What is the best way for an unsigned band to get started in music?

Question

Yahoo! Staff Notice: This is the real Ian Broudie from Lightning Seeds. For further information please check out the relevant blog post at http://uk.blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-qT1KKPQoRKdVT4lowpJCljbFokkuIzI8?p=862

I am asking this question on Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers as part of the Mathew Street festival in Liverpool. The festival features many unsigned bands.

Answer 1

I think there are many ways to do this and the best would be to form a good band with a lead singer with a ton of charisma and able to talk the band in to a good record deal, failing this the Internet seams to be the main arena for record launches.

I personally love the old Air Heads comedy movie idea of burn a record brake in to a top Radio station force them to play the record while holding them at replica gun point. this would get the cops involved and instant publicity for the band.

After a few years the band would be let out of jail with a real rock and roll reputation and in this day and age no doubt a record deal

OK it would be a few hard years locked in the clink but could pay dividends in the future.

Answer 2

Be a whore. Not literally of course, but in any profession, a person would need to market themselves in a manner.

Do not be afraid of being labelled as 'desperate'.

In terms of being a Musician, an unsigned band can start by doing their own recordings - starting with simple recordings on a cheap tape recorder, and get comments about the music from either their friends or family members. If the band has a little bit more money ( if they happened to be the heiress of some hotel like Paris the rich brat) , then consider going to record in a proper studio.

Create a website where your music is easily accessible ( Free downloads to your mp3s!)

Go to local, small-time concerts and gigs, and rub shoulders with fellow musician-wannabes to get some tips and all.

Do not miss the opportunity to perform in any live performances, but make sure the people pay you for your efforts.

You might start creating a little small fan base in your own local community, and who knows, your international road to fame might be within your local audience soon...

Answer 3

These days, with the software and technology on the market, getting an agent isn't always necessary. You don't really need to have cd's pressed anymore. The most expensive part would be booking time in a studio to record masters, these masters can be converted to mp3. One or two can be propagated around the internet, via networking sites like MySpace. The rest can be sold online through the bands own website.

Propagating the the free sample tracks, which should be the best of the bunch, is key to getting started. With a little ingenuity and a 'chancer' mindset, if enough people hear it and like it that band will attain the fame required to move onto fortune.

The odd publicity stunt wouldn't hurt either.

Answer 4

An unsigned band could buy a copy of THE MANUAL.

Bands that worked with the likes of Joe Meek relied on making music that fitted the occasion and outrageous publicity stunts.

The Who and Nirvana got a name partly due to a gimmick

Actually, from Elvis to Mr Blobby, everyone memorable in pop has had some sort of gimmick and has thrown wildly in the publis eye.

Being good might be an advantage, but full training will be given.

Answer 5

Getting an unknown band signed is one long hard slogg.

I have been to many music industry conventions and heard a number of good bands and sadly there is no easy or fast route.

I honestly think the best course of action is not to look for signing to a label at all. But rather that the bands should work towards creating there own unique perfomance programme, partake in as many music festivals as possible. In other words there is a growing and important need to become known and get your music heard as opposed to stretching yourself for that dream of the recording contract.

Recording contracts are not the ultimate prize, you think they are. Instead a career in music can be as long a career as you want it to be. If you go for the contract route you could be short lived, in fashion one month and out the next.

I do think it is essential to produce a disc, I don't mean a demo disc. I am referring to an album disc. To all intensive purposes you might be thinking that this is impossible without a recording contract, but in essence this is not true.

So lets take a brief look at this, how do you achieve this.

I) Ask yourself how much you have to spend on creating your disc, set a 'floor of miminum costs' if you have money to spare you could also set a 'ceiling'.The ceiling is the most you can spend inclusive of duplication and packaging.

If you are below the age of 30/35 there are a number of arts bodies who may be willing to contribute a percentage. I am thinking Princes Youth Trust and a few others.

2)Do some competitive pricing of studios in your area, select one which is willing to give you copies of others work so you can judge whether this is a studio you can work with in terms of quality.

3)Draw up simple copyright for all original material.

4)For covers check you have the appropriate permissions or licenses.

5)Contact the MCPS if need be., ask about reductions or no charges for a percentage of freebie or promotional discs not for sale.

6)Draw up a business plan to market promote and sell your discs. Beware of merchandising charges get this set to a level you can afford.Better still encourage a groupie to assist you.

7)Approach the radio stations and arrange to have your music broadcast once done.

8)Book your recording sessions and allow ample time for mastering mixing and duplication. Agree a minimum number of discs first to see how they go.(If you are well rehearsed and know exactly what you are doing this will reduce recording time and costs.)

9)Enlist the help of an online internet music business to sell via the internet or better still create an economy website of your own.

10)If you can prove you have a full diary of gigs say somewhere between 100 and a 150 a year inclusive of festivals, that you have had air time and you have sold at least 75% of your stock at gigs, you just might get lucky and land a recording contract.

Sadly, its not all glamour and sitting around waiting for photographers to grab your picture, in fact its entirely the opposite jolly hard work.

On an optimistic note though the internet is fast becoming the means to sell music via the download. This is well worth a look.

Try www.artistmanager.com
www.taxi.com
www.vocalist.com

Good luck.

Answer 6

Why not get the interest of someone who is already in a well-known band and ask them!!!

I would have thought that the best way for a band to get started would be by touring the local pubs - that seems to be how most bands seem to get started. If they are any good, word of mouth will do a good job. Nowadays, the new version of the local is by putting something on the net.

I must admit, I am glad I am not musical, nor in a band. It seems to be much harder nowadays than when I was younger. Then, you simply needed to release a true 'indy' record - then an indy was simply a single that was not on a recognised label - they were independent!

Answer 7

Nothing to do with the question in hand but just to mention that I was in Liverpool this weekend for the Matthew Street Festival and the Lightning Seeds were fantastic, although it's a shame the set wasn't longer. Monsieur Broudie, keep on rocking!

Answer 8

Make An Account On www:Myspace.com Make A Music Account Thou! And Make Friends On There And Advertise Your Band Tell Them To Listen To Your Music And Advertise Gigs In Your Garage Or Wherever And Soon Enough People Will Be Asking Can They Sign Your Band Ect =] Good Luck x x

Answer 9

By building an audience and the showing evidence of that fact to the record companies that they are trying to get to sign them on.

Nowadays 1 of the best methods for an unsigned band to build an audience is by publishing rough cuts of their tracks on a social networking website like MySpace or Hi5.

In the past, the method used to be sending a demo tape to an influential record company exec, or a radio DJ highly-respected and listened to by your target audience.

However the success formula still is

Talent +Passion + Determination/Perseverance/ Tenacity+ A little bit of luck + Being discovered / Being Respected by your target audience = SUCCESS

Basically the unsigned band in question does need to be in the right place at the right time, in front of the right people, doing the right thing, in the right way.

Answer 10

with the advent of Cowell fuelld plastic talent show rubbish the path is a lot more difficult now as many people expect overnight sucess.

I think bands need to embrace the new forms of media available to them, Artic Monkeys and Sandi Thom (bloody auful song mind you) have both proven that the internet can be exploited to get your music across without big label backing.

However this cant be done without getting out to your local venues and building up a solid following. If you impress 20 people at a gig and give them a CD/MP3 download they will then pass it along to their mate and so your reputation spreads by word of mouth.

It aint easy (the lack of decent new bands says a lot)