Chances are, whether you’re touring via gas-guzzling automobile or taking a straight-shot flight, that you’re going to spend some serious money getting to and from the next music conference you attend. Oh, and the badge for admittance will cost you a pretty penny too. Given the high price tag attached, you’ll want to make sure you get the absolute most out of every conference you attend. Here are a few quick tips to make sure you’re milking the experience for every opportunity.
The Do’s:
1. Get a schedule and make your plans before arriving. Who do you want to meet? What acts do you want to see perform? Set up appointments well in advance of the conference.
2. Play as often as possible. Official showcases. Underground showcases. On the street. There are countless opportunities to flaunt your live performance skills and plenty of conference attendees to take note.
3. If you’re in a band, spread out and cover more ground. Don’t stick together for safety’s sake. Be brave. If each member goes to a different event, you’ve greatly increased your odds at meeting the right person at the right time.
4. If there is a trade show, walk the floor at least once. Trade shows aren’t as fun as showcases, but chances are you’ll make acquaintance with representatives from music industry companies that will come in handy at some later date.
5. Get sleep and eat healthy. Don’t stumble into the president of your favorite indie label and come across as a malnourished drunkard.
The Don’ts:
1. Don’t party too much. Music conferences are a BUSINESS opportunity for you or your band. By all means, have fun. But you won’t be as effective as possible if you’re going on a binge.
2. Don’t get caught without a CD, download card, flier, or business card.
Don’t sell yourself short with false humility. When someone asks you who you are, what you sound like, where you’re playing, and why you’re at the conference, be BOLD! Take no prisoners. Be proud of your music and the buzz will follow.
Chris Robley is an acclaimed singer-songwriter and award-winning poet from Maine.
His Beatlesque indie-pop and milltown Americana songs have been praised by The Associated Press, No Depression, KCRW, The LA Times, Boston Globe, NPR, American Songwriter, and others.
His poems have appeared in Poetry Magazine, Prairie Schooner, The Poetry Review, and more.
Robley has received a Maine Literary Award in Poetry, Boulevard’s Emerging Writers Prize for Poetry, and in 2016 was selected by former US-poet laureate Robert Pinsky as a finalist for the Dorset Prize.