Weekend Vibes Entrepreneurs: Drum Up Your Marketing

Friday Feeling, Marketing Advice, Dave Matthews Band, Van Chamberlain, Women Entrepreneurs

On a small stage in a darkened corner of a room, up-and-coming bands perform to small audiences of listeners hoping to make them fans. Even popular bands like the Dave Matthews Band, started on small stages in Charlottesville, Virginia in the early 1990s performing to handfuls of interested musical fans. Everything begins somewhere typically without loads of fanfare, trumpets, and media coverage.

The most asked question I hear from woman-owned start up companies is, “How long will it take to make enough money to support my endeavor and turn away business?” My answer is always three years if you are extensively marketing your business. This was true for my first and second companies and seen over the years I’ve supported hundreds of other woman-owned businesses. It’s no different for start-up musicians.

So, when my brothers’ band “Van Chamberlain” launched their sound in 2021 performing in New York City bars, my two sons with their girlfriends attended their shows and brought along friends. Buying their white t-shirts and giving them away to others, along with purchasing their new downloadable album, helps to share and promote their early beginnings in the professional music industry.

As a 30-year event planner, and their oldest sister, I offered to help them find some venues in the City of Syracuse to perform in to help their marketing efforts. It takes a lot of time, energy, soul, and repeat efforts to land a large following. It doesn’t matter if you are a band, female-owned business, pottery maker, or new owner of a restaurant, it takes time and again, a lot of marketing – traditional, social media, press coverage, and more. The beat goes on and on.

Today’s Friday Feeling blog post is to remind you that anything you start doing – a musical career, side business, or even a TikTok account takes more time than you think and more advertising and promotion than you imagine; but it is doable if you have the talent, passion, and connections to start and keep going. I hope today, you take a listen to Van Chamberlain and if you like it support their new downloadable tune “In The Sun” or album and give them some likes and shares. Here is more information on them via a recent online article.

One small act can lead to the next big break for anyone pursuing their passion as a career.

More Information:

Van Chamberlain are a Brooklyn-based indie rock band. Having grown up making music together on a shared wavelength, brothers Van & Jacob began playing under the name Van Chamberlain in 2019. They make music that combines dream pop and jangle, with a slight 90’s alternative influence showing through. They’ve each played and toured the world in bands including Phantom Buffalo (Rough Trade Records, Time Lag) and Eternal Drag (members of The Dodos). In 2019 they found themselves reunited in Brooklyn, and immediately began crafting their new record, In the Sun.

The band released their first studio-demo, “LY,” in 2020, right on the cusp of the global pandemic. Having to cancel their live debut, they instead turned to the recording studio. Their first LP, In the Sun, was finished in 2021. By the end of that year Van Chamberlain signed with Very Jazzed with a release scheduled for April 8, 2022.

In the Sun is an album about layers, both sonically and philosophically. Driven by textures of guitars, lush reverb, and grounded by infectious percussion, In the Sun offers sonic choices that feel new and undiscovered every time you put the record on. While Van’s laid-back vocal style offers the disposition of a sunny day with little to do, his lyrics draw from personal experiences of loss and subsequent growth. Their layered sonic approach reaffirms the band’s philosophical message: that what’s past is prologue, and the future holds promise, but neither will count unless you make peace with the present.