Getting On the Music Industry Radar Screen

by Ty Cohen

Published on this site: May 17th, 2005 - See more articles from this month...

How to Get Noticed By Those Who Can REALLY Help Your Music Career!

As you or your band performs, be it from club to club around town
or nationally, there is usually one thing lingering in the back of your mind...

How do you go about getting that one big break that will push you
ahead toward greater recognition and success artistically?

You know it happens to artist and bands all the time. That time could come soon for your group to break out of the local scene and land that recording contract or national tour that will get you on your way to greater success.

You know there are tried and true methods. Having a great demo or being interviewed on the local radio shows at once seemed like a good idea. But times have changed in the music industry. In this article, we will discuss some up-to-date information and inside tips on how to get noticed in this tough business, in short I’ll give you some info that will literally place on the music industry radar screen. The knowledge that I’m about to share with you will work for any and everyone: Songwriters, Singers, Musicians, Rappers and for all genres of music: Pop, Rock, Rap, Gospel, R&B, Jazz, Grunge, Country and everything in
between!

Where are the Scouts?

You have had the thought run through your mind as you perform for
an enthusiastic crowd in a club or bar. Are there music industry scouts in this crowd? Maybe you just laugh it off but you have heard that they are out there watching bands like yours and signing the talented ones to develop into stars.

What you have heard is true. Industry insiders tell us that now more than ever, scouts are everywhere. You may worry that you are not living in one of the big “music industry towns” like New York, Chicago, L.A. and Nashville but that isn’t important. Remember, Seattle wasn’t on the map before grunge hit and they found Sir Mix A-Lot and for you Rock Heads, Kurt and Eddie.

But what if you don’t always have the biggest audience in town. Well, some of the biggest acts in the music business were “discovered” playing to a small and intimate crowd. If your performance is strong and you are getting good word of mouth, the music industry scouts will find you and check you out. So perform every night like they are out there because there is no reason to believe that they are not.

Go Get Them

But you don’t have to sit around and wait for them to come to you. The new “hunting grounds” for bands and talent are well known to the insiders. Once you know who it is that is feeding the information to music industry scouts and agents, you can learn the tricks of the trade to feed information about you or your band into that system. Here are a few of the newest methods and venues you can use to get yourself noticed:

• Perform, Perform, Perform. These days the local club scene is the most important way to get noticed. Don’t wear yourself out chasing agents or scouts. If your performances are strong, that will create a buzz and the word of mouth will get you noticed. Then the scouts will come to see you rather than you having to go and chase them.
• Build your relationship with your audience. Insiders tell us that scouts will come to a show for a musical venue they don’t even understand. If you are doing something bold and new that they are not able to evaluate musically, they will go by the crowd. If your audience responds with excitement and enthusiasm, that is what gets the eyes and ears of music executives. So pour yourself into the people for whom you are performing. That’s what you love to do anyway so it’s an easy way to get noticed and the right way too.
• Build your local network. Industry agents know club owners and booking agents for local events very well. If you have a strong reputation with them, they will pass that information along to the scouts who are looking for new talent.
• Indie (independent) labels are also a rich source of information for the larger recording houses to find out about up and coming bands. You may have indie labels near by so get to know them and get them to your shows so when they have a chance to connect you to a scout, your band is on their list of hot new acts.
• Never miss a chance to network but look for innovative ways to advertise yourself as well. The internet has lots of new and interesting sites that scouts are starting to watch for new talent. If you have the resources, get a web page up and get some MP3 samples of your performances out there. You can easily set up a website using a service like http://www.MyWebSiteMyMusic.com and you can also easily put your music on your site or anywhere else online, even in emails in MP3 format using a service like the one offered at http://www.ListenToMyMusicOnline.com.

The services offered by these two websites are extremely inexpensive and so simple to use, a 5 year old could do it, yet they will have you looking like a music industry professional in no time at all.

Is the Demo Dead?

From what we have learned so far, you would think the demo is ready to go into the hall of fame as an out-of-date tool. But the demo tape still has some real value to you. The best demo is one that showcases not only your musical skill but the personality and the performance skill of you or your band. If you can have someone put a demo together from one of your performances, that gives an agent or scout a bit of a feel for what to expect from you when he comes to see you.

So treat the demo as part of your bag of tricks but it isn’t the thing that is going to seal the deal. If a scout likes what he hears or at least his curiosity is peaked, he will then seek out ways to see you live. Then we are back to the club atmosphere, your relationship with your crowd and your performance. Those are the things that will get you noticed in a way that will lead to bigger breaks. Look at the demo as just the hook with a little bit of bait on it. You can also use your demo on your web page along with some video footage of your live performance to showcase the excitement of your shows. Remember both http://www.ListenToMyMusicOnline.com and http://www.MyWebSiteMyMusic.com offer some of the best services in the industry for doing this.

Video Didn’t Kill the Radio Star

Radio used to be the primary medium for distributing information about new acts and for getting your music played and noticed. But changes in ownership of radio stations and in how they are programmed have changed that too. The radio station is no longer a significant communication channel for you to use to get on the music industry radar screen.

A lot of factors have dropped radio off the radar screen for getting noticed. Airplay is not as much of a factor as it used to be when there was a lot of diversity in radio. Radio is nearly a monopoly with all of the play list decisions made by one central national firm. So if you think that any one individual at your area radio stations makes airplay decisions, you should revise that opinion because they do not. This little insider tip alone can save you huge amounts of wasted energy and frustration when trying to get noticed.

But don’t worry, scouts and music industry agents know they will not find the new, the innovative and the creative music on radio. They have turned from it to use local networking and club performances as their radar screen for new talent.

You do the same. Do not concern yourself a great deal with local radio coverage. Even college radio is virtually a dead venue for getting noticed in this new market. Focus on where the real contacts are being made today, through local contacts, word of mouth and above all club and local festival performances. Other good habits include using music industry contact directories like the one found at http://www.MusicBizPhoneBook.com which list contact information to over 20,000 important people in the music industry.

It’s all in your network and what is happening on the street that will make the difference between you getting noticed or not. In a way, that’s the way it always should have been, having the focus placed on your band talent, performance skill and live shows. That is where your strength is anyway. Be a savvy marketer and use this knowledge to raise the awareness of your band, your talent, your songs and your performances.

Ty Cohen, the music industry's most recognizable voice! Ty is the C.E.O of Platinum Millennium Publishing and Platinum Millennium Records as well as owner of: http://www.MusicContractsOnline.com and http://www.MusicBusinesSuccess.com To find out more about Ty Cohen, his services, products and how he may be able to help you succeed in the music industry go to: http://www.MusicBusinesSuccess.com and sign up for his free
limited edition music industry success 10-part "Mini-Course", it will work wonders for you and best of all, it's FREE, but EXTREMELY VALUABLE.