Posted: Dec 14, 2022

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by Bobby Owsinski, originally featured in the Music 3.0 Blog.

 

"When I was a young musician, I lived in a time where there were so many clubs that you could play 7 nights a week in a different club every night if you wanted to, plus get paid for it. If you can believe it, you could actually make a pretty decent living as a musician just playing the venues in your local area. That helped bands get tighter, develop stage presence, gain experience working crowds, and grow to the next level. Those days are pretty much over though, and it appears to be getting worse as local clubs are closing at an alarming rate."

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Posted: Oct 18, 2022

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by Dennis Kurtz of What's Next Nashville.

 

"
Last week I made the point that you are worth what you can draw! This is true if you are doing a hard ticket show...Most original music artists build themselves as a hard ticket, but also play soft tickets shows along with their hard ticket shows. Usually as a seller I try to find out what the budget is in these situations before I quote a price...Typically, here is how these gigs are priced..."

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Posted: Oct 4, 2022

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by Matt Santry, founder of www.WellPaidMusician.com.

 

"The app is called Thumbtack. I think it's overlooked by musicians because it's an app for every imaginable freelancer from dog walkers, plumbers, website designers, and yes, performing musicians. So what sets this app apart from Fiverr and other freelancing marketplaces?...how does it work?...what's their business model?"

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Posted: Jul 25, 2022

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by Scott Aumann, originally featured on The Legit Musician blog.

 

"Every musician should get into a habit of practicing and rehearsing. Some people think these are two words for the same thing. Practice and rehearsal are not the same things. You need to know the difference so you can do both properly."

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Posted: Apr 26, 2022

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by Scott Aumann, originally featured on The Legit Musician blog.

 

"I have played many live shows where I have seen bands do some unprofessional things. A lot of these things are simple things that can be fixed. Most of them will improve your overall image as a professional musician. Some of them will improve your relationships with other bands as well. Here are 10 things you need to stop doing on stage immediately."

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Posted: Sep 20, 2021

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post by Fang from Lords of the Trident, the most METAL band on earth!

 

"Playing live with other musicians [online] USED to be impossible, but thanks to a bunch of incredibly smart Stanford scientists, it's now 100% possible to perform LIVE with other musicians - even if they're hundreds of miles away! Check out Jacktrip."

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Posted: Aug 23, 2021

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by Kristen Ford, Nashville based indie rock act with a passion for music business and a book on DIY touring in the works.

 

The East Room is one of 13 Nashville venues where either "Proof of a Vaccine or Negative Covid Test" is required for entry...All of New York City has this policy, as well as all NIVA (National Independent Venue Association) venues...Music festivals such as Folk Alliance and Kerrville already have similar policies for future events. This means regardless of your local rules and regulations, or your personal views on vaccinations, touring artists need to be ready for this policy change.

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Posted: Jul 12, 2021

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by Melanie Kealey for Bandzoogle.

 

"As restrictions are starting to ease in some parts of the world, we thought it would be beneficial to have a conversation with Kyle Weber (founder of live show & tour booking platform Indie on the Move) and Kristen Ford (singer-songwriter and touring artist) to gain some perspective on how artists are going about booking or re-booking tours..."

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Posted: Apr 12, 2021

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post from Justin Paul, music/career coach, A&R, DJ, and producer.

 

"First and foremost, talent buyers look at how many tickets they believe (based on data) an artist can sell. The more tickets an artist can sell, the higher the performance fee they can command. Sometimes talent buyers are tastemakers, and they take a chance on an up and coming artist/band that may not have much data available. Typically, those are opening acts or the middle of the lineup. Up and coming artists may even play for free or a smaller amount and are often more suited for club events."

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Posted: Mar 15, 2021

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post by Fang from Lords of the Trident, the most METAL band on earth!

 

"👴HUH? WHAT!? YOU'LL HAVE TO SPEAK UP JIMMY, I'M QUITE OLD."

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Posted: Jun 29, 2020

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post by Fang from Lords of the Trident, the most METAL band on earth!

 

"Want to make your music livestreams as AMAZING as possible? Don't just sit in front of your webcam with a guitar! Follow this tutorial and your streams will be INCREDIBLE!"

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Posted: Jun 15, 2020

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post by Kristen Ford, Nashville based indie rock act with a passion for music business and a book on DIY touring in the works, featuring members of the health, scientific and musical communities of Nashville.

 

Until we have a vaccine, have increased testing capacity and learn more about antibody testing and if having the Coronavirus antibodies in your system means you cannot contract the Covid-19, we must move forward in a "new normal" environment...

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Posted: May 11, 2020

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by Gideon Waxman, a London based drummer & music educator.

 

"...it [performing live] can be stressful if you are not adequately prepared and if your musical equipment isn’t in top condition...your mindset can also be holding you back from reaching your full enjoyment...Whether you are playing at a local open mic night, or if you’re performing a theatre to a thousand people, we’ve got you covered with these top tips to help prepare you for successful and enjoyable live performances."

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Posted: Apr 27, 2020

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post by Casey Burke of Plaze, which helps musicians connect to the people & resources they need.

 

"Thankfully, musicians have found ways to maintain their livelihood in the absence of physical human contact. Enter: the Instagram livestream. While not strictly new, this format has taken off during all the unrest, and it’s likely to develop for at least as long as social distancing is the norm..."

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Posted: Mar 30, 2020

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by Scott Aumann, originally featured on The Legit Musician blog.

 

"I wanted to come up with a few ideas for you if you are dealing with lost revenue from a gig being cancelled. I also wanted to make this post more universal than just for this latest pandemic. My hope is that you can use these ideas for a cancelled gig under any circumstances."

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Posted: Mar 2, 2020

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by James Redhead, one half of the duo behind the music podcast Anyone Can Play Guitar.

 

"We thought it worthwhile to give a balanced view [about support slots] based on what we’ve learned so far, to help all you bands and artists make as informed a decision as possible when you’re presented with such opportunities, or even before you start actively seeking them out. Let’s start with the negatives…"

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Posted: Oct 7, 2019

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post by Eki Shola, a musician and physician that creates a healing and transformative space for the listener through sharing her lush, jazzy-soul, live electronica vibes.

 

"We all do it but I’m not sure if we openly talk about it. Instead, what I’ve observed are a range of reactions - some subtle and others not. I’ll chat about two different scenarios but in reality, I think we all fit on a spectrum, save for the bands that appear to play completely perfect and are tight all that time (but I guarantee they did not start that way)..."

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Posted: Sep 30, 2019

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by Joe Hoten; an avid writer of songs, content and song related content, and regular contributor to Bands for Hire. Originally featured on Ditto.com.

 

"Any stage can be a platform for you to propel yourself into the musical stratosphere, and, in your capacity as an intrepid and curious musician, you will always find people worth talking to at such events [open mics]. And, at any rate, you only get as involved as you want to..."

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Posted: Apr 29, 2019

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by Wade Sutton of Rocket to the Stars Artist Services.

 

"You know how difficult it can be for bands to create leverage when trying to negotiate better guarantees from venues? Well something is happening in Pennsylvania that is going to make that even more difficult ... and musicians nationwide should be keeping an eye on this because it is something that could spread to other states."

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Posted: Aug 20, 2018

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by Anitra Jay of TheCraftyMusician.com.

 

"The difference between a really good show and a terrible show is not how good the music was, but how good the connection was between you and your audience...The best way to break the ice and make a connection with your audience is by employing some skillful stage banter..."

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Posted: Aug 6, 2018

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by David Andrew Wiebe, founder & CEO at The Music Entrepreneur HQ.

 

"One of the things I’ve learned after performing live for seven years is that just about any place of business can be a live venue. It doesn’t have to be a club, a bar, a pub, a lounge or a coffeehouse. It can be a clothing store or an office or a mall. It can even be a house!

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Posted: Feb 12, 2018

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by Roz Bruce of Zing Instruments.

 

"So, you've been rehearsing with your band mates for several weeks now, you have a set together and are finally feeling ready to start gigging. But what can you do to make sure everything runs smoothly? As someone with 10 years of gigging experience, I would like to share some first gig: dos and don'ts with you, to ensure that your first gig is memorable for the right reasons!..."

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Posted: Oct 2, 2017

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest Post by Ian Temple of Soundfly.

 

"If you’re anything like me, your practice routine is something you do intuitively. It often involves sitting down with your instrument, playing a few scales, banging around for 20 minutes on a few songs or improvs, maybe working on something specific for 10 minutes in a repetitive manner, and then bowing out. Basically, it’s casual, repetitive, and thoughtless. The problem is that these tendencies are the exact opposite of what we should be doing if we want to see real improvement, according to Dr. Anders Ericsson."

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Posted: Aug 28, 2017

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post written by Scott Aumann, originally featured on The Legit Musician blog.

 

"One of the best things to do in order to improve your live performance is to record your shows. You can record audio only, or record video. Either way, make it a point to review your recordings and critique yourself. Don't be too critical, but be honest with yourself. This is a great way to find what works, and what doesn't work."

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Posted: Jan 23, 2017

Category: Live Performance

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**Guest post by Niki Walker, lead videographer of NPR's Tiny Desk series. Originally posted on NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest Tumblr.

 

"The Tiny Desk is essentially the opposite of a concert venue or a music video. There’s nothing to hide behind except a real, tiny desk, in a real, very-active office. In some ways, our look is easy to replicate, because it’s all about the music...A lot of people film their Tiny Desk Contest entries on their own, so we thought we’d share a few things we’ve learned by filming almost 600 of these things..."

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