We are living through a very scary time right now with Coronavirus. There are things happening now that none of us have seen in our lifetimes. Things that we never expected to have happened. It’s a strange world and I get the impression that it might get a lot stranger in the next few weeks. All this to say – there are things your ban should be doing now even if you are self quarantined. And believe me, I know how weird it is, but fear isn’t going to help us – we need to keep ourselves busy and moving forward. If you are looking for an easy list of free services you can use to help propel your band forward go here: https://dropoutmedia.net/free-offers-to-musicians-during-the-coranavirus-crisis/ Otherwise – I wanted to dig into why now is a great time to be a band because of greater access to journalists, cheaper ads, greater attention focused on social now and of course – monumental opportunity to help the community.
4. Journalists Are More Accessible Than Ever
We are at a very interesting moment for the underground community. When it comes down to it, most journalists are doing this as a hobby. Which is cool. The thing is – if those journalists are now working from home they have more time to write! On top of that – labels are in disaster mode now with all the cancellations – so they aren’t pitching as much. What this means is that for those of us who pitch aggressively in this period, people are going to be eager for the content since they are going to want to be producing but won’t have as much being fed to them. This is a really great time to make that push to get into Decibel or Metal Injection because you have more leverage.
3. Ads Will Be Going For Cheaper!
I absolutely am most excited about this right now. Again – if labels are in disaster mode it means they aren’t running as many ads. If they aren’t running as many ads then it means the bidding for ad space is reduced which means you can get in there for cheaper. Well, guess what? If you can get in there for cheaper then you are saving money. Now you have to remember that now people have less money to go around due to the economy tanking. So run your ads instead of awareness, engagement or video views. We are at a point where you can collect data like never by giving people cool and meaningful content that is going to get them through the darkness of the next few weeks.
2. Tons Of Attention Is Focused On Social
So tied into all of this, with more people being home than ever before and having tons of free time means that there will be more attention focused on social. This further drives down the price of ads but also means that your organic posts are going to be doing a lot better. Again – given the economic situation now I wouldn’t focus on sales, but I would focus on figuring out creative ways to keep in touch with your fans and to help guide them forward even as we all look into the gaping maw that is Coronavirus. So go out and post more than ever before. Most people are retreating and not posting as much, you want to be the one fighting against that and showing that there is a meaningful way forward.
1. There Is Monumental Opportunity To Help The Community
One of the interesting things going on now is not only that people are in need of help but they are actively asking for it. Why? Because we’re all going through some shit. So use this as an opportunity to reach out to people in your community, see what you can do for them and the act on it. Give the people around you a path forward, a way to get stronger and a way to turn their band into something greater. See what you can do to help your scene, be it your graphic design skills, knowledge of certain software or whatever, then email me at matt@dropoutmedia.net and I’ll add you to that page of free resources I linked at the top! We will all get through this guys!
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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