I want to make it as easy as possible for bands to do what they do best. That is, record and distribute their music, enjoy life on the road, and reap the benefits of sharing their music with their fans. I spend hours and hours working on artist resources to help bands achieve their dreams.
The Better Band Bureau
Are you looking for a community of like-minded DIY artists? Come join The Better Band Bureau on Facebook!
Downloads
The Ultimate DIY Tour Budgeting Guide for Bands
The first downloadable resource I created covers budgeting and planning a DIY tour including Excel spreadsheets to track all the key statistics for your tour. It's available now as a free download, check it out!
Studio Preparation Checklist
Another handy resource is our free Studio Preparation Checklist. Any artist headed for the studio will benefit from this list of vital things to do before getting to the studio and things to bring with you to the session.
Blog Posts
How to Make Your Band Appealing to a Record Label
Promoting Your Music: How you can do it on a DIY budget
There will be many more blog posts and downloads to come. If you have any ideas of what you'd like covered feel free to leave a comment below!
Third-Party Resources
These are some of the best tools and guides I've come across. They are useful to musicians of all different levels. I check the links occasionally, but if you happen to find a link that's no longer working or if you have a resource you think might fit here, drop me a line.
Apple Music Memos
The Music Memos app is designed for easy demo recording. After you record your demo, you can transfer it to Garageband on your iOS or Mac OS device, or Logic X on Mac OS. If you want it to, the app will even create scratch bass and drum tracks to help fill out the sound of your demo!
The Indie Band Survival Guide (2nd ed.)
I read through the first edition during my college years and found it very useful. Based on that, I can highly recommend the new, updated version to any band seeking a career without a label.
Masshoff Drums
Udo Masshoff has been a drummer and drum tech for over 25 years, for bands including Pink Floyd, Die Ärzte, and Andreas Bourani. He provides both free and paid resources helpful to drummers and engineers. Here's a video on how to achieve various snare tones quickly and easily using the Masshoff tuning method.
I purchased and watched his drum tuning DVD, The Ultimate Drumtuning Revolution and think it's a solid investment for any serious drummer. Alternately, Masshoff has a new program called the Drumsound School which is an online series of videos for around the same price as the DVD.
Punk Rock MBA's DIY Marketing Plan
Marketing is one of the key things many bands get wrong. Punk Rock MBA lays out a quick and easy way to creating a simple, effective marketing plan.
