Getting funded by a record label

I'll give 2 pieces of advise.

First, stop concerning yourself with making money. You mentioned before that you'd like to use your music to share your love of your faith with people, focus on this as it will provide you with much more happiness, satisfaction and enlightenment that earning a paycheck ever will. It's nice to set the bar high, but starting out, you may want to consider "baby stepping" your goals so that you can achieve them and feel satisfied that you reached that goal. Don't loose sight of that bar set high, and keep in mind that you are ultimately on a path to greater things, but start small. Sell 100 copies of your first demo / ep / album. Play a show in another town where no one knows you and melt their faces. Get one of your songs on local radio. You know these things will help take you in the direction you want to go, but they are goals that are easier met than "I want to make money", and will help strengthen and grow your band as you progress, rather than slap you in the face every time you only make $40 at a gig.

Secondly, as for a more direct answer to your question, I really don't know. Presenting a label with a radio quality album is a good start. Eliminate the need for an advance for recording. Have decent, reliable gear that will not need to be upgraded if you hit the road. Research existing contracts, know what to look out for. A couple books were mentioned earlier, get a couple to learn from others experiences (and mistakes).

Labels vary greatly - some of the bigger guys are machines that put out product, some smaller ones tend to foster creativity a little more - explore your boundaries as a band and how far you are willing to go to fit a mold and solicit labels you feel will fit with what you hope to accomplish.

This is good info that you have given me man. Thanks.

It's just one of my goals to make enough money with my band for me and my band members to live well. But the ultimate goal of my band, and my life, is to share the message, and love,of salvation through Jesus Christ.
 
I'm not aware of a way to have both. If you were to be signed, you can be sure it's for the label's advantage, not the band's. If the band makes it to the end of their contract, has been successful and the label wants to hang on, only then does the band possess any negotiating power.

Longevity is the way to make money in this business, very very VERY few artists make any real money right off the bat (and only a few of them can hang onto it.)

Things just aren't as simple or fair as you'd like them to be regarding the business.

Bermuda

Thanks for the info. It is helpful for sure.

Let me ask this, if a band comes to a label with a decent following of fans does not this give them more negotiating power? I have always thought this to be the case.

What would you say is the key to a band having real longevity while staying true to their beliefs and thier musical vision?
 
Dude....people who truly want to do this.....DO THIS.

Without the wishes of a "big break" or "making it", etc...

thats really the key. i can't speak for anybody but myself (and polly too) but i play to play, thats it. i loved music as a child so i started playing guitar. my musical horizons changed, i learned more instruments as i'm doing now. i could care less how much i make from a show, how many people show up or even if anybody even enjoyed it (granted i do like it when people are into what i'm doing) but even sitting in my house alone with nobody listening i'm just as happy playing as what i would ever be out playing for hundreds of thousands of people. actually happier. i'm happy to have a few very close friends who i play with but i would be just as happy playing by myself. money is not the key, making it is not the key. do it becuase you enjoy it and be happy. go read some horror stories from the road, think about these guys that spend a year on the road not seeing their wives or kids. you think that stuff is fun? people really want that stuff? write music because it speaks to you, play because the music speaks to you...

or find a new line of work...

maybe a priest or something.
 
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i can't speak for anybody but myself but i play to play, thats it. i loved music as a child so i started playing guitar. my musical horizons changed, i learned more instruments as i'm doing now. i could care less how much i make from a show, how many people show up or even if anybody even enjoyed it (granted i do like it when people are into what i'm doing) but even sitting in my house alone with nobody listening i'm just as happy playing as what i would ever be out playing for hundreds of thousands of people. actually happier. i'm happy to have a few very close friends who i play with but i would be just as happy playing by myself. money is not the key, making it is not the key. do it becuase you enjoy it and be happy. go read some horror stories from the road, think about these guys that spend a year on the road not seeing their wives or kids. you think that stuff is fun? people really want that stuff? write music because it speaks to you, play because the music speaks to you...

or find a new line of work...

maybe a priest or something.

Feel free to speak for me, Azrael. Well said.
 
Thanks for the info. It is helpful for sure.

Let me ask this, if a band comes to a label with a decent following of fans does not this give them more negotiating power? I have always thought this to be the case.

If a band has 'decent' enough following to attract a label, I would recommend they sell their own CDs in order to reap the most money.

What would you say is the key to a band having real longevity while staying true to their beliefs and thier musical vision?

The first thing is having music that people want to hear. plenty of artists have strong beliefs and a vision, but their music doesn't have enough widespread appeal to translate into any money for them, or a label. And starving for one's art is highly over-rated.

The second thing is, understanding that those same people will tell the band when they've had enough. Meaning... the band really has little control over how successful they will become, or how long it will last.

But most importantly, if there was a workable answer, every band would last forever.

Bermuda

PS: I think I answered this exact question on another forum...
 
I hear ya on the starving artist part Bermuda. It surely is romanticized on t.v. but in reality it sucks being broke because of you stick to your ideals to strongly. You have to be realistic, which doesn't mean compromising your artistic standards but you gotta play the game if you wanna get anything done. This is true in everything in life, not just music.
 
Simply put, playing music in America don't pay squat.
 
Abe, sounds like you've been talking with too many Aussies :)

This thread is touching on something I've never gotten my head around. Heaps of movie stars, rock stars etc will say something like this in interviews:

"I had a dream and I stuck to it even though everyone told me I was crazy and it couldn't be done. Don't listen to the doubters! Follow your dream and never let it go and one day you'll get there".

I believed that until I was 28 and saw bands hitting the big time that were not only much younger than my groups, but much better writers and players than we were. Not just better, in another league.

At 28, after a decade of playing around the traps, I figured that if it was going to happen, then it would have already happened ... or at least I'd have been a lot closer to making a living from music than I was. The scene is littered with people who never managed to live the dream and ended up joining the 9-to-5 drones, as I did. The unlucky ones ended up washing dishes.

Thing is, as the song says, ya gotta have faith (and I don't mean religion).

At the same time, people often benefit from cutting their losses and re-evaluating their goals.

They say there's no sense throwing good money after bad.

But winners never quit and quitters never win.

The whole thing does my head in, which is why I haven't offered an opinion on this thread. The idea of sober judgement of probabilities seems incompatible with living the dream. The only intersection seems to be that having a dream is a great motivator to work hard.

Just to complicate things further, they say:

It's not what you know but who you know.

You make your own luck.

It's in the lap of the gods ...

In the end, the only saying that makes sense to me is que sera sera.

yes.

and for me personally, i add - You Know What You Want To Do...Do What You Gotta Do To Make It Happen...and Don´t Hurt Nobody While Doing It.

once all of the ramifications of that statement are fully digested and understood, the rallying cry can be modified to simply...Do What You Gotta Do.

but never forget that the complete statement includes Don´t Hurt Nobody.
 
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All the posts after the one I'm responding to had very good advice and accurate comments, imo. Just two things I'd add:

(1) You need to develop a goal list, and there needs to be three parts to it: (a) long term goals--where you want to be in five years say, (b) intermediate goals--what would be about "halfway" to your long term goals, and (c) immediate, short term goals--steps you need, and more importantly that you CAN take from TODAY to a few weeks from now to get closer to your intermediate goals. Don't just think about this. You need to literally write it out with headings of "long term goal(s)", etc., and you need to regularly look at it and make sure that you're working on it.

Your goal list will need to be periodically reassesssed, for two reasons: one, your goals might change a bit as you go along, and two, at least the intermediate and short term goals are going to change as you work on them--you'll realize and/or figure out better things you need to do to get to your longer term goals. I'd reassess it, writing out a new one, between every three to six months. Don't reassess/rewrite it too often. If, within six months, you would believe that you don't need a new goal list yet, you really do, because that means that you haven't progressed on the short term goals--you either didn't make them short term enough, you didn't make them things that you can definitely achieve now, or you haven't been working on it, so you'd need to come up with something that you really would do, that you really have the motivation for. Obviously your short term goals can't be things like "get a record contract". They need to be things that you can do, or begin doing, TODAY, without having to bank on being lucky, or someone doing something unusual to help you, etc.

(2) This should be part of your short term goals, and pretty much a persistent part of it if you want to make a living in an arts or entertainment field, but it bears stressing it on its own: You should ALWAYS be working on making and maintaining contacts in the industry. At first it's not likely to be anyone too important in the industry, because you're just not going to be able to get in touch with them. You have to work your way up. It's important to not burn any bridges, and it's important to try to keep continuing, healthy relationships with everyone you've networked with so far, even if they do not seem important in the industry now--they might be in the future. It's important to do this even when it seems like you're doing most of the work of maintaining the relationship and keeping it amicable--otherwise, again, you could burn a bridge that's going to cost you down the road. Success in arts & entertainment industries comes largely from successful networking, and on the flipside of that, no matter how talented you might be, if you do not network well, do not socialize well, if you're difficult to get along with or work with (to put it politely), chances are that you're going to hurt yourself and before too long, you'll probably be out of work altogether.

Thanks alot for the great info. I think the things you said to do in this post are great. I'm gonna write down what you said and do it.
 
Shelby....I'll tell you again.... what I've told you for the last several years on my forum.

You're trying to make the worlds best soup......but, you don't have the ingredients to make it.....nor the pots and pans to cook it in.

I would be the first to tell you to go for it and follow what you're trying to do.......
IF YOU HAD A BAND
Or, at the very least......the basic fundamentals of trying to reach your goals.
How are you going to negotiate with a label.......if you don't even have a band?

You have no current video (or any of merit at all) No band, no songs, no presence (other than wanting something to happen on internet forums) I don't even know if you have a drum kit.
You have put ZERO effort in trying to reach these goals....other than ask for opinions on forums....and, that doesn't help you get anywhere.

Do you seriously think that you're going to get people to give you pats on the back for trying..... when you don't have....not even one of these things.

And, you're how old at this point?

Dude....people who truly want to do this.....DO THIS.

Without the wishes of a "big break" or "making it", etc...

You seem to lack the biggest part needed for "making it happen" and, that's desire to play.
If you had that.....you'd have videos, a few bands, etc....not just the hopes of "making it".
Until you find that missing piece....you need not worry about opinions on internet forums.

Prove us wrong.....show us you love to play...because without that.....you have nothing.

D.

I fully agree with you that I need to be out there playing. I had a band in Va. not long before I moved to Fl. Unfortunately that band did not work out (which ended up being a good thing in the long run). I also fully agree with you that I need a band to make things happen. But right now I'm learning all I can before I have that band. My hope is to combine all that I learn now with the practical knowledgethat I will learn with my band when I'm out there doing these things that I'm learning.

As is I'm nursing an arm and wrist injury. This is keeping me from playing with my hands right now. I just saw a Doc. about it last week. I'm still able to practice with my feet now which is a Blessing from the Lord.

I did post some examples of my playing on your board in this same thread. I figure that you just did not see that yet.

As is I'm dealing with some things (my injuries and financially) that I have to take care of. But God willing I am going to be moving to Atlanta in Dec. of 2011 (there's really no scene at all where I now live). This is where I plan to base myself out of. I have made contact with some musicians there that I hope will be good leads.
 
Man this is an interesting topic. Im going through the same stuff myself- ive been playing with this one group for about two years and were breaking the bank trying to release an album independently.

Im going to sound like an advertisement here (as I posted the following link in another topic), but there is a way to get funding, you just have to be willing to work. Kickstarter.com is a great way of getting funding for different projects. Im actually in the middle of a campaign now (to check out my page, visit http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/frankwolfman/pre-order-suggestions-upcoming-album) and, while its going a bit slow, we still have nearly 40 days to complete our project. Get creative to market your music, do something new; playing great music will only get you so far nowadays. You have to be creative and adamant.

If you have built up a decent fanbase from playing locally and regionally, continue to stay connected with those fans, and give them a reason to buy your product, theres no reason you cant make the money yourself. I know a lot of people are going to call me crazy, but its true- you dont need to sign over your rights and go into debt to make it. Let me repeat: YOU DONT NEED TO GO INTO DEBT TO MAKE IT. Independence IS the future of the music business.

There are so many case examples of this success, too. Take Trent Reznor, for exampl. While he started off as a signed act to a major label, he broke away from their contract and has been running independently since. One promo tool he used was the use of pre orders; on his website, he had a $250 package that sold out within within 30 hours. Over 200 had been sold. Do the math...thats big money for a single person to take in.

Think about it like this- your group makes 100% of the profit if you remain independent while barely taking 5-10% if youre signed. That means you have to sell at least 10x as much signed to make the same profit. If youre creative enough, you can build a fanbase...you just gotta start thinking.

Frank

THanks Frank. I'll check out the link in your post.
 
thats really the key. i can't speak for anybody but myself (and polly too) but i play to play, thats it. i loved music as a child so i started playing guitar. my musical horizons changed, i learned more instruments as i'm doing now. i could care less how much i make from a show, how many people show up or even if anybody even enjoyed it (granted i do like it when people are into what i'm doing) but even sitting in my house alone with nobody listening i'm just as happy playing as what i would ever be out playing for hundreds of thousands of people. actually happier. i'm happy to have a few very close friends who i play with but i would be just as happy playing by myself. money is not the key, making it is not the key. do it becuase you enjoy it and be happy. go read some horror stories from the road, think about these guys that spend a year on the road not seeing their wives or kids. you think that stuff is fun? people really want that stuff? write music because it speaks to you, play because the music speaks to you...

or find a new line of work...

maybe a priest or something.

I do love to play music. And I also want to do that for a living. I want to enjoy what I do for a living (which is playing music).

I am one of those guys that wants to be out on the road for long periods of time playing to lots of people. I enjoy playing music for myself and for others.
 
Im gonna chime in here again and give another, more relevant case example. Theres a band called Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah! that are completely independent; they worked and marketed their band appropriately and within a few years had a silver or gold (300,000 copies sold) album. They were able to keep all of the money since they were independent.

What this means is that you have to work much, much harder than musicians in the past when it comes to self marketing; however, if youre smart, work hard, and play good music, you can manage to make some money in this new market.

You can check out more of their story if you google it. I dont know their full story, but thats the basic outline of it.
 
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