“On the first day of tour we pulled up to a small, run down house in North Carolina. The other bands were playing in the backyard, but we thought we'd stand out more if we played inside, so we squeezed our gear into a tiny empty room. Soon 30 kids were shoving themselves in and a bunch more were watching from the doorways. The crowd actually knew the words to our songs and they were singing along. People were getting pushed out of the room because it was so packed and there were kids jumping off of speakers. The room was constantly moving. It made me feel like maybe we could really make something of ourselves.”
Alex Basovskiy is the guitarist of the Staten Island, NY Metalcore band HEROES. Metalcore is a genre that combines extreme metal and hardcore punk. Vocally, “screams” are used to present lyrics. Instrumentally, it employs numerous “breakdowns,” which are slow, intense rhythmic breaks that audiences often mosh to.
According to Peter-Joseph Martingano, HEROES’ other guitarist, “Metalcore is a style of music based on emotion. It’s a way to express personal obstacles and pain in a positive way.”
Since 2010, the five musicians that make up HEROES have been producing music, playing shows, making music videos, and touring across the country in hopes of gaining national recognition. Like many musicians, they struggle to gain popularity and make it big in the cutthroat music industry, especially as a genre that is not mainstreamed.
“A successful band is a brand; you need to market yourself. These days the Internet plays a huge role in promotion. It makes it significantly easier to gain a buzz,” said Basovskiy.
Each member of the band works to promote daily on Social Media sites. They share news about what they are doing as well as advertise upcoming shows and music. HEROES has acquired over 5,000 likes on Facebook and over 2,000 followers on Instagram; however, they are careful not to overwhelm their fans.
“We don’t like to be overbearing,” said HEROES singer, Nick Vitale. “The last thing we want to do is to start annoying people.”
But HEROES walks a very fine line. Social media is essential to a band's success in the 21st century. A consistent presence on social media is crucial.
However, Basovskiy, who is also a business major at Baruch College, says that the ‘market’ is oversaturated and it's hard to get noticed. So how does a band stand out on the Internet?
To keep the public interested you should not replicate the same content across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other sites. Material should be uniquely created to best suit each stage and keep consumers engaged on every platform. Keeping in close personal contact with fans is also critical, an area in which HEROES excels.
“We regularly get messages from fans on Facebook,” said Martingano. “They tell us about their lives, and the difference our music has made for them. It’s a great feeling to talk about your art with people who respond to it.”
For HEROES, the most important thing is music. The band believes that sincere, passionate songs will push them forward and make them stand out. Creating music and putting on exciting shows is their priority.
The group has put out a full-length record, ‘The Compassion,’ which was released in 2012, an EP, ‘Where The Worry Won’t Find Me,’ which was released in 2014, and most recently a single, ‘Never Enough,’ which was dropped just a few months ago. Recording is their biggest expense. Rates for producers range anywhere from $100 per song to $100 per hour.
“Obviously the price dictates the quality that you get. For ‘Never Enough’ we decided to go to a big name producer,” said Basovskiy. “That single ended up costing about $2,000.”
Half of that money came out of band funds, but the other half came directly out of the pockets of the band members. Despite high costs, they make no profit from music sales.
“We have our music on Bandcamp where it can be downloaded for free,” said Basovskiy. “It's impossible to stop people from sharing digital files. We'd rather have many people hear it.”
HEROES also put out a music video several months ago, but to save on expenses, directed and produced it themselves. Basovskiy spent over 20 hours editing the video, work that otherwise would have cost the group around $1,500 to $2,000.
The band relies heavily on touring to increase their popularity.
“When touring, you see a lot of familiar faces, and those familiar faces bring their friends the next time you tour through the area,” said Basovskiy.
However, touring does not create much revenue either. It can actually be risky and costly. On their last tour, one of HEROES shows got cancelled and they didn't get the money they were guaranteed for their performance. On the last day they got a flat tire, which ended up costing them roughly $600.
Despite obstacles, HEROES ended up making a profit of $200, but things can go much worse on a tour. The band explained that they often aim to break even on their excursions. Tours are more about marketing then they are about revenue.
Merchandise sales are what make the band money. Their T-Shirts generally range from $4.50 to $6.50 to make, and are sold for $12. Recently the band even began producing hats, which have been selling successfully. However, hats have a much smaller profit margin. They generally cost anywhere from $13-18 and are sold for $20-25.
Many underground bands with genres such as Metalcore have small fan bases of loyal followership and don’t make much money, even when they “make it big.” Basovskiy explains that a lot of bands that get recognition and become popular still have to work day jobs when they are not on tour.
Basovskiy looks up to the success of the band Bring Me the Horizon who are now signed with RCA, a major label that works with hugely successful musicians of many genres.
However, even the most popular rock bands, such as Bring Me the Horizon, don’t acquire the same kinds of wealth and popularity as artists such as Taylor Swift, and Imagine Dragons.
So why not change genres? For HEROES, it’s not about the money and fame. They don’t want to become a record labels puppet and make music that is just like everyone else’s. It’s about creating music that speaks to them and their community of loyal listeners. They are more interested in expanding their genre, and they spend their own money to pursue this dream.
Each member of HEROES has a job. Some work in retail, while some work as security. Four of them even go to college full time. The cost of being in a busy band such as HEROES is high, not only in money, but in time. However, it is a passion each member has committed to.
“Money and fame are shallow aspirations,” said Martingano. “When you're an artist money doesn’t matter so much. It's about having people listen to your music and share an emotional connection.”
The group has had some major successes that fuel their determination. HEROES played at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey with largely successful band The Ghost Inside, who has over 65,000 followers on Instagram. They also performed alongside My Ticket Home (5k followers) and Counterparts (28.1k followers) at Loud Fest in NJ. These shows, as well as performances with Gideon and Kublai Khan, have been some of HEROES greatest accomplishments as each of those groups have large followings and are signed with labels.
HEROES tours as much as possible in-between college semesters to find people to add to their Metalcore community. They seek to become signed with a label that will help fund longer tours and bigger shows. For them, living the “Rock Star Dream” is just being able to travel and live modest lives with music as their career.
“I got into music because it made me feel free,” said Vitale. “I just want to be on stage, looking around at my four best friends, playing our music.”
