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Los Angeles

Performing at venues that your target audience frequents is fun. If you are a hip-hop chipper, do those hip-hop clubs etc. Don’t wait for an all chip event, cuz that day may never come.

Having said that,  If you are fortunate to have other chippers around your hood, by all means join forces! It's good to show up in force to wake up the masses to the modern sound of chip today. smile

Its always a good idea to have a main site that people can go to for all your info. Sure you can mirror your band data on each music/networking site, but nothing beats a "official site" for fans to follow. This also helps with your "press release" emails, its easier to just list your main url rather than your laundry list of music/networking sites.

Also send emails to promote your latest "hot release" to the sites you frequent. Chances there are like minded folks there who may appreciate what you are doing. You'd be surprised how even some seemingly unrelated sites will post about your release.

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PDX
akira^8GB wrote:
RushCoil wrote:

EDIT:

Make good music, or music people think is good. They will take care of the rest.

Why did you erase your lengthy post? It was good sad

Meh I talk too much...

"Good music is good music"
"If it's good, people will spread the word"
"Don't be an asshole"

Easy............

EDIT: oh no it was quoted... BLASTED INSOMNIA, look what you've done.

Last edited by RushCoil (Jan 20, 2010 7:58 am)

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Nashville, Tennessee
RushCoil wrote:
akira^8GB wrote:

Why did you erase your lengthy post? It was good sad

Here is my best try at a recreation: if your stuff is good (and with a bit of luck), people will promote you, and you don't have to do anything.

1) I am a nobody in this scene.

2) I made an 8-bit Christmas album. I totally bypassed the chip scene. I spent a lot of time on it and used as many channels or whatever type of hardware or software I wanted so I could make a sound that everyday people could enjoy and relate to, not just chip enthusiasts. I noticed that my friends never identified with straight-up chip music, but they loved the xmas shit because it was so powerful and mixed/mastered in a modern fashion. I made them forget how diminutive an NES is and they bought and accepted my revisionist form of the "8-bit sound." More importantly, a lot of people really, really liked it.

3) I made ONE Facebook post about it on my personal page to share it with my friends, and was totally unprepared for the fact that the site would receive 2 million hits in 3 weeks... it was playing on [adult swim] and received kudos from IGN, Spike TV, and countless others... I was invited to perform on Engadget, did interviews, yada yada... It got enough attention that I started a campaign to raise money for Child's Play (and cover the $1,000 hosting bill I had at the end of the month).

Point being:

1. You don't HAVE to promote yourself if your work is unique, high-quality, and affects people on some level. They will do the work for you.

2. There are other ways to promote yourself than climbing the scene ladder - do something half-way unique or high-quality at the right time and the music will take off; make music that is compatible with "people," not just "chip people."

Have you ever busted your ass at a small business and hated the owner for never giving you a raise? That is kind of like trying to promote yourself in the chip scene. To extend the metaphor, you could instead have a desk job, make 4 times the cash, and get constant promotions if you relax, breathe, and make your music more approachable to the average listener. I think 8BW is the master of this (I know tons of people who listen to 8BW and have never heard the word "chiptune") and Anamanaguchi a close second - people automatically like the music, regardless of whether the chip was a 2A03 or a 6502, or running off Chipsounds. GOOD MUSIC IS GOOD MUSIC.
 
3. Don't feel that you must impress/compete with the chip celebs - you will lose. Nobody wants to book someone that "sounds like" Bit Shifter, Nullsleep, or 8 Bit Weapon; the scene is too small - venues can just hire the real thing. Make some music you like, use whatever you want to make it, just make something good and unique that people want to listen to. If people like it, they will spread the word. If purists hate you because you did not make another trance song on LSDJ, comfort yourself with the thousand or so positive emails and comments, the room of equipment your CD sales bought, and the $1,000+ you earned for sick children. I hope and pray that "chiptune' does not become the jazz of the 21st century- a homogenous blob of idol worship and cookie cutter music.

Bonus round: Have fun and don't be a dick. This music is made on equipment that was designed to inspire fun- a momentary glimmer of joy in a mostly dark world. If you are positive, people are more likely to spread the word about your work - think, "Duder12 is so cool brah, you can totally email him and he'll tell you about his mad chips!" And club owners, industry types have ZERO tolerance for assholes, trust me on this.

::hides under a rock:: "Cool story br0!"

i think your case is backed by more than a smidgen of luck... just saying wink

also, emphasis on the "don't be an asshole" part. thats really important these days.

Last edited by smiletron (Jan 20, 2010 7:24 am)

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A gray world of dread

RushCoil: One thing I already like about this place is that the users appearently have an attention span that lasts longer than three lines of text. Yours was a good post, no need to twitter-size it. smile

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Athens, Greece

i promote head wizard

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New York City

I am glad someone quoted RushColl before he got all self-conscious again big_smile
Dude, we like to read. Seriously. That was a good post.

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Tokyo, Japan

It's not really something I have given much thought to. I try to think in terms of what I can do to help other people when I can. I have a unique skill or two I guess. You know, spread the helpyness vibe around, hope everything works out ok. But I would feel almost guilty for trying to make a living or even an established presence for something I enjoy so much. Just write some tunes, see what happens you know?

My back up plan is find the richest record company exec I can an sleep with them. Either is fine, im not fussy or proud.

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PDX

Honestly, I have looked back at other bands I've been in and here are some lessons that all lead to a self-sustaining promotion machine that I have seen work many times:

* Professionalism: great website, professional photos, professional video, well produced music, well manufactured CDs, maintain social networking sites, youtube, whatever, email lists. Have a good attitude and zero ego with fans or anyone in the business.
* Quality: buy great PA equipment. buy great lighting. If you play at a typical small venue with a crap PA, people will think, "man, these guys sound shitty." But if you have a great PA and great lights, and epic bass, people will think, "Holy shit, these guys are insane," even if you suck ass.
* Be positive: My theory is that everyone is more or less miserable.  If you are nice to them, to club owners, bartenders, other bands, if anything they will remember you as "That guy didn't make my life/job more difficult that night, that guy is easy to work with." Help the other bands move their shit so they can get out of there. Ask the bartender/owner, "How'd you guys do tonight? Hey, we like this place and had a great time and we'd love to help get some people in the door. Let us know if you want to set something up." Whatever, something.
* Put on a goddamn show: Put every last drop of energy into your show. I think you should literally be exhausted after a show. Have a reputation for being great. I think there is a lot of room in chip and electronic music to make a more exciting show. It is all too tempting and easy to just sit behind a laptop and do nothing. I think that it is great to sit behind a laptop when you make the music, but if you are out on a stage, you goddamn better entertain these people. This generation is pretty OCD -people have very short attention spans, so you have to constantly be entertaining and constantly change the show.

Last edited by RushCoil (Jan 20, 2010 3:14 pm)

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Los Angeles

Your site/album concept was amazing and deserved 2 million more hits, good job rushcoil! Thats the way to do a release, totally well thought out and executed. He gets my marketing of the year award for 2009. smile

I had people contacting me about your christmas album saying "DUDE have you heard the rushcoil xmas album!!"

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PDX
8bitweapon wrote:

Your site/album concept was amazing and deserved 2 million more hits, good job rushcoil! Thats the way to do a release, totally well thought out and executed. He gets my marketing of the year award for 2009. smile

I had people contacting me about your christmas album saying "DUDE have you heard the rushcoil xmas album!!"

I am just amazed that I just got kudos from one of my heroes in the scene. Dude, 8BW follows all of the rules that I have said, so I will just sum up everything with:

"Be like 8BW" - incredible quality site, music, show, equipment, networking, attitude. That's it.

BTW I bought your Xmas CD and was blown away by the packaging, stellar idea. My favorite songs (and everyone that I let listen to it) were the last two. Beautiful, man. Someone wanted to put on my CD at a Christmas party, and I said "Here put this one on" and played yours - this goes back to me saying that 8BW makes music that regular people can listen to. Mine was too harsh to listen to in a party environment.

Last edited by RushCoil (Jan 20, 2010 3:21 pm)

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PDX
akira^8GB wrote:

I am glad someone quoted RushColl before he got all self-conscious again big_smile
Dude, we like to read. Seriously. That was a good post.

I am sub-conscious because

a) I am so ignorant that I chose a name that is almost identical to RushJet1, who I didn't know existed at the time and turned out to be one of the elite chip composers 0_o EPIC FAIL
b) All I have done in the chip scene is make a lousy Christmas album, and many people were upset by this because Doctor Octoroc also made a Christmas album (as well as many others) so I feel I generated animosity because the album got attention.
c) I never contributed anything to 8bc (because it was a cesspool, sorry). But this site could be the solution.

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Nashville, Tennessee

rushcoil, you are awesome.

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Los Angeles

There have been countless holiday albums, starting with the 8bp album (the 1st?). Only fanboys of certain artists seem to have an issue with anyone else releasing a holiday album. Dont worry about it, your album wasnt even close to lousy. A new rule you should follow is dont shit on yourself in public. lol wink

Last edited by 8bitweapon (Jan 20, 2010 3:42 pm)

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A gray world of dread

I think the most important thing is to be recognizable, that is, distinguishable. Whether you use RushCoil's 'white' list or my 'black', presentation of oneself and ones work is what counts. Having a grasp on visual arts can help a lot to round up the profile with a theme (8GB, minusbaby), and small things like 8BW's recognizable star icon can help too.

My list was a little bitchy, but I'll maintain that having consistency in one's musical style also helps.

Last edited by µB (Jan 20, 2010 3:46 pm)

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New York City
RushCoil wrote:

I think that it is great to sit behind a laptop when you make the music, but if you are out on a stage, you goddamn better entertain these people. This generation is pretty OCD -people have very short attention spans, so you have to constantly be entertaining and constantly change the show.

I think this goes beyond the scope of a lot of people here who are too enthralled by the fact of HOW they make the music . I completely agree with you and my show has turned more away from the computer and gear and more onto the "pyrotechnics" of it. That's why it is audiovisual, to begin with and from a start. but I learned a lot from my Euro Tour in 2008. I don't give a fuck about people being able to see what I make music with or what I play live, I give a huge fuck about people getting entertained.

(As for contributing to *BC, well, I don't blame you. I swiftly erased everything I ever contributed there because the place turned to shit. My contributions are better aimed somewhere else (like here))

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Dublin, Ireland
RushCoil wrote:

This generation is pretty OCD...

You mean, ADD/ADHD.
And that's me being showing a little OCD. neutral

Nice posts though.
Is owning a full PA system really all that viable an option? hmm