It’s not the gatekeepers, but those at the gate (FAI Tip #3)
Music conferences are often seen as ways to get to gate keepers, but it’s the folks joining you at the gate that might be more important.
I asked my favorite songwriters, who are experienced Folk Alliance conference attendees, for tips when attending a music conference. Every one of them emphasized the role of community:
Brad Cole: “It’s probably more important to find chemistry with other artists than it is to stalk bookers.”
Josh Rose: “I have befriended some wonderful people through the Folk Conference circles: you, Chad Elliot, Heather Styka, Ben Bedford, and others. The mutual respect comes easily at these conferences and all I have been privy to is collaboration with these folks, not competition.”
Graydon James and Laura Spink from The Young Novelists: “You sit down and have a chat with someone about common interests. Get to know them a little bit. If you’re looking to have a career in music, you have to build relationships because it makes sense, not because someone is trying to take advantage of a situation. Maybe someday you will work together, maybe not, but that’s not even really important at this stage. Just meeting and getting to know each other a bit is the best thing.”
Andrew McKnight: “Small investments in making people feel appreciated in some way, and making it easy for others to join them… Leaving a trail of positive interactions wherever you go will surely build a more sustainable foundation for the decades of your career yet to come.” (From his essay in the book: Killing It in the Streaming Age.)
And here are some habits that might help from Camela Widad:
“I learned early on that business – for me – was about meeting people[…]I’m not so good with names, but I’m good with stories. After I meet someone, get their card, I immediately write down what stuck out for me about them. Some people I may work with, some I may not; but when I go back home to 100 or more business cards, flyers, and personal notes in my journal, those little bits I wrote down jog my memory. I contact everyone I’ve met with a personal note to thank them, remind them of who I am and how we met.I still have cards from 5 years ago and remember who someone is from my notes.”
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Al Kniola, radio DJ at 88.1 FM WVPE, sums it up well: “networking with your fellow artists is invaluable.” Attending music conferences is expensive, but there is an opportunity to find value in the songwriters standing in the corners of the rooms.
An immediate bond is formed quickly between traveling musicians. We’ve been bitten by the same bug; and one with the sickness understands you!
Someone from Iran listened to my music this month
If the Spotify data is accurate, someone from Iran listened to my music this month. A music listener from Gostar, a village that had a population of 89 people in the 2006 census.
It made my head turn.
But it’s slightly possible, because we are all connected on this world, not just by the Internet, but by our genes, our humanity, our stories.
I can also hypothesize that it is possible because I shared a week tour with songwriter Peyton Tochterman last year.
This is where it gets interesting, how our stories collide: Peyton toured Afghanistan as a cultural ambassador in 2012. He did a concert at the Citadel in Herat with Afghanistan musicians, and the concert was broadcasted on the radio, which spread into parts of Iran. Iranian critics weren’t happy about that. (Peyton told me a story how he’s blacklisted from Iran!)
“Critics in neighboring Iran were somewhat less gratifying. The Iranian press described our music as “dangerous” and “evil.” – Peyton
I met Peyton in 2013 at the SERFA (Folk Alliance) conference, and we planned to share some shows together; two years later that tour finally happened.
So here we are. Maybe an Iranian listener found my music through Peyton’s.
It’s also possibly an error. I didn’t think Spotify was available in Iran. Either way, it has me thinking about the power of music today. The world is indeed flat, which make Peyton’s quote stand out:
“What difference can a folk singer from the Blue Ridge Mountains make in a tortured place like Afghanistan?” It’s a valid question – partly answered by one of the State Department officers who said our visit did “more for diplomacy between Afghanistan and the United States than any diplomat had done, more then any road that was built, or any power plant that was constructed in the last year.”
Do you know that idea that all actors and actresses are six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon? This is applicable to music and art communities, too; but instead of Kevin Bacon, it might be you.
Go forth, share your art.
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.
Give your art a snack (FAI Tip #1)
Want to know how Lyal Strickland became one of the most memorable attendees at a Folk Alliance conference three years ago? It wasn’t just his showcase performance.
Instead of simply a CD, he add a bag of ready-to-eat popcorn in everyone’s conference bag with a note that included a link to download the album.
After SERFA, on the community message board, so many musicians commented a thanks to Lyal for the snack during the long commutes home from the conference. (I bet the venue and radio hosts were thankful, too!)
In the end, popcorn doesn’t replace the art, but it helps to have a snack to enjoy as you listen to it. Especially when the music delivers:
Shine On: Attitudes Are Contagious
Attitudes–positive and negative–are equally contagious.
“Language is a virus from outer space,” said Burroughs, but let me remind you that a bad attitude is a virus from right here on Earth.
Last year, it took me seven months to realize I was carrying around a bad attitude that I had picked up from someone else who was feeling rather negative about the challenges of performing music.
Everyone has a right to their own opinions and feelings; and you have a right to create your own!
It’s my own fault for picking up that attitude. We have a choice about what clothes we wear, what songs we learn, what gigs we say yes to doing, what trash we pick up from the ground (and throw away).
We choose our attitudes.
Stay positive. Shine on (#51 in the playlist). And get working.
