NO CURE vocalist Blaythe Steuer said from stage at Furnace Fest that he better not catch anyone littering. The band is from Birmingham, Alabama.

I’m sure “mention littering” was not on the marketing plan, but the universe did its thing, and here we are.

Steuer could have said nothing, of course. But he mentioned littering, and this jaded dude who’s been going to shows for 30+ years thought it was funny.

I’ve added them to my Bandcamp wishlist, and streamed their catalog on Spotify.

My experience is not universal, though. Some people definitely littered at Furnace Fest.

Every action is still an action.

You react, or don’t.

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Seven things your band could send to your email list after a big show:

1. Photos of setting up, playing, and hanging out afterwards.

2. A handful of the photos you took with fans, and the super cool people you met backstage, like that guy that wears yellow glasses and writes about heavy metal email newsletters (hey, that’s me!)

3. Talk about some of your favorite bands that played

4. Explain how you picked your set list (include a photo)

5. Send a store discount, and the code word is the second song title from your set

6. Ask people who saw you at the event to reply to your email with photos they took, or their favorite song of the night (this can be helpful for building segments)

7. Share a funny / weird / dangerous / scary story that happened

After all this, it’s a perfect time to mention your upcoming tour, or that EP you just released.

Not in a band? Talk about your upcoming photo shoots, upcoming designs you’re working on, courses you’re teaching, bicycles you’re building – whatever!

Had a conversation this weekend at Furnace Fest, about waiting to start sending a newsletter to a small list (about 10 people), which reminded me of this story:

Learn from Chris Spencer of Unsane, from an interview with Echoes and Dust:

“We played a show at CBGBs, we got offered a show with Sonic Youth and we got there to find out that we were playing the graveyard shift, which was actually after Sonic Youth … we had to go out and the place cleared out and we went on to like twelve people!”

Got ten people on your list? That’s enough.

Don’t wait for more people – level the room. Impress the people in front of you. Serve the people who signed up.

“Fortunately for us, Gerard Cosmos from Matador Records happened to still be there and offered us a record deal after that, so it actually really worked out.”

You never know who might be reading your newsletter, so don’t hold back.

Why else should you send to a smaller list?

Because you can make your mistakes now, and learn from them, with a much smaller impact.

If you mess up a link to 25 people, fix the link and send it again. Learn to double check that sort of stuff now, before you fuck up with 2,500 people.

“I would also send DMs to new Twitter followers, thanking them for the follow and letting them know about my newsletter,” says Dylan Redekop

Since Twitter and other social media networks love throttling your reach when you include a link in your post, experiment with sending DMs to new followers, or maybe people that regularly reply to your posts.

Less “I need more subscribers,” more “my current subscribers need my best work.”

As Seth Godin says, if fans ain’t talking, you need to change, or find new fans.

Harriet JW’s clients are doing unconventional things to get their songs heard (via LinkedIn):

My buddy Dino Corvino got me listening to WORRIERS.

Not because of a song, or a music video, but because Lauren Denitzio replied to a comment or two on TikTok.

Dino (he writes Skateboarding on their Altar) has seen it all, so when he tells me something like this, I listen.

I’m a fan now, and maybe a few people reading this will go see WORRIERS on tour, or listen to the new album ‘Trust Your Gut.’

Don’t get stuck playing the “GET A MILLION NEW FANS” slot machine, dumping a bucket of pennies onto social media, and playing it safe with mullet marketing.

Commit to some dialogue with your fans a few times a week at least.

Does it scale?

Fuck scale, make your fans feel something.

When’s the last time an artist made you feel something?
Let me know in the comments, or reply to this email!

Of the 90 bands playing Furnace Fest later this week:

• 46 bands have a website (51%)
• 23 bands don’t have a website, but use a “Link In Bio” service (25%)
• 36 bands have an email newsletter (40%)
• 21 bands have no website, and no email list, but most aren’t full-time bands anymore, so that makes sense.

(Here’s my Google Sheet with all the data – nerdy, I know)

Of the 36 bands with a newsletter, just three sent me a solid “Welcome Email,” while the others were plain confirmation emails.

As I wrote in ‘PUT YOUR WELCOME EMAIL TO WORK,’ your welcome email can help you make money:

1. A link to your store, maybe with a discount code
2. Your website, or the tour dates section
3. Your Patreon – some of your biggest fans might not even know you have one!
4. Your Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music pages
5. Your latest video on YouTube

Should you have a website? Probably.
Should you have an email list? Hell yes.

Both are pretty easy to set up these days,

As I wrote in ‘YOUR NEXT NEWSLETTER IS ALREADY WRITTEN,’ you can re-purpose your social media posts into weekly newsletters, especially since most of your followers don’t even see your content because of algorithms.

Add some more photos, a little bit of text, and you’ll make your fans who don’t spend six hours a day on social media very happy.

Draw some inspiration from the bands playing Furnace Fest this year; check out their websites, subscribe to some newsletters, and let’s make sure you’re reaching more of your fans in 2024.

Don’t assume the level of your fans’ love for what you do.

Don’t assume they lack interest in how you operate and work.

You don’t have to JUST announce the essentials (the facts) of what you do.

For example, if you have a new album coming out, you can send an email campaign with the album art, some facts, and a button for people to click to order it.

BUT… you could also include a few paragraphs about the inspiration behind the music.

A quote from the artist who designed the artwork.

A photo or two of you working in the studio, or even your bedroom recording set up!

Don’t assume that “nobody cares,” or think, “why would anyone be interested in that?”

Maybe casual fans won’t give a f*ck. Fine.

But the ones who LOVE what you do?
The ones that just want to support you and your art and your magic?

They’ll appreciate it.