More than just Music : How to put a band together start to finish?

What defines a band? What does every band need to succeed? Below I Dillon Forst will lay out what Hollow Records feels you need to do to be successful .

I like to cover the senses. Sight, Sound, Smell , Touch & Taste.

The mind is much more complex than I can comprehend , but we can at least agree on our senses. I like to think that a music release should try to tie in as much of the human senses as possible to increase your music and messages reliability . Communication isn't perfect , and I consider music to be a form of communication. Its up to you as the artists to tailor the experience of how your fans perceive your music and how they experience it.

1. Visual Image ( Sight ) - This one is easy to understand. You have to visually display your brands message and have it tie in to your sound and how you want to be perceived .

2. Music Audio ( Sound ) - This is the one that we all understand. Your music has to sound clear enough for people to understand whats being conveyed.

3. Live Performances & PR ( Touch , Taste & Interaction ) - By taking your music on the road you give your brand a chance to physically interact, touch and etc with your fan base. Many of your fans will be eating or drinking something while they watch you perform and if the food is good and the beverages are great, this can help impact the positive memories of your fans experiences when they see you. If you don't think you have control over the entire aspect of your live performances and you'd like to, then rethink your strategy. This isn't something that you want to cut short on.

4. Smell ( Did you know that smell has a massive impact on human memory? ) I'll keep this one short because it may seem silly to some but its really quite simple. Smell really good. Theres nothing worse than interacting with someone who looks dirty, is dirty, smelly , bad breath, body odor etc. Being a touring musician is no excuse to not stay clean. Get a 24 hour fitness pass so you can travel on tour. Bring health and cleanliness kits, wear deodorant , wear a nice perfume or cologne thats nice but not too strong. Care about how you smell and care about being clean and care about having clean teeth and good smelling breath. Do you wanna be remembered as the best smelling band members and people others have ever encountered when you meet them in daily life or even on tour? Or do you want to be remembered for being smelly ? Okay so that covers the 5 senses and how I feel they impact your band and brands ability to succeed .

Below is a break down of what costs are typically involved in building a Band or a Brand from the ground up in terms of a musician in the performing arts.

Brand / Band Logo $250-$10,000

Band Photos $250 - $5000

Music Video $500 - $1,000,000

Merchandise / Apparel Design $100 - $1000

Merchandise Stock - $2000 - $20,000

Merchandise Online Store $250 - 2000

Website $500 - $10,000

Music Lessons - $50 - $200 an Hr. )

Ghost Writing - $500 - $10,000

Recording $500 - $10,000 per song

Mixing & Mastering - $250 - $10,000 per song

Public Relationship Campaigns $400 - $2000 per month

$6000 - $30,000 in total typical start up costs to not only record the music for a band but also to completely create the brand as you need it to be to look professional and have the impact that you need to have to be a full time musician.

Once a band has all of this, and a great live show performance and some audience, then the band is ready for consideration under a major record label. The Purpose of Hollow Records is to build your band and brand up to a point of self independence in which you can choose to sign to a larger record label with all of your lines in a row or the ability to take the growth you’ve accumulated and start doing everything on your own with your own money and your own investors . Continuing on to repeat the process , smarter, faster, cheaper, leaner and better with a 2nd album . Better performances and increased focus on revenue to continue doubling down your efforts.

#album #remaster #mixing