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As a musician, bands have it easier than a solo artist in terms of cost to make a CD. Other than that, there are little or no differences. For bands/artists who wish to start the process of making, distributing, and getting radio airplay by themselves, believe it or not, you are starting your own record label. Even if your goal is to land a major recording contract, you will still need to gather more attention for your music by cutting, distributing and promoting your own music. You’ll have a much better chance at getting a great record deal with a major label if you are successful on your own first. You may even find out that initially you can even be more financially successful on your own than if you had a record deal.

In my book, The Indie Guide to Music, Marketing and Money, I discuss how MC Hammer started out by himself. He knew the bottom line and how much he made working his record in dance clubs. When a record company approached and wanted to sign him, he initially said no. Face it, if we were offered a deal like that or any deal, most of us would be rendered speechless and simply nod our heads to say “yes.” After all, that’s the musician’s dream, right? Why did he say no? Because he knew and understood his business model. MC knew how much he made on his own, and he knew he could make a lot more money on his own than they initially offered. Eventually the record label had to meet him on his terms. They offered him a much better deal in the end.

So, how do you do what MC Hammer did? Marketing, Marketing, Marketing – and it’s not all dependent on having your own label or producing your own music. In my book, “The Ultimate Guide to Music Success” there’s a chapter of do’s and don’ts for those of you who aren’t interested in creating your own record label and promoting a CD yourself. It will show you the correct ways to send a demo and get heard by the A&R staff of major-labels. It also includes a truck load of fresh contacts, email addresses, phone numbers and web sites to help you on this journey.

If you are one of the lucky few and have a lot of contacts and a lot of extra money, your path will be much easier, but still not guaranteed. If you are like the rest of us, you have a limited budget, fewer contacts, and even less time to spare. What do you do?

First you need to spend some money no matter how limited your funds are. There’s no way around that. You must also spend some time to start your business up and make your CD (a budget guide is also available in my book).

It’s the same with contacts. You have to put yourself out there and network. You need to spend a lot of very early mornings and very late nights initially surfing the internet for information on how to find and meet the people you need to help you on your path. You will also need to attend various functions and music gatherings where the music makers meet. Remember – it’s a see and be seen world. Join your local version of the BAMM or WAMI association. These are local clubs where musicians meet on a regular basis. Many important local musicians will be members and might be there to network with. Most every major city will have some sort of club like this.

The next step is marketing. Collect all of the write-ups on yourself and your band and put them into a folder. Then based on those, you’ll need to write a one-sheet up and pass it out to the people you meet at the parties. (A one-sheet is a one page marketing tool that emphasis the important aspects of your band/act.) If writing is not your gig, find someone who writes professional one-sheets or bios on a regular basis.

Once you have those marketing tools in hand, start making appointments to audition for local clubs. Take every gig that is offered to you initially, whether you are paid for it or not, and make sure to get the most press out of that gig. If you do get paying gigs when you first start out, great! Make sure you have a contract in your hands that is signed by the person who will be paying you. In case there is a dispute, and they do arise, you have a contract spelling out whether or not you were going to be paid and how much. Although it would be nice if everyone could work on faith and trust, make sure you get your contracts written, signed and in place.

Before you sign any contracts, make sure you get a reputable entertainment attorney to look it over. NEVER sign a contract before you have followed that step. You could lose the shirt off your back and much more!

What’s next? Work it baby! Work it! This is not the time to be shy and bashful about your career. You have to grab onto every single opportunity and use it to your advantage. Unabashed marketing is what you need to do…so go for it! Just do it! No is just a word in the dictionary. It may hurt for a minute, but it’s the people that can take the “no” 50 thousand times that will get the prize in the end.

Something I recommend is to take a few courses at your local community college on Business Management and Accounting. This will help you immensely when it comes to watching your money and the bottom line. Whether you’re producing your own label and watching every penny or whether you’ve signed with a major label, you still need good accounting skills or a good accountant you can trust. With or without an accountant, it’s just good business to look at your books daily. Oprah is notorious for this and look where she is! No-one will care about your money or your success like you do.

Licensing you music into films is a great extra income stream for you as an independent artist. But, as with any other aspect of the music business, you have to go through the learning curve and networking process. My experience with film licensing, just like everything else, revolves around whom you know.

Your first (or tenth) licensing deal probably won’t be the next Hollywood blockbuster, but that’s ok. There are a zillion independent films that need and want your music. No, you won’t be immediately rich and famous from having a song in an indie film, but you will probably get paid, and you’ll get some good exposure. Remember, a good ling music career is not built on one big hit. It’s built on a series of small projects and successes building to bigger ones, and, of course, multiple streams of income.

With that in mind, independent films are a great place to start. So where do you begin? Well, listing sites like Versus Media, Film Music Network, and Taxi are a good place to start, but it’s hard to rely on a steady income from people you’ve never met. Also, something I’ve learned recently from a couple of music supervisors, is that follow up on your package is not required, nor particularly appreciated. So you really are relying on your package and your music being picked out of the pile. However, the listing services will give you access to projects you may not have known about otherwise. They are, therefore, a good investment.

An even better way to hook into independent films is to go out and meet film people. As musicians we tend to get stuck in our own little world. Hanging out with musicians, going to music workshops and events, etc. You must take your product to the people who need it instead of waiting for them to come to you.

A great place to start is Indie Club. This is a worldwide organization of independent filmmakers, actors, crew, and everyone else. Find your local chapter through the IndieClub.com website. It’s free to join. Where I am, San Francisco, we have the country’s largest chapter. Join their discussion list and introduce yourself as a music artist. Go to their meetings and get-togethers. When I went to my first Indie Club meeting, I was one of two music artists in the room. The cries of “We need you!” were not just the voices in my head (this time). That room full of independent filmmakers was looking for good music that they could license and still stay within their budget.

I scored my first licensing deal within an hour. Two songs in the same film, one I’d already written, the other to be written specifically for the movie. My tactic was simple. Ask them about their latest project. They’ll be happy to tell you about it, I assure you. They’ll ask what you do. Tell them, but don’t exaggerate. I explained that I had not yet written for films, but just came to see where I fit in. This particular filmmaker then explained to me that he couldn’t find a particular song for this one scene he was working on. I told him I’d be happy to custom write it for him. And there it was. I was being paid up front to write a song. How much? I received $100 for the new song, $50 for the previously written and recorded one. Like I said, you won’t get rich off of these. But hey, $50 to let him use a song that I’d paid for long ago is free money to me.

For the new song, the director arranged for recording time at the local recording arts school where his sound editor was studying. This was fortuitous, and not necessarily normal. Most other project I have to record myself. Because I kept the copyright for the song (which you should always try to do), I was able to release the new song on one of my future CDs, which put more money in my pocket. There’s that multiple streams of income again. And, as a topper, I was able to perform at the premier and sell more CDs there as well. I got all that just for showing up to a meeting and talking to people. I made a few other deals at that meeting too.

So the moral of the story is to just go where filmmakers are and talk to them. Besides Indie Club, I’m sure there are other film clubs and organizations in your area. Find them and make yourself a part of them. Get to know everyone, and you have your tunes in the movies in no time!

Next time: How to get your music in movies by getting yourself in movies!

Downloading music online used to be a dream on the coffee table. People even talked and fantasized about the imaginary music jukebox that can play music on order and anyone can just download whatever music they want from an inexhaustible jukebox. Today, downloading music online is a piece of cake. And you have a few options. Anyone can be downloading free or paid music online. Before you get too excited, we shall take a look at both options to download online music and how you can save your money while downloading music online.

Free Music MP3 Downloads

Now, downloading online music can be free but you need to know where to go to. Here are just a few places you can go to on the internet to find free music MP3 downloads.

Indy.tv – Indy makes it possible for you to find new independent music. Go ahead and download Indy. It allows you to rate the songs you listen to. What I love about Indy is the artificial intelligence is quick to pick up what kind of music you love and would keep sending you music that you would find enjoyable.

Epitonic – Epitonic gives you a chance to listen and download music online of independent and underground artists in US. They are normally in MP3 or WMA format and generally playable on our computer.

Paid Music MP3 Downloads

Downloading paid music online should not be unfamiliar to you. These are several established places to download music for a fee.

iTunes – iTunes is synonymous with iPod music. You can find a whole range of music genres there. Each music MP3 download costs 99 cents. Downloading is fast and easy and the search function is sophisticated.

Connect – Connect is Sony’s pay-per-track service. It serves many different brands of music from a large network. But the problem is it is not so user-friendly. The music files are in ATRAC3 format, a proprietary audio format which can be recognized and played only on Sony MP3 players.

There are also other online music stores that offer similar downloading services. Each site can vary in the number of music MP3 downloads they have, the music genre, the customer service and so on. These sites allow downloading music online for a membership subscription fee. Most nowadays charge you a one-time fee for unlimited access. For more details on how downloading music online can be done cheaply, check out my music download blog.

When it comes to new music we are really spoiled for choice as artists, bands and DJs keep us entertained with tracks and albums being released every few days.

The great news for us is that we no longer have to wait in line at the record store or sneak a copy of our sibling’s latest CD purchase to get the new tracks we want; instead we can simply download music straight into our computers or music systems. Accessing music using today’s technology is really as simple as a few clicks of a button, so if you’re fed up with scratched CDs or cracked cases you can try downloading music straight onto your iPod instead.

The download market has taken the music industry by storm in recent years and almost all artists and bands will have allowed their music to appear on some of the most popular download sites at some time or another. Most musicians are really embracing this new way of selling their music and are even setting up their own fan sites and MySpace pages where they can regularly release new songs for download before they hit the high street music stores.

If you’re keen to be down with the kids and try out downloading for the first time there are a few simple things you should know before you get started. First and probably most importantly is making sure you keep your bank details safe. When you purchase songs via the web you will be required to hand over your account details so it’s prudent to check whether the site you’re on is a reputable one, and that you have assurances that your details will be kept private. If in doubt it’s always best to go with a well known company so you can rest easy that your details and payments are safe.

The same thing goes when downloading your track as there are a plethora of viruses around that can seriously harm your computer. As a rule of thumb never download anything that you have any reservations about and always check out the authenticity of your chosen download site before making any purchases.

Once you’re feeling confident about your chosen download site you can set out to pick the tracks you want. Most sites will have a 30 second preview of a song so you can try before you buy. Once you’ve made up your mind you will just be a few clicks away from owning that track.

Access to this new music is instant and won’t take up any room on your shelves but if you just can’t part with your precious CD collection it’s a good idea to keep some blank CDs to hand so you can burn your newly downloaded tunes as and when you like. It’s important to remember that once you download music it’s illegal to give it to a third party, whether you are getting any money for it or not, so keep your downloaded copy safe and never pass it on.

No matter what your style and taste of music downloading can be a quick, easy and cheap way to get the music you want without spending hours queuing up at the local music store.

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