Send demos and flyers to other music organisations. The music business is notoriously ‘incestuous’, in the sense that everyone seems to ‘know’ everyone else, meaning that the word soon spreads.
- Distribute flyers stating your future gig dates, around places such as universities and colleges, music shops, venues and pubs. Flyers are relatively cheap and are an effective way of promoting yourselves.
- Use posters. Make sure that the club you are gigging at displays the posters two weeks in advance, to allow for enough potential fans to notice them.
A record deal will not happen overnight. It is something that will probably take extreme effort. You may have to record countless demos, you may have to do too many gigs in places you’d rather not be, but if being a successful musician is something you want enough, you’ll keep on trying. You may decide to approach local independent labels as an alternative to the major music industry. Lets suppose you have tried most options and you have decided to try a small label that has just started trading.
What are you likely to find?
-
A small label or production company might have small budgets (if any), so advances may not be possible
-
You may have to pay for your own master recordings
-
You will have to convince the label or company to take you seriously in the same way as a major deal (they will have much less money and need to make good investment decisions)
-
You may have to help the label by promoting yourself in a much more active way (the groundwork on creating a buzz may be more vital)
Local labels succeed on credibility as well as sales. Many musicians favour a local label for the credibility reason, combined with the friendly and close contact they often get.
The usual tips apply;
-
Identify a contact at the label
-
Mail invitations to gigs
-
Try to get appointments and have a clear agenda with any updated material to hand
-
Don’t expect anything amazing to happen overnight, be prepared to work at the pace of the label and not your own
Smaller labels will often build the profile of the musician or group in a methodical manner, taking into consideration the current market trend, the competition, available budgets, having the right product and the response from the impact of the promotional campaign.
Benefits of starting with a local label
-
You may get into profit and see benefits from sales quite early on, having started with little or no advance
-
The option to move to a major label may become more of a reality, once your groundwork has been done
-
You will have more general control over your affairs
-
You may be able to strike a deal which splits profit between you both after costs are met.
|
