Creating your own TOUR
I will always give credit where it's due, especially when I see young artists being proactive about practicing their craft and stepping away from social media to reach out and develop relationships with potential fans. I believe there is no better way to do this than live performance. This is a skill all in itself and the only way to improve is constant practice. From a marketing standpoint it does look good to be able to share online that you're performing somewhere, and the more performances create valuable momentum. The challenge is, it's extremely easy to lose that momentum after a good performance, if you're only focused on the same open/mic type event every other week. Yes, the practice is invaluable, however it does lose marketing value when the message remains the same, especially when your audience at said event tends to consist primarily of other artists rather than potential consumers.
With every problem there always lies a solution. Recording artists Geovanni and Micah Talley created what I thought was a great solution. This was nothing anyone else could not have done or still can’t do, however they did it. The effort and commitment is what caught my attention. They did a simple search of open mics in Orlando, saw there were a few, most of which they were familiar with, but they didn’t stop there. They expanded the search to cities just outside their local area, and eventually moved south to include the entire state. With a keen eye for detail, they realized with some simple planning and schedule organization, that they would be able to do all of them. They created their own TOUR. And the words LIVE TOUR looks absolutely incredible on all marketing material.
This strategy comes with its share of pros and cons.
THE PROS.
1. CONSISTENCY – In this example they had two months of confirmed dates with more being added as we speak. This is keeping your momentum alive.
2. FAN BASE – Going to markets outside your comfort zone opens up endless possibilities to build fans that you can stay communicating with. With such small audiences that most open mics have, you can introduce yourself personally to each and every one with the end goal being turning those people into paying consumers.
3. REAL TIME FEEDBACK – Regularly performing in front of a new crowd every week allows you to learn which material the audience is responding to and adjust accordingly.
The cons conceivably on paper, is why many would either give up before they finish or just not even start at all.
TIME – Most of these open mic events are during the week, which means leaving work or class, jumping straight on the road to get to the performance on time. This especially is a challenge with out-of-town bookings. Then once you're done, make that drive back in the early hours to return to school or work the next morning. The commitment level is nothing to ignore.
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES – With open mic events, you’re usually a name on a long list of others waiting to perform. You probably will not get a sound check or any sort of audio preparation. My advice is, if possible, have someone on your team in charge of your sound, so they can ask the correct questions before the show and quickly adapt to any problems during your performance. Driving 2 hours just to have horrible sound is enough to make anyone crazy.
With any live show it's all about being as prepared as possible and expecting the unexpected. These two ambitious young artists are doing all this on their own, leaving them with a ton of work.
From my experience here are a few suggestions if pursuing this type of campaign.
Build a team - Have someone in charge of just your audio. They are the go between you and the DJ/Sound Guy. Another role is someone who handles all your marketing and promotional material. They quickly scout the venue upon arrival and assess where to put any posters, banners, merch tables, etc... Assuming you have them, and I highly recommend you do.
Create Leverage. - This is the advanced class here. With the open mic world, the real winners are the promoters of the event. They made money off each and every artist in that room as well as the paying attendees and usually have no reason past that for additional effort, unless you give them a reason. Every open mic promoter wants their event to be as big and look as professional as possible. What can you do to assist with that. If you are promoting heavily as a TOUR, that’s value. If you're bringing a team, additional people, a ton of marketing and booth space, that’s value. Leverage what you're contributing to their event as you now being a priority and not just artist 27 out of 50 performing tonight.
I give my hats off to Geovanni and Micah Talley for being proactive, vulnerable, and living outside their comfort zone. Those are characteristics that not only show the world you’re serious, but willing to put in the necessary work and sacrifice to make it in this crazy business.
Follow both and follow their journey at:
Geovanni FOLLOW Geovanni
Micah Talley FOLLOW Micah Talley