The Power of the Page: Inside Cover Band Central’s Massive Reach with Steve Witschel

You’re diving into the power of persistence and adaptability in this episode of Gig Gab with guest co-host Steve Witschel. From building and moderating a 132,000-member Cover Band Central group to navigating Facebook’s monetization chaos with the nearly-1,000,000-member Facebook page, Steve shares how he transformed challenges into content gold. You’ll learn how he separates community-driven interaction in the group from content curation on the page—and how both have become invaluable tools. If you’re not treating your Facebook group like an encyclopedia, you’re missing out. It’s not just about posts, it’s about presence. Steve walks you through using AI tools like Sora to streamline video creation and embraces the idea of turning everyday gig life into engaging fan-building content. Whether it’s filming someone lugging gear or crafting posts that stir emotions, your goal is to create superfans between shows. And yes, Rush is back on tour with Anika Nilles on drums—Steve’s take? She’s approaching it like a seasoned cover band pro. Dave’s take? You gotta listen to hear it straight from the source! Through it all, you’re reminded: embrace failure, evolve with tech, and above all… Always Be Performing. 00:00:00 Gig Gab 503 – Monday, October 13th, 2025 October 13th: International Day for Failure Guest co-host: Steve Witschel 00:03:59 Growing Cover Band Central Dave’s Business Brain podcast Handling the group differently than the page The group has the audience provide the comment. The page is Steve provide the content 00:05:49 Moderating the Cover Band Central group of 132,000 members Setting the group private and setting post approval 00:10:48 Searching the group is an encyclopedia of information 00:12:09 Publishing the Cover Band Central page Meta invited the page to a bonus program – Steve decided it was time to publish original content Drummer jokes! 00:14:26 Rehearsing Thriller…and Human Nature, especially 00:18:34 Locking in with other musicians Steve, the bass player: “I am the drums” Learning about being locked-in from watching Dio and Dokken in 1988 Monetizing the group or page? 00:23:53 SPONSOR: Mechanical Licensing Collective – Are you a songwriter, music publisher, or administrator? Every month, The MLC collects the streaming data and royalties from Spotify and Apple Music, matches the money to the creator who has earned it, and then pays out the royalties due. Visit TheMLC.com today to sign up! 00:25:58 Making money from the Facebook group The Facebook BreakthroughBonus program Getting dinged for Facebook’s community standards (with no information) Facebook’s Content Monetization Program 00:29:33 Time to Make Videos 00:30:25 Getting clients to advertise on Facebook Selling an ad, and then buying Facebook ads to serve that on his page 00:35:08 Using AI as a work Assistant Technology advances, and you have to roll with it! Embrace change, folks. AI is a reliable assistant (with questionable accuracy!) Using AI like Sora to Create Videos 00:40:05 Using AI to Generate Content Spotify’s popular AI generated band: The Velvet Sundown 00:42:31 Steve Witschel’s book, Get ‘Em to the Show: How to Beat the Facebook Algorithm and Successfully Promote Your Gigs Online Debunking some myths Overposting is good! Using Buffer to post on your page Jack Mccarthy says “It’s not a movie, it’s a parade. Not everyone sees every post.” Cater to people’s emotions Could be sad, mad, happy, funny, but it has to be SOMETHING. Celebrate your failures in public, for example. Create your own holiday! Create superfans by sharing content in between your gigs The Internet is easier than Postcards and Flyers! Film someone carrying gear into the gig Film some minutiae back stage 00:53:45 Rush is touring in 2026. What are your thoughts? Rush Fifty Something Tour Neil Peart passed in 2020 Anika Nilles is joining Rush for their 2026 tour Celebrating the music of Rush with the fans Steve’s take: Anika is coming in and playing the parts like she’s in a cover band Dave might go to most of the shows. For Dave’s midlife crisis: “I don’t want a Ferrari, I want a Red Barchetta.” Steve might go to Madison Square Garden 01:12:55 Gig Gab 503 Outtro Follow Steve Witschel Contact Gig Gab! @GigGabPodcast on Instagram [email protected] Sign Up for the Gig Gab Mailing List The post The Power of the Page: Inside Cover Band Central’s Massive Reach — Gig Gab 503 with Steve Witschel appeared first on Gig Gab.