So I'm going over a lot of bands on this site and myspace music while who's personal webpage services are definitely a cancer, their band webpage services are really top notch if you can deal with the congestion.
And while I hear a lot of strong competition, I also see 90% of bands and groups doing the same music that's been around in some cases, for a couple hundred years.
Then they wonder, why aren't we getting anywhere.
Well when there's you and a hundred other bands that sound like a world famous band, who's willing to take the risk marketing you other than you?
So for these people and the few that genuinely have something new to offer, I urge you to do this.
1) Generate a resource of commercial free and college radio stations. Find out which DJ's play your genre and more importantly, who the program director is.
This will be your starting gate and number 1 chance at getting catapulted into the commercial market without spending half a decade building a following in local scenes.
2) Invest in a REALLY big sound system regardless of the fact that in most situations, you're just using the clubs system. If the day comes where you will be playing large auditoriums and major venues, you'll need a sound system and if you let the label handle this detail, you're going to get screwed.
3) While you're working on getting exposure, take some music production and sound engineering classes at a local college or vocational school. Bypass the obscene costs of cutting your album under the labels stronghold and getting yourself in their debt. You can achieve the same results in a basement, bedroom, shed, garage, etc. as are achieved in a fancy expensive studio-some of you already know this.
4) Be prepared to do a lot of talking, make a lot of follow up calls and sell yourself like a product rather than a prostitute. Even in the commercial free and college radio market, call these program directors up once a week, talk to the DJ's playing you etc. and genuinely try to make friends with them. Send free promotional goodies and be willing to stop into the studio to be live on air. These guys want to feel like hotshots and will relish in the ability to say they knew you long before the riches and fame.
5) Make a music video.
Doesn't matter how cheap or amateur, make a music video. Stop frame animation, cheap camera phone recorded, standing in front of a concrete wall located music video. Even if it looks crappy as long as it's entertaining or artsy and you have a good song, people will love it especially kids which is pretty much the demography that makes bands rich.
6) Be prepared to face and deal with complete and total failure.
No matter what we all have talent, skill and education wise, at some point you have to accept you may never make a living off your music. Insignificance doesn't feel good but it's a fact of life and one you just may have to live with.
7) Don't give up and while you learn to live with "No", don't accept it as the definitive answer. If you have product, someone will be interested in making money with you. Once this happens, take notes. Ask seemingly innocent questions and find out everything you can. Learn to cut middlemen out of the profits and do everything for yourself you're confident you can accomplish competently. Self promotion is a really important skill to learn and you want to be able to generate publicity without paying someone else. Your ultimate goal should be to promote yourself and the only expense paid to someone outside your loop is the medium of a service provider such as billboards, radio/television ads, shopping mall banners/posters etc.
And just the same, ultimately a huge local following and strong stage performance means nothing if you don't have that production line sound. It doesn't take a record label or business investor to look at a product and say "wow that will make a LOT of money". In other words, either you have the potential or you don't, doesn't matter if you're all the rage locally. That's like the most popular kid in school thinking after graduation he'll run off to Hollywood and be cast in a blockbuster film.
Promoting yourself really well will bring a crowd and not only recoup your investment but turn a nice profit but I think too many bands let this go to their head. They wait for the labels to come to them or someone in the industry to request a demo and assume they're going to be the next Linkin Park or whoever and it never happens. As I always say, how often do you see a band become huge out of your states largest cities-it's uncommon.
Just the same, self promotion is a really important skill to learn and you want to be able to generate publicity without paying someone else. Your ultimate goal should be to promote yourself and the only expense paid to someone else is the medium such as billboards, radio/television ads, shopping mall banners/posters etc.
The fact of the business is this.
For about the last 75 years, if you could get a song on the radio and it was a hit, you become successful and can go on a major tour. How much money you actually make however largely depends on how smart you are and those working above you having your interests in mind. The bands that get thrown into the commercial market by playing the local scene and relying on the business coming to them seem to be the ones that get the rawest deals and end up in huge legal battles 5 years after the fact.
And while I hear a lot of strong competition, I also see 90% of bands and groups doing the same music that's been around in some cases, for a couple hundred years.
Then they wonder, why aren't we getting anywhere.
Well when there's you and a hundred other bands that sound like a world famous band, who's willing to take the risk marketing you other than you?
So for these people and the few that genuinely have something new to offer, I urge you to do this.
1) Generate a resource of commercial free and college radio stations. Find out which DJ's play your genre and more importantly, who the program director is.
This will be your starting gate and number 1 chance at getting catapulted into the commercial market without spending half a decade building a following in local scenes.
2) Invest in a REALLY big sound system regardless of the fact that in most situations, you're just using the clubs system. If the day comes where you will be playing large auditoriums and major venues, you'll need a sound system and if you let the label handle this detail, you're going to get screwed.
3) While you're working on getting exposure, take some music production and sound engineering classes at a local college or vocational school. Bypass the obscene costs of cutting your album under the labels stronghold and getting yourself in their debt. You can achieve the same results in a basement, bedroom, shed, garage, etc. as are achieved in a fancy expensive studio-some of you already know this.
4) Be prepared to do a lot of talking, make a lot of follow up calls and sell yourself like a product rather than a prostitute. Even in the commercial free and college radio market, call these program directors up once a week, talk to the DJ's playing you etc. and genuinely try to make friends with them. Send free promotional goodies and be willing to stop into the studio to be live on air. These guys want to feel like hotshots and will relish in the ability to say they knew you long before the riches and fame.
5) Make a music video.
Doesn't matter how cheap or amateur, make a music video. Stop frame animation, cheap camera phone recorded, standing in front of a concrete wall located music video. Even if it looks crappy as long as it's entertaining or artsy and you have a good song, people will love it especially kids which is pretty much the demography that makes bands rich.
6) Be prepared to face and deal with complete and total failure.
No matter what we all have talent, skill and education wise, at some point you have to accept you may never make a living off your music. Insignificance doesn't feel good but it's a fact of life and one you just may have to live with.
7) Don't give up and while you learn to live with "No", don't accept it as the definitive answer. If you have product, someone will be interested in making money with you. Once this happens, take notes. Ask seemingly innocent questions and find out everything you can. Learn to cut middlemen out of the profits and do everything for yourself you're confident you can accomplish competently. Self promotion is a really important skill to learn and you want to be able to generate publicity without paying someone else. Your ultimate goal should be to promote yourself and the only expense paid to someone outside your loop is the medium of a service provider such as billboards, radio/television ads, shopping mall banners/posters etc.
And just the same, ultimately a huge local following and strong stage performance means nothing if you don't have that production line sound. It doesn't take a record label or business investor to look at a product and say "wow that will make a LOT of money". In other words, either you have the potential or you don't, doesn't matter if you're all the rage locally. That's like the most popular kid in school thinking after graduation he'll run off to Hollywood and be cast in a blockbuster film.
Promoting yourself really well will bring a crowd and not only recoup your investment but turn a nice profit but I think too many bands let this go to their head. They wait for the labels to come to them or someone in the industry to request a demo and assume they're going to be the next Linkin Park or whoever and it never happens. As I always say, how often do you see a band become huge out of your states largest cities-it's uncommon.
Just the same, self promotion is a really important skill to learn and you want to be able to generate publicity without paying someone else. Your ultimate goal should be to promote yourself and the only expense paid to someone else is the medium such as billboards, radio/television ads, shopping mall banners/posters etc.
The fact of the business is this.
For about the last 75 years, if you could get a song on the radio and it was a hit, you become successful and can go on a major tour. How much money you actually make however largely depends on how smart you are and those working above you having your interests in mind. The bands that get thrown into the commercial market by playing the local scene and relying on the business coming to them seem to be the ones that get the rawest deals and end up in huge legal battles 5 years after the fact.
