Whether you’re an artist or simply a music enthusiast, you should know the importance of supporting your local music scene. Without it, the world would be filled with cold, calculated music played by computers and sang through heavy autotune.
It’s a struggle for the little guys to keep going in the music scene. It is often a hobby that brings little pay and, as a result, juggling a job while trying to support our music. In short, any support you can throw a musicians direction will go a long way.
Take a look below to see that it doesn’t take a lot to support your local music scene, and you’ll find it helps you in return.
How to Support Local Music
Go To Shows
The most obvious way to support your local music scene is to get yourself out there and go to some shows. Check out local magazines, newspapers, and venues to see when and where artists you might be interested in are going to be playing. Don’t know if you’d be interested? Check them out online — most musicians have a YouTube or other social media channels — or if there just isn’t enough info to go off of, go to the show anyway.
There’s a very low probability that you’ll find yourself in a situation you’ll absolutely hate, and a high probability that you’ll enjoy the experience. Going to shows not only gives the artist a portion of the door money, it’s what musicians are musicians for; to showcase their art to people like you.
Promote Local Artists
When you go to local shows, consider buying merchandise from artists who are trying to promote their music and art. Wearing a t-shirt of a local band you liked, or placing button on your jacket will not only look cool, but will help promote a musician you think highly of. I’ve even seen bands who have found companies that will print their own custom beer labels, too. Merchandise isn’t very expensive for you and is where a local musician makes a great portion of their earnings.
Another way to promote local artists is to share their social media content, or create a publication or blog — i.e. Adam’s “The Blogging Musician.” An awesome way to put a local musician in the spotlight for a couple of minutes and for people who would like to know more about said musician, as described in the paragraph above. Your endorsement of a local musician is as good as money in most cases.
Collaborate With Other Musicians
If you are a musician, you should not treat other local musicians as your competition. You are both in this together. Your support and collaboration with other local musicians, not just in promotional efforts or going to their shows, can be advantageous to you as well. Although, if you do collaborate musically with another artist, their promotional efforts will benefit you, and vice versa.
Another way you can help out your fellow musician is to keep in correspondence with musicians you know and navigate the murky waters of venues, promoters, and other musicians. If you’ve worked with other musicians and it didn’t turn out well, or played a venue with less than desirable equipment, staff, or otherwise questionable operations, it would be nice to let others know before they book a show. After all, wouldn’t you would like to have had that information before you booked the show?
What You Get in Return
Support Local Community
When you support local music, you are supporting your local economy as well. Shows are often held in places who want to book them for a reason — it gets people in their business and those people buy things. If you go see an acoustic guitarist at a coffee shop, you’d be inclined to buy a latte, or if you go see a band at a bar you might buy a beer for the show. Most of the other people who are there to see the show will do the same.
One thing that might happen with the support of local music is that maybe, just maybe, it’ll make the case to keep teaching art and music in schools. If there are musical influences for children, and those children are showing strong interest to play music, it can show that it is viable subject to spend the money on for the education of our youth.
Cheaper, More Personal Concerts
One very noticeable detail about supporting local music is that the shows are vastly cheaper than that of a sold out arena. I agree that it is good to see your favourite “big” band when they come through town, and that you’d feel like you missed out if not. But, not being broke for the next couple weeks and seeing a good show is just as good.
A smaller venue also means a smaller audience. Being closer to the musicians and being able to see the expressions on their faces and feel the energy that they are putting into their music can only happen in those small spaces. Not to mention, you have a better chance of meeting the band!
Supporting your local music scene seems like something everyone should do. It not only helps out your local musician, but yourself as well. Seems like a win-win to me, but then again, I am a musician who supports my local music scene.
Courtesy of Desmond Rhodes.
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