Special guest blog by Amanda Crann from “ImageAndFamily”
I think that every artist who joins StreetJelly has one thing in common, the love of music. We all love playing and performing the tunes that move or inspire us and we all want an audience to watch and enjoy our music. Luckily we have all found a wonderfully encouraging community of artists and music lovers here.
My family and I have been fortunate enough to find a measure of success on this site and we wanted to share some of the tips and tricks that have worked for us. There are a lot of do’s to be successful here and just a few don’ts:
Do’s
Be Creative – You don’t have to be the most talented musician/singer around to make money, but you have to let the passion you feel for your music show in everything you do – every time you’re on.
Be Entertaining And Engaging – Talk to your audience, get them involved in conversation and remember that you are performing for their entertainment.
Practice, Practice, Practice – If you want to be good, you’ve got to invest your time in your craft.
Promote Yourself – Use Facebook (your personal page and StreetJelly’s page), Twitter, free printable StreetJelly flyers (available here) and word of mouth to let people know when you’re performing.
Promote Other Artists – If you would like other people to talk about your shows, make sure you talk about theirs.
Have A Good Audio/Video Setup – Fuzzy images and poor sound detracts from the performance and will make attracting and keeping an audience harder. (You can find StreetJelly how to blog posts and videos to improve your sound and video) If you’re not sure how your broadcast is coming across, don’t be afraid to ask your audience.
Be Courteous To Performers – If you don’t like what someone’s playing or saying, just leave the room. If you think someone is being inappropriate, let StreetJelly know so they can handle it (contact page).
Be Family Friendly – Remember, there are viewers and artists of all ages, so try to keep your language clean. F-bombs and other such language will definitely lose you viewers.
Be Supportive – Tip the artists that you enjoy watching, and if you are unable to tip support them with applause and positive comments.
Get To Know The Other Artists – There are some awesome people on StreetJelly. Get to know them, watch their shows and join in the conversations while they’re playing. Artists love to know who’s watching them. If viewers are enjoying the music, and the more active you are on the site, the more people will want to check out what you are doing.
Read The Blogs – The StreetJelly blog offers great information for new and experienced performers and is a great way to keep up to date on the craziness that is StreetJelly.
Don’ts
Play Just a Few Riffs – Learn whole songs, the audience will get bored of hearing only bits and pieces.
Miss Scheduled Performance – If you schedule a show, try to stick to it. If for some reason you can’t make the scheduled time, post a message on StreetJelly’s Facebook page to let people know that you aren’t going to be able to go on.
Drive-by (Steal other Performer’s Audience) – Popping into another performer’s show just to say you’re going on is rude and disrespectful. If you want to mention that you’re going on, wait until the performer is wrapping up their show.
Steal Another Performer’s Thunder – Use your discretion when scheduling your shows, you will find that you can attract more viewers by following another act or opening for another performer (just be courteous to the other artists).
Have more Do’s and Don’ts? Add them below in the comments. ~frankie
Clifton Printy on February 8, 2013 at 6:19 pm said:
The words be respectful smack all things profound on Street Jelly; to your audience, to your peers to those who are mentors, those of us who are students, those that run the site, and those who are beginning. Do unto Jellyfish as you have them do to you!!!
merv on February 8, 2013 at 6:23 pm said:
well said clifton
Aaron "maestro" Cadam Samuels on February 8, 2013 at 10:24 pm said:
Well done, Amanda! It’s true that I hadn’t even considered making sure that I wasn’t scheduled over someone else’s performance time. Maybe there could be some kind of alert to let us know if we try to do that…Frankie?
Damian Trujillo on February 9, 2013 at 12:03 am said:
Be true to yourself and everything
else will follow. Be passionate in all you do and by your works you shall be known. Music is a great part of life, be sure to enjoy, and most of all follow franks advice.
John Bishop on February 9, 2013 at 1:26 pm said:
I feel like the black sheep of the family…lol. Unfortunately my shows at times don’t always cater to the “family” type audience. When I know my tunes might not be for everyone I have posted a “parental guidance suggested” warning so people know what they can expect. Being a rock/alternative fan, there are a number of tunes that I play that include words you wouldn’t want your children using, including a couple of my originals, but that is what I play. People seem to enjoy my shows and the energy I provide with most of my songs, but if your an artist just starting out I wouldn’t suggest this. I think people who have tuned in to me realize what they are getting, and as the blog stated, I may have lost some viewers because of this, but I’m not doing this for the money. Trust me, the blog offers some good advice, but hey, I’m from NJ,it’s kind of in my blood to drop on F-Bomb here and there…lol
The real money is in the gigs I play, but StreetJelly is an awesome forum that can also help increase your income and exposure while also having a good time with some cool people. I’m too darn old to be a rock star, but you guys sure know how to make me feel like one sometimes and I try and let everyone know how much I appreciate it. Thanks for starting the site Frankie..YOU ROCK!
Oh, and I think another way you can become successful on StreetJelly is by being able to satisfy requests from your listeners. If you don’t know something they request it could help if you try and learn it for the next time they see you. Hope this tip helps a little. ROCK ON EVERYBODY!
John Bishop on February 9, 2013 at 1:54 pm said:
Almost forgot…..I just wanted to address the scheduling thing because is a big issue unless the artists are performing the same songs or same type of music. Every individual has their own taste in music. That is why you will notice when there are multiple performers there are usually viewers scattered with each performer because they enjoy the music that that particular artist is performing.
John Bishop on February 9, 2013 at 1:58 pm said:
Almost forgot…..I just wanted to address the scheduling thing because I don’t think this is a big issue unless the artists are performing the same songs or same type of music. Every individual has their own taste in music. That is why you will notice when there are multiple performers there are usually viewers scattered with each performer because they enjoy the music that that particular artist is performing. As long as they are not playing the same thing, it may even be better to have multiple artists due to the fact that this could result in more visitors that can be satisfied by the type of music they enjoy. Just a thought. As always, ROCK ON PEOPLE!
merv on February 9, 2013 at 2:35 pm said:
i agree with you john this is just what works for us as we stated.
Frank Podlaha on February 9, 2013 at 2:37 pm said:
Right on Johnny. As a point to remember, it won’t be long until the site has performers on all the time, 24/7, with tons and tons of viewers. Scheduling overlap will be the norm.
merv on February 9, 2013 at 3:19 pm said:
we r definately not saying to not overlap schedules just that sometimes if you make friends with the other performers it’s good to put together performances for example Mountain melodies will go on they will tell people to check out our show right after theirs and then when we go on we tell them to check out clifton’s show so it keeps the party going.
Debbie Crann on February 10, 2013 at 8:38 pm said:
I am part of the audience. I have enjoyed every artist and I respect this site and all the thought that goes into it, to make it family friendly. It is a pleasure to watch all the performers. Your heart for music comes out in your songs. Thank you to all for making this a great experience for all. Streetjelly people are great!
Clifton Printy on February 14, 2013 at 7:36 pm said:
Wow, Deb, So exactly correct, and thank you too.
Frank Podlaha on February 21, 2013 at 2:38 pm said:
Do: Let Flies be Flies. I discuss further in this new blog post. http://blog.streetjelly.com/2013/02/let-flies-be-flies/
Robbie Hancock on March 12, 2013 at 1:39 am said:
Play with passion and play often! Support your fellow musicians and independent artists. Street jelly is here to support the artists who bring you your favorite songs and new ones you may not have heard. Request often and tip generously! I am 110% supportive of this site and the musicians that grace their broadcasts. Rock on!
Sue Rarick on September 21, 2013 at 3:48 pm said:
In the real world there are club districts where there are multiple live music venues and each club competes with each other. Any one with that experience just ignores the other bands/performers and just learns to do a better job.
Kuya Kano on September 30, 2013 at 9:53 pm said:
I have to agree with all the above. I’ve done my research and I found one IMPORTANT thing that sets StreetJelly apart from all the other music sites:
StreetJelly CELEBRATES music. I mean, where else can you go from singing sea shanties to a banjo-pickin’ rebel and finish it with someone singing classics. This isn’t “american idol”, this is where music is APPRECIATED”, at all levels, from the young girl trying to write her first song, to the veteran who just loves to perform. There is nowhere else I find that such a diverse group of musicians define “family” as StreetJelly. Thank you all, for performing, for encouraging, supporting, and for making StreetJelly such an awesome place to love and enjoy music!