10 Tips Never To Be Forgotten-Part 1

10 Tips Never To Be Forgotten
By Christopher Knab (@2010)


I got an email the other day from a young musician who was seeking advice about a 6 song demo he and his band had put together. He had plans to ‘shop it around’ to some labels to see if he could get a recording contract. He was a very polite guy, and wanted me to be very honest with him about what his band should do with their demo. The more we talked the more I realized how clueless he was. When the call was over, I couldn’t get it him out of my mind. How could he be so clueless in this day and age? What closet was this band living in, thinking that a demo of 6 songs was all he needed to get a ‘deal’.

I get upset when I encounter naiveté, or blissful ignorance…it ticks me off.

On the one hand we have a slew of entrepreneurial bands around these days that are very hip to using traditional and non-traditional marketing tactics to get their careers launched. Many bands are out their playing live as much as possible, using the web to get their music circulated and sold, These bands are working hard day and night to get their music into the marketplace, and they realize that the business of music is a ruthless business that demands as much from you as you are willing to give it, with no guarantees of any success coming your way.

And then there are the clueless, the naïve, and the blissfully ignorant. “Why won’t they just go away?” I ask myself. Because regretfully, “ignorance is bliss” is still a permanent state of mind for many aspiring musicians. These idiots will never go away regardless of the dozens of outstanding books, articles, regional and national music conferences, and webinars, blogs and social networking tools that are out there spreading the gospel of ‘do-it-yourself’.

It is one thing to be naïve, and another thing to voluntarily remain ignorant of music business realities. But wait, why should I complain?

I am a music business consultant. I should be happy that there are so many clueless musicians out there. They could become my next client.

But they won’t because they have no desire to educate themselves. Even when I tell them they can get a lot of free information at my website:www.4frontmusic.com, they won’t even go there and read the free articles because…they are too lazy.

So, what’s a music business consultant to do?

Will I surrender to the clueless? Will I let the naïve get to me? Will I stop my crusade to help musicians with the business of music?

NEVER!

So, to prove it…here are a bunch of FREE TIPS for the taking: one a day for the next 10 days!

Tip #1: 1. Learn how to write a song!

We live in a time when everybody and their sister can and does make their own music. That doesn’t mean however that your music has what it takes for record labels to invest their money and time developing, promoting, and marketing that music. A&R Reps are always saying, when asked what they are looking for, “We don’t know what we are looking for, but we’ll recognize it when we hear it.” What we can read into their comment is that your music must truly stand out in some significant, original, dynamic, and creative way.

95% of the original music out there contains regurgitated ideas that were ripped off from some other more gifted musicians. Challenge yourself! Talent scouts in this business hear hundreds of mediocre songs every week. What is it about your songs that make them stand out from all the rest?