need some help with my priorities

Hi guys, I am 18 and in a year or less will be attending Berklee. I have a year to work a job, make some money and work on my own music.

I am a solo artist, and most likely always will be, as I play and write the parts for every instrument.

Recently my friend who is a trained pianist helped me put together a band to play some casual shows over the summer, and they play the songs rather well. They are playing off of my first proper recorded studio cd.

I have been doing this most of my short life, and am wondering if my time should be spent doing other things besides writing and recording.

My plan this summer was to have a full time job,

Get A Gibson Acoustic

and Perhaps A jazz bass

Then record some songs in a higher end studio.

But maybe I should not be focusing on top equipment when I have stuff that gets the job done right now.

I am coming to realize though, as I did with my first album, is that I know nothing about the proper way to go about doing my thing. I have at least 5 albums worth of material, and have always played small shows and had positive reception from all ages, but I have realized all this self funding and promotion isn't really helping me.

I am all for recording entire albums without a label if that is how you need to do it, but I have been reading that labels will be concerned with an album that is already out, and selling it.

Also I know that my music would appeal to the Indie/Alternative labels and groups.

It would be a lot easier for me to tour and play shows and record backed by a larger budget, and some networking.

My question is how I should go about doing this, I can't imagine funding a professional album by myself would be the first start.

Should I be focusing on putting together small demos/eps/ to send to labels. If I go around playing places myself, what should I be supporting.

A lot of artists I like self funded their first album, and had to be going around playing the songs, but their album wasn't available until a label singed them and put it out.

thanks for any help

I think you should continue to work on your music and play shows, and tour. Labels generally are interested in bands that are already generating a lot of interest. Most actual bands (ie: not pre-fab ones) start small, with small shows, small tours, etc and eventually get picked up when labels see that they would be stupid not to try and capitalize on the success that the band has already generated...

It is just like any job - you need to get your foot in the door first and accept that you don't start out successful. You build success by working, doing a good job, and most importantly meeting people in the field and getting "seen."

If you want to record great sounding albums in a studio for your own satisfaction, or to sell, that is fine, but the amount of help it will be to getting on a label is really marginal. Labels don't sign bands based on demos. Personally, I would invest the money spent in a studio on recording equipment and software for the computer, but it depends on if you want to get into that aspect or not. Make albums to sell at shows and on tour, but don't fool yourself thinking a label will pick you up because you have a great sounding album. Chances are they will send you back into the studio to record it again even if you already have what you think is a great album.

There are of course exceptions to all these things, but just from what I have seen from numerous examples of bands that became successful, that is how it generally works.

then find a way to start making money off of it. if you can't make money off of your music why would a label be interested?

I think the OP posted his question and phrased it better than I could. I'm in the same kind of boat, except I'm 27...but I just don't know what steps to take...I actually have another thread regarding this very thing...

Glad to see I'm not the only one stuck trying to figure out what to do.

Agree.

Which means that commercially, you have at best two, unless you're an extremely gifted or extremely lucky songwriter.

We watched AI this week because I'm a big Motown fan. Smokey Robinson was the guest mentor, and they said he has written over 4,000 songs. Care to guess how many of those have actually ever been performed or recorded? I don't have a number, but I'd be surprised if it was over 5%. That's still over 200 songs, many of them hits, but still....you see what I'm saying? Most songs that get written aren't good enough to record and be viable commercially. Especially when you're young and haven't been doing this all that long. Songwriting is a craft that takes most people years to hone. I started writing songs in my band at age 17. I can't think of a single song that I wrote before age 30 that I'm playing now or since.

There are exceptions of course. Steve Winwood, Stevie Wonder, Curt Kobain, and lots of others come to mind. But for the majority of us, having 60 songs in the bag means maybe 20 decent ones if we're lucky and really talented.

Not necessarily. They will be interested (as Booya alluded to) whether you're selling--your performances are drawing good crowds getting good reviews, you are playing decent rooms and you're generating a buzz over a good sized region.

I'm not saying a solo guy can't get signed on the strength of their material. But it is very rare these days. If you have a killer voice, charisma out the wazoo and a marketable look, you might. The budget and other resources for developing new artists just isn't there anymore. Used to be a three album deal was standard. Why? Because even in the best of times, labels knew it was going to take that much time and investment for the median signed act to gain traction and become profitable in their market. They also wanted to protect their investment if a band did become successful. Some acts, of course, came out with hits out of the gate. Others never made it even with three records.

Two things to keep in mind about labels-

ONE: They are in business to make money. They aren't there to develop or promote your art or make you rich and famous or anything else. Those things may happen as a byproduct of them protecting and advancing their interests, but don't be fooled into thinking they're there to help you. I can't tell you the number of young guys I see here who want to be signed but don't want to compromise their "art" and actually take pride in not being commercial. It ain't gonna happen.

Which brings us to

TWO: The more they can do for you, the more control they are going to want to exert over your material and your presentation. People here often scorn American Idol for the way they take nobodies and try to mold them into commercially viable acts just to make money. Well, guess what? That's what major labels do, too. The more money they invest in you, the more say they want to have in what you do and how you do it to get it back for them. If you really want to "make a deal with the devil", make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. And for God's sake don't sign anything without springing for a couple hundred bucks to have an entertainment contract lawyer look it over. That'll be the best 200 bucks you ever spent.

Why not? because it's a lot of work? Because it takes time? That's how most of us do it. You put a band together and you start gigging and put all your money back into the recording project. I did my last two CDs at a very nice local studio for a project rate. There are lots of hungry guys out there with good equipment and good ears who would be glad to give you a rate on 60-90 hours of studio time. They might be making less per hour but having the place booked is good for them. I made my last CD for about 3500 dollars. That included recording, mixing, mastering, artwork (I did the graphics myself and got a friend who's a pro photographer to do the pics for name credit on the liner notes) and manufacturing. There's no reason you can't have 3500 bucks saved up in a year. Better yet, some studios will front you the recording and let you pay them back with interest out of sales.

Good luck!

Since yo ualready said you will be attending Berklee, why are you stressing out over your current crop of material? I mean, really, at your age, focus on getting your skillset honed; Berklee will definitely help with that. Berklee will also help put things in perspective for you, and you will make great contacts there. Take your time!

Use this time before going to Berklee to play shows, make some money, and if you feel the need for better instruments before you go off to college, do that.

Stop trying to reinvent the wheel.

Join a good band and learn the business properly from the ground up.

Doing your own thing is fine, except that people who just do their own thing, end up doing their own thing for the rest of their lives.

Before you know it, you will be middle aged and get a little lump in your throat every time you hear the lines "Rock and roll, I gave you all the best years of my life, but I was always one step behind you."

Life is short. Please remember that!

I agree with Byre. You need to learn the business from the ground up, that is really the only way to do it. Before I started making good money on the PR/marketing side of music I worked basically for nothing or free for around 4 years. It was one of those just getting by things but it does pay off. To also be 100% honest with you my company is now transitioning into another industry as music is not what it used to be money wise from record sales to live entertainment they have almost been more than cut in half since the late 80's/early 90's

If you're going to Berk (that's an abbreviation of my own invention -b/c I'm lazy) then I have to assume that you want to be a commercial musician.

What that means to me is that you'll become viewed as less of a creative source (as it were) to more of a viable product. And any future consideration of you will be in the context of, "what can this person bring to the project?"

There are many ugly truths about the music industry that I could impart upon you at this time, but the best advice I can give you is this:

Sometimes, life happens.

Get a job, and buy some nice gear if you want to. It'll probably be a long time before you can think of making luxury purchases like this again.

Forget about wasting money at a high end studio - for now at least. You'll have access to that at Berk (or know someone who does) for far less. If you REALLY want to release an album to play live, do it - but do it as cheaply as you can stand to. No one stood around looking at the Golden Gate Bridge blueprints and said, "I wonder how I can make this even MORE expensive."

And finally...YOU'RE 18!

Go out and have fun this year! It's going to be a long next couple of years, so enjoy your freedom while it lasts.

You'll know what I mean about that last part once you get there.

Even though it took you longer to explain it than to type 'Berklee"!

Probably not, but I doubt that they said "how many corners can we cut on this puppy to make it just good enough?" either.:poke:

Slighty OT

I teach choir and gen. music in high school. We do a short section on Motown. 75% of the songs that came out of the Hitsville USA studios that Barry Gordy started became hits (top 10's - not sure of their definition of "hits")

The neat thing they talked about was the way Barry Gordy selected tunes for release. They would play the record for the group of employees (I assume, writers, staff, musicians) and he woudl say "OK, if you only had enough money today for a sandwich for lunch or buying this single....what would you choose?" If they chose a sandwich then the single was rejected.

I understand that there are a ton of great songs surfacing that had been sandwich rejects.

Too bad people still don't use a standard like that...I guess it's too easy to put songs up free.

sadly, that is the truth. For every gem, or even diamond in the rought, there are millions of songs out on the web that should never have seen the light of day. There are no gatekeepers on the internet...anyone who can figure out how to upload an mp3 can get their music out...for what little it does for them.

Here is what you do:

1. Act as though you don't have a dollar to your name

2. Imagine that the only skill you have to make money with is your music talent.

3. Figure out how you are going to eat and pay your bills this month.

All those other questions you are asking are irrelevant, just go out and find some work, starting tomorrow.