Guest Blogger - Punktastic

Internet Dos and Don'ts for bands from a seasoned keyboard warrior

According to Tom Aylott - editor of Punktastic.com

Though not professing to be an expert, I've been a purchaser, performer, promoter and promulgator of music at varying points during the growth of the Internet, and at a time where good self-marketing is one of the greatest weapons in that perpetual perceived artist popularity arms race, what better time than now to share a few things for half amusement, half advisory purposes?



So, here's three "Dos and Don'ts" for those fledgling bands about making the most of the Internet. It's all common sense really, but I'm working on a qualified assumption that "amount of time spent holding instrument" is inversely proportional to "amount of common sense".



Most will probably been annoyed or impressed by something on the list.





Do learn how to do things yourself



This one is absolutely huge. There are many, many people out there who can make you a website, an animated gif, put some promotional videos together, record your practice room demo or make you some CD artwork, but the truth is, most of it is not that hard - especially when it comes to having a basic website. Making websites isn't something everyone will take to, but it's worth seeing if you've got someone in the band who's that way inclined that can do a half-decent job. You will save money if you pool the knowledge and rely less on third parties. It's also really fun to be DIY, in these areas at least.





Don't use social media to vent your frustration



Being in a band can be hard. There's not really a feeling of getting a return for the time and effort you put in, and you're rather often out of pocket, AND that's without opening the whole "people sending your music to each other in mere seconds and getting absolutely nothing back" can of worms. But you know what? It could be worse.



You could have no fingers to play that guitar with. You could not even know the next time you'll have a roof above your head. The mere fact that you're reading this sentence means that you're lucky, and therefore likely enjoy the benefit of the right to moan (which no one should deny you), but just like the couple who have arguments and vent passively aggressively about their relationship via. Facebook statuses, you're not doing yourself any favours.





Do learn from what other bands do well



A key thing to remember is that 99% of the time, one band's great idea is going to be inspired by another band's great idea. There's no shame in piecing together your "online strategy" with a few "borrowed" ideas.



As long as you're not outright stealing, then you're really just being a cog in that big "idea refining process" machine we call the human race.





Don't use social media robotically



Now that MySpace is showing its age a little, bands are no longer using it as the "default" online home, and are turning to the flourishing Twitter and behemoth Facebook to connect with their fans. This allows fantastic opportunities for spamming the world with useless information. It's downright obvious to people when a band aren't running their own online activities, and if you're not one of the AC/DCs or Rolling Stones of the world, then it's likely that you have enough time to interact with people properly, and produce meaningful updates on what you're doing.



We've probably all got friends drilling out tens of Farmville items a day into our news feeds, but it's equally as annoying when bands don't seem to care and spend the whole time trying to flog their wares - and the last thing you want to be is an irritation because it detracts from your music.





Do make your music as easy as possible to post and share



This is one might not be so obvious at first glance, but all those websites you'd like to get your band covered on spend countless hours each month changing emails that simply say "Hi, my band just posted a music video on at youtube.com/blahblahblah" into something that is usable for their website.



Providing a decent photo, relevant social media links, any relevant codes to add multimedia and all the information they might need in an email will up your success rate substantially. You may not be hitting the mainstream press yet, but one you get a few places to take notice and post something, you'll find that the word will soon get around if you're good.





Don't let the numbers fool you



Once you've got a few wheels turning, and your follower count and "Likes" on Facebook have escaped the depressing doldrums of single and double figures, you might start to feel that your band has an impact out there in the wider world.



Referring again to MySpace and here specifically "play count syndrome", it's very important to remember that these types of numbers largely mean nothing if you're not making anything of it by being good live and producing high quality music. As Twitter and Facebook remain strong, pretty much every single person, band or brand is getting more "Likes" and followers, and it's objectively impossible to find out what this "means" in the real world. There's no definitive measure for how "big" a band actually is, especially with the ongoing changes in the way people listen to, obtain and purchase music, but one thing remains the same: people like good music.





In short, if you make the most of the Internet as a platform to promote your band, then you're best equipping yourself to let the music talk for itself: which is the way it should be.