It’s Your Band
You're steering the ship... are you paying attention?
If you are in a band who is serious about getting your music out into the world, and becoming professionals (making your livelihood from your music) as you get more successful, you will slowly develop “your team”… your manager, a booking agent, a publishing company, perhaps a label, a publicist, a radio promoter, your favorite concert promoters in each market, sound-engineers, producers, etc. There will be a great number of people who are not actually in your band, who you will assign certain responsibilities to, and they will be charged with overseeing and helping you build parts of your business.
The importance of surrounding yourself with people who you trust, and who share the same vision of success as you almost goes without saying, but there’s something else you must never forget about all these other people you work with as you navigate the music industry: For each and every one of them, there can (and will) always be “another band.” A manager will work with several acts at a time, labels and agents have rosters of artists, promoters deal with tons of different bands, as do publishers, producers etc. But for you, this band is probably the only one you’ll be in. Or at most, one of only a small number, and hopefully it is one of the most important things in your life. So no matter how many people work with you, or for you, it is ALWAYS up to you. If you don’t care, you can’t expect anyone else to. If you don’t ask the questions, or get involved with every aspect of your career, you have no one to blame but yourselves if the path is not going in the right direction. If your label isn’t marketing you the way you want to be marketed, it’s your responsibility to stand up and say so. If you’re not playing shows with the right type of bands, don’t settle, and don’t be afraid – say something. Ask a question.
Be the active driving force behind everything that happens in your band’s name, and if you don’t understand why something is happening (or isn’t happening), you owe it to yourself to ask the questions….after all, it’s your band.
