Everyone wants to get signed. There's this idea floating around that says, "If you get signed, you'll be rich and famous." WRONG. If you get signed, you sign rights to your music away. Now, if you're reading this, chances are you're either someone who REALLY wants to start a label as a business, or you're not popular enough as a performer to get signed. Either way, starting a label is a fantastic way to generate income off your music, and off the music of other artists while simultaneously getting those artists paid. Believe me, even if you're ONLY doing this to make YOUR band famous, sign other artists - it is for your own benefit. Read on for details.
Let's go through the steps. BEFORE you complete these steps, you'll have to save up a couple hundred bucks. This shouldn't be too hard. Sell your TV or Xbox 360, or get a small, part time job and you'll have the cash in no time.
Firstly, you'll want to come up with a name for your label. Despite what other people may say, it doesn't have to be catchy. It can be your last name for all anyone else cares. Your label isn't about your name, it's about what you can do for the artist and for the audience. The only thing you DO have to worry about is if anyone else has that name. Do some research, or do a WHOIS domain name look up for that name. Just make sure it's not inappropriate or anything - you don't want to turn distributors and production companies away!
Once you have a name, get yourself a business license, a business bank account, and a fictitious name statement. Doing all these things will legally allow you to do business and collect money under your business name. Taking only personal checks can seem tacky, and it's illegal to conduct business within your town without a business license. Get caught and you could receive a nasty fine.
Get a website ready to showcase any upcoming artists you sign. You'll want to sell their music from it, promote their gigs, and license music from the site.
Now, figure out what you'll offer as a label. Will you offer distribution, publishing and licensing? Are you going to book and promote shows for your artists? If you said yes to all of these - GOOD! You'll probably take off locally in no time. But, you need to know how to do these things. That's where I come in and save the day by explaining simple solutions on how to be your bands' distributor, publisher, license manager, and booker:
1. Distribution: Unless you have enough bands with enough CD's made, you probably can't do too much on your own. Consider joining CDBaby or Tunecore to get your music on Amazon, iTunes, and opt in for physical distribution as well. You won't get your band's music in Walmart any time soon - but having the option to have local record stores order your music is always a plus. If you or one of your artists gets big in any given town, you can probably sell their music there. Once your music catalog is big enough (20 Albums at LEAST) you can start doing your own distribution. One thing you can try is apply to become an iTunes contributor. If you have a Mac and have enough albums in your label's catalog, you have a good shot in working directly with iTunes - no more extra fees being taken out by CDBaby or Tunecore!
2. Publishing and Licensing: Get yourself familiar with the music biz and music law. Join a PRO like ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC as well as SoundExchange. As publisher, you'll collect royalties for music to keep, and will be responsible for distributing royalties to your artists. Being a publisher is a great thing, because your artists will sign an exclusive agreement with you allowing you to license their music out in different ways. A way to generate money as a publisher is to license music to production companies and music supervisors. Be professional and make your music easy to license, and your artist could have a song in a hit movie or TV show. If that happens, you AND your artists get royalties as well as major publicity.
3. Booking and promoting: Booking gigs is a time consuming process that requires the utmost patience. When you first start out, chances are your bands won't make a dime off their gigs, and you may even need to pay to play sometimes. Make your shows pay by selling CDs to fans. Since you're the label exec, you'll probably have plenty of time to stand next to the merch booth and sell everything. If you made yourself a good contractual agreement with your bands (which I'll go over later) you can take a SMALL percentage for yourself and give the rest to your bands. This will help cover the cost of travel, food, etc. Don't expect it to cover everything, though, always have an emergency budget for each gig.
Promoting can be just as time consuming, but it's a bit easier when you think about it. Use Facebook, Myspace, and other social networks to let fans know about the shows. Create and print flyers and posters and put them in as many shop as possible, and into the hands of local pedestrians. Contact local radio stations, let them know of the gig and request an interview. You may get a big "No" if all your bands are nobodies, but it NEVER hurts to ask. You need ALL the promotion you can get!
When you book shows or promote your gig, always be professional. Be polite over the phone, through e-mail, and if you book your gig, be polite at the venue. Make sure your bands are polite, too. If your bands are rude, or if they trash the place, you're never going to do business with that venue again.
One thing I didn't mention - as far as the services you'll offer as a label - is paying for CD's and recording. If you're just starting out, or if you don't have a ton of cash to spend, you're going to be FORCED to leave this to your bands. Overtime, however, if you become more successful, pay for CD Duplication/replication. Many bands may record their music at home, but won't have the funds to get their discs printed - so, if you've got the cash, take on the printing!
NOW, once you've decided all the services you're going to offer, you need to create a contract for all your bands to sign. This way they are LEGALLY obligated to whatever terms is written on that piece of paper. When you create your contract, here are some things you should take into account:
1. What rights will your artists sign over exclusively, and what rights will your artists sign non-exclusively?
A label will most likely sign publishing, licensing, and distribution rights exclusively - this means YOU are the only one allowed to license, publish, and distribute their music, unless under certain terms otherwise noted in your contract. For instance, you may exclusively own the rights to distribution, but you'll want to make an exception for when a band performs somewhere on their own and want to sell their music at the venue. If you don't make that exception, they can't sell their merch! Unfair! Many major labels have exclusive live performance/booking rights as well - meaning the artist can't even book their own shows. So instead, sign a NON-exclusive agreement allowing you AND the artist to book their shows. The shows YOU book, you can go to and take percentages off merch and any other revenue generated at the gig, while the artist can book their own gigs as well.
2. How are YOU going to get paid, and how will your artists get paid?
NEVER EVER EVER charge your artists to be signed. If you conduct business properly, you can agree to take 10-45 percent from different sources of income. For instance, take agree to take 15 percent from all distribution sales and live venue sales, take 10-15 percent from ticket sales/live show revenue, and take about half the overall generate royalties you get for radio play and air time (typically, there is a publisher's share and a writer's share and a license fee. You split the license fee with your artist and keep the publisher's share, give the other half of the license fee and the writer's share of the royalties to your artists.) Be sure whatever revenue is generated by your artists is divided between you and the artist in a reasonable way. Look at it his way - if an artist generates money from their music being sold or from playing a gig, they deserve the majority because they put in the hard work to make the record and perform at the gig. If a song generates money from licensing it to a production company for a tv show, it never would have happened without you - so take a slightly larger portion. However, NEVER EVER EVER EVER collect MORE than the artist. You're riding solo, you're not a major label with several different publishers, publicists, etc. Keep it fair.
3. How long will the contract last?
Your agreement MUST come to an end at some point. You can't own your artists FOREVER. If you're just starting out, make it 6months to a year MAXIMUM. This means that they're stuck with you exclusively for that period of time. So, if you're just starting out and you have an incredibly limited budget, make the agreement's lifespan short. If it's too long and you end up sucking as a label, it's your own reputation on the line.
4. How will you promote yourself?
Use this agreement to grant yourself promotional spots on CD cases and at gigs. Post a small label on the back of a CD case, or put up a banner at a gig. Let people know this band belongs to you and you're services are helping them. This will attract other bands to you, and will attract the fans to come to your show - regardless of who's playing. This means NEW fans for ALL your bands and artists!
Now that you've got your terms ready - and hopefully you've made them reasonable enough and have written them out clearly and thoroughly - it's time to sign some bands and artists! Go to local gigs or browse the web for unsigned artists near you. Work locally first, then branch out. There's no way you can benefit a band in New York if your brand new label is based in Montana, it just won't work. Get local bands and artists involved with your label, explain to them the benefits of being signed with YOU.
Starting and running a label successfully is a FULL TIME JOB. Don't think you can sit on your butt and collect money while your bands do all the dirty work. You've got some heavy responsibilities on your shoulders, so don't take it lightly! Get to work. If you work hard, be fair, and be professional about EVERYTHING, it'll all pay off.
Showing posts with label Record Labels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Record Labels. Show all posts
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
My Story - From Amateure to Professional Musician
Before I get to detailed in much more, I feel it's important I share a little bit about myself. Who am I? What is my musical background? I'll tell you.
My name is David Crandall. I am 22 years old as of June 16, 2011. My dad is a southern gospel singer for "The Crandall Brothers" and has his own solo project "Dave Crandall Ministries." Yes, I am named after my father - he loves himself that much. *JUST KIDDING DAD!*
His music isn't what tops charts today, but in the Christian Music Scene in the 70's and 80's, he had some music on the charts. He performed on TV and all around the globe. In the 90's, I got a taste of what he did. I was in and out of studios, traveling the world, watching skillful musicians...my life was music from a very young age.
My travels were wide. I saw the rich and poor in countries and continents like southern Africa, Hong Kong, Greece, and London to name a few. I experienced the joys and pain of the various cultures as a kid. It's interesting: as young as I was, I remember many things as if it happened recently. It stuck with me.
In the states, I was somewhere different every weekend. I may be in a church, an out door festival, a tv studio, or a recording studio. When in the studio, I had opportunities to sit and watch amazing session musicians record. Needless to say, they blue my mind. At age 10, my dad, the brothers, and myself flew down to Oklahoma City to work on a new album. Just before turning 10, I began teaching myself the drums. I had a natural sense of rhythm. My family was impressed enough by my abilities so early on to brag to the drummer, Steve Short (known for drumming for Reba Mcentire.) He, like many other kind-hearted, professional musicians are very supportive of young, aspiring artists. He invited me into the drum room and showed me how everything works. It was a great experience for me.
Soon after, I picked up a guitar and taught myself to play. Later came the bass, and I tinkered with the piano. Music had overtaken my life. I spent many many hours in my room practicing each instrument, getting better and better. All the while, I volunteered in churches to help out with their music in any way possible. Church isn't always the BEST resource for learning to play professionally, but I learned to listen and to make the best of what's available.
Playing at church and being involved in the church community began to really payoff and grow me when I joined a local church band filled with seasoned, skilled musicians. The pastor was the bass player, and could he play! He taught us young musicians the ins-and-outs of music performance, from timing, to dynamics, and even genre. Every practice, he challenged us to imrpov/jam a different genre. It was great fun, and was very beneficial.
I was involved with more than one church. I was honing my skills as vocalist while leading worship for youth groups from many different churches. It got to the point where I was at a different church 6 days a week - and to top it off, I wasn't getting paid. All was not in vein, I grew as a person as a musician. As I matured, I decided to part my was with much of my commitments with a lot of these churches. I personally didn't like the politics of religion, and it wore me down.
A lot of good songs came from my experiences. Enough to write and record an EP. Now, when I recorded this, I had one mic, a borrowed mixer that ran into the 1/8" line-in on my computer. I recorded all the audio in audacity and attempted to mix it in FL Studio. It came out pretty good given my lack of experience as a producer and lack of quality gear.
I called the EP "Freedom - EP." (You may now purchase it on iTunes, Amazon, and wherever online music is sold.)
I'm 19 now. I have an EP, I'm on iTunes thanks to CDBaby, but...I live in a small town, I can't seem to get a job as hard as I would try, so I can't tour or leave town to perform, let alone afford a driver's license and get a car. I was at a loss. My inspiration was dying. I began to doubt my abilities as a musician. I wanted more than anything to have a career as a musician, but I had no idea how.
I was a part of a community for geeks called Lockergnome owned by former TechTV host, Chris Pirillo. I spoke with him one day when he was taking live calls on his website's live stream. We began to talk about music, and I referred him to my myspace page to listen to my music at a later time. He went while I was on the phone, and was impressed. I should mention there were over 1,000 people watching, and within 24 hours, I got over 1,000 new fans. My inbox was flooded. (I owe a HUGE portion of my success to Chris. THANK YOU!)
I later joined a social network called ReverbNation - a place where labels, venue, musicians, and music fans can network with each other and share music and book gigs. They had a lot to offer, and for some reason...be it my constant status updates or a miracle...they noticed me. They offered me the chance to have a song sponsored by Microsoft for Playlist 7. I sent them a song, and they gave me $500 for it. WOAH! Who knew licensing out a song could pay so well?! On top of that, it got me on the front of the Windows Media Guide.
This happened again, but it didn't pay as much. My songs got a lot of downloads, and I got some cash. ReverbNation came to me once again with a new opportunity. Based on my success with the sponsored songs programs I was featured on, they wanted to invite me to a new program they called "Premium Song Licensing." ReverbNation teamed up with APM Music, an amazing music licensing company/library, to get independent artists in APM's music library so that their music may be licensed for film, television, and video games. I was iffy about it at first, but I read through the entire service/program agreement. I had to sign over my rights to license my music, but that was it. There was no fee, I still owned my music, and I would get paid whenever a song is licensed. So I signed the agreement.
Once I did that, I had to get a few things taken care of. I had to join a PRO. I chose BMI, and I joined as a writer and as a publisher.
After that, I had to audition my music to APM...they accepted EVERY track I sent. Now, every few months, I get a report and a payment telling me how often my music has been on TV, in films, and in various productions. This was the beginning of my career.
Today, my music has played on NBC Universal, the Travel Channel, Scifi, MSNBC, and other networks on primetime shows, not to mention on various ads, online promos, and some internal uses. In a few days, you'll hear my song "Freedom" from my old EP on "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations." I have to say, I'm lucky.
I have a new album coming - my first full length album. You can buy it at www.davidcrandall.com
Here I am, sitting in a desk chair, recording music one day, and hearing it on tv another.
Now...as long as this post is, it's only the short version. There have been a lot of experiences I've gone through to get to where I am. The point of this is to let you know, it doesn't matter where you live, who you are, or what you do - you can be successful in music. It just takes devotion, hard work, patience, and perseverance.
This blog is to show you just that; YOU can reach success, YOU can make it in the music industry, and I will show YOU everything I know about the industry to make that happen.
My name is David Crandall. I am 22 years old as of June 16, 2011. My dad is a southern gospel singer for "The Crandall Brothers" and has his own solo project "Dave Crandall Ministries." Yes, I am named after my father - he loves himself that much. *JUST KIDDING DAD!*
His music isn't what tops charts today, but in the Christian Music Scene in the 70's and 80's, he had some music on the charts. He performed on TV and all around the globe. In the 90's, I got a taste of what he did. I was in and out of studios, traveling the world, watching skillful musicians...my life was music from a very young age.
My travels were wide. I saw the rich and poor in countries and continents like southern Africa, Hong Kong, Greece, and London to name a few. I experienced the joys and pain of the various cultures as a kid. It's interesting: as young as I was, I remember many things as if it happened recently. It stuck with me.
In the states, I was somewhere different every weekend. I may be in a church, an out door festival, a tv studio, or a recording studio. When in the studio, I had opportunities to sit and watch amazing session musicians record. Needless to say, they blue my mind. At age 10, my dad, the brothers, and myself flew down to Oklahoma City to work on a new album. Just before turning 10, I began teaching myself the drums. I had a natural sense of rhythm. My family was impressed enough by my abilities so early on to brag to the drummer, Steve Short (known for drumming for Reba Mcentire.) He, like many other kind-hearted, professional musicians are very supportive of young, aspiring artists. He invited me into the drum room and showed me how everything works. It was a great experience for me.
Soon after, I picked up a guitar and taught myself to play. Later came the bass, and I tinkered with the piano. Music had overtaken my life. I spent many many hours in my room practicing each instrument, getting better and better. All the while, I volunteered in churches to help out with their music in any way possible. Church isn't always the BEST resource for learning to play professionally, but I learned to listen and to make the best of what's available.
Playing at church and being involved in the church community began to really payoff and grow me when I joined a local church band filled with seasoned, skilled musicians. The pastor was the bass player, and could he play! He taught us young musicians the ins-and-outs of music performance, from timing, to dynamics, and even genre. Every practice, he challenged us to imrpov/jam a different genre. It was great fun, and was very beneficial.
I was involved with more than one church. I was honing my skills as vocalist while leading worship for youth groups from many different churches. It got to the point where I was at a different church 6 days a week - and to top it off, I wasn't getting paid. All was not in vein, I grew as a person as a musician. As I matured, I decided to part my was with much of my commitments with a lot of these churches. I personally didn't like the politics of religion, and it wore me down.
A lot of good songs came from my experiences. Enough to write and record an EP. Now, when I recorded this, I had one mic, a borrowed mixer that ran into the 1/8" line-in on my computer. I recorded all the audio in audacity and attempted to mix it in FL Studio. It came out pretty good given my lack of experience as a producer and lack of quality gear.
I called the EP "Freedom - EP." (You may now purchase it on iTunes, Amazon, and wherever online music is sold.)
I'm 19 now. I have an EP, I'm on iTunes thanks to CDBaby, but...I live in a small town, I can't seem to get a job as hard as I would try, so I can't tour or leave town to perform, let alone afford a driver's license and get a car. I was at a loss. My inspiration was dying. I began to doubt my abilities as a musician. I wanted more than anything to have a career as a musician, but I had no idea how.
I was a part of a community for geeks called Lockergnome owned by former TechTV host, Chris Pirillo. I spoke with him one day when he was taking live calls on his website's live stream. We began to talk about music, and I referred him to my myspace page to listen to my music at a later time. He went while I was on the phone, and was impressed. I should mention there were over 1,000 people watching, and within 24 hours, I got over 1,000 new fans. My inbox was flooded. (I owe a HUGE portion of my success to Chris. THANK YOU!)
I later joined a social network called ReverbNation - a place where labels, venue, musicians, and music fans can network with each other and share music and book gigs. They had a lot to offer, and for some reason...be it my constant status updates or a miracle...they noticed me. They offered me the chance to have a song sponsored by Microsoft for Playlist 7. I sent them a song, and they gave me $500 for it. WOAH! Who knew licensing out a song could pay so well?! On top of that, it got me on the front of the Windows Media Guide.
This happened again, but it didn't pay as much. My songs got a lot of downloads, and I got some cash. ReverbNation came to me once again with a new opportunity. Based on my success with the sponsored songs programs I was featured on, they wanted to invite me to a new program they called "Premium Song Licensing." ReverbNation teamed up with APM Music, an amazing music licensing company/library, to get independent artists in APM's music library so that their music may be licensed for film, television, and video games. I was iffy about it at first, but I read through the entire service/program agreement. I had to sign over my rights to license my music, but that was it. There was no fee, I still owned my music, and I would get paid whenever a song is licensed. So I signed the agreement.
Once I did that, I had to get a few things taken care of. I had to join a PRO. I chose BMI, and I joined as a writer and as a publisher.
After that, I had to audition my music to APM...they accepted EVERY track I sent. Now, every few months, I get a report and a payment telling me how often my music has been on TV, in films, and in various productions. This was the beginning of my career.
Today, my music has played on NBC Universal, the Travel Channel, Scifi, MSNBC, and other networks on primetime shows, not to mention on various ads, online promos, and some internal uses. In a few days, you'll hear my song "Freedom" from my old EP on "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations." I have to say, I'm lucky.
I have a new album coming - my first full length album. You can buy it at www.davidcrandall.com
Here I am, sitting in a desk chair, recording music one day, and hearing it on tv another.
Now...as long as this post is, it's only the short version. There have been a lot of experiences I've gone through to get to where I am. The point of this is to let you know, it doesn't matter where you live, who you are, or what you do - you can be successful in music. It just takes devotion, hard work, patience, and perseverance.
This blog is to show you just that; YOU can reach success, YOU can make it in the music industry, and I will show YOU everything I know about the industry to make that happen.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Getting Your Band Signed to a Record Label
This is a popular subject. So many bands and artists out there are looking to get "signed." There is a big misconception that being "signed" is what makes a musician famous, that "once I sign that record deal, I'm going to be famous and make a ton of money!" Sorry, wrong. Sorry to burst your bubble, but it's not always that way, and it's not as easy as it seems. In fact, for many people, it's not necessary.
Thanks to social networks like Facebook and Myspace, and online music retailers and broadcasters like iTunes, Rhapsody, and Pandora, the music industry has changed - and for the better. For just a few bucks, your music can now be heard around the globe, and with the click of the button, you can update all your fans with news about your music. This has created the demand for a connection between artist and audience.
Because of this, being famous so much always about being "discovered" by some label exec and having him/her turn you into a star. Yes, this still happens, but most successful bands/artists will tell you their success came from sleepless nights, hard work, and sacrifice.
Before we go on, let's understand what getting signed actually means. It means you're signing over certain rights to your music to that label. For certain deals, you may only sign distribution and publishing rights, others, you may sign performing rights, others, you may sign over your entire brand. If you sign the wrong contract, you can get gypped and make hardly anything at all.
Also, just because your signed doesn't mean your going to "make it." Many bands get signed, and the next thing they know, the label drops the contract. Yes, they can do that. They may think your new songs won't sell, or that you were just a bad business mistake. At any rate, getting signed is not the key to success.
Record labels today aren't so much looking for great talent. God knows, there are hundreds of thousands of AMAZING artists out there that NO ONE knows about. However, there are a select few who have made the big time. Why? Because people go to their shows and buy their music. This, if not anything else from this post, is the most important thing you need to understand. If you want to be signed, you must already be performing to large crowds and selling lots of records.
"So how can I be famous?"
Well, if that's your main concern, be willing to work your butt off. Here are a list of things you MUST do to be famous:
1. Be amazing at what you do. Don't jump the gun and start your serious band before you are near expert-level at your instrument. Frankly, if you suck, no one will listen to you, buy your records, or pay to see you perform. Therefor, no label will ever sign you. If you're not an "Expert" but you still sound really good to everyone who has heard you, you'll need to at least be a good performer with great audience interaction, stage presence, and a unique quality that will make you stand out.
2. Write good music. Once you're good enough and confident in your skills, start your band - or go solo. The first thing you as a solo artist or band will need to do is write your music. Be sure you write music that's comfortable for you to perform. Write a lot of songs - at least 6 to get you started. Rehearse those songs until their ready to be skillfully performed on stage. Join a Performing Rights Organization and register your songs. If you get radio play in the future, you have a chance at getting some royalties.
3. Raise some money. After you've written your songs, and have begun practicing them, start saving up. In my opinion, it is important to save some money to record a good album/EP/demo before you start booking gigs. The fact is, when you first start performing, you won't get paid. Plus, chances are you're going to open for someone else, and your audience won't be there to see you. If you don't have something for the audience to take home with them, chances are, they'll forget your existence within 24 hours. So save up some money for the next step.
4. Make that record. It doesn't matter if it's a small EP or full on record. What does matter is that the quality is decent. You probably won't get the BEST if you're just starting out, but save up as much as you can and get the best bang for your buck. You want your listeners to ENJOY your music, right? Sign up to CDBaby or Tunecore and get your music on iTunes, AmazonMP3, etc. People who go to your shows may prefer a digital version of your album. It's cheap and easy to do, so why not do it? DONT CHEAP OUT OF PHYSICAL CD's. Your fans DO need something to take home with them after your gig!!!
5. Now that you have a product in hand, it's time to book some shows. Contact your local venues, or venues in towns near by, and offer yourself as an opening act. Find local bands from your hometown and surrounding cities and offer the same. Let them know you're a good fit for their upcoming gig as an opener, and hope they'll let you. Get ahold of the county fair and see if you can perform on a small stage. Join a talent show. Perform at an old-folks home. The venue doesn't matter right now, what matters is wherever you play, you want there to be an audience - no matter how big or small.
6. Promote. Get a Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, ReverbNation, Last.fm, Purevolume, etc. Get yourself out there. Invite all your friends and family to follow you. Let them know about your new gigs by posting them on all your sites. While this may seem weird to some people, call everyone up and personally invite them to your gig and to bring a friend. Make flyers and post them around town with the basic details of the show. How much to get in? Is there an age limit? What other bands are playing? Be sure to include all your social network links. Create a second set of flyers to bring to the show with all your social network links and some contact info to hand out with your new album.
7. Once you've booked your first gig, perform the crap out of it. Show off your skills. You've got an audience full of people who want to like you, don't let them down. If all goes well, you'll likely be able to set up a small merch booth to sell your new album. Your new fans will buy it if you make it cheap enough, and they'll share it with their friends, and since you have made that flyer - a good percentage of those fans will follow you online.
8. Repeat step 5-7. Book a lot of shows, sell lots of CD's, and expand. Record another album, start performing in other towns. Get the press involved for publicity. Send your music to magazines for review. Promote, promote, promote. Go on tour, work your butt off. You're going to start seeing things unfold.
9. This step coincides step 6: Join ReverbNation. ReverbNation is a great place for musicians to connect with fans. You get a free mailing list and you have the ability to submit to perform at amazing gigs, festivals, etc. You occasionally get opportunities to make money with your music. They have a gigfinder to locate venues, presskit makers to send the venues, etc. ReverbNation is just a great place for network artist to join.
10. Get a real website done. The cost of a real, custom site can be expensive, but there are alternatives. HostBaby is one. ReverbNation has a sitebuilder as well. (Here comes some self promotion...) I actually build websites, it's what I do on the side. If you need a website for a REALLY good price, contact me at david@davidcrandall.com
Once you've done at least 1-8, you have a shot at getting signed. Of course, at this point, it may not be necessary with all the success you may have. Consider starting your own label for yourself.
If all of this seems like too much, consider hiring a manager, publicist, promoter, and/or marketing specialist to help you out. It may be in your best interest to keep YOUR focus on your music, and keep all the "business stuff" to the "business guys."
A couple extra tips:
Be professional to your fellow musicians and venues. It's just good ethics to do so, but having a bad rep can kill and chance of having a career in music fame. Don't treat music like a competition with other bands/artists. It's not. Music is a fun, emotional, and meaningful experience.
In conclusion:
Getting famous is HARD WORK. You reap what you sew. If you work hard, perform well, and be professional and respectful, you may very well make it in the biz. Being "signed" shouldn't be your biggest concern. Focus on getting out there for people to hear. You can do it on your own. Just work hard and have faith in yourself. Don't let ANYONE tell you you can't do it, because with hard work and determination, you can.
Thanks to social networks like Facebook and Myspace, and online music retailers and broadcasters like iTunes, Rhapsody, and Pandora, the music industry has changed - and for the better. For just a few bucks, your music can now be heard around the globe, and with the click of the button, you can update all your fans with news about your music. This has created the demand for a connection between artist and audience.
Because of this, being famous so much always about being "discovered" by some label exec and having him/her turn you into a star. Yes, this still happens, but most successful bands/artists will tell you their success came from sleepless nights, hard work, and sacrifice.
Before we go on, let's understand what getting signed actually means. It means you're signing over certain rights to your music to that label. For certain deals, you may only sign distribution and publishing rights, others, you may sign performing rights, others, you may sign over your entire brand. If you sign the wrong contract, you can get gypped and make hardly anything at all.
Also, just because your signed doesn't mean your going to "make it." Many bands get signed, and the next thing they know, the label drops the contract. Yes, they can do that. They may think your new songs won't sell, or that you were just a bad business mistake. At any rate, getting signed is not the key to success.
Record labels today aren't so much looking for great talent. God knows, there are hundreds of thousands of AMAZING artists out there that NO ONE knows about. However, there are a select few who have made the big time. Why? Because people go to their shows and buy their music. This, if not anything else from this post, is the most important thing you need to understand. If you want to be signed, you must already be performing to large crowds and selling lots of records.
"So how can I be famous?"
Well, if that's your main concern, be willing to work your butt off. Here are a list of things you MUST do to be famous:
1. Be amazing at what you do. Don't jump the gun and start your serious band before you are near expert-level at your instrument. Frankly, if you suck, no one will listen to you, buy your records, or pay to see you perform. Therefor, no label will ever sign you. If you're not an "Expert" but you still sound really good to everyone who has heard you, you'll need to at least be a good performer with great audience interaction, stage presence, and a unique quality that will make you stand out.
2. Write good music. Once you're good enough and confident in your skills, start your band - or go solo. The first thing you as a solo artist or band will need to do is write your music. Be sure you write music that's comfortable for you to perform. Write a lot of songs - at least 6 to get you started. Rehearse those songs until their ready to be skillfully performed on stage. Join a Performing Rights Organization and register your songs. If you get radio play in the future, you have a chance at getting some royalties.
3. Raise some money. After you've written your songs, and have begun practicing them, start saving up. In my opinion, it is important to save some money to record a good album/EP/demo before you start booking gigs. The fact is, when you first start performing, you won't get paid. Plus, chances are you're going to open for someone else, and your audience won't be there to see you. If you don't have something for the audience to take home with them, chances are, they'll forget your existence within 24 hours. So save up some money for the next step.
4. Make that record. It doesn't matter if it's a small EP or full on record. What does matter is that the quality is decent. You probably won't get the BEST if you're just starting out, but save up as much as you can and get the best bang for your buck. You want your listeners to ENJOY your music, right? Sign up to CDBaby or Tunecore and get your music on iTunes, AmazonMP3, etc. People who go to your shows may prefer a digital version of your album. It's cheap and easy to do, so why not do it? DONT CHEAP OUT OF PHYSICAL CD's. Your fans DO need something to take home with them after your gig!!!
5. Now that you have a product in hand, it's time to book some shows. Contact your local venues, or venues in towns near by, and offer yourself as an opening act. Find local bands from your hometown and surrounding cities and offer the same. Let them know you're a good fit for their upcoming gig as an opener, and hope they'll let you. Get ahold of the county fair and see if you can perform on a small stage. Join a talent show. Perform at an old-folks home. The venue doesn't matter right now, what matters is wherever you play, you want there to be an audience - no matter how big or small.
6. Promote. Get a Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, ReverbNation, Last.fm, Purevolume, etc. Get yourself out there. Invite all your friends and family to follow you. Let them know about your new gigs by posting them on all your sites. While this may seem weird to some people, call everyone up and personally invite them to your gig and to bring a friend. Make flyers and post them around town with the basic details of the show. How much to get in? Is there an age limit? What other bands are playing? Be sure to include all your social network links. Create a second set of flyers to bring to the show with all your social network links and some contact info to hand out with your new album.
7. Once you've booked your first gig, perform the crap out of it. Show off your skills. You've got an audience full of people who want to like you, don't let them down. If all goes well, you'll likely be able to set up a small merch booth to sell your new album. Your new fans will buy it if you make it cheap enough, and they'll share it with their friends, and since you have made that flyer - a good percentage of those fans will follow you online.
8. Repeat step 5-7. Book a lot of shows, sell lots of CD's, and expand. Record another album, start performing in other towns. Get the press involved for publicity. Send your music to magazines for review. Promote, promote, promote. Go on tour, work your butt off. You're going to start seeing things unfold.
9. This step coincides step 6: Join ReverbNation. ReverbNation is a great place for musicians to connect with fans. You get a free mailing list and you have the ability to submit to perform at amazing gigs, festivals, etc. You occasionally get opportunities to make money with your music. They have a gigfinder to locate venues, presskit makers to send the venues, etc. ReverbNation is just a great place for network artist to join.
10. Get a real website done. The cost of a real, custom site can be expensive, but there are alternatives. HostBaby is one. ReverbNation has a sitebuilder as well. (Here comes some self promotion...) I actually build websites, it's what I do on the side. If you need a website for a REALLY good price, contact me at david@davidcrandall.com
Once you've done at least 1-8, you have a shot at getting signed. Of course, at this point, it may not be necessary with all the success you may have. Consider starting your own label for yourself.
If all of this seems like too much, consider hiring a manager, publicist, promoter, and/or marketing specialist to help you out. It may be in your best interest to keep YOUR focus on your music, and keep all the "business stuff" to the "business guys."
A couple extra tips:
Be professional to your fellow musicians and venues. It's just good ethics to do so, but having a bad rep can kill and chance of having a career in music fame. Don't treat music like a competition with other bands/artists. It's not. Music is a fun, emotional, and meaningful experience.
In conclusion:
Getting famous is HARD WORK. You reap what you sew. If you work hard, perform well, and be professional and respectful, you may very well make it in the biz. Being "signed" shouldn't be your biggest concern. Focus on getting out there for people to hear. You can do it on your own. Just work hard and have faith in yourself. Don't let ANYONE tell you you can't do it, because with hard work and determination, you can.
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