Battle-of-the-bands.info/blog

The track to success for todays musicians and artists is quite different than it was even five years ago.

For any artist, songwriter, musician, and or performer. Even if you don’t have a strong desire to start and or manage your own Independent label, if you are even remotely serious about experiencing any level of sucess in the music industry, you absolutely MUST gain as much knowledge as you can get your hands on so that you understand the industry in which you have a desire to succeed.

You must find the drive to research, study, and try your best to understand topics such as standard music contracts, Indie labels, the majors, the publishers, who does what, when, and where. Don’t think your going to throw together a handful of demo songs, throw them in the mail to a some people on a list, or get spotted playing in some club one night, and become a huge star, it just doesn’t happen that way anymore.

Todays artists must be pro active in moving their careers forward. Your approach should be that you will manage, publish, and promote yourself until a better manager, publisher, and or promoter appears that maybe has more resources than you, at which time you decide wether to partner with to expand on what you are already accomplishing yourself.

This approach is what separates the winners in the game from the losers, or the successful V.S. the Non-Successful.

As an artist, you immediately begin learning as much as possible about every aspect of the music industry, and this is best accomplished by a systematic approach, and having dependable resources with which you can turn to for ongoing advice as you continue to develop yourself into a professional artist.

You can affectively grab the attention of industry leaders much quicker, and get far more respect if your approach is showing up with evidence that you have been working to promote,and develop yourself, and that you are not looking for someones small music publishing company, or indie label to toss a big cash investment into your career, but rather you are looking for an organization that potentially may have resources that you dont have, and that you believe in your talent enough to show that if they can should choose to join in your efforts and add additional resources to take your product up a few more levels, that you believe that the both of you could substantially profit from the partnership.

Lets look at some examples, say you have a demo of a few songs, and you have say ten or twelve written songs, but have not recorded them.

For example, say you have written and completed a demo of a few songs, and you have say nine or ten songs written but have not yet recorded them. What do you think would look better when you meet with a small but somewaht successful Indie music Label. Lets look at the first, not so favorable introduction.

You mail a rough demo CD with your information, or you just pop in at their office with a CD and your phone number scribbled on it. This approach really screams I’M REALLY LAZY, AND I WANT SOMEONE TO BRING ME FAME AND FORTUNE.

Now lets take a look at a more favorable approach, an approach that will most likely bring about success, or at least open a door for more discussions.

Say you set up a meeting with the head of a indie music label, and sit down with them let them listen to your demo CD with three songs, and show them the copy written lyrics of seven other songs that have been written, but not yet recorded. Then show them that you have a copyright on the recorded material, as well as a copyright on the lyrics of the other songs.

You then proceed to tell them that you are currently promoting the three songs that are recorded on various promotional web sites, and that the three completed songs are available for purchase as singles on Amazon.con, Rhapsody, Emusic, and Napster, and that last month there were a total gross sales of $32.00 You then continue to explain your current promotional strategy, and that you are looking for a independent label, or team that believes in your music, and can take where your currently at, add some additional resources, and boost the product up a few more levels.

You then proceed to explain to them that you plan to continue self promotion, and working to get sales up on a daily basis, and that you truly believe that with your work ethics, passion, and drive, and their additional resources that as a team all of you can turn this into a profitable venture.

Even if the small independent label that you are meeting with was not able sign you at that time, they most likely would be so impressed with your level of professionalism, that they would be more than willing to refer you to everyone they know in the industry to help you out.

Even if that Indie label was not able sign you in at that time, most likely they would be so taken with your level of professionalism, it’s highly likely they would be more than willing to refer you to other people they know in the industry which could really help you. Again, you MUST take a truly pro active approach towards developing yourself as a pro level musician and or artist.

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