This is an excerpt from my new book, How To Make It in the New Music Business THIRD EDITION.
When you’re at a show, you are onstage from the moment the doors open to the moment they close.
Even if you’re not physically standing on the stage. You are the artist and there is a spotlight on you, even if you’re hiding in the corner trying to get ready. If you’re being loud and obnoxious at the bar during the opener’s set, people will notice. If you make out with your girlfriend by the stairwell, yeah, you’re gonna lose a few fans. PDA not OK!
People are watching you and judging your every move. If they talk to you, your little twenty-second interaction will remain with them for a very long time.
I still have fans who come up to me after shows and remind me of the conversation we had three years prior. Of course I can’t remember it (or them), but they retell it like it was yesterday. To me, that was hundreds of shows and thousands of postshow conversations ago. To them, it was the only conversation they’ve had with one of their favorite artists.
You’re going to meet fans after shows, on the street, in coffee shops and at other bands’ concerts. Greet everyone like you’ve met before. Replace “nice to meet you” with “nice to see you.” Because, if you’ve met once (or four times) before and you say “nice to meet you,” they will, at best, feel bad that they aren’t memorable enough to remember or, at worst, be so offended that they will turn on you, bad mouth you around town and never return to one of your shows ever again (it can happen, trust me).
There’s no way you’re going to remember every fan, every conversation or even every show. So fake it. Pretend like you remember them. It will make their night.
Grab the new edition of How to Make It in the New Music Business here.
