Getting Noticed, Hitting the Road in China: Some Advice from the Pros

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There’s tons of great music being recorded all over China. Hundreds of young, talented bands filling basement shelters, bedrooms and tiny studios with beautiful, beautiful noise.

But the real bottlenecks start once the music itself is done. The two biggest hurdles we’ve observed for young Chinese bands are discovery (getting noticed) and touring (getting out there).

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This week, we’ve got two separate articles that talk about the art of promotion, and the art of the tour. The first is a panel discussion recorded at the Face the Music conference in Australia last month, and features Split Works /   MD and Radar contributor Archie Hamilton. Here’s the video. Just in case you don’t have a VPN handy, we’ve distilled some of the important advice for young bands out there on attracting promoters, and getting represented both in China and overseas.

  • Never forget that it’s a personality-driven industry. Try to understand your target market, and get to know the people you’re speaking to. Make your online presence reflect your band’s personality.
  • Send links, keep it brief: When trying to convince promoters, send them links and statistics that can be “sold”, to other promoters, festivals or brands. “10,000 followers on Douban”. “Awarded Most Promising Band of the Year by local magazine”. Stuff like that.
  • Promoters are inundated. Have a hook – what makes your band special? Stand out. Don’t be disheartened if you don’t hear back immediately – follow-up with them after a reasonable amount of time – be persistant, but not a pest.
  • Put your manager’s contact details and/or agent details where everyone can find them, and put it across your online presence: on Facebook, Bandcamp, Douban etc

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Over at City Weekend Beijing, Hu Pan, the drummer for Beijing-based indie band Elenore, has written this piece about touring in China .She has some great insights in there, and here are some our key takeaways for young bands:

  • Touring is about repetition, but you have to figure out how to be excited with each iteration. You can’t look like you’re bored on stage or just going through the motions. Try and mix things up a bit – keep yourself surprised.
  • Book venues two months in advance, secure reservations six weeks in advance, and practice for at least a month. Things will go wrong, so always have a Plan B.
  • Weekends are the best for gigs, but if that’s not possible – try for a Wednesday or Sunday. Avoid playing on Mondays or Tuesdays in small towns just because you are passing by.
  • Don’t go rock’n’roll crazy. It’s okay to relax, take it easy and hit the showers as much as you can.
  • Try and record yourself when you’re out there, so you can look back at what you did and see if you can improve

So bands and tour managers out there: what are some of the lessons you’ve learnt on the road on how to…well, stay on the road?

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