Your first two weeks in Road to Headliner, step by step. From band creation to your first charting song.
Starting a new band in Road to Headliner can feel overwhelming. There are musicians to recruit, songs to write, shows to book, and staff to hire. This guide walks you through your first two weeks step by step.
Day 1: Create Your Band
When you first log in, you'll create your band. Here's what to consider:
- •Band Name - Pick something memorable. This will be your identity all season
- •Genre - Choose based on what sounds fun. Each genre has its own demand curve that shifts weekly
- •Home City - This is where your first shows will be. Pick a city you find interesting - there's no "best" city
Days 1-3: Build Your Foundation
Your band starts with one musician. Your first priority is recruitment.
- 1.Use the Recruit action to browse available musicians in your region
- 2.Look for musicians with high skill stats in your genre
- 3.Negotiate contracts - don't overpay for your first hires, you need cash to fund everything else
- 4.Aim for 3-4 musicians total to start
Once you have your lineup, start rehearsing immediately. Rehearsals do three things:
- Improve individual musician skills
- Generate song ideas
- Build band cohesion (crucial for show quality)
Days 4-7: Your First Recordings
After 3-4 rehearsals, you should have some raw ideas. Here's the production pipeline:
- 1.Develop Idea - Takes a raw concept and refines it (costs 2 MT)
- 2.Record Demo - Creates a rough recording (costs 4 MT)
- 3.Polish Demo - Optional step that improves quality (costs 3 MT)
- 4.Studio Session - Professional recording that creates a finished song (costs 5 MT)
For your first songs, focus on getting through the pipeline quickly. Don't wait for perfect ideas - you need content to play at shows. Polish is optional early on but becomes important later.
Days 7-10: First Shows
With at least one finished song, you're ready to book your first show. Start with:
- •Small venues in your home city (lower costs, appropriate for a new band)
- •Book 2-3 shows in quick succession to build momentum
- •Watch your fan count grow with each performance
Each show earns you:
- New fans (based on show quality, song quality, and venue size)
- Revenue from ticket sales
- Buzz (visibility that helps everything else)
- Reputation (long-term credibility)
Days 10-14: Expand and Optimize
By now you should have a rhythm. Time to optimize:
- •Record more songs - The more songs in your catalog, the more streaming revenue you earn passively
- •Try new cities - The first-visit bonus (+50% fans, +8 buzz) makes traveling worthwhile
- •Consider staff - If you're profitable, a Sound Engineer (+6% show performance) is a strong first hire
- •Watch your finances - Keep at least $3,000 in reserve. Going bankrupt hurts morale badly
Common Beginner Mistakes
- •Spending all cash immediately - Leave a financial buffer
- •Ignoring rehearsals - Cohesion matters more than most new players realize
- •Playing the same city too many times - Novelty decay reduces your fan conversion after 6 shows
- •Hiring too many staff early - Salaries add up quickly
- •Neglecting the action queue - Always have actions queued so you're never wasting MT
Your Two-Week Checklist
By the end of your first two weeks, aim to have:
- 3-4 musicians under contract
- 5+ songs recorded
- 10+ shows played across at least 3 cities
- 2,000+ fans
- One staff member hired
- At least one song charting
Don't worry if you're not hitting every target. The game is designed to be forgiving - you can always adjust your strategy as you learn. The most important thing is to stay active and keep spending that MT efficiently.
Welcome to the music industry, manager. The stage is yours.
