What To Bring To The Rally (2022 Edition!)
Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2022 5:01 am
What To Bring To The Road Rally
People are always asking what to bring to the road rally and there have been many great threads and posts about that. I thought I’d revisit this and summarize my thoughts for 2022. Additional comments and suggestions are very welcome!
OK, here goes…
* An open mind
* Pen and paper
* Business cards… Most important item probably! Make sure it has your name, email address, phone number, and a link to your BEST music (Soundcloud, Box, Disco, etc.) . QR codes fine but also have links spelled out for the less techie. Simple is fine! READABLE is most important!
* Music on your iPhone or similar personal device. If your phone requires a lightning to headphone jack adapter, bring one. A headphone splitter is also a good thing to have so you can hear what the listener is hearing and get it right. Thanks Telefunkin! For mentor sessions, most of the time, mentors will be OK plugging in their headphones to your device for a listen. Make sure the volume isn't blasting when you hand it to them.
* CDs... This is one of the most discussed subjects. What kind, how many, etc? There are 4 main reasons (actually 3 now) to bring CDs. You can use the same CDs for all purposes or make different ones.
Note for ALL CDs regardless of purpose: Always make sure your track list, name and contact information (email and phone) are on both the outside packaging and the CD. These things can get separated. This applies to envelopes as well as jewel cases. When I do envelopes, I use a computer printed stick-on label with that info. Track lists on packaging are very important. Once a CD is in a car player, for example, the listener can’t read what’s printed on it. NEVER put your track list ONLY on the CD.
AUDIO CDs, NOT MP3 (Data) CDs! Audio CDs will play in any player, boom box, car, or other.
I find that for the RALLY, envelopes are better than jewel cases because of ease of packing both for you and anyone you give a CD to. If you are an artist with fully packaged, mastered CDs in jewel cases, that might be an exception.
Back to those 4 purposes…
-1- Give to industry contacts. Becoming MUCH LESS of a thing nowadays but still happens occasionally. Chances are you’ll give out WAY LESS (maybe NONE) of these than you might think when coming for the first time. Certainly be prepared with maybe a few for THIS purpose but keep in mind that making contacts, exchanging business cards, and following up later (such as a week later) usually works best. Industry folks at the rally get inundated with folks handing them CDs. They probably toss a lot of them in the trash. Running up to these people and shoving CDs at them is a bad idea. If you meet someone at the bar or some other setting, strike up a conversation and they ask YOU for a CD, OK but don't count on it and certainly don't force it!
These CDs should obviously have your absolute best work. You don’t need a lot of tracks on them because you either wow them with the first 1-3 or forget it. At least make sure the first few tracks are the best ones. That’s what will matter. (If you absolutely need a recommended number of tracks, I'd say in the 3-8 range).
People always ask if it’s OK to put tracks on CDs that are already signed exclusively. Opinions vary on this but MY opinion is since you are often trying to show what you CAN do, it’s fine. If you get contacted about one of those tracks, you can tell the other party the track is signed but you can write more like that for them.
-2- Give to your mentor (one on one session, in case they ask) and the mentors at mentor Eat and Greet lunches. IF you attend a mentor lunch ("Eat and Greet"), most mentors will take CDs from everyone at each table. So for EACH mentor lunch you attend, assume 5-6 CDs from your stash.
-3- Dropping for listening panels. NO LONGER RELEVANT as this is all done by submissions to special Taxi listings.
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-4- For use in a class. In some classes, you can hand CDs up to the instructor who will pick some from the audience, listen and comment as part of the class. Again, you can use CDs from #1 above and put a note on it as to which track or bring a few one song CDs for this purpose. You’ll probably get these CDs back after the class unless the instructor loves your song so much they ask to take the CD. It happens once in a while.
-5- As drink coasters for your friends.
***Read all of the above as a guide to how many CDs to bring.
* Lyric Sheets and Rubber bands. In classes whereby you drop a CD for the instructor, you will be asked to include a lyric sheet, folded up, and attached by rubber band to the CD. This may also apply to mentor listening and feedback sessions.
That’s all for now… I’ll come back with edits and additions per corrections and suggestions.
Casey
People are always asking what to bring to the road rally and there have been many great threads and posts about that. I thought I’d revisit this and summarize my thoughts for 2022. Additional comments and suggestions are very welcome!
OK, here goes…
* An open mind
* Pen and paper
* Business cards… Most important item probably! Make sure it has your name, email address, phone number, and a link to your BEST music (Soundcloud, Box, Disco, etc.) . QR codes fine but also have links spelled out for the less techie. Simple is fine! READABLE is most important!
* Music on your iPhone or similar personal device. If your phone requires a lightning to headphone jack adapter, bring one. A headphone splitter is also a good thing to have so you can hear what the listener is hearing and get it right. Thanks Telefunkin! For mentor sessions, most of the time, mentors will be OK plugging in their headphones to your device for a listen. Make sure the volume isn't blasting when you hand it to them.
* CDs... This is one of the most discussed subjects. What kind, how many, etc? There are 4 main reasons (actually 3 now) to bring CDs. You can use the same CDs for all purposes or make different ones.
Note for ALL CDs regardless of purpose: Always make sure your track list, name and contact information (email and phone) are on both the outside packaging and the CD. These things can get separated. This applies to envelopes as well as jewel cases. When I do envelopes, I use a computer printed stick-on label with that info. Track lists on packaging are very important. Once a CD is in a car player, for example, the listener can’t read what’s printed on it. NEVER put your track list ONLY on the CD.
AUDIO CDs, NOT MP3 (Data) CDs! Audio CDs will play in any player, boom box, car, or other.
I find that for the RALLY, envelopes are better than jewel cases because of ease of packing both for you and anyone you give a CD to. If you are an artist with fully packaged, mastered CDs in jewel cases, that might be an exception.
Back to those 4 purposes…
-1- Give to industry contacts. Becoming MUCH LESS of a thing nowadays but still happens occasionally. Chances are you’ll give out WAY LESS (maybe NONE) of these than you might think when coming for the first time. Certainly be prepared with maybe a few for THIS purpose but keep in mind that making contacts, exchanging business cards, and following up later (such as a week later) usually works best. Industry folks at the rally get inundated with folks handing them CDs. They probably toss a lot of them in the trash. Running up to these people and shoving CDs at them is a bad idea. If you meet someone at the bar or some other setting, strike up a conversation and they ask YOU for a CD, OK but don't count on it and certainly don't force it!
These CDs should obviously have your absolute best work. You don’t need a lot of tracks on them because you either wow them with the first 1-3 or forget it. At least make sure the first few tracks are the best ones. That’s what will matter. (If you absolutely need a recommended number of tracks, I'd say in the 3-8 range).
People always ask if it’s OK to put tracks on CDs that are already signed exclusively. Opinions vary on this but MY opinion is since you are often trying to show what you CAN do, it’s fine. If you get contacted about one of those tracks, you can tell the other party the track is signed but you can write more like that for them.
-2- Give to your mentor (one on one session, in case they ask) and the mentors at mentor Eat and Greet lunches. IF you attend a mentor lunch ("Eat and Greet"), most mentors will take CDs from everyone at each table. So for EACH mentor lunch you attend, assume 5-6 CDs from your stash.
-3- Dropping for listening panels. NO LONGER RELEVANT as this is all done by submissions to special Taxi listings.
[/i][/b]
-4- For use in a class. In some classes, you can hand CDs up to the instructor who will pick some from the audience, listen and comment as part of the class. Again, you can use CDs from #1 above and put a note on it as to which track or bring a few one song CDs for this purpose. You’ll probably get these CDs back after the class unless the instructor loves your song so much they ask to take the CD. It happens once in a while.
-5- As drink coasters for your friends.
***Read all of the above as a guide to how many CDs to bring.
* Lyric Sheets and Rubber bands. In classes whereby you drop a CD for the instructor, you will be asked to include a lyric sheet, folded up, and attached by rubber band to the CD. This may also apply to mentor listening and feedback sessions.
That’s all for now… I’ll come back with edits and additions per corrections and suggestions.
Casey