Archive for May, 2009

There will come a point where you think you’re ready for a record deal, a manager or a publishing deal (or that other much touted ‘new model’ deal with some music related company). You’ll want to get yourself heard by the right people so what better way to do it than to send out a demo right?

Record labels, managers et al get hundreds of thousands of demos, and if this is the route you want to take then there are some things that you will need to take into account if you want to make your demo stand out from the rest and be given more than a second glance.

It’s going to take a lot of hard work and luck but if you make sure that you take notice of the following points, then you’ll be on the right track.

In this article, note that wherever I talk about a demo, I mean either a physical CD mailed to someone or a link to a MySpace page or band website where all the relevant information can be found and songs listened to. I’ll make distinctions where necessary.

1. Make sure you’re targeting the right labels.

If you’re an indie, guitar led band, and that’s all you ever want to be then there is no point sending your demo’s to hip-hop or dance labels. You won’t get a second look as the labels just won’t be interested. That’s not what they do! To start with you should be looking for labels who work with bands that are similar or in the same genre as you. They are more likely to give you a second glance and maybe even a listen…

As a musician in a band, you really ought to have some idea of who those labels are for your genre, but if you need help, search on the web for directories that can help you. In the UK, you have to use The Unsigned Guide, and in the Us there are choices, but we like Galaris.

Once you’ve found a label, you need to find a name. A personal touch is really going to help in getting the person you are contacting to actually listen to your stuff.

2. Make sure your demo is listenable.

This doesn’t mean that you have to go and get all of your tracks professionally recorded. That would be silly and a complete waste of money. However, you need to make sure that whoever is going to listen to your demo can see the potential there. So, make sure your singers are in tune, the recording is clear and there are no white noise issues or glitches.

There are lots of inexpensive recording software programs doing the rounds now which you can use to do this, or you could strike a deal with your local studio to do it on the cheap with the help of one of their engineers.

3. Make sure you’re ready for label interest

This is another very important point. When you’re just getting started you can’t expect all of your songs to be hits, and no one else expects them to all be hits either. However, when choosing songs to send out to labels you need to make sure that these songs are your absolute best so far.

If not, they won’t be given a chance, and you won’t be given a second chance in the future. You’ll be remembered as the band that had no songs. If you’re not sure that you or your songs are ready then hold off on sending out demos until you’re absolutely 100% sure that you are.

I recently came across a service here at SoundOut, which I heartily recommend. We’ll look at this in more detail in the future, but, in short, if you spend $20 to $50 with them you’ll get the most honest appraisal of your songs from real music fans who get your genre. We don’t get paid for recommending this service, so I mean it when I say that it’s money well spent – to see if you really have the material ready that you think you have!

4. Get your promo package right.

Labels like to know a little bit about you, and a standard demo comes with a bio, some press cuttings, a photo and your music, but there is such a thing as too much information…and too much music!

We get a lot of demos in our office, and the first thing we look at is the size of the package that’s been sent through. If it’s huge then it goes to the bottom of the pile. Full albums or CDs with lots of tracks on will also get put to the back of the pile. Most people in the industry have a limited amount of time for demos so we like them to be short and snappy.

Ideally, when I get a demo through the post I like to see a half page brief bio, a handful of press cuttings (if you have any that is, and if you do, make sure they’re good ones!), a photo in which I can see your faces, and a CD with no more than 3 tracks on, and your best track first. By best track, I mean your most catchy, hooky, universal song, not the one you’re most proud of. If you’re not sure which one this is then ask your fans, friends and family.

Another thing to add to your package is details about any previous releases or significant touring you have done in the past and also if you have any attention from other industry professionals, i.e. management, an agent etc, and let them know who these people are. This will help raise your profile before you even get a listen.

If you’re doing this submission by a link, then make sure people can find all this stuff on your site or MySpace page easily too.

People do look at numbers of plays and friends on a MySpace link and it does have a bearing – which is why we do think building numbers on Social Networks is part of your job – but everyone knows that those numbers don’t necessarily mean fans, so don’t get too hung up on it. What people are looking for is how your fans interact with you on those pages – so make sure you encourage commenting as well as friend adding, for industry people to see that you have a real buzz around you.

5. Don’t forget your contact details

Every piece of paper and every CD you send a record label must have your contact details on. This includes your email address, a contact name and phone number and your website and MySpace address. It’s no use putting these on one piece of paper and thinking that because it’s all together in your package the label will know how to contact you. Papers and CDs get mixed up, bits moved or lost, and the chances are that your promo package will go in one pile and your CD in another.

By putting your details on everything the label have no excuse to not contact you if they like what they see or hear. Putting your MySpace address on also allows them to check out your songs in the event that the CD is misplaced, so when you start sending out demos make sure that the songs you put on the CDs are the ones that are on your MySpace.

Same thing is true on sending a MySpace link. Make sure that email addresses and telephone numbers are there to be found.

6. Does the label you’re looking at receive unsolicited demos?

Lots of labels ask you not to send unsolicited demos. There are many reasons for this, including time and space issues, and even legal issues in some circumstances! If you’re not sure then call them up and ask them.

If they do take unsolicited demos then feel free to send your package in, however, it’s better to find out who the specific A&R man is in your field at that label and start a conversation with them directly. That way they know who you are first and may actually request your demo from you. This route is by far the best way to get yourself noticed by any label.

7. Be Polite

If you’re serious about getting a record deal then, unless you’re very lucky, you’ll send out lots of emails and make lots of phone calls…and will likely be ignored the majority of the time. If this is the case the please don’t get bitter about it, it happens to most people. But bear in mind that if you do get someone to talk to you, then you should show a little gratitude.

The more polite you are then the more people will be inclined to help you in the future. It may be that the A&R person you are talking to can’t help you, but if you’ve been polite and gracious then they could help you out by giving you details for other people who could help you, or even recommending you to someone. You can never know just how influential the person you are talking to is.

8. Don’t be discouraged

Sending out demos can be stressful, demoralising, soul destroying etc, and you’re likely to hear the word ‘No’ more times than you’d ever imagine but you can’t take it personally. If a label turns you down ask them to give you a bit of constructive feedback. It may be that you just don’t fit in with what they want to do in the immediate future.

Take whatever you’re given on board, go away and become better for it. Consider your demo, decide if there was anything you could have done differently that might have made a difference, and then learn from it and move on to the next label. After all, no one expects you to be the finished article straight away! If you’re in this for the long haul then you’ll constantly be changing, so see it as work in progress.

Good luck!

This article is a partner piece to an earlier article on this site titled ‘How you should approach a record label or manager’. There may be a little repetition but this article is by Amanda and the other is by Ian, so reading them both will give you a little extra insight from two perspectives!

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

We don’t often recommend specific products in posts because, as you know, this site is more about teaching you to learn the skills you need. That said, one of the parts of the site that I’m working on is a section that just has our recommendations on it – tools and advice from other people that complement our advice and that you can use, some of which are free and some paid. That’s coming soon.

And this bit of software will be in it – TweetAdder.

Reasonably controversially for many in online music marketing, I’m a fan of Friend Adding software on MySpace (and Facebook) – but NOT of the random and senseless adding of 1000’s of people that you then don’t have time to interact with.

The reason that I like them is very simply because of the automation that they give you. Now, every time you acquire a new follower on Twitter or a friend on MySpace, it’s your job to turn that person into a fan. The mistake that way too many bands make is to hunt down vast numbers of pointless followers and then fail to convert any of them into fans.

If you heed the advice that we give in our MySpace book, you’ll see a different way that is aimed at turning those followers into real fans who want to intercat with you and then spread the word about you. The core tactic in that relationship building is right at the beginning – targeting people who should be in to your genre of music. You do this by adding people who are in to bands that influence and sound like you and also by aiming for people who follow other acts in your local scene.

There’s more to it than that, but that’s the basics. Just remember that it’s about turning a Friend or a Follower into a fan – and let’s not forget that a prerequisite of that is that your act is good enough to warrant the fan’s support.

So, this TweetAdder- why’s it a good thing?

Well, basically because of the automation element. The people who have made it understand all about the pitfalls of blindly following loads of people and themselves state that their software tool is all about “tagret niche networking in mind”. In standard musician speak, that means that you can drill down and only look for people that are likely to want to be fans.

I won’t go on about it’s features as you can click the link and have a look. All I’ll say is that this isn’t a necessity and it isn’t for everyone, but, if you feel that you have everything in place for your band (songs, performances, recording and buzz is all refined and great – because that is stage 1!), then this tool will help you. I would only use it to build targeted followers and then to help automate the task of keeping those followers involved in your career and hence turning them into real fans.

If that applies to you, then I’d check it out as it looks like the best Twitter tool I’ve seen so far – TweetAdder

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Strange title but it kind of says what I want to say in this post, or at least, I hope it does!

I saw a couple of blog posts this week that were different takes on the same theme.

This one from Bob Baker on how we need to stay on top of and maintain our actions that bring us success and satisfaction ‘Groundhog Day Music Success’ and this one about how musicians will wilfully disregard essential advice  that could make the difference to their career that they are desperately looking for, by Mark Gibson – ‘Don’t disregard this advice!’

It made me think again about why we’re working on this site and what we are trying to achieve.

And it’s simple really. One aim with three branches. 

Aim: to help those aspiring musicians who wish to listen to us realise that there are fundamental facts that they need to accept and act on if they are to give themselves a chance of success. This is so because so many people trying to make it can’t face the fact that they themselves are the core reason why their career isn’t happening.

And once we have helped point out the realities, try to advise on the options, solutions and real world marketing methods that will breed success for those that follow and implement them.

Branches: One - Give those who want to aim for the top the advice, honest feedback and tools that they need to craft a band or act that has the material, the talent, the image, the marketing and business savvy and the work ethic to make it to the top.

Two – Tailor the advice here so that artists who want to make it to the level that their talent inherently deserves (but not make changes that they feel are too much like ’selling out’) can do so by removing as many unnecessary obstacles as possible. 

Three – Present our ideas and advice so that the most anti-establishment artist who wants nothing to do with commercial success and hates the very notion of marketing, can still find some nugget of value and truth here that can help them find their own way as a musician in an easier and more fulfilling fashion, albeit on their terms.

I also realised that I wanted to tilt the angle of what we’re preaching a little too. I felt that we’re perhaps coming across a bit too strongly being all about how there is a single ‘one-way fits all route to success’ and that that is to get a label or similar modern investor. And, in order to do that, you must have the right frontman and the greatest songs etc. To an extent, that is exactly what we’re saying, because the tightest set-up will give you the greatest chance at some level of commercial success. 

BUT, and this is really important, at the same time, we don’t want to ignore the fact that there are thousands of acts that don’t want massive commercial success and are doing it for love of their art. Brilliant – all power to you. 

OUR ADVICE WORKS FOR YOU TOO! Just because we say you need to do X, Y and Z, but you feel uncomfortable about Z, that doesn’t mean that you should ignore X and Y – does that make sense? 

So, if you refuse to write songs about love, or lose your singer because they have too bland a voice (but they are charismatic or whatever), then that’s fine. But accept that it’s giving you some limitations and work around them. Just be honest with yourselves so that you can see what it is that is your compromise and work to your other strengths. 

If you aren’t at all interested in commercial success and just want to spread the word on your music as it is, then there are things here that will help you. 

Nonetheless, our main focus is to do what most places I have seen on the web professing Music Industry Advice don’t do – and that is to tell you what it really takes to succeed, no matter that that will often mean facing some harsh realities about where you’re at in your career right now. 

Check out the two articles that we’ve linked to at the top. Mark Gibson really makes it plain that it’s not an easy ride and Bob Baker very accurately tells that just because you do get up and running, you can’t slack off. 

A slew of solid advice posts to come next week. I’ve been writing a huge list of the things you’ve said you want us to cover and have started on some of them, but I needed to get this ‘mission statement’ written today!

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

A Guest Post by Fraser Smith

What makes a great song? It’s a big question, and one that has been written about endlessly in an attempt to unravel the “formula” for creating a world dominating smash hit record. Sure, there are some basic rules and if you were to examine a handful of the most successful or popular songs of the last four decades, they do have certain things in common. Intro, verse, bridge, chorus, verse, bridge, chorus, middle 8, chorus, chorus etc springs to mind!

We can examine things like structure, melody and production very easily but for a greater understanding of the “smash”, we need to look at concepts. Have you ever wondered why some songs seem to “connect” with people and others don’t? When asked why people like a song, they will usually say something along the lines of “I like the tune” or “it’s got a great beat”. Very rarely will the average music consumer tell you they love a song because of the clever way it’s been written, or because the music sounds like it was really hard to play. People simply aren’t interested in that stuff. They’re interested in the elusive combination of a great melody and a lyric that they can relate to, and preferably sing along to.

Of course this isn’t true of all genres of music, but for the purposes of this piece I’m referring mainly to pop music, as this is the domain of the hit single! Yes, there are lots of brilliant, intelligent musicians and songwriters out there whose music isn’t even near the radio and probably never will be. Whilst the music industry is partly responsible for this, it doesn’t change the fact that (generally speaking) if you want to have a big song, you have to be able to connect with lots of people. And that means delivering a message that is clear, simple, catchy and easy to relate to.

This means thinking very carefully about what you’re song is actually about. It can be so easy to get wrapped up in the details of the music itself, such as which chords to use? How the melody should go?  How should the snare drum sound? Sometimes the central concept of the song can often end up as an afterthought.

As a producer and songwriter, I get to hear lot of demos from new artists, some of whom are quick to tell me very confidently which of their songs are the singles, or “radio friendly”. More often than not, the song they point out is the one they’ve laboured over the most, or the song with the lyrics about their ex girlfriend / boyfriend. Sometimes this can mean their lyrics are so personal to them that they’re in danger of not meaning anything to anyone else! So it helps a lot if you are able to step back from your work and ask yourself – if I had never heard this song, what would I think about it? Do I know what it’s about? More importantly, do I care what it’s about?

Let’s look at a couple of recent example of the smash hit song. Love him or hate him, James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful” was undeniably one of the big pop songs of 2005, launching a multi-million selling worldwide career for the artist. Cynics will point out that there was a major label and some powerful marketing behind him, which is also true, but they were marketing something that was already going to be relatively easy to sell, because of the simplicity of the concept, the music and the lyrics. I don’t think it’s too unreasonable to suggest that without this song, the level of his success wouldn’t have been as great, and it certainly wouldn’t have happened as quickly.

The sentiment behind Blunt’s song is extremely simple. Perhaps this is why people connected with it? It’s essentially a “grass is greener” song, where the main character is imagining a relationship with a stranger he’s just encountered. It’s also very memorable, even from a first listen. You may not know all the words to the verses straight away, but the chorus is instant. There is never a moment where you’re not sure what the lyrics are because “you can’t hear them properly”.

Now imagine the same music, but with cryptic, clever lyrics that only you understand. Does the song still have the same ability to connect with a large audience? Or just to you? (This can lead us into a whole other area – who are you writing music for, but that’s another topic in itself!) Now try it the other way around; take the lyrics and sing them with a new melody over some complex chords in a clever time signature – is it still a hit? it’s very unlikely!

In 2007, Rihanna’s “Umbrella” had a similar impact on the world of pop. The song is built on an infectious beat and very few chords, and again there is a strong concept behind this song. If you look at the lyrics it’s more than just another “I love you baby” type thing, but it also has a very simple main hook, which hits you the first time you get to what I call the “pay off”,  the “ella – ella – ella – eh – eh – eh” bit, an infuriatingly catchy modern pop moment!

Would the song stand up without this hook / gimmick? Yes I think it would, because the gimmick sounds like an addition to the concept, not the concept itself. In other words “Umbrella” is already strong without it, but as a pop record this hook puts into a whole other league. 

What I’m getting at here is the importance of considering exactly what it is you’re saying in your songs. It’s not usually enough just to have a great beat or a great riff, try and think of these things as the starting point!

It’s also important not to confuse “simple” ideas with “dumb” ideas.  Writing complicated pop lyrics is relatively easy compared with writing good simple pop lyrics, and great lyricists will write on several levels providing you with deeper meanings if you want to look for them. This is a skill that is harder than it sounds and can take a long time to develop.

Early Motown records are a good example of this sort of thing, where the writers provided a catchy “surface” meaning that sounded like great pop music, but underneath there was often another motivation (sometimes with social or political overtones). Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye were among those who dabbled with this sort of writing, and were responsible for creating some staple pop hits that were accessible to everyone, but often had a second “layer” of meaning.

So you don’t have to “dumb down” your masterpiece to get your message across, just try disguising it a bit, and you’ll be adding depth to your work and you’ll be in good company!

Of course the most important part in focusing on the concept of your song is having a concept to begin with. What do people want to hear about? Themes of love and loss are the most popular; anecdotes about feeding your cat will not grab people’s attention the same way. If you spend a bit of time considering what you’re actually saying, and how people will interpret your “message”, you should be able give your work a better chance of connecting with your audience.

Instead of spending three hours on the snare drum, spend three hours on making your central idea something people can relate to, as generally people don’t listen to songs because of how the drums sound! And you never know, you may even be giving yourself a greater chance at that world dominating chart-topping success in the process…..

Fraser Smith
Fraser Smith is a record producer, songwriter and musician. Currently signed to Notting Hill Music, he has written, produced and mixed records for many artists worldwide, as well as enjoying top 40 success with his previous band Shed Seven. 

A version of this article has previously appeared on IXL

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Lately we’ve had a lot of people become friends with us on MySpace. We love this and we always check out profiles of our new friends, so we’ve noticed something that we’d just like to let you know about.

It’s not that you’re doing it all wrong, but failing to use the way MySpace works to your best advantage is

Don't be a monkey - let them see and hear what they're looking for!

Ultimately you’re on MySpace to get your music heard and make fans. Bearing this in mind, a lot of artists are not using their ‘influences’ and ’sounds like’ sections to their best advantage. This is something that we stress quite heavily in our MySpace book, but the basic premise is that you need to be as open and honest about your influences, and what you actually sound like as possible. You can try and be clever and say you sound like ‘a bad weekend’ or ‘ice cream on a hot day’ but that doesn’t let people know what to expect, and this is after all what they’ve come to your page to find out!

So here is how we think you can make the most out of these sections…

 Genre:

Genre is one of the first things you choose when you sign up for a MySpace, and you can change it by going into your account setting. This lets people know the style of music you make and allows users to search for your band through that genre section in the music directory listings. You need to make sure that you choose the correct genre for your music in order to make sure that you are available to the right fans. Putting a comedy genre down may seem funny but will not do you any favours as no one who likes your style of music will be able to find you.

As I write this I can almost hear some you shouting ‘But my music doesn’t fit into any genre’. If your music genuinely doesn’t fit into anything at all in the options available, then congratulations, you are unique, and I’d love to hear what you’ve done! However, the chances are that you’re not. Take a step back and look at your music objectively, or play it to friends and see how they’d categorise it. A lot of people who think they can’t be categorised are just too close to their music and need a little reality check.

The genre selection you choose will also be displayed in your profile, and everyone will see it so make the right choice, or risk losing potential fans.

Influences:

Here you need to put down as many bands, artists and songs that have inspired and influenced you as possible. Rather than being pointless this is hugely helpful to anyone who visits your profile and can initiate conversation between you and your potential fans. For example, if you like guitar music and are given the choice of two bands to listen to, one inspired by Oasis and the other inspired by Girls Aloud then you have a pretty good idea of how their music is likely to sound and therefore which one you’re going to prefer.

Remember, you’re not trying to show how cool and obscure you are, you’re trying to gain fans. Users can search for new bands to discover based just on this, so don’t waste it. Provide as much information as possible and be honest!

Sounds like:

What does your music resemble most? Make as accurate a comparison as possible here because, as above, people will search out new acts based on what they sound like. Don’t lie about your sound or pretend to be something that you’re not as you will quickly be found out. If you can then compare yourselves to other bands and artists who sound like you, and make friends with these artists. Their fans will be more open-minded to you and your music than anyone else.

This is the one that people are most likely to fill in with an amusing quip as we said at the start – sounds like ‘a ten day hangover’ or something like that. Since people are searching for bands who sound like other bands, why would you shut that chance off?

This may sound simple, or just plain common sense, but the number of profiles we’ve come across that don’t follow this is amazing, and you’ll be surprised at the difference it actually makes!

So, once you’ve amended your profile to let the whole world know who influenced you, what you like and sound like, here’s a quick traffic tipfor you. Comment on the MySpace pages of any of the artists you’ve mentioned. It doesn’t have to be a huge comment, just a quick note along the lines of ‘you’ve inspired us’ or ‘we aspire to be like you’ or just tell them how much you love them. The fans of that band will then be able to click through to your profile and check you out, providing you with a whole new pool of potential fans. Lovely.

Our eBook ‘Make It On MySpace’ covers many more issues like this in detail. It’s not a guide on how to just put a MySpace profile up, it’s aim is to show how that profile can be and needs to be at the centre of your relationship building with your fans. People who find you on MySpace can become lifelong active fans, not just meaningless friend numbers. ‘Make It On MySpace’shows you how.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

A Guest Post by Juanita Appleby

I know what you’re thinking…”oh no not another social networking site”, right? But just bear with me.

LinkedIn’s appeal has widened beyond pocket-protected IT geeks to boasting over 39 million members across varying industries globally.

So how can you use this more upmarket social tool to advance your music career?

Simple.

Display a professional profile

Because LinkedIn works on a different platform of a CV-based profile you don’t have to be embarrassed to forward the link on to an industry exec.

It also allows you to display up to three links on your profile so it can be a portal to your other websites.

LinkedIn is well ranked within search engine results, which means that you will get the free organic traffic to your profile page and referrals to your other websites with minimal effort.

Network with others in the industry

This is the key benefit to getting up close and personal with LinkedIn. Once you are set up with a profile, then do a group search for “music”. Then sit back in amazement at the 25+ pages of networking groups with members from all walks of life in the music industry – management, media, publicity, marketers and other fellow musicians.

Mark Carras (in his post ‘If LinkedIn isn’t fun, why should my band care?’) touched on this subject and this is the feature on LinkedIn that will help get you out of that garage you’re practising in and closer to a money-making journey in music.

The important thing to know about LinkedIn is that you must demonstrate that you know the contact you are adding to your network in some way be it through a common group membership or say an ex-colleague.

So you may want to start with using LinkedIn’s contact import tool from your existing email address book to lay a foundation of connections.

Second to that, you can use the question and answer features of groups to enhance your reputation and raise people’s interest in connecting with you.  I touch on how the question feature can help later but don’t be afraid to answer people’s questions too. 

Networking may be uncharted territory for you so be patient, ooze intellect, swap “virtual” business cards and always keep in mind that in business a one-sided pitch will almost always fail.  Be prepared to forge relationships on LinkedIn that are beneficial for both parties.

Promote your news

You can post your own news in groups and even link those news items back to any other websites you might have. Many members have weekly or even daily updates of group activity so your news will get delivered straight into their inboxes. Can’t get better than that.

Get advice from those that know

Trying to find a recording studio in your area? Need some tips on publicity? Request for reviews of your latest demo?

Yeah, LinkedIn can help. Once you’ve joined some groups and been accepted as a member, then you can start discussions in that group and other members can comment back or contact you directly via the website’s internal mail system.

Remember, don’t spam! That’s the quickest way for you to get your account banned. Stay topical and humble and you’ll find the help you need.

Find opportunities for your music

You’ll find that people will post job listings on LinkedIn and in music industry terms those are requests for songs for licensing deals, films, TV, you name it.

So while other social networking sites may be the platform to building a fanbase and getting your music heard by a wider indie audience, LinkedIn helps you focus on gaining visibility with the business contacts and advice to actually make it in music.

Good luck and keep rocking.

Juanita Appleby
Juanita Appleby, born and bred in America, has over a decade of experience in marketing and promotions.  She is currently studying music and arts writing with the London School of Journalism. 

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

We’re starting to get into our stride with the blog now. It’s been a lot more hard work than we originally envisaged, but we are getting to grips with the technology and loving passing on our advice and thoughts.

But, right now, we really want some feedback from you about what you want us to cover on the blog.

One thing that we are now doing is trying to think constructively about posting the best information that we can – information that you want and need. Instead of randomly telling you what we think you ought to know!

Some topics are too big for blog posts to cover and between us we are working on eBooks on various larger topics: Amanda is writing about Street Teams and how to use them, and on Facebook for Musicians; I’m writing about how to use Twitter to promote yourself as a musician and am trying to devise a follow along 52 week course to lead you from no songs, no band to an album release properly promoted and distributed. That is a major piece of work and might take a while to get in place.

Meanwhile, we are aiming to post four times a week. Two pieces of career and promotion advice, one piece on useful tools and products that we come across and one piece on whatever else takes our fancy.

The core of what we are here to do is the advice on how to turn yourself into a successful artist – from learning to write, record and perform, all the way to self-releasing a  record and promoting it to the fanbase that you’ve learnt to grow.

We’ve got a pretty long list of ‘How to….’ posts that we’ll get to as we go on (How to get airplay; How to copyright your songs; Should I give away free music? and loads, loads more).

But, what we want to know is what advice do you want and need?

So, please leave a comment and give us a good description of what advice and help will make a difference to you right now. We’ll then do our best to cover as many of the topics that you raise as fast as possible.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites