I quit my job and gave myself a year to get my band signed. This is how it's going

I quit my job and gave myself 365 days to get my band signed. This might sound crazy if you don’t know me, but if you’ve already been following my socials, you might understand why giving myself this challenge is so important.

Music has been a constant in my life since I was six years old and wrote my first song. By the time I was a teenager, I was performing in bars and taking meetings with as many people in the music industry as I could. By 17, I’d started releasing my own music and I haven’t stopped since. I’ve never allowed myself to have a Plan B. The same dream I had when I was six years old is still what drives me now: to play my music for as many people as I can get to listen.

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Unfortunately, nobody tells that six-year-old that being an independent artist with no connections is really hard. I come from St Ives in Cornwall where there are limited opportunities for music. So everything I have learnt has been done through trial and error.

In 2020, my single I Wish (It Didn’t End Like This) reached No. 1 in the iTunes charts and picked up national press. I woke up one morning to calls and emails from major labels and managers. We booked a showcase in London so I could finally play my music for people in the industry. Then, the day before the show, we went into lockdown. The whole world stopped and so did all that momentum. To say I was devastated would be an understatement.

Since then, I have fought even harder to get my music out there. Without any representation I put my band together, Bailey Tomkinson & The Locals, and since then, we have managed to achieve some amazing things. We’ve toured with bands like Simple Minds and Keane, and shared lineups with some of my biggest inspirations, like Sheryl Crow and The Red Clay Strays.

We’ve played bucketlist gigs like the Boardmasters Festival and had a slot at the Lafayette in London. I even woke up one morning to find that Cameron Crowe followed me on Instagram. But we’ve done it all with no team and no industry backing.

Being independent means you do everything yourself. Or in my case, with the support of my amazing band, family and friends. I’m the singer and the songwriter, but I’m also the social media manager, the accountant and I even design all our merch. Our drummer’s girlfriend is our unofficial tour photographer, our saxophone player sets up our live sound. And my husband, Jordan, manages all the bookings and helps with the musical arrangements.

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For independent artists, most of that work doesn’t pay. To earn anything close to minimum wage, you need around five million streams a year – and without a label or any promotion, getting those numbers is incredibly difficult. Visibility is what keeps you afloat, and to get that you need connections, backing, or a seriously viral moment.

By the end of last year, I’d realised that I didn’t want to keep doing things the same way I had been and hoping for a change. I’ve seen the shift in the industry as more things have moved online, and knew I had to move with it. People don’t just listen to music they like any more; they follow the journey that comes along with it.

Building something with people and documenting everything has become more important than ever.

That’s where the idea to create a series came from. I decided to publicly document my entire year of properly going for it. Putting it out there for everyone to see is kind of terrifying. Because once something so vulnerable is said out loud, it can’t be taken back.

So far, I’ve created over 30 videos documenting everything from blogging my day-to-day life to gigs, band diaries and snippets of new songs I’ve written. 

Since I started the series I’ve been invited on three radio shows, written a song for a major label artist and taken some exciting meetings. But not every day is rock ’n’ roll. Sometimes it’s sending out my electronic press kit or taking my guitar in for repairs.

Social media often leans towards being a highlight reel rather than an honest reflection of the unglamorous reality of someone trying to build a career with no safety net. Choosing not to sugarcoat the process has become an important part of the series. I’ve been open about the real numbers and what hasn’t yet landed the way I hoped. Sharing the disappointing moments is just as important as celebrating the wins.

People want to see real things, especially in a time with everything looks perfect or is artificially created. I want this series to give people something genuine to believe in.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to focus even more on outreach. I’m actively trying to push the project into new spaces, reaching out to promoters and industry contacts with the aim of getting the music in front of as many new audiences as possible. I also want another busy year of touring. If we could get on a support tour, that would be amazing.

We’re only one month in, but I can already feel that something has shifted. So far, we’re approaching close to half a million views collectively for my Trying To Get My Band Signed series on Instagram and TikTok. My gig enquiries have more than doubled. And I had a segment on BBC Introducing in January.

It hasn’t solved everything. We don’t yet have a manager or a booking agent, which are crucial next steps for us. And, of course, the dream of getting the band signed is still just a dream at the moment. But it has created momentum – and that is so positive for us.

I don’t yet know where we will end up when the year is over. There is no guarantee that I’ll get signed. But I do know that quietly working wasn’t making things happen for us.

So I am going to try everything I can to achieve our goals this year. Why not follow me and cheer us on? Who knows, maybe next time you hear from me it will be an announcement that we’ve been signed by a record label.

Find out more information about Bailey Tomkinson & The Locals on their website

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