Define Your Goals

After getting your band together, coming up with a name and writing a few songs, the first thing you need to do is make sure everyone is on the same page by defining your goals as a band. There are two main types of goals: Overall Band Goals and Tactical Goals.

Overall Band Goals

More times than not, it is a lack of common overall goal drives a band to a breakup. These goals don’t have to be realistic or based on any facts, but they need to be the same for all members. If the ship’s crew is pulling in different directions, you’ll never get anywhere. The overall goals need to be agreed upon by all band members. If someone disagrees, either they are not the right fit for your band or you need to revise the goal. Here are some examples of overall band goals:

• To make a living only playing and selling music
• To be signed to a label and be on tour for 6 months out of the year
• To play for fun and not for fame and profit

The good thing about these overall goals is that they can quash arguments and speed up lineup changes. Its a good idea to write the goal down and post it somewhere in your practice space where everyone can see it. Remind yourselves everyday as to why you are doing this and stay the course.

To meet these overall goals, you need to set tactical goals.

Tactical Goals

Tactical goals are sub-goals of your overall goal that drive the day-to-day operations of your band. The tactical goals need to be 1) measurable and 2) have a time limit. For example, good tactical goals would be:

• Within the next 6 months, we want to play a show every weekend to an increasing number of fans.
• Over the next 3 months, we want to sell 10 CDs per show and gather 10 new email addresses for our mailing list
• Make $500 per week in merch sales by February 2009
• Write a new song every month
  

After you define your tactical goals, define the steps you need to meet those goals and go get them done. Goal-setting is crucial if you want your band to work out in the long run.

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