Why?

Why are we running this blog and writing this stuff?

Good question – it’s not like we aren’t rushed off our feet. And, the honest answer is that we didn’t really intend to do this at all.

We receive so many demos and see so many people that need basic advice on how this industry really works that it’s very clear to us that the one thing these people need to hear most often is that they aren’t good enough! Not so that they get dispirited and give up. Some might in fact give up, but more importantly in giving them some honest feedback that they can go away with, most people can come back better placed to have a shot at success.

99% of the people who send us songs and tracks just aren’t good enough or are thinking that they are good enough way too early in their journey. Maybe 5-10% of them could be good enough, but because they never get put straight, even that percentage often falls by the way side.

It’s a dreadful waste of our time, their time, your time, and everyone’s talent!

For many years I told aspiring bands that they were OK, but that their music wasn’t right for me. This is often the way in this industry, but it’s not fair. It wastes people’s time and gives them false hope. So now, if what we get played or go to see just isn’t good enough, we try to tell it like it is. If you can’t sing – either you need to get lessons (although they can’t fix something really bad), or you need to be replaced as the frontperson. That doesn’t mean you have to give up – you can have another role. But, if it needs to be changed, improved, stripped apart and put back together, then we try to give that honest advice.

On top of that, we know that there are people peddling really, really bad advice to people about how to make it in the Music Business. And they do this for all sorts of reasons – to make a buck, to feel important etc. There are some very good people out there giving free or paid advice, but there are some real charlatans too.

In the end, it seemed logical to write down our advice in various places and various forms to get a better standard of advice out to as many people as possible. Our unique mixed skills and experience mean that we can cover a lot of crucial topics about how to succeed in the modern ever-changing Music Business.

Of course, we’ll make a little money from the stuff we sell, but I don’t think it’ll compete with what we earn from our clients!

In fact, whatever income we do generate here, we’re going to plough back into this site to make it do what we want it to.

This blog is very much ‘Stage 1’, and we have a very clear plan of how we want this to expand and become the definitive destination for quality respected advice across the internet on all aspects of the Music Business. We have two very clear ideas about what we need to have available here and if it makes a few bucks and we can invest them into making those resources available, it will massively benefit all our readers. Can’t tell you what they are just yet, as we don’t want anyone to beat us to the punch!

The other thing that we’ll get from running this blog is a great deal of feedback from aspiring singers, songwriters and artists. We’ll learn stuff from you too. That is very valuable in itself, but we will also come across some very talented people that we can work with and help more directly to achieve their potential – and that will be rewarding in a very special way.

We are still very active with our own clients that we manage in the Music Business, so who knows how much time we’ll have to write more guides and blog posts, but we’ll do our best.

Here’s hoping that what we can share will offer real value to your future success.

Ian and Amanda,

Make It In Music