What Bad Wolves’ Success Can Teach All Musicians [INTERVIEW]

Here James Shotwell chats with Bad Wolves, a rock and roll group who have been able to cultivate success in a genre some had deemed dead. In this interview, they detail how they found success with their recent cover of 'Zombie' and how the group's collective experience in the music business has affected their career.

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Guest post by James Shotwell of Haulix 

Bad Wolves found commercial success with their cover of “Zombie,” but it's how the band approaches the business of music that has made all the difference in their career.

At a time when people have been proclaiming the genre as dead, Bad Wolves is proving rock and roll has a lot more to offer the world. Reaching this point did not happen overnight, but Bad Wolves’ promotional decisions, coupled with honest songwriting and a commitment to fan engagement, has made the group one of the most widely recognized in all of music.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The foundation of the band’s success lies in their experience. Every member of the group has a history within the music business, and those journeys inform the decisions the band makes today. As a band, Bad Wolves benefits from every wrong choice made by any member’s previous group or project. They know what does and does not work, and they are constantly checking with one another to ensure the path they are on suits them best.

Still, the actions taken by Bad Wolves to reach the masses can be applied to practically any artist or group in music. The band has not reinvented songwriting or promotion. Bad Wolves has simply focused their efforts on the actions they believe matter most to their audience, and because of that, the group is now positioned for longterm success in the music business.

In this episode of Music Biz, host James Shotwell breaks down five lessons artists can learn from the success of Bad Wolves. These tips will help any artists lead a more prosperous and more fulfilling career in music.

Be sure to pick up Bad Wolves’ new record, N.A.T.I.O.N., when it hit stores on October 25. Check out the band’s latest single below:

James Shotwell is the Director of Customer Engagement at Haulix and host of the company's podcast, Inside Music. He is also a public speaker known for promoting careers in the entertainment industry, as well as an entertainment journalist with over a decade of experience. His bylines include Rolling Stone, Alternative Press, Substream Magazine, Nu Sound, and Under The Gun Review, among other popular outlets.