The Seven Rule Method For Finding The Right Band Members

Has this ever happened to you?: You begin looking for new members to join your band. You place flyers, newspaper ads, or even post in online music communities. Then, whenever someone gets interested in your band (they call you, or audition), they do not have the same dedication and ambition that you have. The truth is, this actually happens frequently to most bands in the music industry. In most cases, bands do not know how to overcome this problem in order to find the right musicians. To help your band make progress, I have written the seven ‘rules’ for finding the right band members in the music business:

Rule 1: In order to build success for your band, you will need to consistently put out a great deal of effort (this applies even once you’ve begun to ‘make it’). If your band only contains a couple of people who do all of the work, the amount of work will simply be too much to handle on your own. As a result, the band will likely not achieve significant success. Once you start to notice that the other musicians in your band are not putting out much effort to help the band, bring this up with them. Tell them that they have only one chance to change their ways. If you then notice that they have not made any efforts to turn things around, cut them from the band. These people will only drag your band down.

Rule 2: If you are in the company of band members who are truly success minded, there are no boundaries to what you can accomplish.

Rule 3: If you have a band full of unmotivated band members, the chances of succeeding in the music business are close to zero.

Rule 4: It is very common for potential band members to talk about becoming successful, but not actually follow up on what they say. Every musician wants to become highly successful in music, but very few musicians will truly put out the effort in order to achieve success. You will run into these kinds of people all the time. People like this will want to join your band, but won’t be able to help your band in the long run (they will only slow down your progress). Keep away from these types of musicians at all costs.

Pat O’Bryan once said:

“You would be surprised by the amount of musicians and artists who are just waiting around for opportunity to knock on their door as they simply follow what all the other musicians and artists are doing.

“Losers in a losing cycle, perpetuated by following other losers. Not such a great plan, but it is by far the most popular.”

Rule 5: Some musicians make for excellent band members from a purely musical standpoint. However, it is a very common situation that talented musicians actually prevent their band from making progress in music. This is because talented musicians (like any musician) can still be the ‘wrong’ people for your band. If you want to achieve great success with your band, you will need to focus on the wider scope of where the band is going. This means, if someone is the wrong person for your band, you need to let them go (even if they can ‘play’ great).

Rule 6: Finding the right band members may sometimes seem like an impossible task. However, remember that the most dedicated musicians are also looking for you at the same time that you are looking for them. These people are also going through the same difficulties as you, and share the same desire to play in a successful band as you do.

Rule 7: There are many bands that have already achieved high success in music who are unsatisfied with some of their current band members. It is a mistake to assume that because a band is already successful, they are not actively looking to find the right musicians. It is very possible that people from these bands could join with your band instead or even that you could replace a member in their band.

Think about all that you will be able to do once you have found the right musicians for your band. This means being surrounded by musicians who not only ‘talk big’, but ‘do big’. These are people who are highly motivated, and work hard on a continual basis to make progress in their music careers. Once you have these people on your side, you will become a totally unstoppable force!

Learn more about finding the right musicians for your band by downloading this free musician’s guide on how to find the right musicians.

About the author:

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Tom Hess is a touring musician, composer and the guitarist for Rhapsody Of Fire. He also trains rock bands in his rock band career coaching program. Learn more on his site with music industry advice, music career help and music business training.