Pete Posted July 29, 2004 Report Share Posted July 29, 2004 "How Do Your Shoes Affect CD Sales" by Tim Sweeney While it is important to dress the part of being an artist and looking your best at all times at your shows, your shoes do have a definite affect on the amount of CDs you will sell! More commonly referred to as "shoe gazing" in the 1980's, often mastered by Dark Alternative or "Doom & Gloom" artists, the art of ignoring an audience while you are performing to become affixed upon your love for your shoes has seen a dramatic increase in popularity in recent years. In the performance workshops I have been teaching, I have noticed that no matter whether its a solo artist or a guitar player in a band, the fear of visual contact with an audience is growing. While in the old days many people viewed it as a guitar player's love to push the pedals every other verse, they completely misdiagnosed the problem. While it is true some guitar players have a "pedal fetish" it is their fear of connecting with the audience that is the purpose of their fixed downward gaze. You see the fear comes from the lack of work they have done before and after their shows. Simple things such as getting to know their fans by handing out sample CDs personally. Hiding in the back of the club complaining with other artists about how everything and everyone is against their music career, instead of going into the club and introducing themselves to everyone there, whether they came to see your group or another. But lets not forget the after thoughts! How it is far more important to put away your gear or go in the back after the show and complain about no monitor sound or another person's playing, than to hop off the front of the stage with CDs in hand and go sell them. At a recent show I saw an artist stare at his shoes so much that the majority of the audience started staring at the spot he was. When I asked the girl next to me why she didn't buy a CD she said, she had to save her money for a neck massage! One important point to keep in mind. Music is a personal thing. Its a connection between people. People want to become connected with you. People buy CDs. Not the floor or your shoes. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tim Sweeney is an independent music consultant. He is one of the music industry's most highly sought after experts in the areas of artist development, radio promotion, record distribution, retail marketing and publicity. He has helped dozens of record labels both major (Columbia, Epic, MCA, Revolution, Hollywood, Capitol, Mercury, Polygram, Warner and their sub-labels) and independent (Restless, Skunk, Screaming Goddess, among others) develop some of their most promising and successful artists of all time. For more information on Tim's seminars, books and artist consultation, please visit his website at www.tsamusic.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Neubeatz Posted July 29, 2004 Report Share Posted July 29, 2004 Holy Shi t I always thought it was the crowd that were scared of the performer, and the music was so powerful that it made the listener look at their own feet "in submission".... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead_Fashion Posted July 29, 2004 Report Share Posted July 29, 2004 Nice point. but sometimes i think its supposed to be in your head rather than through your eyes. a bit of nice lighting, someone staring at their shoes, ambient music... you've got yourself a nice gig i think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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