I hear a lot of people complain that their band can’t really get anywhere because there’s not much of a scene where they live. However I don’t see a lot of people doing anything about it. If there’s going to be a scene, someone needs to have the vision and initiative to start it. So if you don’t have a booming scene where you live – start your own! Here’s how:

The first thing that you need to do is to scout out at least one good venue. What you want to look for are venues that are:

a) inexpensive
b) fun
c) willing to give you the freedom to set up your own shows

The other important factor is bringing in other bands to play with you. You’ll know you’re on the right track when you start putting together shows that you’re genuinely excited about. If you’re excited about the shows you put together then that excitement will translate to your fans. When you consistently put together fun and exciting shows you’ll see the beginnings of a new scene. Other bands will want to be a part of it and you won’t have to beg people to come to your shows. You’ll just need to tell them when they are.

When you put on shows with bands who know each other and who have fun together then people will actually stay for more than one band! They’ll leave happy without having spent too much and the bands can actually make some money too. It’s a win, win for everyone if you do it right.

If you’ve got total freedom over the shows you put on then you can do some things that are outside the box. You can have a comedian or a magician open for you. Be creative. I saw a band once who had made a big wheel that they would spin that would prompt them to do all kinds of entertaining stunts in between songs depending on where the wheel landed. It’s your show. Have fun with it!

Before I moved to Los Angeles I played in a band in Rhode Island where there wasn’t any kind of established scene. There were a couple of no-name venues where we regularly played. One was at a restaurant/bar at the beach and another was a tiny bar in the suburbs. Neither one had bands playing there until we proposed the idea. We brought in bands that we wanted to play with and we played what we wanted to play.

Both of these places that we played at gave us 100% of the door and 100% of merch. One of them even gave us the door plus $100 and free drinks! The bar was a tiny unknown hole in the wall, yet we made more money per show there than when I played in a band that sold out the Viper Room. Those shows were some of the best times of my life. We weren’t trying to reach for something beyond us, we were just putting on the shows we wanted to play and that we thought would be the most fun for everyone. We booked the bands we liked to watch and that we liked to hang out with, so naturally our fans would enjoy the show as well. People would come back to see us again and they would bring more friends and tell more people, to the point that many of them would be turned away at the door.

The idea is to bring people together in a way that’s a win win for everyone. If everybody wins then everybody will want to be a part of your shows in the future. If you want to create a scene, forget about the big expensive venues that don’t care about you, book 6 unrelated bands a night, don’t pay you and that your fans can only afford to go to on special occasions. Instead, find a fun place that’s receptive to the idea of letting you come in and put on your own inexpensive shows. It’s an opportunity for everyone – the venue owner wants more customers, you’ve got fans and you know other bands who have fans (you just need a willing venue), and the fans have a few hours and a reasonable amount of money to spend, and they want good entertainment.

Bring it all together and you’re the hero. So don’t be one of the countless complainers. Be a doer. Amazing things can happen when you’ve got the vision to bring people together.

What I’m going to write about is what I consider to be the biggest fundamental difference between artists who thrive and artists who struggle to survive. It’s a mindset, a paradigm, a way to view the world.

Most bands out there are looking for support. They want you to help them out. Vote for them in a contest. Go to their show. Buy their CD.

By you contributing to their cause you will get them far enough to get their big break. When they get their big break then they will have made it and other people will be there to give them all the resources they need and they’ll live happily ever after.

There’s just one small problem with that model: It’s an illusion that will keep you trapped until long after all of your dreams are gone. It’s a fundamental misinterpretation of the way that money and value work. This strategy will no sooner make you successful then it will a beggar.

Money is just a lubrication in the exchange of value. Think about that for a minute. It doesn’t have any intrinsic value. It’s just a symbol. It’s a more advanced way of trading sheep. What the symbol stands for is value. It’s not about “getting” money. It’s about value. If you want to receive value, then you’re going to have to produce value for other people. You can’t game the system. It will all add up in the end one way or another. If you don’t produce value then you won’t even have the capacity to hold on to value. Whatever you get, you will lose.

You need to focus on the value that you can give to people. Do you want to get people at your shows? Do you really want to make some real money? Then convince people that you’re going to give them something that they value. Anything less will get you nowhere. You can get people to come to a gig or two out of obligation, but if they aren’t getting more in return than they are spending then they’re going to stop showing up. It’s just not sustainable.

Does your show cost $10 at the door, plus $5 to park and an hour or two of time on a Friday night? Well then it needs to be a show that’s worth $20+ and be the best thing that someone could do on a Friday night. YOU are the first person who needs to believe this. THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS CANNOT BE OVERSTATED.

When you’re well calibrated to what your fans value and you’re 100% convinced that going to your show on Friday night is the best thing that anyone could do, and that it’s worth 5x the cost of admission, then something amazing will start to happen. People will start to sense it. This will come through in your communications. People will see it in your eyes and read it in your body language. The pictures you take will start to speak to people differently. It’s like sprinkling magic dust on everything you do.

People are repelled by those who want to get something from them, but attracted to people who they believe will give something to them- and when you give them something that’s worth far more than the cost, then they will talk about it.

No one will ever come in and save the day by giving you your big break if you don’t first produce more value than what you ask in return. This is the great illusion that runs rampant amongst the minds of starving musicians. If you’re waiting for someone to show up and give you your success then you’re still going to be waiting when you’re old and grey.

So this is my challenge to you:

Eliminate the idea of charity or support as part of your strategy. Make “support” a dirty word. Don’t ask people to support your band. Don’t ask for favors. Instead, convince them that your band is the best thing that will ever happen to them. They’re going to tell their grand kids about you. Your band will be the soundtrack to the best memories that they’ll every have. $10 for your CD is the best bargain that they’ll ever find.

If you’re going to convince them of this then you’re going to have to convince yourself first.

This comes BEFORE you get your big break.

Don’t be a beggar.

BE A ROCKSTAR.