TV makes the music business look very
fun and exciting. It also boasts of people with large bank accounts and very
lucrative and lavish lifestyles. For the individual on the outside looking in,
there are a couple of questions that may come to mind. Where do I start; and how
do I get in on all the action? The answer to these questions is fairly simple.
However, most people think and do something totally opposite of what I’m about
to suggest. The first place you should begin working on your music career is the
library. You should begin your career by reading and doing research. I know you’re
saying, “Nobody’s going to notice my talent, nor can I get discovered in the
library!!!” And, you are absolutely correct. Fortunately, what you will
discover in the library is how much there really is to know about the music
industry and how that information could mean the difference between you failing
in this business and having a successful career. You’ll learn just how
competitive this business really is and why it takes a little more than talent
and a good idea to make it in this business. There is another blog that I was
reading written by someone else who is a music consultant and he expressed in
his blog the importance of learning about the business. One of the things he
suggested was finding and surrounding oneself with knowledgeable people who
understand the business. It can prove to be very beneficial to get help from
someone who can lead you to a place that they’ve already been. I have also found
that some television programming, while very entertaining, has been also very
informative and gives some very realistic insight to the many challenges that
go along with making it in the music business. One television program I viewed was
called, Making The Band. I believe the
show gave a very honest look at the process for attempting to make it in the
music business.
Let me tell you a story about what I
experienced when I signed my first record contract. I was only 15 years old. Now
there are a lot of things that I can talk about concerning the events leading
up to my getting signed and even some of the things that transpired afterwards,
but I want to focus in on what the producer and owner of the independent record
label did for me upon signing the contract. He showed me a book and told me how
to go check it out of the library. The name of the book was called “This Business of Music,” (This Business of Music:
Definitive Guide to the Music Industry) by M. William Krasilovsky, Sidney Shemel, John M Gross and Jonathan Feinstein. I can’t remember what
edition it was, but it was so very enlightening to me. It caused me to look
beyond just mastering my craft and helped me learn how to handle my business
and understand more about how “the business” works. Reading that book helped to
lead me in the direction of receiving a bachelors degree in Music Industry
Management. I have been able to work in various areas of the music industry and
establish some very influential relationships. Even now, because I understand
the value of education as it pertains to the music industry, I am working on a master’s
degree in Entertainment Business. I’ve done all of this over a span of a little
more than 20 years and I expect to do at least 20 more. My main point is that
all that I’ve done and all that I’m doing was established on the foundation of
my doing reading and research about the music industry. It is because of that;
I believe it’s the perfect place to start building on what can prove to be a
long lasting career for you as well!
