Five Top Music Tips
Once again, I’m here, not only to share my own music journey but also share
some of my experiences with you & hopefully help you avoid some of tha pitfalls . So all you have to do is sign up to these blogs & sit back and relax.
Why would I want to share my knowledge with you for free when I’ve spent years parting with my hard earned pennies only to be shafted you may ask? Well because there was nobody there guiding me across tha minefield of tha music industry as I was
Why would I want to share my knowledge with you for free when I’ve spent years parting with my hard earned pennies only to be shafted you may ask? Well because there was nobody there guiding me across tha minefield of tha music industry as I was
So I will get satisfaction
out of knowing that I’ve armed you with some of tha tools you need to help you across, then its up to you. I hope what I tell you here and in future blogs
will help in some small way with tha
decisions you make, save you some cash and give you a smoother ride. All I ask
is that what I share with you , you pass on to others, think of it as good karma …..seems a fair deal huh?
1. Avoid with a mega wide birth any ads or music sites that say something along tha lines of “Let music fans review your music for just $9.99 per song”. You will also be lured into spending even more cash with offers of being featured band/artist if you get enough review scores etc, its all hyped advertising to make you think your missing out on opportunities of getting noticed if you don’t sign up to this scheme.
But it’s a Total waste of your
time and money, this is just an individuals personal opinion on your track, and
if your track is given to a country fan and you play heavy metal its not going
to be a match made in heaven. A fan can just write “I don’t like this, its
rubbish” and that’s your review done. There are a number of music sites charging for this service, but its just another way to extract money out of you,
and money I’m sure you don’t have to waste?
2. Videos are becoming more
and more essential for a band/artist as a way of getting seen and creating more
fans, but tha cost of a video is huge, alot of the ones I contacted were
charging a minimum of £1000 for a basic 3.30 minute music video. There were also plenty charging between
£250-500, but still not every band/artist can afford that, and to be honest the
videos were boring. I know you’re not gonna get explosions and Hollywood
productions, but a video doesn’t have to cost tha earth, its about a good idea,
its about thinking outside the box, anyone can walk down the street singing
into tha camera, use your imagination. There seems to be a movement of artists
doing their own now using an iphone4, its what i'm looking into for myself. Tha quality is extremely good considering and if you can use that along with your
brilliant brain cells you could well be onto a winner and save yourself some
cash at tha same time. Heres a link to some artists who filmed their trax on an
iphone4 http://mashable.com/2010/12/02/iphone-music-videos/ this is one of my faves for sure t FLAKJAKT "Cascades" and certainly lets you see what can be done.
3 If you’re a band/artist
that gigs make tha most of it and grab yourselves some new fans, remember its
your job to go out there and find them not the other way around, don’t just
turn up and play and think that’s enough. A lot of gigs are noisy, people are drinking,
they might remember you by the morning they might not. Hand out cards with your
website or facebook site on & also say theres a free download of one of
your trax, give them a reason to want to go to your site. There are various companies offering some
great deals like 500 basic cards for
under £20 . Vistaprint is a popular one http://www.vistaprint.co.uk/vp/welcome.aspx?no_redirect=1&xnav=logo
But if you shop around theres
plenty of others, Goodprint have an offer on at the moment 50 cards for £2.39
4. Every site is after your
money….now we’ve already established if you’re anything like me, you have very
little lol! so why give the little you do have away? Facebook, reverbnation,
Myspace, Soundcloud, all these sites and others are adding on more and more
services that you have to pay for, and your made to feel you’ll be left behind, or not taken seriously unless you do. Well let me tell you , getting signed or being taken seriously has absolutely diddley squat to do with any of these offers, and all to do with another money making scheme.
Don’t be teased or panicked by tha hype into buying lots of things you don’t really need or aren’t going to serve you any purpose. Take your time and make sure its something that’s going to serve YOU well, not some fat cats pocket.
services that you have to pay for, and your made to feel you’ll be left behind, or not taken seriously unless you do. Well let me tell you , getting signed or being taken seriously has absolutely diddley squat to do with any of these offers, and all to do with another money making scheme.
Don’t be teased or panicked by tha hype into buying lots of things you don’t really need or aren’t going to serve you any purpose. Take your time and make sure its something that’s going to serve YOU well, not some fat cats pocket.
5. How many of us have come
across something online where you have to tick a box that says “Terms &
Conditions” before you can move to tha next page? & how many of us just
tick it and move on without even a glance? I know I have, I do it most of the
time because I hate scrolling through pages of “legibility, thus &
therefores” For all I know someone out there could actually own my ass…I’m just
hoping its not Walmart :o.
But thankfully when it comes
to music I have more sense, I will NOT sign anything unless I’ve had it checked
over, While it might seem
like alot of hassle, its gonna be less hassle than when you find out you’ve
just sold your soul to tha devil….then my friends you really will be in hot
water.
If any music contract from
publishing, to production company, to single release is legit, then they wont
mind you getting it checked out first before signing. If someone starts putting
pressure on you, or acting offended because “Its just a standard contract,
everyone signs it” then hear tha word WAAAAAARNING” ringing in your ears.
I’ve been in this position with a few outfits myself ,things said like “ its
just a single release form, you’re the only one questioning it, I’m offended
you think we’d be up to something dodgy, it has to be signed now or tha deals
off” etc etc if this happens be prepared
to walk away, as hard as it may be to swallow at tha time, DO NOT SIGN.
Remember you’re tha one with tha talent, that they presumeably wanted in tha
first place, if its legit, they’ll wait and let you do the right thing which is
to get any contract checked over.
I asked around & it
turned out a friend of a friend of mine had a family member that was a solicitor, so I explained
“poor unsigned musician needed help with not getting shafted” and thankfully they said they'd check it
out for me. I’m a proffessional dream interpreter so I offered to do that for
them in return. See if you can barter to get a cheaper deal or even for free by
explaining your
situation and offering up one of your own skills in return. But If all else fails, then beg steal and borrow to pay, but get that contract checked out.
situation and offering up one of your own skills in return. But If all else fails, then beg steal and borrow to pay, but get that contract checked out.
Stay Blessed, Back Before Elvis :) xxx
Very useful. Contains some good pointers for life in general methinks.
ReplyDeleteThanx "unknown" yes, i do believe your right, we often charge through life like a bull in a china shop & miss all tha little things along our journeys way. I discovered that a number of years ago when i became ill and was forced to slow down, i suddenly started noticing things i'd never noticed before , they'd always been there i'd just been caught up in lifes busy momentum to notice. I often encourage people to slow down by choice before tha choice is taken from them but sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before the blinkers come off. Thanx for taking the time to comment, appreciated :) xxx
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