Creating Your Sound
Decide the type of band you want to be in. Music is made up of a multitude of genres. Rock, blues, hip hop, pop, and country are just touching the surface of what those genres are. Figure out which sound best defines the band you hope to be in. Ask yourself what genres you enjoy playing the most and who you hope your target audience will be. Will your audience rock out while doing mosh pits? Will your audience be mellow and sway to your songs as you play in tiny coffee shops? Decide on the instruments you will have to use. A good start: lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass, and drums. You may want a keyboardist, sax, or brass, depending on what sort of music you'll be wanting to play. How many people will it take for your vision of your band to come to life? Allow the sound you’re hoping to create act as your guide.
Hire the members who will play for your band. There are ways to get into contact with the right people even if you are unfamiliar with your local music scene. You can begin auditions as soon as you find people you think could fit the bill. Go to school talent shows or open mic nights to get into contact with local artists in their environment. This will help you get a taste of what they have to offer musically by listening to some of their original stuff. A quicker, more technologically-savvy alternative is posting an ad on Facebook, Twitter, or even Instagram. Say something simple like: “Musician looking for an all female band to play with professionally. DM me for more details.”
Choose some songs to start having band rehearsals. It's not important to do your own material at first. Start playing together and find out if you have good chemistry as a band. Plan on a time when all members can attend rehearsals. Plan to have rehearsals at least one time per week. If you can squeeze out one or two more times, that would be perfect. It might sound counterproductive to start with covers, or playing other people’s material, but it’s a great way to see what you gravitate towards collectively and as a group. This will help give you a direction of the kind of music you hope to be doing moving forward as a band.
Agree on your material. Encourage everyone who wants to write to write songs instead of delegating that task to one person. Over time, you will begin to agree who should do the biggest part of your band’s songwriting. Keep your ego in check always. Nobody wants to be your backup band - if it's an ensemble, let it remain a collaborative effort. When you first start creating, think of your message and the things you’re trying to say when you put your music out there to the world. Use guitar tab websites and other tutorials to help you push yourself musically with instruments and get better ideas of how to put music together as you arrange and develop your lyrics. Constantly push yourself.
Creating Your Image
Find a name for your group that will be remembered. Let your girl band’s name come to you as organically as possible. The less thought and attempt at cleverness, the better. Create the music and allow the name to come to you.
Agree on the band’s style. Appearance is also an important part of the girl band package. Create a visual match that is complementary to the sound of the band. You and the other ladies don’t have to wear the exact same thing, but dressing in a similar style might take less focus away from the band itself. One person standing out more than the rest of the band could pull focus away from what people really should pay attention to: the sound. All-black ensembles are a great way to look uniform without dressing exactly alike. Another way to do that is to come up with a theme that dictates what the group wears: goth, vintage, girly, or punk.
Be as authentic to your voice and persona as possible. Your image should be an extension of your music. Think of the image of the band as the invitation and your music as the actual party. Don’t make your image an inauthentic version of yourself. If your band has an Ingrid Michaelson aesthetic where you all wear glasses in understated clothing as you play an intimate coffee shop, be authentic and allow your image to reflect that. Don’t feel the need to be scantily clad if sex isn’t something you’re trying to sell. Your image will be what fans will see in promo shots of the band, flyers, and your band’s logo. Keep this in mind and try to be consistent in your brand awareness.
Putting Your Music Out There
Find out where the scene in your area is and start playing live. Book a gig within three months of settling on your set list. Play at small, local places first. Nothing tightens up your sound like playing live and practicing in your garage forever is not an option if you want to get signed and produced.
Encourage your friends to listen to your music. Letting people you know hear your music. Ask them to tell their friends about your band. Word of mouth is a great way to gain more free exposure.
Register your band and its name with social networking sites. Create a hub for your band on different social media sites. Make official pages for your band on sites like Facebook, Soundcloud, Twitter, and even Instagram. Keep those sites up to date to keep your fans up to date about upcoming shows and new music releases.
Gain exposure by sending your music to bloggers. New music should always be sent to popular bloggers in effort to make it to featured artist spotlights and give your song more listens. Bloggers will share your work to their following. Include album artwork, if any, promotional photos, a press release, and your song with your inquiry to blogs. Leave comments on blogs to direct them to a site where you have your music posted for listens.
Getting Signed
Invest money into creating and producing a demo for your band. Don’t feel intimidated by the reality of creating a demo. It’s possible to create demos in DIY sound booths if you have the right padding to line your walls, the right mic, and the right audio equipment. Another option for creating your demo is to pay for studio time. Some places offer low rates like $35 an hour to use their equipment. Consider that when looking for a place to record. Sell your finished demo at your shows for profit, place them online on places like Soundcloud and YouTube for exposure, and/or distribute them to labels.
Send out promo packages to labels. Nowadays, sending tracks to labels is as simple as finding the right email and sending over audio files. Send your promo package in a professional way by giving the audio file a sensible name, branding it with your band’s logo, and any additional marketing materials that your band may have. Make sure that the track is easily shareable in the event that a producer or exec likes it and wants to share it. When you’re sending a demo to labels, make sure that the CD or package you include has 2-3 of your band’s best songs on it. Amongst your marketing materials, there should also be a press release enclosed. Including a press release with the promo package you send to renowned music sites will help them publish a write up about your band more efficiently.
Start shopping around for a manager. A manager can rep your band and make the phone calls and reach out to people if necessary. It might be possible to obtain a manager who won’t require a payday until they bring you results.
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