be in the crowd
5.    Adding to your list of live performances – whether at notable venues or not – which, again, shows that you’re staying busy.

Keep all of the above in mind when you are tempted to say, “Eh, it’s not worth me leaving the house for.  I’m going to stay home and watch Netflix.”  Really?  Watching TV is going to win out over practicing your craft?  Instead of polishing your art the choice is going to be sitting on the couch and having nothing to show for your evening? Remember that those doing what you do are likely out there seizing the opportunity instead of standing in their kitchen popping popcorn. Even Jerry Seinfeld recently said he'll go to a small comedy club on, say, a Tuesday night to try out a few new jokes he has been working on writing.

I’m hearing less and less and less of “But the live music venues still haven’t reopened from the pandemic yet,” so if you’re not getting out there and performing – doing what you do, working to keep the cash coming in – what are you doing instead? If your answer is, “There just aren’t enough gigs to go around,” work harder. You’ll get online and see all of your colleagues getting plenty of work. Make sure you’re one of them and not on the outside looking in.

Still feeling challenged, though? Take advantage of my more than 15 years working with independent artists from around the U.S., providing management, promotion, and booking services. Book a private, online video consultation with me and let’s have a confidential session to get you and your indie career moving forward. And let me know in a Facebook or LinkedIn post or on Twitter what I left out of this blog post. Alternatively, write to me via email with your comments about this week’s entry.