MUSIC ARTISTS: KNOWLEDGE EQUALS SUCCESS

I have been in the industry for over 18 years now, have seen many trends come and go, and the industry as a whole completely change several times., from a legal, marketing, promotions, radio airplay and distribution perspective, the use of the internet as a viable marketing and non traditional sell through resource, the new businesses created from branding, and an even more concentrated effort industry wide to further expand these new more profitable platforms, and continue research to create more.

There is no one true way to market, promote, or sell your art, what works for one will not work for another. Who knew that the song, "Who Let The Dogs Out", would go on to become such a huge hit and a marketing ploy by SONY for professional sports teams? I remember the SONY rep coming to our building and asking me what I thought about the song, and honestly I told him it was not something I would be interested in, but it was a very catchy song.

Knowledge is "key" in this business, whether you are a producer, song writer, music artist, model, actor, ect... You must learn how your art earns money, and what are the areas you should concentrate on initially to maximize the earning potential of your art, especially if you have very limited resources and an even tighter budget.

There are tons of self help resources on the internet, numerous books, but you still will have to get out of your bedroom, basement studio, and get out there and do it. I remember in college, a professor of mine, who taught music marketing, told us that "You can always have 100 percent of nothing if we kept our artistry to ourselves, until we decided to share it with the world".

It is not ok to have some big name industry professional (A&R, attorney, executive, ect), a seemingly legitimate marketing company, and management company take over your career and make all the important decisions for you, unless you first know what you are getting yourself into. You must take the initiative, get out here, and learn something about the business. What is a "copyright"? What is a "performance right" under the copyright law? What are "performance rights agencies", and how do they protect my music? What is "music publishing"? What is a "mechanical royalty"? What is a "statutory royalty rate" and what is the current rate? What is "distribution", and how does this help me as an independent artist? What is "bds"? What is "soundscan"? What is a "one sheet"? What does "recoupable" mean, and how will it affect me as an artist if I'm signed to a label? These questions and so many more are the questions that you first need to ask of yourself before you take on any kind of professional advice. "LEARN THE "BUSINESS OF MUSIC", and at least get some basic knowledge.

There is nothing worse than seeing an artist fall for the "shark", the slick talking, sharply dressed individual who throws names around to raise his/her level of legitimacy, and you find out later on down the road that your best interest and career was not their first priority. I see so many artists fall as easy prey in this business daily. Get the knowledge and all else will fall into place. Begin treating this as a business, and there are those who will say "my music, my music", but this is a business first...nothing less.