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For any band or artist, it is vital that they build a fan base. The fan base will be those people up-and-coming musicians can rely on as they work on building their careers. Then the question arises: How does an artist or band build a fan base?

First, the artist or band can set up a profile on social networking sites (such as MySpace), and make their music available at sites like Garageband.com

and download.com; at these sites, the artist or band needs to make sure that songs are available for people to listen to. The artist or band should also have their own website, which can be linked to at social networking sites or other places. Also, the artist or band members should become involved with online messageboards, especially for those bands and artists that are influences on the artist or band. However, they need to become actively involved with the fanbase and discuss the topic of the messageboard, instead of joining a messageboard simply to promote their music. This lets potential listeners know the artist or band members' personalities, and adds a "humanness" quality; also, this gives the artist or band members a chance to interact with listeners. Or, if an artist or band feels uncomfortable promoting themselves at someone else's forum, the artist or band can always set up a messageboard at their own website if they have one.

Also, an artist or band needs to play live. Whether it's to two or three people in a small, smoky club or to a hundred people in a bigger venue, an artist or band needs to put forth their best effort for live performances. And the artist or band needs to make sure that some kind of merchandise is available for purchase, even if it's just a sampler CD with two or three songs included on it. If the band or artist catches the interest of a few people who see them perform, they may become interested enough to catch them again if they perform in the listener's city again. And if they like the artist or band enough, they can start telling their friends, which in turn can begin a word-of-mouth campaign. A word-of-mouth campaign is definitely some of the best promotion that any artist or band can receive.

And, if by some chance the band or artist is signed to a record deal a few years later, then there will already be an established fan base of some kind that is basically guaranteed to have an interest in (and hopefully buy) any music the artist or band releases under their record deal.

Learn more about this author, Lesley Aeschliman.
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