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Let’s Break a new market.
Most bands think that the first thing they need to do is to get out of town. “We’ve done great here now we need to break a new market!” Sounds good to me, but there are some important things you should think about before you head off onto the road.
Are we strong enough here? When should we go into a new market?
The easiest market to develop in is the market you are from. Most of you probably have jobs and for that reason the local market simply is the easiest to get to. You can play locally most often and it is easier to develop a draw locally because you can touch the local people more often and easier. It is also easier to market locally in terms of flyers, posters, and other means of promotion like radio and newspapers. It is easier to service people that are closer it’s a fact that doesn’t change.
The fact also remains you need to build a draw here first before you should even consider leaving. I define a draw as a band that can draw 100 people to see them play on a monthly basis. Many bands can draw 30-50, but once you get to the 100 mark you are ready to branch out. If you can’t draw 100 on a Saturday night then you probably should consider revisiting your marketing plan and strategies and consider how to improve them. When I say a draw, I don’t mean playing at a place that has 100 people there already (or a “built in draw”), I am talking about 100 people there specifically to see your band.
We’re Ready lets rock!
Once you have reached the 100 person level, its time to move. You have started a strong buzz about your band and you don’t have to play as often locally to continue to build your draw locally. Many people will start spreading the word about your band through word of mouth and things should start to snowball. This doesn’t mean giving up on local promotion, but it does mean that you now have the time it takes to go into a new market.
Choose a Market carefully:
Most bands immediately assume that they need to go to a huge city to start their next market. I personally don’t think this is completely true. You need to go to a place that has places that you can play and begin to develop as you have here. Some places have better followings for certain types of music than others. San Francisco does great with Hippy and Brit-Pop music, Concord and the East Bay has a thriving Metal Scene, and Sacramento has a great 21 and over bar scene for all formats of rock music. You need to do your research and find the right place for you.
Keep in mind that other markets will have the same expectations of you as clubs locally. In other words you will be expected to draw where ever and when ever you play. To say “we are from out of town” is not an excuse. All that will earn you is a guarantee that you won’t be playing at that club again.
Once you have chosen a market:
Once you have decided do your homework. Find out the strongest bands in your genre of music and then use your influence in your town to get them gigs here. In return they need to get equally good gigs for you in their market. This way you are exposed to their crowd and they are exposed to yours.
Don’t hesitate to spend money to market your band. Don’t spend too much too quickly, but spend it frugally and consistently. If you have an ad in their local music rag for a year straight people will start getting used to seeing your name and then almost assume that you are a local band from their area. You can do the same thing with radio if you do it consistently. People will start to come around eventually and if you band truly is talented and entertaining soon you will have a draw there as well. As markets begin to mature and you get fans in different places you will begin to have more influence and stature and it will make subsequent markets even easier.
Developing new markets is a difficult task and it is seldom done successfully, but with hard work and intelligent planning it can be done successfully and be a very fulfilling experience.
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