The Music Industry: On an almost daily basis I am confronted with the question: How do I get a record deal? or how do I become famous? or why is this person music at number 1 in the charts, when it is clearly rubbish or a ripoff of another artist. Well, the answer to this question is clearly a difficult one but one that needs to be explored.
Starting Out: Lets analyse the key concepts of what is needed to start a career in today’s music industry:
- Can you sing
- Do you play an instrument
- Can you record and produce music on your computer
- Have you written at least 10 songs that you can play live or record
- Are you a solo artist or part of a band
If the answer to these questions is yes then you are in a good place to start getting your music out there.
Self publishing is the way that most artists have to start. This is because until you have got enough buzz around your music the industry will not be interested in you. After mastering your art the next list you need to check off is the marketing fundamentals:
Marketing: Marketing is everything
- Have you got a band name (once you’ve decided on this don’t change it)
- Have you got a logo / branding
- Have you got a professional, high-quality recording of at least 4 of your songs e.g. an EP
- Have you got a website that is well designed, easy to use with your music on show
- Do you have a youtube page, then Make a music video and post it
- Do you have a facebook page with lots and lots of friends
- Do you have a twitter page with lots and lots of followers
- Do you have a blog that is being constantly updated with relevant information
- Are your songs being sold digitally (If not get them on http://www.tunecore.com/ and set the distribution to all)
- Have you got a flyer telling people where to buy your music and watch your video
- Link everything together through your main website and flyers
- Sort out all of your artwork and song copyrights
If the answer to all of the above is yes then you are ready to start giging. At this point you need to get a manager and remember a good manager is worth their weight in gold and a bad one will cost you a small fortune.
Getting started in the business takes a lot of time and a lot of hard work but their is money to be made at all levels, not just at the top. Good luck.