I have been on quite many festivals the past month and I meet so many artists and The one you remember the most is the one with a really good work ethic.
They send you emails inviting you to the show. They approach you. They hang with you. They are hustling so hard to get somewhere. And you really remember those. Even if they were not the best on stage or had the best songs. The hustler is remembered.
You also want to help them. They are nice and friendly and that in itself makes you want to help them with their tasks. Much easier to make a positive decision around a hard-working artist.
The strange part is that so few do it. On an average festival, I usually count two to three doing it and that is in the competition of a hundred artists. Many just show up to play their gig and then get the hell out of there.
I guess the method of hard hustling could be used on not just showcase festivals but even normal festivals. I had an artist that on festivals always shouted at the end of the show that you could meet them on the side of the stage. Not like the other that go backstage and drink beer, no straight down to meet the fans. There they talked to the fans, wrote autographs but mainly checked if the audience had suggestions about the show. If they had they very often implemented that in the next show. In the end they where a hell of a good live act.
What I heard and read that was how Metallica also got their good fanbase and developed over the years. Yes just perform is not enough you need to the extra mile in this business.
Hustling and finding support structures is the only way to push forward. Waiting for that hit single or 1 000th CD sale can take a long time. It's good to be proactive rather than wait for success to come to you.
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