Why you need to set goals this year for your band?

It's that time of the year now where we're all making vague New Years Resolutions that we know won't be stuck to in a months time.

I say all of us.... well I didn't set any New Years Resolutions this year.

What I did set however was goals (36 to be precise which covered our own Designer Magazine gigs; Altrincham HQ (my Social Media business) and Personal Goals) and after spending an hour writing them down a tweet appeared which summed up why goals ware so important

Think of that for a while now think back to your own personal new years resolution.

Is your New Years Resolution simply to lose weight or get fit... or is it a specific goal like mine of "I Will Lose 1 stone by 15th February and will do this via No Booze January and no snacks".

How much more specific is the goal and how much more likely am I to achieve it?

What this is all leading round to essentially is have you simply said "This will be the year for our band" or have you actually sat down and put goals in place to make sure this is the year for your band.

Without having goals in the place your band is directionless, probably jumping from random gig to random gig

I'm going to talk you through the process, but for 2 minutes keeps this page open and think what do you want to achieve this year. Is it?

* Releasing a physical EP to sell at gigs and also getting your music on I Tunes
* Moving from the pub circuit to the music venue circuit
* Doubling your fanbase
* Playing gigs outside your hometown
* Having some merch (t-shirts etc) you can sell as gigs

KEEP NUMBER 1 YOUR MAIN GOAL THAT THE REST FOCUS TOWARDS

Be realistic, but be bold - What would be the biggest leap you could make in the next 12 months that you could sit back at the end of the year and be proud of?

Would it be a sell out gig at a mid sized venue in December or would it be releasing 2 EPs throughout the year that not only are you proud of actually sell out?

The number 1 goal is the goal that what follows are all aiming towards

MAKE SURE THE WHOLE BAND ARE ON THE SAME PAGE

Remember your goals are not necessary the same as the rest of the band and ultimately when setting goals every single member of the band needs to be on the same page

Lack of band communication is often behind break ups, poor gigs and misunderstandings

I've seen so many bands on the verge of breaking through, before a key member in the band announces he's always had plans to move out of town next month...and this comes just after the bands biggest gig to date and then momentums lost in the 6 months while a new band member is found

Be honest from the start of the year

KEEP THEM BRIEF & TO THE POINT AND FLESH OUT AS YOU DO THEM

If you can't put your goals succinctly into 1 or 2 line bullet points on an A4 page bin them or start writing again

Be specific and outline in that one line how you need to achieve this goal so on the example above it may read like this..

1. Sell out Dry Bar in December 2013. This is 350 capacity and on average we currently get about 30 people per gig so if we gig once a month we need to get 20 extra people per gig to achieve this by December

MAKE SURE YOU PUT A TIMESCALE ON THEM

Always always always put a timescale on any goals where your band is concerned, otherwise it's the long term equivalent of leaving ticket sales to the day before the gig and expecting miracles to happen. They won't!!

So that dream of releasing 2 EPs this year start setting the timescales in place on paper of when you will start speaking to studios, when you will record, when the artwork is ready and what is the release date

Going back to how the goal looks it may read like this

2. We will release 2 EPs in April and October respectively. For each release we need to have the studios booked in 3 months ahead with recordings finished and mastered 8 weeks ahead to submit to online distributors 6 weeks ahead of scheduled release dates

WRITE IT DOWN, PRINT THEM OUT AND PUT THEM ON ONE PLACE YOU'LL SEE THEM EVERY DAY

After the 10-12 goals are decided for the year have a group copy and also a copy for each member and put them in a place where you can't help but see them every day

In your wallet? Above the PC at home? In the bands rehearsal room?

Until it's in writing their not real and unless you see them every day you won't stick to them

REASSESS THROUGHOUT AND AT THE END OF THE YEAR

Goal Setting isn't just a one step process done in January, it's something you come back to time and time again and throughout the year you may raise the bar or lower expectations.

But you ALWAYS ALWAYS evaluate and look at what's going right and what's going wrong so that you can get back on track and do the best you can for the band

NOW OVER TO YOU........

There's a rather lengthy visual representation below of what your goals may look like and a few ideas to help

BUT

We would love to hear what you have planned for the year and do let us know because we may be able to help in someway

Whether it be promo tips or radio / journalist contacts those bands that want a great year we love to work with so lets see how we can help

For those reading this for the first time on Designer Magazine - we're not just a music website - we put on 6 gigs a month in Manchester

Drop us an email on designermagazine@hotmail.com to to talk pushing forward this year

 

 

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