So Now You’re In The Ocean
This article was written some time back and I think it deserves reprint and I’ve tweaked a little.
Your greatest dream as a professional Musician has come true because a major record company wants to sign you to a record contract and they’ve just handed you an advance check that you can cash as soon as you sign.
So after all the hard work, the day jobs that wouldn’t end, and the gigs that nobody else wanted, you’ve finally made it.
Or have you?
Along with that big check, the record label has handed you an even bigger contract which is over 700 hundred pages of legal mumbo jumbo that no Musician could ever hope to understand.
That’s okay, you assure yourself. I’ll get Uncle Harry to check it out. He runs his own business so he knows about these things… I’m sure. Besides, I’m ok right now because I got that check, right?
But what Uncle Harry might or might not figure out, as he reads through page after page of a contract written expressly to protect the interests of the record label, is that when all is said and done, you’ll be lucky if that big check will even be enough to cover the expenses that the contract gives the label the right to charge you for.
And if it’s not enough, you’ll be in debt for the rest of your life. So don’t even think about earning a profit.
Too many Musicians don’t realize that the big contract which accompanies that huge advance check from a record label specifies (in excruciatingly complex terminology) that you will be held responsible for reimbursing the record label for most of the production and promotional expenses incurred on your behalf. Even artists who are aware of this don’t seem to realize just how much those expenses will amount to, and how little the advance check will do to cover them.
Considering that most of any record label’s promotional efforts (and budget) go toward the bigger, established artists, you could be left with the daunting task of having to sell millions of albums just to break even, with little opportunity to do so.
The recording industry is a very big pond, one that you’ve dreamed of swimming in, but it’s a big pond that is full of really big sharks. And you’re nothing more than chum to them.
Not that most artists/bands have to worry about negotiating with a major record company because more than 1,000,000 artists are trying to sell their CD’s annually, and most will never be signed to one of those 700 page Contracts. It’s partly the old numbers game and partly because the major record labels want to play it safe.
As an example, the Beatles wouldn’t be signed today, because they’d be considered to be just too different. Record labels aren’t looking for new and exciting. They’re looking to clone the artists who’ve already made it big with the competition. There’s plenty of talent out there, but little support to make that talent rise above the noise or be different.
If you’re lucky enough to be signed, and if you can afford the entertainment attorney you definitely must hire to review your contract word by word, you may actually manage to net enough to feed yourself instant noodles over the next twelve months.
But that’s when the real fun begins: the promotional tours. If you thought gigging two nights a week while holding down a job was tough, wait till you see what’s in store for you now.
On the road, it’s just city after city until they all become a blur. To get the most bang for their buck in each city, the record label will set you up with a full day’s worth of interviews, promotional and in-store appearances back-to-back, and then you’ll have to be onstage that night to give the performance of your life.
Then it’s off to the next stop on the tour, often traveling overnight and then onto the same kind of schedule. Over and over, until the tour ends and you return home in a physical and mental state that’s beyond exhaustion. So when during all of this were you planning to write new songs
And don’t even think about trying to break your contract. You’ll end up in a lawsuit that will break you for the rest of your life because every record label has a building full of lawyers with nothing to do but work on you.
The old school Dinosaur recording industry is a monolith that’s in business to make money for itself and no one else. In the process, they will take everything away from you, including your soul. Nobody is on your side. Everyone is looking out for everyone but you.
Are you still eager to jump in and swim with the sharks?
Sure, it’s cool to have a CD out and for it to get airplay and for you to go on a tour, but it’s even better if you don’t lose control. Your music career should be about what you want. It should be about what’s best for you and your FanBase, not what’s best for a recording industry that’s become too big and cumbersome for its own good.
As the monolithic record industry starts to crack around the edges, and as more artists go independent, this is a good time to ask yourself what you really want out of your music career. It’s a good time to create a steady base income as a professional Musician, so you have the time and flexibility to decide where, when, and what you will write, record and perform next.
Get out of the pond, get into the ocean!
It’s time to get back to the basics and this series will give you the step-by-step guide to do just that. Start at home in your own community, among the people who care the most about you, and then use the Internet to expand your Fan Base steadily and effectively.
Learn what your Fan Base wants to hear, what they’re willing to pay for, and how they’re willing to help you. Before long, you’ll have a steady income from your growing Fan Base sufficient for you to be a full-time Musician.
With a big record label, your Fan Base isn’t a focal point. It isn’t even quantifiable. But when you take charge of your future and start building the business of your music, your Fan Base is everything. It’s power, it’s completely yours, and it’s the key to your future.
Create your Fan Base
You must keep track of all of the members of your Fan Base so you can communicate with them. And to help you accomplish that, you’ll need to get a professional autoresponder service. I can recommend you a really good package to handle this for you. You can then write just one email and automatically send it out to everyone on your List (which is stored safely within the autoresponder system), and you’ll know how many emails were sent out and how many people clicked on any of the links.
Since you’ll be asking people you don’t even know to sign up to be on your mailing list so you can keep them informed of the hot news going on, and send them freebies from time-to-time, don’t be pushy in any way.
As a matter of fact, try to be humble when approaching new people. And when they do sign up, you’re only ask for a first name and email address or you may lose them completely due to the fear factor caused by all of the scams across the Internet.
That’s just the beginning because the most important thing is just to get them to sign up perhaps even offer them a gift if they’ll give you a little more information about themselves so you can personalize your marketing efforts to suit them.
Support your Fan Base
The most important part of the business of your music is to stay in touch with your Fan Base through your emails, newsletters and your blog. You can email any array of dazzling information (via your own autoresponder) to your Fan Base so they can forward them to all of their friends, telling them about you and your music.
Then you can email flyers to them that they can print out and spread around town to let people know about your next gig. And most importantly, you will use your entire Fan Base to help you sell your music through their word of mouth or as I like to refer to it word of mouse advertising.
Access to your music is the future
You can now take the business of your music to an unmatched level because CD sales, online music downloads are becoming old fashioned and its access to music that is winning now!
The critically important point here is that you must get in on this success-oriented online distribution system now and start moving away from an emphasis on physical products. Since online access can be instant, there’s no more excuses for not exploding your music marketing to the entire planet.
Think about what you can offer them, free songs online, the ability for your Fan Base to critique works in progress, help with the selection of tracks for a new album, offer them free gig tickets, and even discounts on your CD’s if you still choose to sell them.
Think about your core Fan Base. By enlisting their support to help you collect even more email addresses at gigs, appearances, and everywhere else you go, you can grow your loyal Fan Base to literally thousands.
And once you have a Fan Base of sufficient size, you can become the professional Musician you deserve to be, living full-time from your musical work. You’ll have more time to write music, to develop your image, to build your Fan Base, and to work on publicity.
You will be able to choose the gigs you want to play, planning them rather than accepting anything out of desperation to earn your next meal. And you’ll have the time to work on developing a solid stage performance that truly sets you apart from the competition instead of always stumbling around the stage because you’re exhausted from your day job.
Instead of recording and releasing one CD per year and hoping your Fan Base is still enthusiastically waiting for the next CD to be released, you’ll be able to provide them constantly with new music online, to keep their interest alive.
This won’t infringe on your gigs or other sales activities as remember the larger the list the larger your income. But the very best of all is that you will be in charge of your own music career. And whatever money you earn, you’ll keep.
I’ve consulted with many new bands and solo artists on everything from image development, stage presence, marketing, and the one recurring theme is that an understanding of marketing mechanics and publicity just doesn’t come naturally to Musicians and other creative humans.
Many new artists/bands don’t think of themselves as running a business, yet that’s exactly what they’re doing. If you want the business of your music to grow, you need to follow a few simple, but very necessary steps.
You can find how-to books that try to teach the principles of marketing and publicity to creative people. The problem with those books, as numerous readers have pointed out, is that they don’t walk you through the process step-by-step. They don’t break things down into components that you can put to work on a daily basis, without taxing your energy and eating into your hectic schedule of your day job, rehearsals and gigs.
After all if you change just 1% each day one year from now you will be 365% improved. This simple technique of taking one step every day is the secret that many successful business people use to combat (a) I don’t feel like working, or (b) I’m disappointed about my lack of progress, or even © whatever other excuse you can come up with to keep from working! But the successful people do keep moving forward toward success.
If you’re a solo artist you have to do all this stuff on your own but remember to do it a little at a time so you do not get overwhelmed by it all. If you’re part of a band, it’s important that all of the band members participate in this process and you need to start have regular band meetings just like any other business.
And don’t think that chatting for a few minutes before you go onstage counts as a band meeting it simply doesn’t. So if you haven’t been having regular band meetings, you need to start scheduling them. One easy way to do this is to designate 30 minutes prior to the start of a rehearsal session for a band meeting, to discuss plans, publicity, strategy, performance feedback, and other items that will be covered in this series.
Most importantly though, you learn how to keep your Fan Base foremost in mind, and how to build a mutually rewarding relationship among a core group of your Fan Base who are the most valuable because they are so loyal and they truly care. It’s this core Fan Base who will help you grow an even larger Fan Base, and that continued growth is mission-critical since your career will die a premature death without it.
Will it take considerable, consistent effort on your part to achieve your success? Absolutely it will.
So start today, right now. Don’t wait another minute. Don’t even hesitate. There’s only one way for you to succeed at your goals and that is to start!
You’ve already worked hard to get your music to sound the way you want, so now you must focus on the development and growth of your Fan Base. That’s right, your music is only the starting point of your career, and will never take you as far as you want to go. But nurture the growth of your Fan Base and you’ll have it all.
So take action now to start building the business of your music and put as much work and dedication into it as you did to develop your music in the first place. It won’t be easy. There will be setbacks and disappointments, as well as poorly attended shows. But when you have a plan, every step will still take you in the right direction.
Remember all of the jokes about the person one with the most money wins? Well, now there’s a motto for Indie Musicians everywhere and it’s simply:-
The one with the Biggest Fan Base Succeeds!
If all this makes sense to your lets talk Paul K Saunders http://www.paulksaunders.com
