What Happens After a Band Gets Signed (Then Dropped) from TikTok

The New Music Business with Ari Herstand

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The Rare Occasions are an LA-based, New England-bred indie rock band known for their explosive garage rock anthems with catchy vocal harmonies. Brian McLaughlin (singer) and Luke Imbusch (drummer) have been making music together since their early teenage years. They formed The Rare Occasions while attending college in Boston where they met Jeremy Cohen (bassist). Since then, the band have toured nationally, won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, and released a vast catalog of music online. In 2021 the band released their first album as a trio, Big Whoop, which received significant press and radio play.

Around the same time, their 2016 track “Notion” went viral on TikTok and continues to make waves, topping Spotify’s viral chart in the US and several other countries, and later landing on Billboard’s alternative charts and top 100 singles charts in the UK, Ireland, and Canada. The Rare Occasions released their new EP, Attaboy, on November 4th, 2022. The first single off the EP “Seasick” has already garnered the attention of radio DJs across the country including SiriusXM’s Alt Nation with the second single “Not Afraid” being an explosive follow up. After sharing Attaboy’s hard-hitting riffs, danceable grooves, and ear-catching melodies with audiences across the nation on their Fall 2022 headline tour, the band has shifted its efforts towards new music in 2023.

04:18 Welcome

10:15 Leaving Boston, moving to California

13:08 Continuing the band, touring as a trio

17:47 Reaching new audience through gaming and anime communities

21:36 Going viral on TikTok

25:37 Gaining attention from major record labels

34:16 Breaking down the major label deal offers, signing with Elektra Records

48:23 Advances from the major label offers

52:59 Creating the music video for “Notion”

54:34 Headlining nationwide tour

59:14 Recording “Attaboy” EP, marketing their unique story

1:08:08 What’s next for the band

1:12:32 Final question

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Connect with The Rare Occasions:

Website: https://therareoccasions.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/therareoccasions

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@therareoccasions

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rareoccasions

Edited and mixed by Maxton Hunter

Music by Brassroots District

Produced by the team at Ari’s Take

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