Top 10 Reasons to Support your Local Music Scene

 

Why is it that music fans will run to the store or tablets to buy/download superstars’ music, yet barely glance twice to listen to a musician in their own neighbourhood? We often hear local musicians’ playing at weddings, in bars, and even in the street, but while people enjoy their sounds, many of these talented artists go mostly ignored in their own community. That is a real shame because ALL superstars were once just local musicians, and even they find it easy to pass by those bands that are still struggling. This article is for them. I want to share with you the top 10 reasons you should support local music.

1) Local Shows are cheaper: Without all of the fanfare that goes with artists having to pay marketers, promoters, managers, etc., local artists can (and often do) host cheaper live shows than the megastars you usually spend your money on.

2) Local musicians offer more diversity: Local musicians generally want to share as much of themselves with their audience as possible, so they often perform a multitude of styles and sounds in the hopes that you will hear something you like.

3) Community Support helps musicians grow: Even some of the greatest musicians alive today needed local support before they honed their craft and became the icons they are now. Take a look at the earlier works of artists like Kurt Cobain (Nirvana), John Lennon (The Beatles), Michael Jackson, and even Prince. All of those artists needed time to develop before they reached new heights and touched greatness.

4) Hometown Pride: Nothing fosters a greater connection between a musician and fan more than being from the same hometown because many of the artists share experiences that you do (that teacher nobody could stand at school, the local hangout, even the unique fashions that regions tend to favour).

5) Deeper connection: Local shows often allow musicians and fans to connect better. Local musicians are also much more willing to engage with their fans directly, and on a personal level. It’s one of my favourite things about seeing a local show. I love talking to the band afterward.

6) Connect with other fans: You are not only more likely to connect with the band on a personal level, but you will also be likely to connect with other fans. The entire experience can be surreal if you are open to it.

7) Boosts Local Economy: Musicians play a key role in supporting other local businesses in the area. From the T-shirt shop, print shops, and music stores; all the way down to local photographers, bars, venues and publishing companies; musicians invest in ALL of them to help you get the fan merchandise you love, and further their own brand.

8) Content is Genuine: You won’t find many local musicians that hire ghostwriters and lyricists to create songs for them. Everything you hear from a local musicians’ will be 100% THEM. Some artists will change as they get famous, but when they are local, they are PURE and that purity is what makes most of us fans in the first place.

9) Smaller venue = better sound: who wants to go to an amphitheater that is packed with 100,000 strangers, when you can hit a live venue and be surrounded by people you know? Why attempt to sing along with strangers to music that gets distorted when its filtered through 1000 Watt speakers and hundreds of square feet of screaming fans?

10) You can actually SEE the artist: Concerts in huge venues can be fun, but most of the time you have view the artist over a HUGE screen because you are either too far away, or there are too many people ahead of you that are bigger and taller than you are. That can have dampened the experience tremendously, but you tough it out because you paid $200 to be back there. Local shows allow you to be so close to the musicians that you can probably touch them.

If these reason aren’t enough to get you to support your local musicians, you are not a music fan; you are a fan of celebrities. There’s nothing wrong with that; I just didn’t want you to keep fooling yourself. So support your local musicians whenever you get the chance. They may be local today, but they could very well be Superstars tomorrow.

Be the fan that can say, “I knew them back when…”

 An excellent way that you can start supporting local music in your area is to check out www.explorelocalmusic.ca Check out our site, and see why it helps bring local musicians and their fans together. It is 100% FREE FOREVER