Indie Ambassador

Your band has an arsenal of covers prepared for the right time; every band does. But would your band commit to the plunge of playing a club residency where covers are what's expected? Boston's Green Line Inbound did, and it's paid great dividends for them so far. Not only have they been able to use their residency money to buy a van and treat the band like an additional rent-paying roomate, but they've also used the opportunity to market their original songs to a wide range of fans in the process. Watch the profile interview above, or check out the quick tips below if you've only got time for the essential info.

Lastly, see Gli's IAtv Session performance of Chris Brown's "Look At Me Now" and original tune "Mars" over here. 

Quick Tips:

• By allocating a portion of performance profits to a joint account, a band can provide for monthly costs such as rent, parking, and rehearsal space expenses. In Green Line Inbound's case, they were able to treat the band like an additional room mate that paid rent, in turn lowering all other room mates' (band members' in this case - they all live together) rent. 

• Undertaking a residency that demands predominantly cover songs under the same band name allows you to incorporate your original music into cover sets, and gives you the opportunity to reach a wider audience. 

• A group can invest in itself by taking profits from higher paying gigs to put towards joint purchases, with everything from merchandise to the van. This opens up options like Kickstarter or Pledge Music for other endeavors.

• Residencies are a great way to build a new fanbase, as well as push your material to a new audience on a regular basis. Don't knock any residency opportunity for not being the right demographic - as long as your band is versatile you're bound to pick up new fans wherever you play. 

• Keeping a catalog of covers that is unique to you as a band can help separate you from the rest of the General Business band crowd. What will make your band appeal to promoters more than any other band that's good at covers is those that no one else touches, yet that bar's customers want to hear.