How music business works

Hey everyone! So today, I’m going to share with you all how the music business works. 

Before we get into any of that, let’s have our moment of silence. 

At this time, I would like all of us to take a moment of silence and pray to God to help us to become the musicians that he wants us to become. Take a minimum of 5 minutes and pray for these things. 

Now back to the show

General advice

So, I will often see people on the internet talk about the music industry like it’s all they know. They say things like, “Get a producer” or “hire a lawyer”, and it’s all great advice and all but there’s just a few things that you’re missing when you say those things. 

Producers and lawyers want to see that you can work. Producers and lawyers want to see that you can work hard. 

Likewise with any other industry professional. 

So with the advice that you give, yes you need a producer, but you also need a way to contact a producer. 

There are so many people out there who are trying their best to work with a producer and quite frankly why should they listen to you? 

I mean sure your songs sound good, but you need more than just a hit to actually get into the industry. 

Don’t get me wrong, making hits is the first step in your music career, but below are the things that you really need besides the songs. 

1. A social media following. By social media, I mean a blog, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. etc. Whatever is your avenue of communicating with people is what I’m trying to point out. Nowadays, a social media following is almost essential to getting signed to a record label. Labels want to see that you have a crowd of people liking your music because if people like your music, then a lot of people will like your music. 
2. An EPK. I personally have never made an EPK but I know what it is. It’s a musical resume. It’s what you show to record labels to say that you are the ideal candidate to hire. In an EPK, you will put in photos of concerts and photo shoots, videos, you will write a bio, describe how many followers you’ve attained and show off your personality. It’s actually really cool because you get to show off what you’re made of. 
3. Last but certainly not least, a demo. A demo is a sample of your music. A demo is usually between 3 and 4 songs long. However, it can be shorter. It shows your best tunes from your latest album or single. It will have lyrics too. 

So those are some things that you need, but let’s talk about how to use them. 

How to use these things.

So when you’re starting a music career, you are essentially starting a business. You have your marketing and sales department, you have your press coverage, you have your product, and you, my friend, are the boss. 

So there are certain best practices that you should use in order to use these things correctly.

The first thing is to not contact anyone unless you mean to do business. By this I mean, if you’re going to hire a producer, actually HIRE that producer. 

A producer costs money, he has to make a living too. And if you really want to succeed in your music career, you will actually fork over the money that’s needed to make a great product. 

It’s actually a lot of money to hire all of the people that’s needed in order to make a great sounding album, so here are some steps that you can take before you take the plunge and prepare yourself for the best and worst. 

1. Your social media following can help. A social media following is great for communication, but at some point you have to promote your products to them. Also, you can pay for your album by fundraising for it through different means. Your income from your blog or YouTube channel could be a source of income for your music career, but Kickstarter is also another good option too. Also, sometimes a producer will work cheaper if you can tell him that you have a huge social media following and are willing to promote him on your socials.
2. Remember it’s better to be approached than to approach someone else. At first, you might be doing a lot, if  not all of the leg work yourself. But once you get the ball rolling and are getting views and traffic and listeners to your music, then people will start to come up to you and ask you if you would like to collaborate with them. People will want you to speak and teach. This is the point where all of your expertise comes in. It’s better to be approached because everyone in the music industry has heard the same phrase from everyone in the industry, “I’m different”, “I’m better”, “No one can compete with my songs”, etc. etc. so instead of saying that you’re better, prove it. Be so good that people go up to you and ask you if it’s okay if you sign to their label. Be that good.

Conclude 

So let’s conclude on a few things. 

You need a social media following in order to get signed. 

You need to leverage them correctly.

You need to be patient in building your business of being a musician. 

You need to work hard at whatever it is that you’re going to do each and every day. 

Worry about the major record labels in the future, for now just concentrate on the process to making a career out of your music.

Broadcast

I sure hope that I have been an inspiration and a hope to you all .Please remember if you want to go to heaven, then believe in Jesus and you will go to heaven. (John 3:16).

Thank you all for listening in on this blog post. Remember to pray, read your bible, go to church, and love god above all else. Like, comment, share, subscribe, and I will see you all next time. 

German Gonzalez, signing out!