PropertyOfZack is very excited to be posting Ryan Soroka’s third Contributor Blog. Ryan began running shows around New Jersey in 2004 (while in 7th grade) and began booking tours just a few years later. He now owns The Soroka Agency, which is a collaboration with Equal Vision Records, that books bands like Into It. Over It., This Time Next Year, The Story So Far, and Daybreaker, among many others. Ryan’s third blog revolves around The Bamboozle Break Contest and how making an impression as a touring band right off the band to fans is so incredibly important. Read up and enjoy, there will be more to come!

This year marks the fourth year straight that I have judged the Break Contest. It has always been a pleasure of mine to do so because it honestly gives me a chance to feel like I am getting back to discovering bands in the local scene that have flown completely under my radar. Every year always seems to produce a memorable act that I always keep tabs on to see where they go, whether its Action Item, The Front Bottoms, Wicker Hollow, Sexy Heroes, Lady Radiator, Scarlet Carson or any other band I had the pleasure of critiquing at the event. 

The interesting thing about it, from a band’s point of view, is that most bands seem to have a very interesting mindset about it. When you are a local New Jersey band, you typically grow up in the scene, meeting different promoters and people at shows, and even have gone to the Bamboozle many times in your youth. And for some reason, it seems like bands feel a sense of entitlement that they feel that they have the right to be put on the festival without showing any sort of their own worth or value, when in reality this contest allows the buyers running the festival actually get a grasp of which New Jersey bands are truly making a difference in the scene, and which are just blowing smoke out of their ass. Regardless of their mindset going into the contest, it’s easy to see how a band truly does progress from round to round. 

The series of concerts is not only a “battle of the bands” but it does in fact act as a simulation to bands as to what they need to do with their live show in order to set themselves ahead of the pact – it allow them to be competitive and see what they need to improve on to escape the label of “local” or “amateur” band. In reality, the way that judges critique a battle of the bands follows the same exact method that a concert attendee will critique a band they never heard of and can lead them to or against becoming a supporter of the new act. 

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PropertyOfZack is very excited to be posting Ryan Soroka’s second Contributor Blog. Ryan began running shows around New Jersey in 2004 (while in 7th grade) and began booking tours just a few years later. He now owns The Soroka Agency, which is a collaboration with Equal Vision Records, that books bands like Into It. Over It., This Time Next Year, The Story So Far, and Daybreaker, among many others. Ryan’s second blog revolves around reputation and how critical it is to your identity in the music industry, among other things. Read up and enjoy, there will be more to come!

Reputation is the most critical part of an identity, especially when it comes to a band in the music industry. While it’s good for bands to go after as many opportunities as they possibly could get, it’s so important for them to realize what approach to take when trying to self-develop in order to gain the best reputation. In this day in age, it’s so much more important about what others say about you than what you have to say for yourself. I mean think about it - if you were the coach of the New York Giants, would you put in your first string quarter back that all the scouts give high acclaims, or go with the backup whose family was the obsessive sports parents throughout high school? 

When a band comes to me with a million various statistics that just hopelessly pad history (ie: 10th place runner up to the Ernie Ball Battle of The Bands, Purevolume Cover for a day, 10K friends on Myspace, etc), it truly almost turns me off to the opportunity. People strive for what they know they need to fight for - if others are interested and talking about your act, inevitably more and more people will get interested. It’s easier said than done to get momentum to begin to receive recognition for your hard work, but one of the best approaches is by fundamental marketing.

Once a band has actually taken the time to put all they have in their music, it’s now time to put your shit on display - to get it on as many ears as possible. However, to get the most out of your efforts, be smart about how you market. Follow the simple marketing principles of STP: segmenting, targeting, positioning. 

Segmenting - Take a second to sit down and figure out which are the different demographics available to you that you can expose your music to. Whether you feel like your music was influenced by Bright Eyes, The Wonder Years, NOFX, Attack Attack, The Early November, god-knows-what, make sure you know WHERE you stand in relation to the many different outlets possible. There is a world’s difference between what your potential fan base may like and what fans of Metallica may like. There are many different segments that you can group together in order to slice to find the right demographic for you. Kids that listen to Hot Chelle Rae respond completely differently than kids who listen to Forever The Sickest Kids. While the music for these acts may not seem the most drastically distinct, you’d be surprised how the different scenes truly react when it comes to buying music, being committed to a band, coming out to shows, and helping spread the word about the band. 

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PropertyOfZack is stoked to welcome in Ryan Soroka as our newest Contributor. Ryan began running shows around New Jersey in 2004 (while in 7th grade) and began booking tours just a few years later. He now owns The Soroka Agency, which is a collaboration with Equal Vision Records, that books bands like Into It. Over It., This Time Next Year, The Story So Far, and Daybreaker, among many others. Ryan’s first blog revolves around the topic of DIY touring and how important it is for bands to not skip the first stages of creating solid ground in order to jump ahead of the pack, among other things. Read up and enjoy, there will be more to come!

Over the past years, the ways (or arguably the formula) of the music industry has drastically changed. Previously, the responsibility for artist development had primarily been put on the backs of managers and record labels. The tide has since turned. Booking agents and touring has become the epitome of artist development in the world of pop punk, rock, indie, and other various genres. With the ever-increasing number of bands, social networking outlets, record labels, and other media, it’s easy for a band to get lost in the mix and to fail to reach its full potential. The bands that are getting ahead are the ones that are able to continue to get on good support tours, play the right rooms in order to increase their fan base and spread their art, and ultimately build up enough buzz to headline and to turn heads. Even for an artist on a major label, signed with one of the more popular management firms, efforts are short lived if they are unable to get on the road and work to increase their fanbase. Touring is ultimately what allows bands to continue to make the music they love, and with a great booking agent, that aspect of artist development is no longer stressful.

While this all sounds like a straightforward plan for any artist, I feel like many bands pass over an incredibly important phase in development: DIY touring. Many bands seem to ink deals with major or indie labels with little to no touring experience, which in my eyes is like signing up your son for the High School baseball team without ever teaching him how to catch; when reality sets in, discouragement threatens progress and scales back potential. The process in order for you to get to the point as a band where you are ready to bring a booking agent on board is what is important when building your band’s foundation. Bands who don’t quite really get the way of touring due to inexperience go into record deals with high hopes, expecting the world to hand them tours on a silver platter just due to the fact that they are no longer an unsigned band. They seek respect from larger bands and booking agents and assume to be picked up and given all of their dreams and demands based on small achievements that are magnified.

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