BACON BLOODY BACON: Matt Bacon on The “Dream 100” and You


When I write these articles I like to reflect on stuff that I am currently using for promoting my own music marketing business. It’s a healthy way for me to think through some of what I’m facing. Which is why today I want to dig into your bands “Dream 100”.

via GIPHY

What is a “Dream 100” you ask? It’s an amazing promotional tool that you can go and develop for yourself that will help grow your brand. I’ve been working on some variant of mine for years. We are going to dig into exactly what it is, as well as how to build one and of course how to deploy it to promote your band.

3. What Is a Dream 100?

The Dream 100 is simply the list of 100 sites, blogs, Facebook groups, Instagram pages, whatever that your target audience reads. The goal is to get featured there because it’s where your target audience is already hanging out. You know that the type of people who read those platforms are the type of people who will like what you have to do.

My Dream 100 features everything from Revolver Magazine to the comedy Instagram Catatonic Youths. The list really needs to be 100 people long because only a small percentage will reply. You need to literally write this down too. It’s not just something you can have in your head, otherwise, you won’t start targeting them.

2. How Do You Build One?

Building your Dream 100 is easy in concept but difficult in practice. Everyone has a handful of magazines they want to get featured in. However, once you get past the first 20, that’s where it gets tricky. Simultaneously though that’s where you start to find some of the really interesting people who will be easy to get in touch with and help better market your band.

Outside of asking PR people where they thought I should be targeting I have spent time researching my competition. So for you, it might be other bands in your genre. For me its other people in the music biz education space. Then I try to see where they are getting so I can direct attention towards my projects.

1. How Do We Use It To Promote Ourselves?

Well, it’s simple – once you know the 100 people you are trying to target it becomes a lot easier to start to figure out your means of attack. If you can get even one of these people to feature you you will win over fans. Why? Because as discussed when defining the Dream 100, the people watching your Dream 100 are the people you want to be speaking too.

Obviously it’s hard to get coverage on all of these sites and obviously you need to temper your expectations, but I think that having a targeted list of 100 people you are trying to get in front of to promote your band would be huge for any band because it gives you a serious set of goals.

Conclusions:

So I hope you’re starting to see the promise of the Dream 100. The best part is it can be used for more than just self-promotion. For instance, you can build a Dream 100 of people in the industry you want to work with or a Dream 100 of bands you want to play with. Once you have these lists though you will start to understand where to target and generate leverage!

MATT BACON

Read Matt’s other Bacon Bloody Bacon blogs here:

Matt Bacon is a consultant, A&R man, and journalist specializing in the world of heavy metal. Having worked with everyone from Glam Rock icon Phil Collen of Def Leppard, to post Black Metal titans Alcest, legendary thrashers Exhorder, as well as labels including Prophecy Productions and Ripple Music, he has dedicated his life to helping young bands develop. Having started his own blog at the age of 14 he views his career in artist development as ‘a hobby that got out of hand’. In 2015 he formed Dropout Media in order to better support the artists he loves. We sit here now, years later with countless tours booked, records released and deals signed, and loving every minute of it.

For more information:

Dropout Media

Dropout Merch

Dumb and Dumbest Podcast

Matt Bacon on Instagram

Matt Bacon on Twitter