Wherever you live, if you're really good, the word spreads.But if you think you're going to sit in your bedroom and make a tape and pray the world will discover you--I think you've got to take the bull by the horns. You play local gigs, you work around your neighborhood. People want to know what the magic answer is. There is no magic answer. It's either gonna happen or it's not but it's certainly not gonna happen if you don't help it along.

   Overspending on recording, trying to improve the demo. I've seen it happen a hundred times. "What is it missing?" Maybe it isn't missing anything. You can't polish a turd.
It's rock n' roll for God’s sake! It's three chords. It's about magic. You can't manufacture it. Another mistake I've seen bands make is that the answer to everything is the recording contract.

   A recording contract is only a ticket to participate in a very big race." It's not the answer to anything. I've also seen bands whose second record isn't as successful as the first and it's usually a matter of timing. That's the biggest element of success and you can't control it.

   stay true to what you are

   The record company is basically nothing but a loan company. They give you shitloads of money to do the things you need to do but there's a price to pay. (Brett Scallions of Fuel)

   Unfortunately, there's no artist development anymore. That's how the industry is. You have to rely on yourself and fight for it yourself.

   Get a big f*cking record deal and not worry so much about keeping the [costs down] because you think you're gonna recoup. You'll never recoup. As much money as they make on their percentage end and the failure rate is like 97%, only 3% of bands ever sell more than 10,000 records. That's insane! 10,000 records isn't going to recoup a major label deal! You're lucky if gold, 500,000 records, will. Most bands only sell 10,000 to 100,000 a record. Only a select few go gold and platinum; you can count 'em on one hand. People think "I gotta keep the costs down," but man, your best reward is getting as much money as you possibly can when you do a major label deal.

   Play the game. Otherwise, stay in the garage, stay indie, do an indie deal and make your records for cheap and then recoup your costs. You will probably recoup because they won't be spending as much money on you as a major label would. You can't control what a label spends on you. If they want to do a $300,000 video, or if they want to spend $100,000 a song on independent radio payola, they'll do it and that goes against your recoupment. But you can go the indie route and tour and make your money the old fashioned way by touring and holding on to your merch. That's what we did for years. We didn't have a record deal and we made a living for years by selling T-shirts and records out of the back of our van. Do you think we stopped doing that now? Hell no! (Bitch walker from marvelous 3/August 2001)

  Just Got A record Deal ? Get a good lawyer, someone who knows how to go through it all with a fine-toothed comb. Musicians aren't the sharpest tools in the shed. Sometimes we're savvy but we can get tricked easily.

   Before you get signed don't sign a management contract. Don't sign anything that's going to lock you in to yearly terms. It's asking for trouble because if people can't respect and trust you enough to work with you…I think you need time to get to know people. Do as much research as you can on people who are telling you what to do. A lot of people will feed your head full of shit when you're good. Don't listen to anybody's hype but your own. It's a very unfaithful business. You've got to believe in what you're doing but don't get carried away.

   You've got to be a band member. You have to write songs you love and believe in, and you have to get really good with your live show, but you have to realize that your ego is going to get bounced around like a ping pong ball. You've got to really be careful about what stuff you let hurt you and what stuff is just par for the course. It's taken me most of my career to learn that. It's part of being a band member. I think about what is it that I really do. Am I a bass player? Well, yeah. Rock star? I'd never call myself that. My real occupation is band member. That's something you have to get good at just like you have to get good at playing your instrument. ( Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith - July-2001)

   Star quality comes with confidence. Image, Sound, Talent & all that is great but it all comes down to the song. A great singer is what is important but even he can't save a bad song. Always think about the song, not how much you can showcase your amazing drumming (unless called for in that song). The best songs ever made are usually the simplest . Why ? cause music is about what sounds good & is catchy, What sounds good, not what you think others think is cool. Music is for everybody, All different tastes. ( Shawn Beaulieu - Guitarist/Songwriter for Janet Theory)

  The music business is about making money. It is about selling records. You can only sell records if people hear you. If you are not touring 300 dates a year, this means radio. You can only get radio adds if you exist creatively within a radio format. (indie-musc.com)

* Odds of success are 1500 to 1 for a beginning act
* A new artist will receive a royalty rate of 7-9% of the suggested retail price of a CD or tape; really successful performers get 15% or more.
* Most major labels today DO NOT accept unsolicited material.(Demo's)

   Have a press kit that is professional and to the point. The demo tape should always present your best material first. The A&R dept looks at the photo and listens to the first 30 seconds of the tape. If you do not hook them at this point in time, then your chances are slim of receiving any more attention from that label.