DIY Artists
 
The process how music is created and produced for new artists, especially those that require development before breaking them into the charts, is a far cry from the days of the Beatles first demo tape, which lead them to their record deal signing.

 
The music industry flourished from 70’s to 90’s and the number of artists signed became immense until the stock market crashed again and again. On the contrary technology boomed – especially in the field of recording equipment, however record labels and publishing houses suffered major losses because they did not evolve with this movement and they did not protect themselves or their artists against it. Record sales dropped due to piracy leaving record labels in a financial deficit; forcing music companies merging together, making A&R professionals redundant, slashing record and publishing deals, and dropping famous and unreleased signed artists. Regardless of this loss, singer-songwriters (those that were signed and still unsigned) became self-made brands ready for launch, and jobless A&R professionals launched their own independent labels, publishing houses and music associations for musician jobs.
 

Nowadays an industry standard is that budding male or female singers or songwriters are required to be at a certain level before a record executive even looks sideways at fresh talent and invests in them, simply because budgets are smaller. Artists like the Beatles, Madonna and Nirvana have lead the way inspiring other wannabe famous songwriters that to be noticed you have to be hungry enough to make a demo and give to the right A&R executive to be heard – a song unheard is simply undiscovered. Even though some may think it is harder to get to the right person in the music industry today, the fundamental hunger driving a person until their goal is reached is the same. An easy example is looking at the span of Madonna’s career over three decades; her constant reinventions from sex symbol to musical theatre artist to dance showgirl to actress stand solid that she is still the Queen of Pop today at the age of 53, having sold more than 300 million records worldwide and continues to top the charts. Madonna shows how hard an artist or any business person has to work consistently at maintaining a high standard to be successful over and over again. Talent and skill to be the best at all times, preparation and planning, unstoppable determination, business intelligence and flawless delivery are key instruments.
 

With the increase of artists wanting to create their own demos is there a bigger demand for supply of music equipment, hardware and software. The overwhelming request of these products has lead to a decrease in price, making it affordable even for students. Education has also jumped on the bandwagon of teaching music production massively through schools, colleges and universities, allowing musicians to become qualified sound engineers and producers for leading products created by Apple, Roland, Yamaha and alike. With access to these industry recognized products, in a professional environment, some young male singer  have gone on to create demos at a level whereby it can be classed as a debut album ready for independent release.
 

Music technology has advanced rapidly since the 70’s from vinyl to tape to laser disk to CD to digital to mobile – lessening the time spent to creating. Therefore the pace at which an engineer or songwriter can record and produce a new song and email it to an A&R exec is minimal in comparison to the 70’s, as well as due to equipment’s affordability the studio could very well be in the comfort of the musician’s home. This has opened all kinds of doors for ambitious songwriters, however closed many doors of business for studios. Record labels have thus also cut out the middle-man through cutting out the development stage of an artist. Once signed, this semi-developed artist will literally have its tracks fine-tuned by a famous producer, adding his mark on the product, almost like an endorsement. The new artist will eventually be recognized for this in years to come, if their first single is not a one-hit-wonder.
 

With the drop of sales in records, the real money to be made today is in songwriting royalties and touring. Songwriting is a crafted skill and for anyone to believe in your song, there are many elements and stages it goes through before it even is played let alone heard on radio. A song is a product and for someone to sell it they need to believe in it. Without that unconditional belief, it will be unheard. Labels and publishers also require a textbook songwriting style in order for them to consider it hit-worthy-material. This is pretty much based on writing something similar to what previously was a hit, anything too different or out of the normal is considered a financial risk – unless the artist is distinctly special, talented and hard-working hungry. If you are an artist that has different material from the rest, try a smaller label first for music jobs ; they are generally the old school A&R guys who were previously musicians, so you may stand a better chance.
 

Another avenue is to try different territory other than big markets like the USA or UK. Ensure all your work is copy-written, recorded and separately registered with a royalty association (like PRS in the UK). Remember this is your product, therefore think with a business-head and detach all emotional connections to your song. The likelihood of it being published is that producer might change the genre and arrangement to specifically suit an artist, so the less connected you are to the song the better for business – everybody has to start at the bottom to walk through the first door of opportunity. From there work you way in, and eventually you will have a say by proving what you can do foremost. Remember how Cathy Dennis wrote ‘Can’t Get You Outta My Head’ in a country style and then it was produced for Kylie into a mega selling pop single, which reestablished her career? Be open to suggestion and it will open the right door at the right time.
 

Though touring is where money is to be made, it is costly and a budget is required for these basic needs; transportation, accommodation, marketing and merchandise to sell and promote, music equipment, entourage and band members salaries, band rehearsals, studio time for recording and rehearsing, stage wardrobe, and a fanbase committed to following you to every show (not just your family and closest friends). Touring normally comes after signing or independently launching your career. It needs to be well planned out and executed to be successful financially. Again, think of the band or artist as a product, which every person in the audience needs to buy into, before they even buy another concert ticket or your debut album. Concise preparation is key for perfect delivery; you have one moment on stage to prove you are worth it, so ensure you are ready for that one moment or it could be damaging to your career in the long run.

 
These are just starting points for artists, before any major success kicks in. Regardless of how the press has said MySpace or a basement video recording has launched an artist’s career, it’s not completely true. Money is the foremost part of making any artist worldwide famous, and record labels and venture capitalists are still the engines running this wheel. They have the teams, influential connections and extensive marketing experience to know exactly how to launch an artist. Even independent labels or 360-degree tour deals work with massive labels, distributors and publishers to sell and promote records, guarantee radio airplay, obtain synchronization, TV or film deals as well as plan a live entertainment programme.

 
Can you work relentlessly to invest in your career, put socialising and family on hold, be all you are proudly and promote it, take endless knock-backs (mostly from time-wasters) and still stand tall, have tons of people who believe in your talent, will travel anywhere at anytime and take the van full of your music equipment, overdose only on Vitamin B and C, are good at packing and unpacking, have the drive and determination to go all the way and keep on going until you’re 60 (at least)? Then do it because it is so worth the ride! Music is a gift - you ought to share it.
 

Here is a little starter-pack just for musicians, bands and songwriters (mainly UK-based) - with some of the promotional sites they have linked up with industry organisations to earn digital royalties through streaming and downloading and you can be creative and target your advertising to gain more exposure: