Networking and collaboration

Great post by @musiccoaching that talks about the need for all artists to be involved in networking with industry executives and collaborating with other artists, writers and producers - all covered in an interview with a major label A&R exec.

It stands to reason that the more you do these things, the more chances you'll get.

I wrote the other day about a friend who is a manager in the UK who has a very hot act that everyone wants to sign - they have played a handful of gigs and have released nothing....so haven't followed our DIY plan at all!

BUT, they hang out in all the right bars, venues, record stores, music shops etc in all the right parts of town and over the last year or so the frontman (who is charismatic) has managed to get to know huge numbers of record company staff, publishers, journalists, PR people etc. He created a buzz for his band before they did anything!

As for collaborating, I'll write on the main site about some ways to find people to write and record with, but there are online resources such as Indaba, and just searching for things like 'songwriting workshop' will lead you to opportunities.

The entire business is about relationships. So, co-write, meet people who work with other people. I think collaborating is great, because then you have two teams of people who work with you. Even if you were both unsigned and doing your own thing – so, if you have Writer A doing one thing and Writer B doing his/her own thing and both networking – you never know when something is going to hit or get to the next level. It’s not necessarily all about collaborating. It’s about networking: getting out there; meeting other people; getting your music heard. The more people that hear about you, the better. And I think that comes from networking and collaborating with others.

Read the piece here, and see how important making these connections can be to your success.

Secret diary of a band

This piece in the Guardian promises to be the first in a series where an anonymous band tell all the ugly truth about what went wrong in their quest for success - it may well be worth keeping an eye on.

More interesting than that is the thread of comments that it has attracted - and what they tell us about the aims of musicians.

The general themes can be split into two:

1. That 'making it' isn't the point. Make music, create art for the process and let it take you where you will; and

2. If 'making it' is the point, then the DIY model is starting to show true success and some artists are now truly cheiving success without the old model.

Read the comments here!

Why great recordings matter

Over on our main site we have a great guest post about why it matters that you have a great quality recording.

Check it out here.

Why a bit of jail time might be good for an artist!

Not really!

I'm not suggesting that you should go and break the law in order to improve your chances of success.

Particularly in Hip-Hop and Country, a bit of jail time can be seen as a badge of honour and add some depth to an artist's character.

But, really, this is just an excuse to send you to look at this post about 15 musicians who've done time!

Getting covered by music blogs

We looked at a great article the other day that gives a detailed overview of how to get bloggers to write about your music.

Read that here.

And then, add to that, by reading this interview with Fred Pessaro, one of the editors of Brooklyn Vegan - one of the biggest music blogs that you might hope would cover your music.

It has background on how  he came to have that role as well as insight as to how they choose what to cover. But, as a man right at the beating heart of a vibrant music scene, he also has some tips on how to get noticed generally.

I think that’s important. But one of the things I also think is important is just getting out there and playing. People who just get out there and play as much as they can do well. For instance, I book a lot of metal shows in the city, and I notice who plays a lot. Any band that plays a lot, whether it’s the first band, the second band or are in some other position on the bill probably has a strong work ethic. Any band that will play anywhere, at any time is probably a band that really wants to work. And it’s probably a band that, even if it’s not good now, will have the work ethic to be good later on.

Read that here.

Record deals - the basics

You might well want to learn some of the basics of what's in a record deal before you ever find yourself presented with one.

The major record companies, like it or not, do still have the monopoly on big league marketing and promotion - you can succeed without it, but I know from experience that many artists grab that deal with the devil when it passes by....and some even do well by it!

This post has some great advice and good basic information on what to expect.

Recording contracts are extremely complex and it’s almost impossible to explain all possible provisions a contract might contain in simple terms. If an artist finds his or her self presented with a recording contract the absolutely most important thing to do is to find an attorney with experience in the music business (not a cousin’s friend who closes real estate contracts for a living) to review the agreement and negotiate on their behalf with the record company’s legal department or outside attorney. Recording contracts are written by the record labels and their attorneys and can be structured as less than advantageous for the artist.

Read it here.

 

5 mistakes songwriters make with demos

Image by MiiiSH

Thanks to @TQuillfeldt for this tip - worth following, as he always uncovers good stuff.

This one covers 5 points that I fully agree with and have seen many times!

When you're writing songs and making demos, bear these in mind as you can waste a lot of time and money recording stuff that either isn't good enough or that you just aren't ready to record or perhaps use.

Keep your powder dry so that you don't waste your efforts!

The professional demo-recording process is a necessary part of the equation for songwriters aspiring to get their material heard by music industry decision-makers and, hopefully, cut by successful recording artists. Despite the fact that hundreds of demos are recorded every week in places like Nashville, New York and Los Angeles, new songwriters often find themselves overwhelmed and a bit intimidated by the prospect of getting their songs demoed and ready for primetime. By highlighting some of the mistakes I’ve encountered in my years of recording songwriter demos, I can hopefully help new songwriters avoid some of the pitfalls that result in either overly expensive or ineffective recordings.

Read the post here.