RADAR: I Referred an Artist...Now What?

Hello RADAR advocates! Last week I wrote about how you can find live music in your area. Referrals are starting to roll in, so I wanted to let you know what will happen once you make a referral to ArtiSans.

Once you log on to your profile and submit a referral, you will receive an automatic reply from the system thanking you for your referral. Both Jen Creed (the artist coordinator) and I are also notified of the referral that you submitted.

Jen Creed will then call you to speak with you about the artist that you referred. She'll ask how you know the artist, or how you met them. She'll also gather any other information you know about the artist, whether they have an album in the works, if they are looking to record, and what services they might be interested in that ArtiSans can offer.

Then Jen will discuss with you how you would like to go forward with further communication with this artist. You may have a personal relationship with them, and perhaps you would like to follow up with them with a phone call yourself. If not, Jen will give the artist a call to introduce herself and find out a little more about them. We would like you to remain a part of the process, and you can discuss with Jen how you can be involved.

Jen is well versed in all the services that ArtiSans can help an artist with. She will be able to determine if an artist is interested in further correspondence, and/or if they have a need for ArtiSans at this time. If it isn't the right timing, she can also make a note to follow up with them at a future date.

As an advocate, you can log into your account and see the status of any artist that you referred. If you click on the "My Artists" icon on your main page, you can see all the artists that you have referred to the system. By clicking on their name, you can then see their information page. Notes can (and will) be added to this page after each conversation with the artist. You can also check on their updated status, which will say things like "initial call made", "follow up in 6 months",
"proposal submitted", "deal pending", etc.

ArtiSans is focused on providing excellent customer service and personal attention to all musicians and potential clients. Most of the staff here are musicians and are, or were in, a band. We strive to treat artists with a respect that they deserve and to provide them with the tools they need to be successful.

As always, if you need any help with a referral, or as an Advocate, you can contact me, and I can help you with whatever you need to make you successful in the RADAR program.

Where to Go to Find Live Music.

So you're a RADAR advocate for ArtiSans Label. You have business cards, studio flyers, brochures, and artist referral forms. Now you need to meet some artists!

Many of you are in bands, or have friends that are in the live music circuit. You are already aware of local shows and where to go to see live music, in fact you are harrassed everytime your friends band has a gig. But how do you find out about live music shows and venues aside from your friends? Below are a few resources to help you find where to go in your search for bands and live music.

ReverbNation: Are you registered on ReverbNation? If not, register immediately. What is ReverbNation? Jen Creed wrote a fantastic blog about it a few weeks ago, and it is an excellent resource for music fans as well as for bands. All you have to do to find out where you can catch live music near you (once you are registered and logged in) is click on the "shows" tab on the top of your main page. Then you can search for shows in your area by genre, date, distance, etc. Also, when you meet a band you can become a fan of them through ReverbNation. Then you can keep in contact with the band and choose to be updated about any future shows they have.


Village Voice Media Publications: Village Voice Media is the brilliant company behind LA Weekly and OC Weekly (for local So. Cal residents) and Village Voice in NY. They also have publications in Denver, San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas, Nashville, and many other cities. These are free publications that you can pick up in your city or check out online. Venues often place ads listing their show calendar throughout the paper, but there is also an entire live music section where you can find live music shows for the week. On their website, you can search by venue, band, location (city), and genre.

CityGuide: Go to http://citiguide.aol.com/ and enter your city. Then you can choose the tab for "live music" and search for live music in your area (provided by when.com which is apparently another website where you can search for things to do).

Festivals: I have to say....I love festivals! I love to go as a patron, and I love to go to perform with CONJOB. At Festivals.com you can search for festivals in your area, they even have a list of music events.

Festivals are personally my favorite place to play music, and also my favorite place to go see music. As a performer, it is great perform for people who are there to soak up the atmosphere and have a good time. The members of CONJOB will usually hang out most of the day when we play a festival, passing out stickers and fliers and promoting our show. We'll even throw back a few beers with people in the beer garden. We have made more new fans at festivals than at most of our shows combined. The opportunity to meet people and network at festivals, especially music festivals, can't be matched at a bar or club.

Obviously these aren't all the ways to find bands to go see, (there is this fantastic thing called Google which can help you to find anything you need at all), but these websites should get you started in your search for bands to refer. So, now that you know where to look - go see some live shows!

Opportunity Exists Everywhere!

This past weekend I put on my do-gooder walking shoes and participated in the 16th Annual EIF Revlon Run/Walk for Women. The Revlon Run/Walk is a 5k run/walk to raise money for Breast and Ovarian cancer research. I have walked this event to raise money since 2000 when the company I worked for had a team, and its something I love participating in.

Some years I walk alone, some years I manage to coerce people into walking with me. This year I arranged to meet up with my friend Taylor who had also registered for the walk. When I met up with her, I found out that she had registered to walk with a group, and the group was the WIN, Women's Industry Network, consisting of women in the Entertainment Industry.

Now I am not one to bring up business at inappropriate times, but walking with these women presented me with an extraordinary opportunity! Most of the women in the WIN group worked in film and music. I kicked myself internally for not having my business cards or any ArtiSans Marketing materials, even though I didn't even have a purse since I was there to do a 5k walk.

I mostly walked and chatted with Lori, who was a friend of Taylor's. We made small talk during the walk, and at about mile 2 she asked what I do for fun. I mentioned my band CONJOB, and she let me know that her boyfriend was in a band. I saw a golden opportunity find out a little more about her boyfriends band and to discuss ArtiSans.

First I asked general questions about the band, questions that would promote continued conversation rather than one word answers. I found out what type of music they played, and found out the band is female fronted and fairly new. I asked if they had any recordings yet and if they were planning to do an album or an EP. Lori wasn't really too sure about what the band wanted to accomplish or if they currently had plans to record or put out an album, however I was able to easily segue into a conversation about ArtiSans, and how we might be able to work with them.

I wished I had something to give her, I didn't even have a way to take her contact information or give her mine. I was quickly reminded about the importance of always having my business cards and marketing materials on me. I didn't expect to have an opportunity to find bands as I participated in this event, but I was presented with the perfect chance to bring a new artist to ArtiSans, and I wasn't prepared. Luckily, since Lori is a friend of a friend, I am able to get her information and finish up our discussion, and hopefully make a referral.

Saturday's lesson is: BE PREPARED! I have encountered artists at Starbucks, at the grocery store, out to dinner, on the subway (ok, that was in NY), even in the hospital...the point is, you never know when you'll have the opportunity to refer someone to ArtiSans Label.

Opportunity Exists Everywhere!