WITH a new year on the horizon Worcestershire bands are being given top tips on how to make it.

From taking a DIY approach to understanding the merits of self promotion, this expert advice comes courtesy of Surface Festival and should help local unsigned bands cause a stir in 2011.

•1) Live performance

The main focus of a band and artist is live performance. The sweaty, loud and beer saturated venues across Britain are where bands and artists are born and it’s this aspect fans still focus on.

It’s your live performance that can make you stand out from the crowd and get people talking. Each and every live show presents a great opportunity to reach new fans and meet your existing ones face to face, these people in return will be the ones who download and buy your music. Always remember, with major festivals, stadium concerts and large shows habitually selling-out within hours, there has never been more demand for live music.

•2) Social Networking

The importance of social networking and web-based presence is colossal. All bands and artists should make sure they have a MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and/or YouTube page. Connecting with fans is an important aspect. The social networking phenomenon has meant every artist in the world has a voice and a direct link to the people who have a direct influence on their success.

Policies and rules presided over by record companies for decades have been shattered, and bands and artists should make the most of this renaissance of independent control over their destiny.

•3) Online Releases

Never before have bands and artists been more in control of distributing and selling their own music. Before the web arrived artists would depend on their label and the media to broadcast their music in the hopes of finding an audience. Today the model is turned around. You first have to build an audience and then get down to business.

Just passively making your music available for download in the hope of finding fans won’t work. Digital release stores are only the means to the sales, it is your responsibility to build and maintain a fan base, who in turn will buy your music.

This audience can be built on the live circuit and on the internet. You then have to maintain that relationship through social networking and further live shows. It is still all about making great music, but you need to add the layer of community building which merges into sales.

•4) Merchandise

While generating money is the most obvious benefit of band merchandise, the valuable impressions made from exposure to potential fans is just as important. When your fans wear your merch there is no limit to how many people are going to see it.

Selling your band merchandise can be done at live shows or online via your website. Display your merch on a stand and make sure to stick around after your set so that you don't miss an opportunity to sell. Most importantly at live shows the middle man is left out meaning all profits are returned to the band.

•5) Sustainability

Bands and artists should always try and remain self-sufficient and look after their own affairs as much as possible.

Sustainability, the most demanding aspect of longevity, is down to a band’s continued belief in why they formed in the first place - the scene that inspired them and in turn the music that inspires the fan base.

Fans will care for a band and keep them alive, so bands and artists must care for them back with a true to themselves attitude and great music. Nurturing this fan base and realising its importance is crucial.

For more information about Surface Festival, the annual contest that takes bands and artists at grass roots level and takes them to an industry showcase, see surfacefestival.com.