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Just as it is important to understand how a song works in songwriting, in marketing,
it is important to understand how the music business works. The first step is
realizing that it is just that, a business. And like any other business, sales and profits
are very important to those who operate within it. So, in order to succeed in the
music business, you have to learn how to see things from the point of view of the
people you will be dealing with (A&R Representatives, label executives, etc.), so
you can understand where they are coming from and what will cause them to
focus on your music, which is what it's all about in my opinion.
I'm sure you've heard that old saying,"the music business is all about who you
know". Well, I'm here to tell you that it's not necessarily who you know as much
as it is what you know. Knowledge in any field is power, but in music, that power
is twice as valuable because it can give you the edge needed to compete with the
machine known as the music industry. Have you ever heard a song on the radio
and thought to yourself that you could write a song ten times better than that?
So why are they on the radio and you're not? Because they know someone,
right? That's part of it. The other part is that something about that song or the
artist has proven its marketability to the record executives. I have played the game
many times and I can honestly tell you from personal experience, that the music
business has just as much politics in it as the government. A few weeks ago, I was
talking to a friend of mine who is a publisher and he was getting so frustrated
because he had this great country song that he strongly felt could be a number
one song, but he couldn't get any of the major labels to sign it because it didn't
come from one of "their" sources. That led to a very honest conversation
between us in which he actually told me that unfortunately, sometimes the quality
of a song has very little to do with the chance it has of being signed by a major
A&R Department.
So does that mean that if you aren't related to a top record executive, you should
pack it in and turn your back on your dreams of being a successful
songwriter/musician and/or recording artist? NO! It just means that you have to
be a little more creative in how you make your shot. Notice how I used the word
"make". When I started helping people with their music careers, I promised myself
that I was going to lay everything out on the table and not hide anything. One of
the truths of the music business is that you don't "get" a shot, you make one. For
me, it has always been about the music and the actual songs themselves. And I
still believe that a great song is a great song, but the fact is that I knew that I had
a choice to make. I could either get involved in the same inner circle of "friends" as
the record executives by going to all of their fancy parties and kissing up to anyone
and everyone, just hoping that someday I might get my demo played for someone
"important". Well, anyone who knows me, knows that that's just not me.
Instead, I decided to take a different approach, one that I hope will become more
and more popular through the years, one that places the chances of success on
two factors: the music and the people listening to it.
If you take away nothing else from this section, please remember this: the internet
has literally changed everything for the music industry. Why is the internet so
important and what does it have to do with you marketing and selling your songs?
It is the place where you can reach anyone, anywhere across the entire world.
The fact of the matter is that you no longer need to be signed to a major label (or
any label at all) to sell your CD to someone in any country. All you need is a
presence and a voice, oh yeah, and a good song! Don't ever forget that either!
Seriously, there is so much that you can do by just doing it and getting yourself out
there. There are online radio stations, websites, downloads, forums, message
groups, etc. Independent music is everywhere and more and more people are
actively searching for it because they know that there is more out there than just
what gets filtered through on the radio. (The process of using the internet to
create a presence and market your songs is detailed and explained step by step in
the Deluxe Course.)
So, even if you use the internet to establish your presence and you sell millions of
CDs by yourself, how does that help you get a record deal and on the radio? As I
said before, the music business is based around sales and profits, just like many
other businesses. The reason that it is so hard for new artists to get played on the
radio is because the label executives don't want to take a risk on something they
aren't sure will sell or not, even if they believe in the song. But, they do know
that if they keep playing an "okay" song by an established artist, the chances are
very likely that it will sell big time. Knowing this means that your strategy has to
change and in order to catch their attention, you have to focus on eliminating or
drastically reducing the level of uncertainty, what they consider to be the risk, they
face in their decision. I can tell you right now that there is not a record company
in the world that would not seriously consider signing you if you were able to sell
your own album successfully by yourself without any support from a major record
label. Why? Because they know that you have already proven that the record has
marketability and that takes most of the risk out of their decision.
I have always believed that it is the people who ultimately decide the fate of an
artist or a song. So, if you sell directly to the people, then they can decide what
they like and what they don't like. And, if they like your songs, then they will buy
them and even the most political A&R executive can't ignore the numbers because
they understand that if the people like it, then that means more profits and sales.
So, the key is just to figure out what number they are thinking of. Every label will
have their own number of what success is. What is enough to peak their interest?
Is it selling 1,000 CDs, 10,000, or 50,000? It depends on the company you are
trying to impress. There are a lot of smaller independent record companies that still
have national distribution that may be more receptive and there is nothing wrong
with starting out with one of those and then working your way up to the majors.
And, even if you are just recording your music as a hobby, there's no harm in
putting it out there and seeing what happens. You never know, you just may be
pleasantly surprised to find out that it connects with a lot of people.
And even if you don't want to market your music using the internet, you can still
benefit from the advantages it has created. The fact is that CD sales have steadily
dropped over the last three years, while digital music sales and downloads have
tripled each year. The record companies and labels see this, and that means that
they are much more open to new artists than they once were. They know that
it's possible for an artist to record and promote their own material now, so they are
much more willing to work with them. Basically, the technology that is available
today gives you the leverage that wasn't there before. So, whether you are a
songwriter who is interested in having other artists record your songs, or you have
a desire to record your own songs, the first step in getting signed to a record deal
is to send those songs to publishers, producers, or record labels. For more
information and one on one help on how to do this the right way, giving you the
best chance possible for achieving your dreams, please check out the Song Warrior
Music Promotion package.
it is important to understand how the music business works. The first step is
realizing that it is just that, a business. And like any other business, sales and profits
are very important to those who operate within it. So, in order to succeed in the
music business, you have to learn how to see things from the point of view of the
people you will be dealing with (A&R Representatives, label executives, etc.), so
you can understand where they are coming from and what will cause them to
focus on your music, which is what it's all about in my opinion.
I'm sure you've heard that old saying,"the music business is all about who you
know". Well, I'm here to tell you that it's not necessarily who you know as much
as it is what you know. Knowledge in any field is power, but in music, that power
is twice as valuable because it can give you the edge needed to compete with the
machine known as the music industry. Have you ever heard a song on the radio
and thought to yourself that you could write a song ten times better than that?
So why are they on the radio and you're not? Because they know someone,
right? That's part of it. The other part is that something about that song or the
artist has proven its marketability to the record executives. I have played the game
many times and I can honestly tell you from personal experience, that the music
business has just as much politics in it as the government. A few weeks ago, I was
talking to a friend of mine who is a publisher and he was getting so frustrated
because he had this great country song that he strongly felt could be a number
one song, but he couldn't get any of the major labels to sign it because it didn't
come from one of "their" sources. That led to a very honest conversation
between us in which he actually told me that unfortunately, sometimes the quality
of a song has very little to do with the chance it has of being signed by a major
A&R Department.
So does that mean that if you aren't related to a top record executive, you should
pack it in and turn your back on your dreams of being a successful
songwriter/musician and/or recording artist? NO! It just means that you have to
be a little more creative in how you make your shot. Notice how I used the word
"make". When I started helping people with their music careers, I promised myself
that I was going to lay everything out on the table and not hide anything. One of
the truths of the music business is that you don't "get" a shot, you make one. For
me, it has always been about the music and the actual songs themselves. And I
still believe that a great song is a great song, but the fact is that I knew that I had
a choice to make. I could either get involved in the same inner circle of "friends" as
the record executives by going to all of their fancy parties and kissing up to anyone
and everyone, just hoping that someday I might get my demo played for someone
"important". Well, anyone who knows me, knows that that's just not me.
Instead, I decided to take a different approach, one that I hope will become more
and more popular through the years, one that places the chances of success on
two factors: the music and the people listening to it.
If you take away nothing else from this section, please remember this: the internet
has literally changed everything for the music industry. Why is the internet so
important and what does it have to do with you marketing and selling your songs?
It is the place where you can reach anyone, anywhere across the entire world.
The fact of the matter is that you no longer need to be signed to a major label (or
any label at all) to sell your CD to someone in any country. All you need is a
presence and a voice, oh yeah, and a good song! Don't ever forget that either!
Seriously, there is so much that you can do by just doing it and getting yourself out
there. There are online radio stations, websites, downloads, forums, message
groups, etc. Independent music is everywhere and more and more people are
actively searching for it because they know that there is more out there than just
what gets filtered through on the radio. (The process of using the internet to
create a presence and market your songs is detailed and explained step by step in
the Deluxe Course.)
So, even if you use the internet to establish your presence and you sell millions of
CDs by yourself, how does that help you get a record deal and on the radio? As I
said before, the music business is based around sales and profits, just like many
other businesses. The reason that it is so hard for new artists to get played on the
radio is because the label executives don't want to take a risk on something they
aren't sure will sell or not, even if they believe in the song. But, they do know
that if they keep playing an "okay" song by an established artist, the chances are
very likely that it will sell big time. Knowing this means that your strategy has to
change and in order to catch their attention, you have to focus on eliminating or
drastically reducing the level of uncertainty, what they consider to be the risk, they
face in their decision. I can tell you right now that there is not a record company
in the world that would not seriously consider signing you if you were able to sell
your own album successfully by yourself without any support from a major record
label. Why? Because they know that you have already proven that the record has
marketability and that takes most of the risk out of their decision.
I have always believed that it is the people who ultimately decide the fate of an
artist or a song. So, if you sell directly to the people, then they can decide what
they like and what they don't like. And, if they like your songs, then they will buy
them and even the most political A&R executive can't ignore the numbers because
they understand that if the people like it, then that means more profits and sales.
So, the key is just to figure out what number they are thinking of. Every label will
have their own number of what success is. What is enough to peak their interest?
Is it selling 1,000 CDs, 10,000, or 50,000? It depends on the company you are
trying to impress. There are a lot of smaller independent record companies that still
have national distribution that may be more receptive and there is nothing wrong
with starting out with one of those and then working your way up to the majors.
And, even if you are just recording your music as a hobby, there's no harm in
putting it out there and seeing what happens. You never know, you just may be
pleasantly surprised to find out that it connects with a lot of people.
And even if you don't want to market your music using the internet, you can still
benefit from the advantages it has created. The fact is that CD sales have steadily
dropped over the last three years, while digital music sales and downloads have
tripled each year. The record companies and labels see this, and that means that
they are much more open to new artists than they once were. They know that
it's possible for an artist to record and promote their own material now, so they are
much more willing to work with them. Basically, the technology that is available
today gives you the leverage that wasn't there before. So, whether you are a
songwriter who is interested in having other artists record your songs, or you have
a desire to record your own songs, the first step in getting signed to a record deal
is to send those songs to publishers, producers, or record labels. For more
information and one on one help on how to do this the right way, giving you the
best chance possible for achieving your dreams, please check out the Song Warrior
Music Promotion package.
