Marketing a mid level band?

Hey, so without details, I've got a band that is moderately successful; we just did a national tour with a grammy nominee, we sold out of merch on the way, we pack the house when we play, etc... but I'm just wondering how to move from mid sized venues to large sized venues.

The way I figure, it's marketing. So what do you guys think would be a decent baseline marketing strategy? There are a million music related strats out there, but I'm looking at this as we already have the product and happy customers- how to we get in front of MORE customers?

What city are you based out of?

It's all about networking with bigger promoters at this point

Get your fans on social media to tell these promoters and agencies that they want to see your band playing at bigger shows. The more promoters hear about your band, the bigger and more frequent shows you're going to get

Phoenix, AZ

I just moved here actually. What venues did you play in Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia?

You need to start moving to bigger markets. NY, Chicago, LA, all will give you much more exposure and give you more opportunities than you have right now.

Subterranian in chicago, we missed the NY show, and Union Transfer in Philly.

How would we keep the momentum going? A few of my friends have made it to this stage, but were practically back to square one. I mean, without a bigger draw, our tours don't pack the houses unless it's a relatively local show. Should we focus on targeted advertising in the areas we're thinking of testing? I'm trying to learn more about internet marketing, but it feels like I'm throwing rocks at a wall unless I can get more money for it.

*subterranean

Make a number one hit and you'll get free advertising.

Well you're getting into solid venues. Congrats. Were you guys headlining those shows?

nah, we were supporting. opened for a band and they liked us, haha.

Ok. You need to move the band to a bigger city. A lot of bands I know who were in a similar position to you became what I call the eternal opener. They get in good with a local venue such as one of the two you listed. You build a solid support in that city and the venue knows they can book you as support regularly and you'll draw a crowd. You'll get a lot of experience that can lead to making that great new album but even better is that you'll continuously open for bigger bands in similar genres and build connections.

Are you the song writer?

It's all shared, we credit the band. I'm usually coming up with the harmonies and arrangement.

Are your bandmates in a position where they can move? How dedicated is everyone to making it?

we've talked about the possibility, but money wise, we'd still be pretty far off. there's a chance that we can sweet talk a benefactor into helping to fund it, but that's not a sure thing. my brother is our drummer, so i know he's as dedicated for sure.

i'm a sound engineer, so i wouldn't be worried about finding a job, but everybody else isn't quite as secure. i'll try bringing it up again next practice.

Philly is really cheap and give you East Coast access. Playing a show in New York and going to work the next day is possible. I know a lot of people who have tried Memphis out(none of them really made it though.) It's not too expensive either but I'm not as familiar with the scene there.

Hm, good deal. Any particular parts of Philly that I should start checking out? I'm not super familiar with the neighborhoods in the area.

Also what's is there to do here? Are there any small venues with a cool scene? I'm really enjoying all of the outdoorsy stuff but I also feel like I'm surrounded by strip malls.

Fishtown was where I lived last. I think it's getting built out but it's probably pretty cheap still. Fun bars and small venues and plenty of girls.

what kind of music do you like? i've been here my whole life, haha. Honestly, the scene here is super disjointed and clique-y. There are a lot of great bands, but it's super hit or miss as far as people go.

I'll look into it. Thanks!

Too much. I used to be a show junkie when I was younger. Sometimes I like checking out whatever local band is playing. If it really sucks I just judge them with my friends and it's fun anyway.

Well, the most popular small venues in town are the Crescent Ballroom, Valley Bar, and the Rebel Lounge. There are a ton of dive bars that do music, too- Rogue Bar (has a killer sound setup for a dive, on par with Crescent), Tempe Tavern (great bar food and beer, shitty people, tho), Yucca Tap Room, the Lost Leaf, Pho Cao (terrible sound, but great bands sometimes), 51 West, Trunk Space...

There are a handful of medium/large venues (not counting stadiums)- the Marquee Theater (security guards are nazis), the soon to be open Van Buren, Mesa Ampitheater (pretty big, honestly, but it's outdoors. only really good around Sep/Oct), the Pressroom, and a few more I'm forgetting.

My favourites are the Rogue Bar and Crescent, personally. Most of the smaller venues have music almost every night, too.

Good luck with this summer, haha. It's gonna be a hot one.

Thanks, op. I capped this and will be checking out your recommendations. Good luck with the band. It sounds like you guys are doing pretty well so far.

Thanks! Enjoy the scene, haha. There really are a lot of great bands here, it sucks that it's not more cohesive.