Laying a solid foundation
This is not your father’s music industry. The game has
changed drastically with the digital age. The music industry was once this
secret society shrouded in mystery and notoriety. With digital media and the
Internet, the walls have come down and the seedy underbelly has been exposed,
for the most part. You still have to be nice to some people to make things
happen however, these days it’s easier to know who those people are and try to
reach them. Pastor Joel Gregory recently reflected on the power of the Internet
and the effect it has had on the six degrees of separation theory. In a sermon
on June 3, 2012, he stated that we now live in an age of three degrees of
separation instead. So, what does that mean for an indie like you?
Well, the first thing it means is that you have a better
shot at getting to the pertinent people you will need to succeed. You will be
able to reach those major players in your music career without the labor-intensive
workout that was once necessary. You can take meetings via Skype and send your
electronic press kit with the greatest of ease. You can make YouTube videos and
start viral campaigns to garner the attention you feel your art deserves.
And one of the first people you should be reaching out to is
an entertainment attorney. The Music Think Tank article, Best
Kept Secret for Advancing Your Music Career, lists all the reasons why
an entertainment attorney should be a pertinent part of your successful music
team. Besides the mundane tasks of deciphering contracts and navigating
lawsuits, the article points out that attorneys are extremely well connected. This
means that they often have an inside track to other key players you’ll need to
know in the industry. I actually agree with this logic. The cost of being able
to stay out of hot legal water is a benefit in itself. Personally, I hate
muddling through contracts and reading the fine print. Still, that is one of
the most important aspects of what will be your long, illustrious music career.
It’s best to start off on the right foot.
Now that you know you’d do good to have an attorney onboard,
you may be asking what you’ll have to pay to get one. That’s a logical
question. Money is not always easy for an indie to come by. Terry D. Aronoff
writes a helpful
article on hiring an entertainment attorney. He also points to several
aspects of this endeavor that many independent artists may neglect. For
example, he gives advice on determining whether your attorney may have a
conflict of interest.
While many independent artists are eager to get the ball
rolling, performing and recording, it’s important to build a solid team of
people that can get you where you professionally want to go. This means that
you need to spend time researching and understanding everyone’s position and
purpose in your career. One of the fallacies that I committed in my years as a
performer was not paying close enough attention to the business end. Often, as
artists, we get swept up in the passion of our art. Remember, it’s called the music business for a reason. While this
blog will seek to provide as much information as possible you should understand
that no one source can tell you everything you need to know. Further, as an
independent artist only you can determine what your career in the music
industry is going to look like.
