General Music Chat

Hello to all.

In our GigDoggy blog (http://gigdoggy.com) we are preparing a topic on street teams and how they operate to help a band.

I am really quite clueless on this one so I'm asking you guys.

Any of you have street teams or been in some? How does a touring band manage those helpers? Or is it the helpers who usually act on their own will just out of respect for the band?

In these type of topics we post quotes and give a link. It ain't much but that's about all we can do:)

Thanks for your help

no one has a little street team here helping out on promotional labor?


Whats the best way to organize and manage those groupies?

I would love to reply with some good subject matter, but all I got right now is a dream:

To find a vocalist who is appealing, can sing, and has low enough standards or self-esteem to play with the likes of us

However, once we start playing the big clubs, I plan to have totally HAWT girls selling our t-shirts and CD's.

hey gig,
Actually i glad to see someone taking interest in this, I was kicking around the idea of blogging this one myself as most people dont really know anything about a street team....I just finished writing a whole section about street teams for my upcommming book so im brimming with info

so here goes:
a street team is a group of individuals who are dedicated to promoting a band or a gig / event for a band. Most of the time street teams are made up of friends of band members who go out and publicise or advertise for the band in return for a "shout out" at a gig.....

that is the most baic level anyway.

on a more professsional level and by professional i mean better funded lol.
Bands have a section of thier web page dedicated to the street team, in this section the members will find information about upcomming shows, cd release dates, whats going on in the studio, when the new merchandise is scheduled to hit the streets etc....basic insider information about the immediate to not so distant future plans of the band. They will use this information to create a buzz about the band in the weeks prior to the upcomming event, in return street team members not only giet all the news info before anyone else they usually get first crack at hearing new material......for example a band is unsure about ometihng in the song and records two versions of it and allows the street team to give input as to what the liked or didn't like about the various songs......

some things a street team does
* promote upcomming show or event
*hands out flyers about the band in the weeks proior to a major show
* sell advance tickets to shows
* sell advance copie of the new cd
* post on bulletin boards aobut the band
pretty much anything they can do to promote the band in a "grass roots" type manner.
It is not uncommon for an up and comming band to set up street teams in each city they plan to hit on a tour in order to get the hype going in the weeks prior to thier arival......its actually a VERY vital part of touring.

In return for all the hard work the street teamdoes they usually get this:
* special section of web page for street team members only....bands usually interact with them there
* free or discounted tickets to shows and merchandise
* all expenses for promotion paid for
* free band swag ( posters, bumper stickers, autograhed photo etc...)

Its basically a chance for a fan to feel like they did something to help the band and they get a few freebies for it...and in return the band gets more butts in the seats......

hope that was all clear...if not i believe you have my email...hit me up if you need more info or have another topic to discuss.

Hey Dez ! It's been a long time.
Passed by your blog a couple of days ago but saw you were occupied on the getting-gigs guide. How is that going? Is it out? Would love to read a copy.

Thanks for the advice ! Great stuff. Although I said I was clueless on the matter, I ended up doing my little research. So I figured that's how they functioned.
But I still wonder if in most cases, it's the band or the fans who launch the initiative first, of creating a street team that is. I'm guessing the fans, would be quite pretentious for a band.

I was also curious as to whether it was the band micro-managing the street team, or if the latter acted on his own.

Can you shed some light plz?

I posted a topic on a street team management website called FanCorps.

http://gigdoggy.wordpress.com/2008/07/20/how-bands-can-manage-their-street-teams-online-1

The website seems to be doing ok. I registered as a fan and infiltrated a band's street team

Pretty dynamic stuff, your band gives you tasks , offline and online, and you earn point if you do them correctly. Then there is a ranking system, they win tickets, merch meet and greets, stuff like that, and the fans seem to love it. I went on some forums en the peeps were pretty enthusiastic.

Anyways thanks for your quote. I'll post it up at the end of the week probably this week-end.

Peace

Rob