Why can’t I get a record deal?

Why is no one buying my music?

Why can’t I get and bookings?

Why can’t I write a hit?

Why, why, why?

It can be very frustrating and depressing for artists in the music game, you dedicate your life to your goal of music business success and forsake everything else but are you being repaid for your commitment? NO!

No matter what you do your efforts seem to fall on deaf ears, or you even get positive, honest sounding responses by potential collaborators (creative and business) but no action. This is the story of pretty much everyone in the business, you are not alone.

Even some of the most successful acts in the world have had experience of many years of rejection, false promises and the most frustrating of all being ignored. For me being ignored is the most demoralising, depressing of all reactions to my efforts, but throughout my years of trying to obtain attention I have learnt that you simply have to make more noise. The truth is if you send your work or try to obtain a response of some kind, unless you have a truly unremarkable or bad product someone will respond, the key is numbers, to be more precise intelligent numbers. Find out if you are sending your stuff  to people who actually want your stuff, then find more of those people to send your stuff to!

I Deserve this!

The thing I believe contributes the most to artists frustration and unstable state of mind is having the wrong attitude. If you go in to this industry thinking that because of your immense talent you deserve to be famous or successful, you are on the way to a very unhappy existence. You get what you deserve in this industry, even if you put in hours, days, months, years if you are not doing the right things you will not get the right results and it is your responsibility to find out what the right things are, no one else.

Treat every success as a blessing or a gift, don’t attach “I deserve this” to it and celebrate each success even the small ones. Find a non musical outside interest that breaks up your quest for stardom or success, so you don’t get cabin fever, spend time with friends and family don’t sacrifice the life you have for the one you have not achieved.

Most of all in your career journey you must learn as you go, if your responses are less than satisfactory, find out why, fix and re engage. Everything is a cycle even when you achieve success you have a hit, find out what made it a hit and see if you can improve it and repeat.

Attention is not deserved it is given so appreciate it when you receive it.

P.S.

Make sure you are making your project as desirable as possible!

When  thinking about becoming a part of the music industry what is the first thing you ask yourself?

Are they really that bad?

We have had a number of quite talented stars emerge from these shows and with the music industry in the state it is, how else can artists  get national and international exposure in one big hit. We know some will say if it’s quick then it’s ___ well you get what I mean. If you take the case of the UK’s own soul man Lemar, he had been trying for a long time before in the now defunct BBC talent show Fame Academy, he even had just lost a major recording deal with Sony before he had released a record!

I personally have the opinion that in the case of  X-Factor the only real winner is Simon Cowell, but who says everyone has to be a superstar? Many of the acts involved in these shows have gone on to have full time careers in music, be it in pop music or the theatre, it’s getting paid for what you love isn’t it?

I’m not going to get into the rights and wrongs of the contractual side because that is a whole other can of worms, but I do want to address another question that I am sure a number of you talented artists may be considering.

Should you enter in one of these competitions to increase your exposure?

If you are thinking about this then for a start don’t be ashamed, it is a serious consideration for an artist, let’s face it pushing yourself online  is great and I wholly recommend getting your online profile sorted, but you need to do more than sit in front of your computer to promote yourself . You need offline activities to drive people toward your online presence and there still is no better way than TV.

Here’s the rub, if you do enter one of these competitions other than sitting, waiting for half your life to audition, if you are successful to a point but don’t win, you could forever be branded as X Factor flop or similar, there are always exceptions to this rule and a lot will depend on your behavior on said show.

If you just want to increase your profile and make some money performing then I suppose this route could work as many near winners are consistently performing at venues and clubs, but if you intend to develop your career to super stardom this turns into a high stakes gamble.

If we look at  past talent shows,  we remember few of the artists that came second. (in fact I’ve forgotten some of the winners too) Another issue to remember is that unless you have an earth shattering effect post competition or generate a story bigger than the show you appeared on, you will always be known as the XXX winner or runner up or loser.

Life is for the living and fortune favours the brave as they say, the key thing is to do something, I cannot say you shouldn’t enter one of these TV talent shows, but remember these are TV entertainment shows, in my opinion these shows are for entertainment first and the stardom of the contestants is secondary. You need to know what purpose you are entering the show for and what you want to get out of it. Remember all that shines is not gold, there are always drawbacks with opportunities such as these, as always you need to know who you are and present that artist, don’t be fake.

Think about your purpose, will associating yourself with these shows be bad for your brand? If you feel it will damage what you are trying to build then avoid them, otherwise you may consider these opportunities.

One final point, these shows will issue you with a very strong contract, make sure you understand what these contracts are saying, never sign on a whim, take it seriously as it could affect your future activities.

You may actually ask, what on earth is he talking about now?

Well marketed mud is what I call all the millions of artists that exist in the market who are just a mixture of stuff that fail to stand out.

On Myspace alone it is said there are over 8 million bands and artists, with a number of them no doubt absolutely terrible, some average and some who are  really good, comparable to successful commercial artists.

Here’s the thing, with increased competition the importance on standing out of the crowd has become more and more important, in fact vital to your success.

Now first things first it is important to produce good quality music, if your music is bad, not recorded very well or you are not that talented, that rules you out quite quickly.

The major thing the majority artists think will take them out of the mud is marketing.

I disagree.

If you are an average artist who comes into some money to spend on  marketing, you could run the risk of becoming what I call marketed mud. The reason I say this is that the most important aspect to an artist in today’s industry who is trying to stand out, is who they are.

As I stated earlier mud is just a mixture of earth and water, both individual ingredients very important but mud not so much (unless you are in the beauty trade). If you have not defined who you are, if you have nothing specific you can be “known for” then you are mud my friend. If you invest in a marketing campaign without defining yourself as an artist you are marketed mud.

There is a saying that says, “The best things in life are free” and this is true about the world of music and artistry. It doesn’t cost much take a little time to think about who you are and what you have to offer, the benefits are potentially invaluable.

In business they state that the customer is not interested in the product, just what the product can do for them. In music I believe people are drawn to people who represent something and state it.

Who are you and what do you stand for?

We are proud to announce that we will be launching our first commercially available artist system that will finally enable artists to attract the kind of success they deserve.

First of all I want to thank you for your interest, the fact you are reading this page shows you take your career seriously and you are looking for information that will bring you success, well you have come to the right place!

So what’s the big idea then?

Millions of people around the world are searching for the ways and means to generate success. Within the music industry there are formulas that exist and have been used by every superstar that ever existed. You may have heard various stories about your favourite music star and their rise to fame, but what you may not have known is that they all went through a process called artist development.

In the business there is a massive focus on what the artists produce, the CD’s, downloads, show’s etc. but for those who don’t know there is a massive lack of focus on the real product, YOU!

Yes that’s right you, you are the real product and in all businesses the product MUST be developed. In retail, manufacturing all industries the product goes through a period of product research, design and development and so must you!

The Artist Routemap is the ultimate artist development system. It will give you the information and ability to craft yourself as the ultimate artist. It will enable you to create amazing attraction to your fans and the industry, giving you opportunities like never before.

How does it do this?

It does it by focussing on the areas that really matter. Artists get caught up in a lot of irrelevant stuff and ignore the key things the industry and fans look out for in their superstars. This isn’t just about singing and dance lessons and this isn’t just about being sexy, this is about identifying what people really want.

The Artist Routemap is based on a 3 step system that will enable you to know exactly who you are and how to express it in a way that will attract the right attention and attract success. Most people think that this can be achieved by paying for marketing, but the truth is most marketers will tell you they have a nightmare with marketing artists because they haven’t spent time defining who they actually are!

With the Artist Routemap you will:

• Learn exactly what the music industry is looking for
• Learn how to build a huge fan base
• Learn how to stand far above the crowd
• Know exactly where you fit in the industry
• Learn how to build your image
• Be able to be yourself, but a more successful you
• How to differentiate yourself from existing artists
• Generate attraction that will have the industry running to you
• Identify your X-Factor (it isn’t that  “unknown thing stars have “as some have said)
• Learn what you should say to attract more fans
• Learn how to build a strong artist brand (it’s more than developing a logo)
• Learn what things are important and what is irrelevant in the business
• Learn the order you should build and reveal your product
• Save masses of time and money
• Develop absolute confidence in your product and ability

So when you get it yet?

This system will be launched in September, if you sign up for the free report you will be put on a list of people who will have first access to the system when it becomes available.

Many people have quoted the famous saying

“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”

Since the first time I heard this I thought, “that this can’t be true”. In some ways it is and in some ways it definitely isn’t. But in the world of business many will prove to you over and over again that this saying couldn’t be more true. I have to say I myself have managed to prove this saying to be true, but I hold firmly to the belief you have to know a little something too.

So many times I’ve seen situations in real life and in TV land and thought how did they get there or why is this person successful, I am sure you have thought these things over and over again too. Sure enough I have come to the opinion that again the saying rings true, they must know somebody and sure enough with a bit of research it turns out to be true.

No place is this saying more evident than in the music business. Half if not the majority of acts who are successful have got to where they are due to having the right connections. Even record companies nowadays are requesting that you don’t send them demos directly, but through somebody they know a lawyer, manager, producer even accountant, eerrrghh what is the world coming to an accountant!!! The fact is,  you may know how to write a great song or sing a lovely melody, but if you don’t know the right people you aren’t getting off level one.

Due to our favourite place not on earth, the internet, we have a number of things to influence this saying. Access to the right people has now become a lot easier and due to technology, high quality competition has grown at a ridiculous rate. Therefore I suggest that this saying is not untrue or out of date but needs an appendix, I suggest the following is added.

“It’s not what you know, but who you know & IF YOU’RE WORTH KNOWING!”

This may seem a bit cruel but take it like ill tasting medicine, it might bit hard to swallow but it will do you good in the end. If you look at it logically, if someone is worth knowing and has the ability to change your fortune, stands to reason lots of people want to know this man/woman. Not only is there competition to get to the recording, management or publishing company, there is competition to get to the person who could get you to them. Ask yourself why should he help you, because you’re good? The industry is not about finding something good unfortunately, it is about finding something great and in the absense of this, something that is financially viable.

There are a number of things that would make you worth knowing, the obvious is being the best at what you do, as well as being a great guy/girl and all the personality stuff. The other and more important in my humble opinion is that you show you are already successful in what you do. Success attracts success, haven’t you noticed that rich people like to hang out with other rich people? Success doesn’t mean that you are already a millionaire, although that would help, but you have proved that with a small investment you are already showing you can generate a following, you can book gigs, you work well in videos you are already a successful act, all you need is an additional financial boost and you will be an internationally successful artist.

“How do you show yourself as these things?”

We go back to our favourite outer world place the internet. The thing is it takes a certain type of person to do these things, if you are not willing to graft, chances are you aren’t the right type of person. You need to be enterprising, willing to take a risk and committed, because not only are the tools out there, they are out there FOR FREE! Even with the right tools some will still not want to do the job, or commit to seeing the job through til the end. For those who are willing use Facebook and Twitter to build your following, use your search engines to find clubs up and down the country to book gigs, use You Tube to show off your self on video. One of the key ingredients is drive you have to do these things. I heard a funny saying from someone about a passionate wannabe artist.

“I love music so much I will do anything to make it, except do it myself!”

In closing I suggest that you get moving on all areas of the saying, learn as much as you can about the industry and the artists and major players that exist, get to know some great people and refer to the first part learn everything about them, but first and most important make sure you are worth knowing, or you may find you get all the right answers but none of the action!

Never before has their been an available system for artists to chart their route to success. This is more than just artist development.

Have you been trying to get a recording deal without much luck?

Been getting the “sounds great” response then everything goes quiet?

Are you planning an independent release?

Over the years of working within the music industry I have spoken to hundreds of singers and musicians trying to get into the industry by any means necessary, having spent the earlier part of my life being an artist I thoroughly understand the issues artists face because I’ve been there. With my band I spent years rehearsing, performing and recording, bunking trains because we were broke, having meetings with people who say more than they do, and having the door closed or phonecalls not returned. It was disheartening but we still had a passion for our music and continued the fight.

Like us many of you have experienced the dark side of the industry, on the outside looking in. Some of you are just beginning and haven’t an idea of who to trust or who to speak to and do not want to get caught in the merry go round you have heard about. You want to know the right way of getting to the right people, without wasting time with the sharks that exist in the business.

What if I told you there was a way to get the industry to come to you?

Picture yourself performing you’re having to decide between not one, but a number of recording companies vying for your services, or making the decision to develop your career independently with full control. Sound good? Well this is the position an artist could find themselves in if they develop themselves correctly. Artist development is a term often heard but not totally understood, it is the process major companies use to tranform talented singers, musicians or bands to fully fledged artists.

This transformation process is essential in building a substantial and long term music star, and we have that formula to share with you! In the Artist First Seminars you will learn how the steps the major labels and management companies take a talented individual or band and turn them into stars. Competition is fierce in todays musical landscape and it may not be an accident that you haven’t been discovered, even though you know you are talented. It could be that you haven’t developed the right skills. The skills you need are more than singing and performing; At the Seminars you will learn about

• Defining your goals
• Developing your talent
• Concept Development
• Product Development
• Artist Branding
• Presentation Skills
• Artist Mentality and more….

If that wasn’t enough we will also be covering how to correctly present yourself and market yourself online with a specialist online music marketer who has worked on campaigns that include Beyonce, Take That, Shakira, Pink, Chris Brown  and with major labels such as Sony and more! So keep your ears to the ground as we will be announcing dates for the next seminar. Sign up to TrevorFisher.com and be the first to find out when the Artist First Seminar is coming to your city!

One of the most significant markers was laid down not in the music industry but in sports. When Michael Jordan the basketball legend achieved notoriety when he signed an extremely lucrative deal with Nike to produce the Air Jordan range, the table was set and has continued in sports with many sportsmen including David Beckham and Tiger Woods.

The deal with Michael Jordan was not the first time various industries recognised the power of performers be it sportsmen, actors or musicians. Run DMC the famous Hip Hop legends after recording and releasing the hit “My Adidas” was approached by the sport wear giants when sales of the brand increased due to the songs popularity.

Some would argue even more significant than these cases are the cases of minor celebrities such as the late Jade Goody have shown you don’t need to have achieved a significant success in any field to find success with selling your brand and being rewarded financially. Jade achieve significant financial rewards with her perfume line which gross her a seven figure sum.

So what is a brand?

Whenever I speak to musicians and mention branding they always start to speak about logos and image, which has a place in branding but it isn’t what branding actually is.

Let’s clear up the logo issue first.

A logo is the visual identification of a brand.

Again, so what is a brand?

A quote from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos states “a brand is what people say about you when you leave the room”. I think many would agree that Amazon is a well known and successful brand. But how do you build a successful brand? For me the key ingredient of a brand is trust! Now if you notice trust doesn’t mean you have to behave well and do everything by the book, as our post image we chose the Rolling stone logo which has become a brand that represents good rock and roll music, but was formerly identified with misbehaviour and rebellion.

Others in branding state that a brand is a promise of an experience as most women would get from a Herbal Essence ad is the promise of a sensual experience when washing their hair. One of the most successful examples of this promise is the Heinz food brand. When most shoppers who are not skint go to their local superstore if they are buying beans a large percentage for a long period of time would pick up the Heinz branded tin because it was branded as a higher quality product and it was so effectively marketed people didn’t mind paying more for the experience. That is what a well marketed brand will allow you to do.

What is your brand?

The music business is the king of the personal brand because if you didn’t have a good personal brand your success would be short lived. When developing your brand you need to know your brand values, what do you stand for? What do you want people to say about you? What are you promising? Are you guaranteeing a good time?Are you the rebel? Do you intend to enlighten the world? Or are you the sex kitten guaranteed to titilate and arouse? Work out your brand values and you will be well on your way to developing your brand.

Trust is never instant and neither is a brand it needs to be built over time and you need to live up to your brand values, your promise, if you don’t you will not have a strong brand therefore will not be deemed trustworthy or dependable to deliver the experience you say.

There is more to developing your brand but this is a brief overview and an invitation to you who are interested to research and start to develop that brand because if developed effectively will expand beyond your music to different areas as our earlier examples have shown.

Looking forward to my first University talk will be covering various topics relating to the music industry should be fun.