What to Do When Your Band Hits a Plateau
When it feels like nothing is happening, changing your approach can matter more than simply working harder
9/12/20262 min read
Most unsigned bands eventually reach a point where progress seems to stop.
You are still rehearsing. You are still playing gigs. You're releasing music and posting regularly. But the audiences aren't getting noticeably bigger, streams have levelled out and the same people seem to be engaging with everything you do.
It can be incredibly frustrating, particularly when you feel like you're putting in more effort than ever.
The first thing to recognise is that plateaus are normal. Growth in music is rarely a smooth upward line. You can spend months seemingly getting nowhere before one new connection, release or opportunity suddenly moves things forward again.
However, there's an important difference between being patient and simply repeating something that isn't working.
If you've played the same three venues for two years, perhaps another gig at those venues isn't what you need. Try another town. Approach different promoters. Support bands from another scene. Put yourself in front of people who haven't already seen you ten times.
The same applies to your releases. If every single follows exactly the same pattern - announcement, artwork, teaser, release day post, silence - don't expect dramatically different results next time.
Change something.
Perhaps arrange a launch show around the next release. Send the track to independent radio. Approach smaller music blogs. Collaborate with another band. Create something interesting around the release rather than simply announcing that another song exists.
Sometimes the problem isn't what you're doing, but where you're putting your effort.
Look back over the previous six months and ask what actually produced results. Which gig brought new people into your audience? Which social post generated genuine conversations? Where did your merch sales come from? Which press coverage actually sent people towards your music?
Then ask the more uncomfortable question - what are you spending loads of time doing that produces almost nothing?
That's often where the answer lies.
It's also worth talking honestly as a band. Has everything become a little too comfortable? Are rehearsals basically the same every week? Are you playing the same set to the same audiences? Have you stopped approaching bigger opportunities because rejection is unpleasant?
A plateau can sometimes be a sign that you've simply reached the limit of your current approach.
That isn't failure.
It means it's time for the next version of the band.
Set yourselves a challenge for the next three months. Play somewhere you've never played. Approach a band you'd genuinely love to support. Try to double your average gig attendance. Contact twenty new promoters. Do something that forces you outside the routine you've created.
Don't respond to a plateau by blindly doing more.
Step back, work out what's actually moving your unsigned band forward and put more effort there.
Because sometimes getting unstuck doesn't require working twice as hard.
It requires doing something different.