My 6th Tip Never To Be Forgotten

6. Get acquainted with any labels or publishing companies you may be interested in..

If you were applying for a job with a certain company of corporation, wouldn’t you take some time to ask questions about their stability as a business, their reputation in the industry, and their background and experience? The same is true when shopping for a record deal.

(If you insist on this approach, and if my emails, tweets, etc. are a good source of information, thousands of you still insist on shopping for deals instead of building your career to attract the businesses you want to work with)

Some musicians get so excited when a certain label approaches them with a recording contract, or a publishing company offers to sign them. Well, what can I say…go ahead and sign some damn deal…you will be writing me back after you experiences with that approach and asking me for help, but it will be too late bpublic.

At least take the time to learn a few things about contracts before you go looking for one. Research the companies who may contact you. How have they done with your particular genre of music? What specific ‘points’ are they offering you? Who runs the label or publishing company? What is their reputation in the music business? How do you like them as people?

These and other questions can be crucial in making an unemotional decision about an arrangement that could make or break your career.