Organic's Top Tips For Any Aspiring Band - Check It Out On Takeout Magazine Online

My Ten Tips For Any Aspiring Band

1. Have a band agreement established before you record or release any material. What I mean by that is that you have to decide if you are going to split the writers’ share of your publishing equally between all members of the band or if IP ownership and other such earnings will be divided in other ways. In the big picture, it’s better to have this figured out sooner than later.

2. Write great songs. Seems like an obvious statement but I’d be remis to not mention it straight away. Have a work ethic that consistently provides a product that your audience enjoys listening to and will purchase. Be committed to the craft of creating innovative and honest art. That means you got to put out more than 1 EP every 4 years while still being true to yourself. I’m a firm believer that the overall success of any musician resides in their ability to write a substantial catalogue of memorable songs.

3. Expensive hobby or a career? Understanding that your band is a BUSINESS and that the recording industry is a BUSINESS – and treating it as such - will provide proper perspective as you develop and build your bands’ career. Otherwise, you’re just investing in an expensive hobby.

4. So you got talent but do you have tenacity? Tenacity is what keeps artists in the game and growing. I wish it were more of the former. Be willing to play for very little pay for a long time. It can take up to a decade to build a viable career that pays well. That’s a serious financial and time investment for anyone.

5. To that end, play out as much as possible, wherever you can get a gig. Any stage is a stage worth building your business on. I find it funny when bands think they are too good to play certain places when they can’t even get a guarantee in that city to begin with. I once encountered a band touring through Wilmington, NC a few years ago that is actually fronted by a respected Hollywood actor. I was putting on a show down there at the time that they wanted to be on the bill at the last minute. I was so inspired by the band’s humility and willingness to play 2 shows that night for no money and shared backlines. That kind of attitude is what gets you in the better venues.

6. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Have it for those that work for you, for those who have gone before you, for your fans (especially) and even for those that seem like they have no bearing on your success. Word spreads much more quickly about difficult bands to work for than those who understand the principle of respect for others.

7. Build only a team of people to build your business that understands your music and shares your values. It’s important to work with people you trust at every level of your career. Also, it’s okay that not everyone who will want to work with you and vice-versa will. What is important is finding those that do and holding on to them.

8. It’s not 1977. It’s not 1997 and it’s not even 2007. Again, that’s another obvious statement but I would remis again not to not mention this either. The music industry has change significantly in the last decade and even in the last 5 years. The traditional concept of a record label may not even exist within the next 5 years. The one thing I know for certain is that artists who see a label deal as the answer to their financial woes or even the final destination usually end up sorely disillusioned and not making music after they are dropped from a label or have had to go to court over a really bad deal that they rushed in to out of desperation.

9. Don’t go looking for managers and booking agents. Good ones are really tough to get. Build a viable business and they will find you, rest assured.

10. Never give away ownership of your publishing or your master recordings. Never, ever - no matter how much advance money is thrown in your face. If you’re on a label, you’re going to have to pay your label to afford the production and marketing expenses of your releases (depending on the label – some don’t provide that – but that’s another discussion). One option could be to simply take fewer royalties in both areas earlier on to avert having to pay your label or publisher back with what would be the equivalent of equity in your company. Think of it like this: a percentage of revenues in a million dollar corporation is still much less to give up than actual ownership. Giving up ownership usually equates the relinquishment or the compromise of control, creatively and otherwise.