To quote a question from my favorite movie Almost Famous, “What do you love about music?”… the answer,”Well, to begin with…. everything!” The “Music Industry” is mainly made up of artists- people who love to sing, play and perform or sometimes just listen to the music that they live for. They’ll play for little or no money just because they love the “everything” about music. However, there is also the “Music Biz”, which is very different. Yes, the “Biz” seems like fun and excitement, but the people who are in it, are in it to make money. With artists in the “Biz” it’s not only about the music, its about building your fan base and keeping them. Now your music isn’t just your “everything” anymore, it’s your brand. Half of the battle to making it in the “Biz” is keeping your brand afloat and marketable. The other half of it consists of marketing this “brand” and making sure that you aren’t taken advantage of too much so that you can make as much money as you and your music deserves. And throughout all of this “bizzness”, an artist has to remember that they were once just a part of the “Industry”.
Music is an art. However, when it comes to the “Music Biz”, music is about money! A record label is a business created by companies that specialize in recording, producing, manufacturing, distributing and promoting audio and video recordings on various formats including CD’s, LP’s, DVD’s. Sounds technical and formal, doesn’t it? That’s because it is! Labels aren’t interested in how much you love your “everything”, they need to know if they can make money by marketing your music. In the “Biz” you have to worry about the manager, the attorney, the booking agent, and the tour manager. Then there’s the decision of going for the major labels,the affiliate labels, the independent labels, and the true independent labels. Working within this confusing mesh of “bizzness”, it’s pretty hard to succeed while keeping one foot in each pool, the Music Industry, and the Music Biz.
Fortunately, in today’s world there are allot of way’s to stay in the Industry while promoting your own music and making your own money. We have the chat room, the music forum, and the mecca of the unsigned artist… MySpace.com. Unknown artists have to work hard to get the buzz going about their music. But by becoming actively involved in these music communities, artists can find themselves absorbing an abundance of music industry knowledge that can help in furthering their respective career agendas. Artists are increasingly using the web to distribute their music, also. And now because of this new online music industry revolution, we have the Internet Record label.
In my opinion, in this day of the independent artist and this internet music haven that we all have created, the dam between these two pools (“The Music Industry” and “The Music Biz”) is steadily disintegrating. It will always be true that if any label feels that your music will not make them money, there will be no interest in your music. But now, if you love and believe in your “everything” and just want to make a living doing what you love… you actually have a chance on your own.
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