Montreal's Obey the Brave
There is a new mastery of the self-promotion game brewing in Montreal these days, spearheaded by bands like Kennedy and Obey the Brave. It’s a leap-frogging of the typical “paying your dues” career progression that most bands inexorably find themselves locked into, and unable to break free of.
It is an inexpensive three-part system designed to maximize exposure, legitimize your band, build your audience, and and minimize expenditure.
Record a Song
The first step in the process is the recording of a song. Simple, right? Amazing how many bands get this wrong.
Too many bands find themselves in a two-nights-a-week-of-practice routine: write an album, rehearse the album, master playing of the album, revise the album, practice for that upcoming slot being the opener for a touring band, etc etc. You need to be able to play flawlessly as a band for the recording session that will come as the result of the record deal that happens after you play just the right show for just the right person, right?
Wrong.
Here’s a newsflash: albums aren’t recorded live off the floor.
They’re recorded piecemeal, using click tracks.
And a record label won’t pay for your record unless people come to your shows, not someone else’s.
Here’s a better idea:
Record one song.
Just one.
But make it your best.
And make it sound phenomenal. Spend your money on that.
Use a friend who’s work is fantastic, and is within your budget. Obey the Brave used the lead singer’s (former?) roommate. Spend the money on micing drums and vocals properly. Map out a click track for the song, and have the drummer rehearse playing by himself to the click. You would be amazed how many drummers can’t play to a click.
For guitar and bass, you’re better off using software. It’s cheap, the results sound phenomenal, and you can do it outside of an expensive studio.
Once the song is all finished, move onto step 2.
Make a video
This is the mindblowing part. Make a video? What?
This is where the psychology has to change.
Years ago people thought that you couldn’t make a record outside a studio. Now people use a computer, everywhere, every day.
Today, people still think you can’t make a video without an expensive video crew. But technology has matured. It’s now at the point where you can make a video with a $500 DSLR. And people are doing it. Check out the video for Rituals by the UK band Napoleon, shot on Canon DSLRs:
You probably have friends that make movies. Check your Facebook feed – see who’s posting their work. Similarly, if you are a musician of any ambition, you should be sufficiently immersed in the scene that someone has had a video shot for them. Find out who did it, and invite them to shoot you a video. They likely could use the exposure for their career as much as you could.
Even before the video is done, you can edit a piece of the video to create a trailer, like the band Kennedy, from Montreal, of course:
Once your video is done, move on to step 3.
Advertise
When I was in the game, I was told that no advertising would be done for my album release. “It’s not worth it for us to spend $40k on an advertising campaign only to have you not sell any records.”
Gee, thanks.
Once again, technology has matured.
These days, advertising is cheap. Putting an animated banner on a website can be done for a few dollars each day.
Animated banners are easy to make in Photoshop, a program which a surprising number of people in the music scene know how to use. If they do flyers, they probably do banners. You can get a professional banner made in exchange for a t-shirt if you play your cards right. Or, if you have Photoshop, learn to do it yourself.
Next up is running the ad. While I wouldn’t recommend Facebook ads for this, an animated banner on the music website most frequented by your demographic is an inexpensive way to legitimize your band and build an audience before ever playing a show.
Today, Obey the Brave is running ads for their music video on Lambgoat.com. On the first day their video ran, they racked up 120k views. It’s easy to say that these numbers are solely the result of the popularity of Despised Icon. So be it.
- Obey the Brave banner ad
But at the same time, you’ve played in bands before; so have your friends. Record the song, make the video, and put up the banner ad listing all the bands you used to be in, and see what happens.
Even if you only get a few thousand views, at least you’ve legitimized your band. You’ve successfully convinced people all over the continent or world that you are a real touring band. Congratulations, you now have an audience outside the 20 people that just so happened to be at the show when you mumbled your way through a lame set. And if your end game involves a record deal, you’ve actually made a meaningful step.
The New Game
Montreal bands like Obey the Brave and Kennedy are redefining the means by which we legitimize our bands and build our audience. No one is forcing you to give it a try. But why are you willing to accept 5 years on the local club circuit in order to acquire an audience?
It’s a cop out, and now you know better.
