I had a really inspiring moment at Hellfest this year, where I was walking up to the festival and heard my old friends in Insanity Alert playing from the main stage. This is a band who I’ve supported and been friends with since their first demo came out eight years ago, and now they’re playing to tens of thousands of people. I met them on a guitar forum. Now, we bump into each other at mega festivals. Yet this is something that happens to you again and again if you’ve been in this game long enough and always made a point of making friends. It’s not because I’m special or different, it’s just that I’ve been around. I’ve been deeply involved in underground music for nine years now, and I’m only just starting to see these connections pay off. It’s so important to realize this sooner rather than later, so in this article, I wanted to take a moment to write about how longevity is key to music business growth.
The People Around You Grow
This is probably the most obvious reason. If you meet a lot of people in the music scene, eventually a few of them are going to grow and become people of note. When I was going to stoner metal shows in Paris, a lot of the bands I went to see never went anywhere. In fact, most of them never went anywhere. Either that or our relationships fizzled out or whatever. However, one of those bands I met as a youth was Sasquatch. Another was Conan. Both of those are groups who I’m still in regular contact with today. This is just another step in the overarching narrative of my career. You need to be getting out there and engaging with people if you want to achieve those next steps. It’s not going to happen quickly, but eventually, one of your friends is going to ‘make it’ and if you were friends the whole time — rather than a johnny-come-lately — they might be able to help you too.
Your Stories Add Legitimacy
A lot of how you prove legitimacy in the music business is through storytelling. If you’ve been around the block, then people are going to notice. For instance, I was at the first Elder European tour. I saw Conan before they came to America. These are just two things that help to show that I’m someone who’s been out there doing stuff in this community for a while. Again — none of these things happened because I’m special, they simply happened because I made a point of showing up. If you continually try and prove that you’re the real deal and are excited to be a part of the scene, people will want to work with you. When people figure out that you’ve worked with so-and-so or saw such-and-such, it shows them you aren’t someone just trying to make a quick buck. In an industry of scam artists, having the background to show you are genuine and legitimate is going to differentiate you.
Long Term Relationships Lead To Big Time Trust
This is another important point to note because if you keep showing up time and time again, you’ll naturally start to build relationships. If people see that you’re someone who was consistently able to show up over a period of a few years, they’ll eventually start to trust you more. If those years turn longer, then the amount of trust people will have placed in you grows. Of course, when you show up, you can’t just be some dumb annoying nitwit — you have to be helpful and cool. However, if you make a point of engaging, being friendly and supporting the scene over a long-term and at scale — that is to say, going to dozens of shows a year— then things will pay off. If you aren’t willing to engage with your community in a major way for a long time, then you’ve already done before you begin.
Lifer Status Has Perks
On top of all of this is a simple fact that lifer status has its perks. I’m sure you’ve seen it at your own local venue. Have you ever noticed the respected guys who’ve been turning up year after year, day in and day out? They’re noticed because they’re the people who live and die by this. All of the things I outlined in this article are amplified with each passing year you spend in the scene. Even the coolest of cool guys are going to crack when they start to see that you’ve been showing up to support the scene for years on end. I know it sucks to hear that you need to keep doing this if you want to get any sort of growth, but that’s what it takes to boost your overall status in this community. It’s not hard to do, but it’s hard to do with longevity. There’s a reason a lot of the people who end up becoming bigger players started really young — they actually had the time to get out there and build those crucial relationships.
Here’s the point: if you want to get anywhere in this business, you need to be at it for a long time so that people see that you’re someone worth working with. If you don’t have anything but the utmost dedication, then those around you are going to stop caring. If you can’t consistently show this level of devotion to the community and helping everyone grow, then why should people bother working with you at all? Long story short – it often takes a decade or more to make a meaningful impact on something. If you can’t do that, then this isn’t for you. So many people want to get rich quick, but it’s only through focusing on sharing your love for years that things will start to meaningfully pay off.
MATT BACON
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Matt Bacon is a consultant, A&R man, and journalist specializing in the world of heavy metal. Having worked with everyone from Glam Rock icon Phil Collen of Def Leppard, to post Black Metal titans Alcest, by way of legendary thrashers Exhorder as well as labels including Prophecy Productions and Ripple Music, he has dedicated his life to helping young bands develop. Having started his own blog at the age of 14 he views his career in artist development as ‘a hobby that got out of hand’. In 2015 he formed Dropout Media in order to better support the artists he loves. We sit here now, years later with countless tours booked, records released and deals signed, and loving every minute of it.
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