R
Rubato
Guest
I started writing this as a PM and decided I might benefit more from the pool of knowledge on this board.... feel free to chime in.
I'm working on becoming a surgeon right now... I know you aren't big on going to college, but I feel like I'm committed to that route right now because I have about 40k in student debt and excellent grades. That's not the point though...
My first love has always been music. Ever since I was a little kid. I started my 1st band in middle school and kept going with it through all sorts of obstacles, even to the point of destroying a relationship with my best friend, until we were signed and were touring this part of the country. I did everything. I wrote the songs, sang them, fronted it, designed all the merch, did all the marketing. It was all me. I just had other dudes on stage with me because I can't play 4 instruments at a time.
I ended up reneging on the record deal because I couldn't keep it up and college, and college has always been pushed hard at me. But man, I am tired of this. I was a pre-law student for 4 years, got accepted to William and Mary's law school and said no because I realized I didn't want to do that. This is year 6 of undergrad for me, and I've got one more left! I'm basically just keeping going because my dad's made an excellent name for himself as a Dr. at a nationally recognized hospital and it would be easy for me to land a job at least 550k per year when I'm done..... also when I'm 32 or 33.
I can't get away from this music thing though dude. I get so jealous when I go to concerts and see successful bands and musicians performing. No matter how hard I've tried to get away from it, I can't. The bug has bitten me so hard, I sold almost every non music related thing I own over Christmas break except my car to buy about 10k more in music recording equipment so I can start operating a studio in my house.
I've started businesses before that have made me enough money to get whatever I want at the time... a new guitar, new clothes, whatever. I live at home so I have virtually no expenses. But what I want to do now is to cut a really good album and do something with it myself. Or at least as much as possible. The music industry is super cutthroat and and I don't feel like I have the wisdom to survive in it myself right now. I am very smart academically, but I don't always have the most common sense... lol.
So basically I don't know how to accomplish this. And I'm asking you because it sounds like you can at least point me the right way. I'm a freakishly hard worker when I'm driven to a goal and I want this. But I don't feel like I can quit school, especially when I'm only 1 year away from completion. That would be throwing a f*ck load of money away!
This would be commercial music and after talking with some of the producers I've met along the way, I have an idea for a sound that is derivative enough of the top 40 radio stuff to catch on but also has a unique rock edge. Even though I'm in debt, the money to pull this off isn't an issue. I can make it when I need to. I have been in contact with the producer who did Justin Beiber's (no flaming) record and have networking connections with the guys who produced bands from Simple Plan to Katy Perry. They command a lot of money, but not as much as you think. Simple Plan's producer was gonna charge me $5k for a 5 song EP in 2007.
After I get the songs solid, I may outsource the tracks to a professional mixing engineer, which would cost $150-300 per song, and definitely give the finals over to a mastering engineer. I know a guy who is very good that could do it for about $100 a song.
I have met some graphics design people, so the merchandise is covered.
That's essentially my plan for getting everything together.
What I need to know is what to do next. I'd like to think I could market the material based on it's quality and my sex appeal. I'm a good looking guy and am getting close to the point of being "ripped". I will be by the time it will matter for the promotional material.
How do I get people sold on my music? I drove up to Cleveland for a show tonight that was sold out to 14k people and they wouldn't let me and about 400 other people outside in. I have no idea how many people got turned away in total because new people were arriving as I was leaving, and I got there 5 minutes after the show started.
How can I replicate that sort of dedication. I talked to a dude who drove up from Buffalo with his GF!
I can get radio play easily enough, but I need a fan base. Getting on the radio is simple, but getting on at a good time is hard if you don't have lots of people calling up and requesting your song. It's also pretty easy to get shows if you know the right people (and I do), but you won't get good ones or good spots if you can't draw a crowd and/or sell tickets. A lot of smaller venues you have to play at as you work your way up will ask the people coming in who they came to see.
I feel like I just keep saying the same thing. Is there a general plan or direction anyone can give me here? Or a resource(s) to look in to, about marketing, developing a successful brand, sales, or learning how to play the power games in a cutthroat industry?
Thanks guys.
I'm working on becoming a surgeon right now... I know you aren't big on going to college, but I feel like I'm committed to that route right now because I have about 40k in student debt and excellent grades. That's not the point though...
My first love has always been music. Ever since I was a little kid. I started my 1st band in middle school and kept going with it through all sorts of obstacles, even to the point of destroying a relationship with my best friend, until we were signed and were touring this part of the country. I did everything. I wrote the songs, sang them, fronted it, designed all the merch, did all the marketing. It was all me. I just had other dudes on stage with me because I can't play 4 instruments at a time.
I ended up reneging on the record deal because I couldn't keep it up and college, and college has always been pushed hard at me. But man, I am tired of this. I was a pre-law student for 4 years, got accepted to William and Mary's law school and said no because I realized I didn't want to do that. This is year 6 of undergrad for me, and I've got one more left! I'm basically just keeping going because my dad's made an excellent name for himself as a Dr. at a nationally recognized hospital and it would be easy for me to land a job at least 550k per year when I'm done..... also when I'm 32 or 33.
I can't get away from this music thing though dude. I get so jealous when I go to concerts and see successful bands and musicians performing. No matter how hard I've tried to get away from it, I can't. The bug has bitten me so hard, I sold almost every non music related thing I own over Christmas break except my car to buy about 10k more in music recording equipment so I can start operating a studio in my house.
I've started businesses before that have made me enough money to get whatever I want at the time... a new guitar, new clothes, whatever. I live at home so I have virtually no expenses. But what I want to do now is to cut a really good album and do something with it myself. Or at least as much as possible. The music industry is super cutthroat and and I don't feel like I have the wisdom to survive in it myself right now. I am very smart academically, but I don't always have the most common sense... lol.
So basically I don't know how to accomplish this. And I'm asking you because it sounds like you can at least point me the right way. I'm a freakishly hard worker when I'm driven to a goal and I want this. But I don't feel like I can quit school, especially when I'm only 1 year away from completion. That would be throwing a f*ck load of money away!
This would be commercial music and after talking with some of the producers I've met along the way, I have an idea for a sound that is derivative enough of the top 40 radio stuff to catch on but also has a unique rock edge. Even though I'm in debt, the money to pull this off isn't an issue. I can make it when I need to. I have been in contact with the producer who did Justin Beiber's (no flaming) record and have networking connections with the guys who produced bands from Simple Plan to Katy Perry. They command a lot of money, but not as much as you think. Simple Plan's producer was gonna charge me $5k for a 5 song EP in 2007.
After I get the songs solid, I may outsource the tracks to a professional mixing engineer, which would cost $150-300 per song, and definitely give the finals over to a mastering engineer. I know a guy who is very good that could do it for about $100 a song.
I have met some graphics design people, so the merchandise is covered.
That's essentially my plan for getting everything together.
What I need to know is what to do next. I'd like to think I could market the material based on it's quality and my sex appeal. I'm a good looking guy and am getting close to the point of being "ripped". I will be by the time it will matter for the promotional material.
How do I get people sold on my music? I drove up to Cleveland for a show tonight that was sold out to 14k people and they wouldn't let me and about 400 other people outside in. I have no idea how many people got turned away in total because new people were arriving as I was leaving, and I got there 5 minutes after the show started.
How can I replicate that sort of dedication. I talked to a dude who drove up from Buffalo with his GF!
I can get radio play easily enough, but I need a fan base. Getting on the radio is simple, but getting on at a good time is hard if you don't have lots of people calling up and requesting your song. It's also pretty easy to get shows if you know the right people (and I do), but you won't get good ones or good spots if you can't draw a crowd and/or sell tickets. A lot of smaller venues you have to play at as you work your way up will ask the people coming in who they came to see.
I feel like I just keep saying the same thing. Is there a general plan or direction anyone can give me here? Or a resource(s) to look in to, about marketing, developing a successful brand, sales, or learning how to play the power games in a cutthroat industry?
Thanks guys.