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Why Remix Contests and Pay to Play Gigs are a Bad Idea
Producers / DJs, let’s have a chat about remix contests and pay to play gigs.
Don’t Let Them Use You
If a contest is setup so that you are asking people to vote for you, I highly encourage you to avoid this. If a promoter makes you sell tickets to an event in order for you to play, I highly encourage you to politely decline. These are essentially tricks that are praying on your hopes and dreams to get you to do the hard work of promoting an event or website. Don’t let them use you, don’t let them suck you dry. Also, you’ll notice that the benefit after these contests or shows to you amount to almost nothing. The intention is not to benefit the artists, it’s to put you to work and spread whatever event or contest. Take a look at this contest for Adventure Club. Yes, if you win, it could be a big deal but every one of those tracks have 100-300 votes. That’s pretty much each artists begging their friends and family to kick them a vote. Wavo is a particularly annoying platform that forces anyone that wants to vote to do so with Facebook and then proceeds to fill your inbox with social media drivel of so and so friend joined and what not. I avoid it all costs and ask people not to asks me to vote for them. Don’t be afraid to say NO!
Put in the Hard Work
There are no shortcuts, there is nothing you can do to jump to the top. Instead, I say focus on your art and your craft. Let the fans and gigs come to you with time. Get really goodat whatever it is you want to do and people will take notice. Don’t sell yourself short by paying to play gigs or link spamming your “friend” list in Facebook. None of that will get you where you want to go. If you want a career in music, it’s going to take time and dedication. Be in it for the long haul. Learn the ropes and find a mentor. Note by note, gig by gig, one fan at a time, that’s how it’s done and will be done forever. Find your sound and don’t let people take advantage of you, don’t be afraid to say no. Pass up that crap gig and save it for the ones that matter. Avoid that spammy vote based contest and work on an original tune that means something to you. I promise you’ll be much happier that you did. I’d love to hear what you think. Hit me on Twitter or Facebook.