5 Words To Avoid When Promoting Your Music

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When promoting your music, getting heard and seen is everything. Cutting through the noise, being the loud-and-clear signal, making sure that people know who you are and what you’re about. These are your goals – and you have a lot of competition.

This is life for the modern musician. For you.

The words listed below may seem harmless at first glance, but you need to rethink them if you want to separate yourself from the competition. Attention to the finest of details is what distinguishes the great from the merely good, okay, and rubbish. Using these words (or in some cases using them in the wrong way) can instantly lose you potential supporters – and even attract the worst kind of attention.

What follows may sound harsh, but it’s important. Music industry professionals are hypersensitive to the words that follow, and if you want to win them over, you need to think like they do. You need to understand how their brains work – and if you can do that, you’ll leave everyone else in the dust. Read more…

Posted on 14 September 2015

Unsigned? Don’t use that word. [Music Business Advice]

“Unsigned” bands define themselves as failures. They divide Bandland into two camps – the lucky Signed, and the green-eyed Unsigned – and then announce to the world that they live in Loserville. The “unsigned” team is the team that never wins. Read more…

Posted on 08 December 2014

Adam Pain (Senior Lecturer, ACM) Discusses: The Boileroom & UK Live Music

With Guildford venue the Boileroom facing the possibility of closure, TMMP caught up with senior ACM lecturer Adam Pain to discuss the Boileroom and the state of the UK’s live music scene.

This interview is part of a larger TMMP feature which can be read in full here.

What is your general opinion of the Boileroom?

The Boileroom represents the only true circuit venue in Guildford for bands and artists at the most crucial stage of their careers. In my opinion, the Boileroom is a great little venue – but it’s also a vital part of Surrey’s live music industry.

What would happen if the Boileroom were to shut down? What impact would that event have?

It would make a very hard situation for emerging bands and artists in the area even more Read more…

Posted on 10 September 2014

Emily Walding (Label Manager, Acid Jazz Records) Discusses: The Boileroom & UK Live Music

With Guildford venue the Boileroom facing the possibility of closure, TMMP caught up with Acid Jazz label manager Emily Walding to discuss the Boileroom and the state of the UK’s live music scene.

This interview is part of a larger TMMP feature which can be read in full here.

What is your general opinion of the Boileroom?

I’ve been a big fan of the Boileroom since first going there in 2009. It’s a good-sized venue that offers a stage for both up-and-coming local acts but also larger, more established bands from inside and outside the UK. They seem to have nailed catering for all genres, which is nice to see. The gigs are usually reasonably priced, which is a huge selling point.

The sound is one of the best I’ve ever heard from Read more…

Posted on 10 September 2014

Dave Humphrey (Former Artist Manager & Promoter) Discusses: The Boileroom & UK Live Music

With Guildford venue the Boileroom facing the possibility of closure, TMMP caught up with former artist manager and promoter Dave Humphrey to discuss the Boileroom and the state of the UK’s live music scene.

This interview is part of a larger TMMP feature which can be read in full here.

What is your general opinion of the Boileroom?

It’s a great little venue. It brings great bands to a town that needs them – like Wheatus for example! Shows like that are really rare events.

There aren’t many dedicated music venues around anymore; there’re pubs with backrooms, but not Read more…

Posted on 10 September 2014

Rose Coloured Records Discuss: The Boileroom & UK Live Music

With Guildford venue the Boileroom facing the possibility of closure, TMMP caught up with Rose Coloured Records head honcho Andy to discuss the Boileroom and the state of the UK’s live music scene.

This interview is part of a larger TMMP feature which can be read in full here.

What is your general opinion of the Boileroom?

A dedicated small music venue is so important to a town like Guildford and the surrounding area. As well as attracting some of the best new talent touring the country (plus Read more…

Posted on 10 September 2014

The MU Discusses: The Boileroom & UK Live Music

Without the Musician’s Union, life in one of the country’s most vibrant and culturally vital industries would be even harder than it already is. The MU has long stood up for every musician’s right to earn a living, and make his or her way through a famously fickle business without fear of falling prey to its many (often cunningly disguised) predators. The MU also fights on every level – from local to international stages – to ensure that music industry operators play fair.

With Guildford venue the Boileroom facing the possibility of closure, TMMP caught up with Kelly Wood (Live Performance Official) & Paul Burrows (Regional Organiser, East / Southeast England) of the Musician’s Union to discuss the Boileroom and the state of the UK’s live music scene.

This interview is part of a larger TMMP feature which can be read in full here.

What is your general opinion of the Boileroom? 

PB – Well run, small venue. Vital for the local, regional, and national live scene. Without venues such as this around the country, original bands working their way up the music business would not Read more…

Posted on 10 September 2014

Artists & Industry Discuss: The Boileroom & UK Live Music

Sometimes the old ways are the best.

Over the past fifteen years, the music world has been revolutionised by digital technology. There have been many positive developments facilitated by the Internet, from social media sites to digital music stores and crowdfunding platforms. Smart and savvy musicians now have access to a wealth of tools that previous generations could only dream of – but the physical world still holds the key to a thriving, successful career.

The ease with which a band can break through barriers previously manned by a handful of power-hungry gatekeepers represents the bright side of digital music – but there is also a widely recognised and heavily debated Read more…

Posted on 10 September 2014

The Boileroom Management Team [Interview]

As regular TMMP readers will know, Guildford-based music venue The Boileroom is currently facing the possibility of closure. To say that this situation stirred up some intense feelings is something of an understatement; artists as diverse as Jamie Lenman, Arcane Roots, Enter Shikari and Ed Sheeran have voiced their support for the small venue, while The Boileroom’s Change.org petition has attracted nearly 20,000 signatures from outraged live music fans.

In this exclusive interview, I sat down with Dom Frazer (The Boileroom’s owner and Director), Lydia Stockbridge (In-House Booker & Promoter), Duncan Smith (Assistant In-House Booker & Promoter), and Pip Ellis (Designated Premises Supervisor) to discuss their venue, its present predicament, and the reality of living life in live music. Read more…

Posted on 29 July 2014

How To Deal With Criticism [Music Business Advice]

Since becoming a music blogger, I’ve had some amazing experiences. Nothing gets me buzzing like the discovery of a brand new band capable of blowing my mind into smithereens. Artists as diverse as Dorje, Signals, Princess Slayer, Shrine, In Dynamics, Mike Dawes, Project RnL, Inner Pieces, and Lunatrix all knocked me for six when I first came across them – and the knowledge that tomorrow it could happen all over again is what keeps me writing.

However, it’s not all been great. I love what I get to do via TMMP, but there is a dark side to music writing. I’m not just here to be nice; I also have to be harsh at times. When reviewing music, I’m a critic – and the word ‘criticism’ is, as we all know, associated more directly with negativity than anything else. Criticism is a part of life, something we all experience, and it’s hard – sometimes impossible – to not take it personally. Often this is because the person doing the criticising is just letting out their own frustrations and not considering us at all. Read more…

Posted on 06 July 2014