Photo by Adrienne Callan
Being a successful independent musician means promoting yourself, taking advantage of gigging opportunities, and pushing your music to its fullest potential. But Toronto-based singer-songwriter Brooklyn Doran goes one step further: she maximizes her success by also helping to promote other musicians through grassroots marketing and promotion.
As a songwriter, her gentle vocals carry you away with lovelorn lyrics, warming acoustic guitar, and addictive melodies and hooks. With success landing big gigs and radio play, as well as leading her own promotional events, Doran has tons of valuable advice on how to push your success as a musician and promoter. Her combined passions overlap and inform one other, making her an exceptional up-and-coming figure in the music industry. We spoke to her recently about her best EPK tips, playing the famous Lee's Palace in Toronto, and how she uses Sonicbids for both sides of her music career: promoter and performer.
Most people use Sonicbids as either an artist or a promoter, but very rarely as both. Tell us a little bit about the contest you ran. What's the story behind it?
Last January, I was in the middle of promoting the double release of the music videos for my singles "There's a Light On" and "Lansdowne" (shot by an incredible Toronto filmmaker named Kyle Marchen). I was getting a decent amount of press, and I thought it'd be a good opportunity to both promote my music and the music of other artists whose music I adore. In every interview I do, I try to shout out at least one other emerging band I love – like Willow Way or Dan Daly.
I put together the "Grassroots Winter Music Bundle" as an opportunity for artists to each contribute a piece of merch or promo copy of their music to build a prize that ended up being worth over $400 worth of merchandise! The artists also were encouraged to share the contest on social media because if they were the most tagged artist in the contest (Edgewater Hotel), they'd win a music video shot by the same film team that put together my music videos (a prize worth about $300).
What did you (and the other bands) ultimately get out of the contest?
I used Sonicbids as a promoter to help find more artists to make a more global online impact with the contest, and it was very successful. I learned a lot, and I think that I have the tools to make it even more successful the second time around.
I think that finding a community of artists in your city – but especially an online community of music makers from around the world, really – stretches the amount of impact you have. On one hand, you have to work harder to create creative opportunities to be able to hustle both your work and shout out your peers, but at the same time, the gain outweighs the amount of work you have to put in. One of my pet peeves is bands who don't take the time to show love to the other artists who've gone out on limbs for them or helped shape their careers. I think it's important both to pay it back and pay it forward, so I try to live that.
As an artist who's been in the unique position of being able to review EPKs through a promoter's eyes, what advice can you give to other artists on making their EPKs stand out? And on the flipside, any dealbreakers?
I had a fair amount of submissions to sift through and was on a bit of a tight deadline, so:
- Put your best song/recording first! If I'm into the first song you've posted, I'll keep listening.
- When you craft your EPK, Sonicbids asks you to link to social media. That becomes its own section where promoters can access your social media stats. These get updated daily. I think that the majority of promoters are looking for artists with a decent online reach. So I'd make sure to include everything! If you're on SoundCloud, but not very active on it, those followers can still make a difference.
- If your EPK looks like it hasn't been updated in a long time or links you've submitted are broken, I can't select you for the opportunity.
[Here’s What Sonicbids Promoters Actually Care About in Your EPK]
Besides booking gigs on Sonicbids, in what other ways have you found the platform to be valuable for your career as an indie artist?
The blog is a really good resource for artists. The Sonicbids team is really great about engaging a ton of awesome people to guest write for them. The posts are bite-sized enough that I can get at least one article in a day over my morning coffee.
You've had a lot of success in leveraging connections you've made from smaller gigs to book bigger ones. Can you give us an example of that?
Honestly, I think the key is just being friendly and genuine. Sometimes that means doing something nice for people and not expecting anything in return.
Recently, I was asked to be part of a not-for-profit collective called Headquarters Cooperative that puts on incredible shows in Toronto. This was because I've been making playlists, writing blogs, and tweeting about their roster of bands for no other reason than because I like them all and know that they have shows coming up and singles to release. Since becoming a member, I've scored some pretty sweet (and well-paying) gigs, and just recently scored a Headquarters Cooperative showcase at the Silver Dollar for NXNE.
You performed at Lee's Palace in Toronto – how did that gig come about? How did you approach performing at such an established venue?
I'm a hardcore Scott Pilgrim fan, so playing at Lee's Palace was definitely a highlight for me. It's a pretty iconic venue in Toronto and Canada at large. Some amazing people have also stood on that stage, and it was pretty cool to be considered in there with them.
One of the bands that I found through Sonicbids for the Grassroots contest was the Control Room. They needed an opener for their CD release and I jumped at the chance!
What tips do you have on maintaining industry relationships?
The "if you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" mentality is dead. It just makes you seem like a douchebag. Be a good person. Care about your music. Care about your fans. Make music friends, and introduce yourself to big bands or industry people with a handshake and a compliment, not just your demo.
[How to Nail Your Networking and Have Genuine Interactions]
And finally, what's your best piece of advice for fellow independent musicians who are looking to book more gigs?
You aren't necessarily applying for the gig that's in front of you. Many of the gigs I've booked have been through people who've seen my application for one event but found me a better fit for another, or are trying to book for multiple projects at once. Apply for everything that you think fits your sound, but don't be discouraged if you don't get the first gig – others might come up because the right person heard your music at the right time. And if you aren't getting gigs, create opportunities for yourself! Also, the new "Find Bands" feature is a really cool resource if you're trying to book a tour and need supporting acts.
