Self Sufficient Musician

Here’s one of the fundamental concepts of promotion.

Communicate your success.

As musicians, we want to be honest, authentic and (perhaps) personal — but that doesn’t mean you should flag your dirty laundry in public.  There’s a fine line between honesty and tellig what’s not being asked.  Some people mistakenly try to attract people by inviting pity and sympathy.  It’s one thing if you just lost your family in an accident — but your CD selling only 5 copies is not a tragedy. It simply means you have a lot of work to do to build up your fan base.  So that’s not something you want to communicate in your promotions — don’t lie if people do ask, but otherwise, keep that information to yourself.

Now that being said, success is in the eye of the beholder.  You can find positive sides in just about any situation.  Here are some ways to change your point of view and display a positive, uplifting side to the public:

• Just lost a band member -> It’s an opportunity for somebody to join your bandwagon
• Only sold 5 copies of your CD -> Focus on the positive feedback from those 5 people
• Don’t have gigs coming up -> It’s time to write some new tunes, or record!

And so on.  I’m not saying you have to be dishonest, but glass has to be half full when you’re promoting yourself.  People are attracted to confidence, momentum, and positive attitude.  Even when you’re a death metal act, this is true.  Keep that in mind at all times when you’re out representing your music — which is all the time!