What's the best way to succeed in the music business?

Answer 1

1. It helps to know someone already in the entertainment industry. If you have a distant relative, or old friend in the business, give them a call.

2. Location is KEY!
I suggest moving to Hollywood, Nashville, New York or London.

3. If you are pretty good at one instrument, lets say, guitar, work on your vocal abilities. Or if your main talent is singing, learn another instrument. It is always works to your advantage to be able to bring something extra to the table.

4. Learn the art of songwriting. Take songwriting classes, or join a songwriting group. If you write the song, you get more money !!

5. Educate yourself on all aspect of the music business. It IS a business, and it is helpful to know about Contracts, Royalties, Copywrighting Rights, Liscensing, Getting Signed, Marketing, Sales, Etc.

6. Get the word out. Play any gig you can, and look into making a small budget recording of yourself performing, even if it is a few songs of you at the local coffee shop. This will help record companies know how you sound, what genre you fit into, and how to market your music. Print out some business cards and hand them out to anyone and everyone.

7. Don't rely on music as your main source of income at first. It is a tough business to break into and you may have years of struggle. Get a good, solid job in another field, so you won't have to move back home as an alternative to living in your car.

8. Make friends with anyone and everyone. Other musicians, even if you don't like thier music. Bar and Club owners, they can help you get opening gigs when a big name act comes thru town.

9. Work for a record company or as an assistant in a local recording studio. Jon Bon Jovi started out sweeping the floor in a recording studio!!

10. Make a business card and pass it out to anyone you may meet in the music business whom you feel is an important contact, and keep a track of who you give it to, so you can follow up with them if they don't call you back.

11. Keep in constant contact with all of your fans. Keep a database of your fans, and e-mail them, or call them all the time. Myspace is great for networking and letting people hear your music and see you, setup a webpage on myspace.

12. Go to other musician's gigs. This is a great way to network.

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Answer 2

Hire a good agent/entertainment lawyer.

The music business is a business just like any other and it takes a team to run a successful "company". Having talent and being able to wow an audience are simply not enough. You also have to be able to book engagements, promote record sales, do cross licensing deals, protect your copyrights, and a gazillion other things that performers are usually not skilled at, and even if they were, nobody has the time to do everything.

Answer 3

hire a good agent/entertainment attorney. The music business enterprise is a business enterprise like the different and it takes a team to run a effective "enterprise". Having skills and with the flexibility to wow an objective audience are in simple terms no longer adequate. you besides would would desire to have the flexibility to e book engagements, sell checklist revenues, do flow licensing bargains, safeguard your copyrights, and a gazillion different issues that performers are not experienced at, and whether they have been, no one has the time to do each little thing.

Answer 4

Be yourself, don't try to be like someone that's already in the biz. Have a unique look and voice. Do talent shows. Get gigs. Sing on other people's tracks. Like my brother JK raps, and I just sing on some of his tracks, and we wright songs together. He puts his songs on My Space. He gets a lot of hits. Plus there may be someone already in the biz in your family like my family. I'm kind of just doing it for fun right now, because I'm in school (Plan B), But I could have a record deal right now if I wanted to. Oh yeah, write your own songs and get studio time.

Answer 5

smile to the asshole reporters who ask everything from your private life, sing 2-3 songs full of sex lyrics about chicks who dance and guys who fancy having sex with them, get out on stage wearing so little clothes that the half of your body remains naked, get out with the hot glamorous guy with the 5 Porsche cars and then you'll get loads of cash landing on your pocket. Even though you may have no talent. (i don't mean you personally, you is general)

Answer 6

Do it yourself as much as possible.Write your own material,produce it yourself if you can.

Get a big enough ego to deflect rejection,when you get

a record deal offer,rake them over the coals in a giant

liscensing payoff one time deal in which you rape their bank account.

Then THEY are obligated to promote you.See?

Production is cheap nowadays,you only want them for their promotion.Make sure you get payed up front
before they shift one unit.Good luck.

Answer 7

In any endeavor, especially entertainment, you must entertain. It sounds simple and it is but it is not easy. You must play music if only in the park in front of hobos you must play and practice, practice, practice until you bleed....unless you know someone, then no prob.

Answer 8

heh- *These* days? Just look good, wear very little, have a choreographer teach you moves & voila.

EDIT:

Of course, you'll be competing w/ 10,000 other fresh faced 19 year olds doing the exact same thing....

Answer 9

copy the moves of other succesful singers try to get on well with every1! small stuff!

Answer 10

have good voice then succeed