Unsigned Artists

The Appreciation Post’s Talks Self Promotion by Tracy McLaughlin

Boston synth-core rockers The Appreciation Post have been going strong unsigned for over 3 years now. I caught up with them en-route to gig Vermont for their take on some common topics in the world of self promotion.

T.A.P. are true internet promotion, spam free, vets. When asked what tactics were working best, social networking sites topped the list, but not in the annoying-clogged-inbox type way. With a Myspace friend count of 20,000, it was surprising to hear they don’t believe in spam bots or friend grabber software. Instead, they put in the extra time to establish individual relationships. “Our fans really appreciate the extra effort we put in,” explains synthesizer player Roger. T.A.P.’s well known sense of humor also makes its way into their daily Myspace bulletins, which are sometimes completely irrelevant to shows/news and are even just to “make sure they remember our name.” It seems Myspace and Facebook bulletins have taken the lead for broadcasting band information these days, but just in case you forgot to log in, T.A.P. keeps you covered with their email list created from a sign up sheet at shows.

After noticing nine great reviews from established sources, I was curious as to how they even got their foot in the door without representation. Roger offered a good strategy for at these sources; back to Myspace! “I found that a good way to get ‘in’ with some of the online ‘zines’ or blogs would be to find them on Myspace, or on their individual pages, and send them a message or email telling them about who we are and what we do. If they dug it, I would offer to send them a press kit (one sheet/a copy of the CD) and then hopefully they would want to review it. It's typically better to have the package you mail be requested or solicited, that way they aren't blindsided by a pile of CDs and may get to yours faster.”

So what are T.A.P.s thoughts on handing over promotion to a record label? The benefits are very apparent; as Jim describes the almost overnight fan base newly signed bands tend to get as “moths to the flame.” Until that day comes, they remain a solid example of a band who knows the ins and outs of self promotion. For right now, it seems the bands main focus is live performance, so check their UA page to see when they’re heading to your town!