Turn bloodsuckers into blood donors (FAI Tip 2)
Paul Barker, host of Barker’s House Concerts, wrote an exemplar essay for the first-timer attending a music conference like Folk Alliance:
Read here: NERFA: For First Timers
“Take the pledge:“I am not here to book gigs. I am here to build relationships and the gigs will follow.” – Paul Barker
I love this pledge! Obviously, we hope to gain some monetary value from spending money on a music conference, but it’s easy to lose sight of the forest of songwriters and community from the trees of venue hosts and radio DJs.
You are here to connect to people. The gigs will follow if you follow this mantra. So take that pledge, first timers!
* * * Free CDs and Bloodsuckers * * *
One point of advice in Barker’s essay doesn’t hold up for me, but maybe that’s because it’s 2016 (IE: Apple Music, Spotify); not 2010 when his essay was written, as CD sales were at the start of declining.
Barker advices to conserve your CDs and promo packs–which is sound advice–but he goes a step further about people who don’t represent venue that take free CDs:
“These bloodsuckers go from table to table collecting ‘free’ CDs for their personal collections. It’s very unprofessional, but they think they deserve it for their ‘support’ of folk music.”
I applaud the stellar use of the word “bloodsuckers”; however, I think we need to take a step back here, especially in a world where scarcity left music long ago, and the enemy of a new artist is being unknown.
If someone is interested in your music, why would you want to withhold them from getting hooked by your music?
Instead of seeing these freeloaders as bloodsuckers, I think it’s important to see them as potential fans.
That doesn’t mean you need to give them a professional CD for free, but this is standard advice for all merch tables: You should always have something cheap or free to give away.
Maybe a CDR. Better yet a download code. Even better, an iPad on a stand with a Noisetrade widget on the screen, so someone can type in their email address for a free download! Build your email list!
Let’s turn them bloodsuckers into blood donors!
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Here’s a group to checkout at Folk Alliance 2016: Michigan’s The Accidentals!
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This is blog #2 of a multiple series of tips for attending Folk Alliance International! Read tip 1: Give your art a snack.
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