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And the Winner Is....
Will
Awards and Contests Lead to Bigger Things?
by Sheena
Metal,
Added Feburary 2008
Back to The
Academy
Imagine this: you’re a huge
rockstar. You’re pool is filled with
hotties and your bathtub with champagne.
You have a coffee table made out of your signature guitar and your
Cadillac Escalade has beer on tap and a flat screen high definition TV. Even with all of the expensive toys and
extravagant showpieces in your crib, the thing that first draws the attention
of press and partygoers alike: the wall lined with your awards.
Admittedly, human beings are
fascinated with awards. We love to gawk
at the shiny trophies, glossy plaques, and framed certificates of any and every
kind of winner. And, as a species, we
place a lot of stock in the importance, abilities and general “coolness’ of
those who've come home “the winner.” So,
it’s no surprise that musicians are constantly submitting to the many awards
and entering the myriads of contests offered to unsigned artists every
year. After all, with a couple of awards
on the wall of your garage, can a hot tub full of babes really be that far
behind?
But what if you continue to
enter and never win? What if time and
time again you have to send out the newsletter announcing that you’re not the
“Best Band Of The Year” or the “Best Songwriter in the Nation” or even the
winner of the “Battle Of The Most Mediocre Bands In The Midwest.” Will you be branded as a loser? Will your fans abandon you, asked to be
removed from your mailing list, line their birdcages with your CDs? It is really better to have entered and lost
than never to have entered at all?
The following are a few tips
that may help you to fill up your trophy room without becoming the laughing
stock of the indie music community:
1) Enter Contests You Have A Chance Of Winning---
Sounds
like a given, but you’d be surprised how many new bands enter Billboard’s
contests for the first time and are then amazed when they don’t walk off with a
room full of accolades. Building a
resume of award nominations and wins is very similar to building up your
reputation as a gigging band or filling up a folder full of press. Start small, submitting to smaller local and
regional contests/ awards that you’re more likely to get a nod for then the national
and worldwide events. Then you can
submit to the bigger organizations with a list of awards and wins on your
resume. Everybody loves a winner and
seeing that you’ve already won various awards may inspire the powers that be to
nominate you for their particular contest.
2) Pick The Contest That Will Best Publicize Your
Band---
We all love to win. But more
important than basking in the glory of becoming king or queen for a day, awards
are fantastic publicity tools for your band.
Nothing shines up a bio, website, email blast or blog like the words
“nominated” and “won.” These vocabulary
heavyweights are certain to perk up the eyes and ears of clubs, fans, press and
the industry alike. When deciding which
awards/contests to submit for, keep in mind that this organization’s event may
well be the flagship of your promotion for months. Sayings like: “vote for us for…”, “we’re
nominated for…” and “we’re the winners of…” will top every mailer you send out
during the run of the competition, so make sure you get something great out of
it for your band, even if it’s not the gold plated statue you’d hoped for.
3.) Promote A Nomination As A Win---
Even though it sounds
like something your high school band instructor would tell you, just being
nominated is really a win for you and your band. So, if you’re lucky enough to garner a
nomination for your awards de jour, make sure your promo machine hails you as a
winner. Start your announcement with,
“We’ve been honored with a nomination for Best Pop Band” and not “We’re one of
six bands that may win this award if we get enough votes.” The nomination itself is an accolade of its
own accord and should be included to any list of band accomplishments. If, by chance, you happen to win the award or
contest, then promote that as another bigger accomplishment. For example:
“We’ve been honored with nominations for the Best Music in the Universe Awards
in five categories including: Best Drummer, Best Bass, Best Songwriting, and
Best Female Vocals, and were thrilled to take home the award for Best
Alternative Band.” To fans and industry
alike, this looks like five awards and not one.
4.) A Win For A Band Member Is A Win For The Band---
As
creative people, we all have a need to be recognized for our individual
talents, and as such, would all like to be nominated and hopefully win for each
of our respective specialties. But
awards and contests can be fickle and even though your fans rave about your
guitarist or your songwriting, it may be your drummer who walks away with a
nomination/award. Remember always that a
band is a unit...all for one and one for all...and that without your killer
vocals and great songs, your drummer may never have been noticed in the first
place. Therefore, promote any
nominations and awards for your band’s team as a win for the band. If your singer wins a writing award for
his/her lyrics, your band has won. If
your bassist gets a pick endorsement, your band has won. If your guitar tech gets nominated for Best
Tuning, your band has won.
Awards and contests can be
tricky when egos, pride, and the eager anticipation to win, mix in with the
already delicate balance of the creative temperaments that make-up a band. Keep this in mind and be careful when
entering contests. Sure, it’s fun to get
awards and prizes but not if it means your band will break up two weeks
later. Enter into contests/award shows
as a way to publicize your music and further your career as a band but try not
to get caught up in the manic frenzy of seeking award wins like a crack addict
in rehab. So, head to the mall, get a
plaque engraved that says, “Best Band In The World” and stick it up in your
rehearsal room to remind yourself that you’re a winner everyday just for:
having the courage to write songs, record them, get up in front of people and
play them, deal with critics reviewing your music, weathering rejections from
the industry and entering into a very personal creative relationship with three
or four other artistic people without murder ensuing. Then, when the time comes that your wall
fills up with trophies and accolades from the industry, get a keg of beer
invite the groupies and party like the rockstar you are.
----
Sheena Metal is a radio host, producer,
promoter, music supervisor, consultant, columnist, journalist and
musician. Her syndicated radio program, Music Highway
Radio, airs on over 700 affiliates to more than 126
million listeners. Her musicians’
assistance program, Music Highway, boasts over 10,000 members. She currently promotes numerous live shows
weekly in the Los
AngelesArea, where she resides. For more info: http://www.sheena-metal.com.
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