Ways To Get Signed To A Label

For 99.9% of the bands out there their goal is to sign with a record label. Call it an acknowledgement of the hard work, a badge of pride for the years of sacrifice, gutting it out on the road, a platform for personal expression , delusions of money, whatever – the goal is to get signed. The truth is, getting signed is pretty damn hard on one hand and incredible easy on the other. Easy because in today’s industry there are hundreds of thousands of bush league labels and so called “label executives” looking to nickel and dime you. Assuming you have good judgment, stay away from these clowns. As for the beneficial situations, getting signed to a record label is pretty damn hard. There are layers upon layers of gatekeepers to push past in order to eventually, hopefully, sit down with the right person, the decision maker, in order to make your 10 minute pitch. If you can make it this far God bless you; but remember you need to deliver something different to standout because there are thousands of potential replacements waiting outside the door. If you can get in the door I’ll reveal the tricks to stay. Unfortunately in today’s industry, and you can argue with me until you’re blue in the face, but your actual music isn’t the dealmaker. Here are the 4 things executives will be secretly evaluating besides your music. Arm yourself with these tricks and impress the decision makers while increasing the chances you’ll get signed:

1. Be Marketable

Immediately walk in the door and tell the executive why you’re marketable. Not your demographic, not your market appeal, and not where your music sells, but WHY you’re marketable. You need to ooze cross over appeal, cross promotions, and non-traditional retail potential. Most bands make the mistake by wasting their 10 minute pitch telling the stories behind lyrics (boring) and/or their particular market demographics who attend the shows. These are all good things to discuss, but discuss them if you get a second meeting. An executive is looking past your music in to other avenues that can make money and help push your music. Being “marketable” or better yet how to “appear marketable” is a difficult thing to do and will be covered in depth in a later post; however be fully aware this is an essential element once you’re in the door.

2. Have a Gimmick

I’m not suggesting to do something stupid like have a pacifier in your mouth for all shows, but you do need a gimmick. A gimmick doesn’t have to be something cheesy, rather something consistent, a common factor between personal style, performance, and shows. I’m not here to tell you what that gimmick is because that should be left up to the artist’s creative mind. I will tell you what a gimmick translates into in the mind of an executive: product. You got a gimmick and a marketing department will have a field day creating product to couple your music. So if you’re meeting with an executive and you’ve got a gimmick, make it immediately known and point out the potential for spill over products.

3. Have Some Business Arrogance

Be very careful in how you interpret this, as arrogance may cut your own throat. Musicians who walk in the door armed with a business plan, musicians who carry a “we don’t need the label because we have a secondary plan” attitude will hit a homerun with executives.Why? A smart businessman will be attracted to this professionalism and see you’re ready to play ball. More importantly they’ll be intrigued that you may know something they don’t. Surprised by the fact you may be able to advance your career better than they can.This works. More importantly this separates you from the thousands of bands willing to lay on their backs for the labels.

4. Remain Flexible:

Bands get discouraged and offended when someone makes suggestions to elevate their career. Rightfully so, I would get offended to if some jackass floated out advice that has no merit; but be professional and choose your battles. If you’re sitting in an office of a record executive, in reality you’re lucky to have the opportunity, so be a sponge and soak up the knowledge. Executives, in most cases, have seen it all, done it all, and analyzed ever way to increase record sales through a variety of markets and avenues. Pay attention, as you can only learn.

Concert Posters & The Rise of Legal Rights

Concert posters have long been the standard when promoting gigs. It’s simple, efficient, and people generally love seeing these unique pieces of art. In today’s DIY market coupled with fading music sales, artists are beginning to rely heavily upon poster design as an additional merchandise revenue stream but few realize concert posters/design pack a hefty legal punch. In short: Who owns the concert poster? The band that’s performing? The designers who designed the poster? Perhaps the venue that booked the artist? If you don’t think these issues are important, think again. Concert posters are quickly becoming the hottest piece of merchandise, not only for growing indie acts but major artist as well. Indie bands with limited edition numbered prints have been able to sell good designs for $100, therefore banking more on posters than CD sales. Take an established group with a vintage concert poster back from the 60’s and it may sell for $10,000+. I can’t touch upon the global issues concerning concert posters due to the enormity of the content, nor will I address all the legal implications in detail, however I do suggest using the information below as a solid foundation, a brief flicker of insight into the multitude of issues that can quickly snowball out of control.

Use of concert posters have traditionally worked as follows: A music venue and/or promoter books a band and subsequently hires an artist to design a concert poster surrounding the performance. The band provides the venue/promoter with photography and logos who in return passes the information off to the poster designer. With new technology new methods are used. Now it may be common for a band to design a concert poster and later provide the poster to certain venues showcasing the venue logo/information. Others may hire poster designers who design, print, and distribute the poster. Regardless, every scenario identified consist of three major legal components, often ignored, which (especially in today’s music market) inevitable come back to bite someone in the ass. When these components are combined two questions emerge: who owns the poster and who owns the poster design? In order to touch upon these questions, let’s review the three legal components and how they’re used.

1. Trademark:
If you’re in a band and you haven’t filled for a trademark – listen up. Trademarks (ones which are rightfully filled for, granted, and owned) must be licensed when used by anyone other than the trademark owner. For example, if I own the trademark for BAND X, when I play at a venue, who ever uses the concert posters to promote must be granted a license in order to use the mark. If a poster designer uses BAND X in a design, he must have a license to do so. If you don’t own the trademark, you’re mark is open on the market (i.e. Anyone can use it and they can use it without your permission). However, when concert posters are designed it’s typically authorized by a handshake deal, telephone call, or it’s simply implied. All the more reason a performance contract is relevant in order to address who owns the rights to (a) use the mark and (b) who owns the poster. Let’s say for example a designer builds a killer concert poster for an upcoming show. The band owns the trademark but didn’t license the mark for use. Well at this point we’ve got a stout legal issue. Because the band didn’t regulate the mark, a design will suggest it was simply implied that they could use the mark to promote the concert. In part he is correct. Consider five years down the road, the band signs with a major label, they tour heavily and begin selling millions of albums. The “vintage” concert poster becomes a collectors item. The poster designer can begin printing, reprinting, and selling the design and the band receives nothing. Had the band issued a “proper” performance contract with a limited license, they would enjoy in the income stream. I use the term “proper” simply because bands will cut corners by using form contracts they find on the internet. Because these are relatively new rights that bands are taking into consideration, form contracts will not cover such areas.

2. Copyright:
This is perhaps one of the most scandalous topics following the Vampire Weekend album cover infringement. Instead of covering that litigation story in exhausting detail, let’s look at a realistic working model. Band X provides their promo photo to a poster designer who in return places the group picture into a poster design. Smart tactic considering the band will receive more visibility. However, who owns the rights to the band promo photo? Did the photographer who took the band picture license the photo to the group? Has it been purchased following a work for hire contract? Maybe it was the cash/photo exchange that simply implied the band now owns the photo? If it’s the later, which it typically is, the band does NOT own the photo, the photographer does. Without securing the rights, guess who will come a calling if the band sparks in popularity and the poster is being sold as additional band merchandise?

3. Right of Publiciity:
Right of publicity is typically the topic that gets promoters and venues sued. In short, right of publicity authorizes monetary damages when someone’s image, photo, or likeness is used for commercial gain without their consent. For example, if VENUE X or DESIGNER X begins selling concert posters following a gig, but didn’t receive authorization from the band in order to do so. In this scenario they are subject to litigation because they have infringed upon the bands image. Problem in today’s informal market, bands typically sign performance contacts (a) without reading, or (b) without issuing their own. This has consequences because they usually give away rights; rights they didn’t even know existed in the first place. In order to recoup cost, venues will sell unused concert posters or poster designers sell designers on websites in which they create. In short, someone else is making revenue in which should have/could have been redirected to the band.

Ways Musicians Are Screwing Record Labels

Not to long ago I was in a meeting with a couple labels and their respected distributors. Many of the people I was meeting for the first time, but given their resumes across the board, everyone was well respected. As everything shot along, I suddenly heard the mother of all comments: “well musicians have been screwing the SH** out of labels for several years now.” What? Just as I was about to chime in this individual backed up the statement with about a 5 minute off the cuff justification. Coming from someone who is very much pro musicians, deep rooted in artist development, and has nurtured artists who collectively have sold millions of albums, I bought into the statement.

Rightfully so, musicians and indie industry professionals are anti “major” anything; but this article isn’t about that. Minds have been molded to reject the industry machine, but how musicians are screwing labels represents the new age of the industry. This doesn’t reflect the majority, but it does reflect the norm. Indie labels are the victims, not the majors. Unfortunately the majors trained everyone to think bitter.

1. Jumping Ship
Musicians spend time searching for labels that will (1) sign them, (2) give them the most, and (3) sound impressive. Rarely do musicians understand (truly understand) the monetary risk and exhaustive networking that comes from an indie label just to get someone to listen. The market is so saturated that labels and their respected teams must desperately search for some kind, any kind, of press attention. Regardless of what people think, there is NEVER a “for sure” band. The amount of bands that break based on their music alone are 1 in 1,000,000. Labels are the traditional vehicles to push everything other than the music in order to get energy swarming around the music’s expression. This process takes years and luck. Today unfortunately musicians are looking for the best opportunity and not building long term, mutually beneficial deals with their labels. If labels don’t deliver immediately, musicians jump ship. This makes since on one hand, but on the other hand it’s a bad deal from the start. If musicians jump ship always looking for the biggest deal, labels don’t grow, musicians don’t advance, and the radio waves continue to be plagued with one hit wonders. If a label pours years into pushing a group, then the group aborts the plan because they don’t think the label is delivering, the label then loses clout with all the previous contacts and burns bridges that were laid for potential band success.

2. Risk Overload
When musicians are looking for the best deal as opposed to mutually beneficial deals, the market becomes overly congest with an unrealistic dream. There is a remote few indie labels that can actually deliver a favorable artist contract. The ones that can are generally big (borderline major label) where they can spread out risk. The ones that can’t are the ones being screwed by artists. Contrary to what people think, labels endure a tremendous financial risk when signing bands. There is a hell of a lot more to the equation than printing up albums and selling them. The financial constraints are often being floated by the label head’s personal bank account as opposed to a label’s. The same frustration indie bands have when they bankroll tours, indie labels have been bankrolling artists. The frustration normally shifts to monetary suicide when the very investment risk labels make (ie: the artist) jump ship to look for the next best thing.

3. 360 Deals Aren’t “Yes” or “No”
360 deals have a bad reputation. Correctly so, I’ve never seen an artist friendly 360 deal fall on my desk. With indie label 360 deals, don’t run for the hills when you see one, rather negotiate. Musicians see 360 deals and they either (1) leave, (2) attempt to negotiate it themselves, or (3) slander the label. Don’t do any of the above! Get an entertainment attorney to negotiate the 360 deal down to a 180 style deal which shares the risk between label/band. There is always a middle ground but typically the middle ground is hard to see because of frustration and emotions. When an indie offers a 360 this isn’t an open invitation to bash them and claim they’re a bunch of greedy asses. Negotiate.

At its core this isn’t a problem with artists and labels, labels and artists, it’s a mindset thats plagued the industry. Focus on mutually beneficial deals as opposed to the greedy, “I want it now” or “what have you done for me lately” attitude. For artist to grow and indie labels to strengthen the parties need to be connected from risk/reward viewpoint.

3 Ways To Partner With A Non-Traditional Retailer

American Apparel Clothing Company had the right idea when they teamed up with French Pop sensation Sebastian Tellier to release his American album a few years ago. Their 350 stores essentially became home as the exclusive retailer for Tellier. As this method of non-traditional retailer / music partnership isn’t the first of it’s kind it did help launch the growing trend of international globalization with music and retailers. For retailers it isn’t all about the music (sorry musicians), as it is doubtful Tellier’s lack of popularity in the States suddenly drove boy shorts and tank top sales through the ceiling. American Apparel benefited from a market expansion, capitalizing on a sultry French singer to expand their sexy clothing, and to possibly generated income from wasted shelf space. Tellier on the other hand catapulted himself into a cutthroat American marketplace by having one of the most popular clothing stores vouch for him, essentially gaining instant credibility overnight. This model is simple and fortunately becoming more maneuverable for musicians on all levels. As bands continue to fight the grind hoping for 2 inches of shelf space at Best Buy, adopting the Tellier model may prove more beneficial. Be smart, be productive, and follow the 3 ways to partner with a non-traditional retailer.

Music professionals fail to study the dim industry statistics. They are scary as hell, depressing, and make you want to switch careers. However buried deep in the gloom there is interesting information that provides hope. In 2008, the hierarchy of album sales read as expected: Mass merchants sold an overwhelming majority at 120 million units, chain stores came in second with over 115 units sold, non-traditional stores at 80 million, followed by the dying breed of indie stores at 20 million. 2009 paints an entirely different picture. Mass merchants have experienced an -18% drop, chains -23%, indies down -16%; but the non-traditional retailers gained +8%. In an industry that consistently feels a 30 to 40% punch to the gut year after year, any gain is worth noting. It’s even more interesting to note that the only real gains come from stores that don’t even specialize in selling music.

To make sure we’re all on the same page, just a quick synopsis. As discussed in a previous post – Why You Need a Record Deal – Nielson estimated about 105,000 releases in 2008 in which only 6000 of those albums sold 1000 or more. Mass merchant stores like Target, Walmart, Best Buy, etc. sell the most music in today’s marketplace (Walmart controlling 20%). On average these stores have about 750 different titles on hand. Clearly the slots are reserved for A-list artists who are not only on today’s top 100 list, but also the best selling artists of old who continue to spin a fan base. Further these mass merchants shelf albums as “loss leaders” which means they price music so low (ie: the artist, label, merchant make nothing), the merchant banks on drawing in customers who will buy additional store products outside of CD’s. This model, coupled with limited spots basically means it is damn near impossible to crack the mass merchant market and see a benefit. If you’re trying to crack this market as an unsigned band you might as well set your sights on becoming the King of England and marrying a Playboy Bunny as well. Good luck! Chains stores, similar in many ways, tend to reserve their shelf space to musicians they are positive will sell. Because of the dying market, chains can’t afford to risk limited sales from an indie artist, as they can almost guarantee X amount of sales with a major musicians seeing their labels will pour millions into promotion. Chances you’ll crack the chain stores shelves, much like the mass merchants, sits around zero. As indie stores typically are more liberal with their music selection, their dwindling traffic almost demands guaranteed sales with Top 40 artists. You may be able to crack a few indie stores, however you can’t develop a career by nickeling a limited number of indie stores in order to carve a legitimate market. Gaining a sustainable career today means being extremely savvy in the market, innovative, and spreading out your album sales efforts. This includes both online sales and retail sales, however when it comes to retail sales it is best to focus on the non-traditional market. The non-traditional retail market simply refers to retail stores that don’t typically sell music. The non-traditional route can essentially kill two birds with one stone: first bird- you gain retail exposure, and two- you can potentially gain international exposure. Here are the ins and outs on making it happen.

1. First Build an Infrastructure

Bands typically try to enter the marketplace with a “we’re here and our album is done” type attitude. For the most part nobody gives a sh*t, as there are hundreds of thousands of “you” out there. To gain legitimacy you need an infrastructure. When you eventually partner with a retailer they want to know they’re not starting from scratch. Seeing benefit in an unknown band is unlikely. There is more risk involved, more energy and effort to take a band with zero album sales and benefit a business or retailer. Now if there is 500 sales, 1000, 2000+ plus there is something there to build on. The risk is lower, and energy can be expended on marketing/promoting the unique partnership as opposed to wasting energy on telling the world who you are. Further, infrastructure lets a retailer know you’re hardened, not scared to promote, and won’t rely on someone else to “sell” you. Hint- this is attractive to the business world!

2. Expand a Retailer’s Market Don’t Just Enhance it.

Non-traditional retailers know who their market is, as should bands. If the two groups share the same market it is unlikely a store will be attracted to a partnership as the band simply enhances their store. Stores are looking for expansion- help in capturing a new market while keeping their image in tact. For example: Chain store A who has 100 skateboard shop locations, attracts customers ages 13-18 who are punk rock listeners. The store is looking to expand into 20 new cities but wants to sustain customers for a longer period of time, 13-30. It isn’t in store A’s best interest to partner with a band that already shares these same market demographics as the partnership would only enhance the stores image. Store A stands to benefit by teaming with musicians that appeal to ages 19-30 in order to expand their brand. More than likely this will no longer be punk rock listeners, so Store A needs to capture a band who expands them into a 19-30 listener demographic. When it comes time to meet with non-traditional retailers it is important to focus on what you can do to “expand” their market. This isn’t difficult, rather takes some business detail in updating your bands market analysis and researching beforehand a target non-traditional retailers current market.

3. Think Global

More times then not, the best landscape for non-traditional expansion isn’t in your backyard. Global markets often benefit from global talent because it’s something new, edgy, and exotic that captures their local customers. As more brands are reaching far beyond their domestic boundaries, companies are looking for unique partnerships to help with this expansion. Further international talent can essentially be free because of the mutual benefit. Bands should be happy to potentially capture a new market without spending marketing dollars. Front-end money isn’t the motivating factor, rather sustainable album sales over time. The same applies to the non-traditional store. If the partnership doesn’t prove to benefit either party (1) there’s no love lost, (2) there’s no real money damage, and (3) there’s no social damage to the band because nobody in that particular market knew who you were in the first place. If you don’t have international business knowledge, nor know which stores to partner with, no worries. Non traditional retailer partnerships have advertising companies drooling. Identify the major players in advertising within your desired country, unleash your ideas, and they will be chomping at the bit to pick up a new account.

Why You Need A Record Label

The mind of musicians and music professionals today reflect a passionate anti-industry mentality. This “damn the man” mindset has rightfully been established after decades of major label extortion, the industries unwillingness to adapt to piracy, absurd lawsuits, power labels controlling the airwaves, and the perceived industry racketeering of musicians. The spill over has infecting musicians minds into thinking record labels are a joke and bands need to take careers into their own hands. “Record labels are dinosaurs” you hear time and time again, but is this really true? Labels represent getting screwed, lawyers equate to money takers, managers reflect worthless leeches, agents represent robbers, and any music professional looking to elevate an artist’s career is indeed “the man”. Don’t get me wrong, some of these are true, but one negative trend needs to be put to bed – musicians DO need a record label and here are 3 reasons why.

1. Making an album is different than selling an album – Sure recording studios are expensive and recent technology advances make recording an album on your own relatively free, but this also generates a negative trickle down effect.The accessible recording equipment allows for more musicians to put out albums, meaning more albums in the marketplace, equating to more competition, and ultimately meaning higher difficulties in successfully marketing an album. In 2008 Nielsen SoundScan estimated there was 105,000 new albums released.Despite the overwhelming number of releases, only 6,000 of those were able to sell 1,000 albums or more. That is 4% ladies and gentlemen so you can’t hide behind the numbers. In most cases 1000 album sales could NOT provide a 5 piece band a comfortable living. I can already hear the opposing argument, “but if I sign with a label we will receive only a percentage of the sales, therefore our cut is even smaller.”Good argument, but simple not true. Why? As a band you control your own fate, you control the terms of the contract, and the greater level of success you build on your own, the more negotiation ammunition you have with a label in order to establish favorable/fair terms. Labels ultimately specialize in marketing, you don’t. There is a tremendous gap between making an album and selling an album, and marketing fills that void.
2. Representing yourself rarely works – (Q) What is one of the first things musicians demand? (A) More gigs. (Q) How do musicians want to acquire more gigs? (A) A booking agent.There’s always a progression in a musician’s career. For the typical musician, bands start locally and feel comfortable booking their own gigs- focusing on local bars, clubs, or lounges. Then the bug hits – “man we’ve got to grow”, and to do this you need a booking agent. Booking your own shows on a local level is fine, but when the need for expansion hits, regional clubs will rarely let you in the door if you’re booking yourself. My past included being a booking agent and a talent buyer for a music venue. As a buyer, when a band called wanting to play, I automatically pigeonholed them as a local talent that would not draw the audience for a regional show.As unfortunate as it may be, when bands represent themselves as a booking agent it reflects a minor league level in their career even though they are selling themselves as being in the majors. As an agent, I got past the gatekeepers with ease because bands with booking agents mirror professionalism.This same model applies for musicians who put an album out on their own. Releasing an album has many complicated levels such as: generating distribution, endorsement deals, touring, and marketing (which was talked about earlier). Distributors will rarely deal with bands directly, companies won’t secure sponsorship packages with groups, and developing successful widespread marketing strategies can’t be accomplished if you represent yourself. I understand that many bands can accomplish these things over the internet; but internet promotion isn’t the end all be all when releasing an album. At some point, musicians must surface from the computer screen to make worthwhile face to face contacts, and when that time comes if you don’t have representation your first impression will be amateur at best. I believe Bruce Iglauer said it best in a recent Billboard interview: “In this tough new music business, many smart artists continue to realize that their best opportunities won’t come from working on their own.”
3. Musicians are creative and businessmen are assholes - a musician’s career is essentially a privately owned business. To run a successful business you can’t operate on fragile friendship feelings, rather you need to have a controlling iron grip on everything. Musicians grow a fan base by being larger than life figures, polite to their fans, and by networking.These principles clash with the qualities needed to be a successful business owner. Businessmen have to make the hard decision, they need to be the soldier on the front line taking the bullets, and they need to be the person who doesn’t care about individual feelings or giving away free music. Sure these parties clash, but musicians need a business partner, and a businessman needs musicians. The second bands attempt to fill this role in difficult business situations; they run the risk of alienating fans and jeopardizing their careers. Labels provide the resources to handle the hard situation, along with having a burning passion to sell as much as possible. Regardless of your stance, this is constantly the primary objective rather you’re an artist or businessman – sell records.

Must Read Music Industry Books

The book industry is cluttered with music products that claim to be the leading “must read” sources for professionals. The reality-there is as much trash out there as MySpace has garage bands. In weeding through the rubbish, there truly several books which continue to provide staple information. The true “must reads” amongst the group of garbage. A music industry book library should be diverse, ranging from basic to complex, but hitting all the taste buds on your musical pallet along the way. Just like anything there should be a good foundation which supports the concepts to be pilled on for generations to come. For bands, managers, labels, and agents looking to push the boundary into an overseas market and fill your head with the best industry knowledge, here are the four music industry books you must read:

1. This Business of Artist Management
There’s a reason it’s in a 4th edition and continues to be one of Billboard’s best selling books—it’s a classic! It doesn’t matter if you read it now, or ten years from now, the concepts will always apply. Unlike its counterpart, This Business of Music (also a good read), This Business of Artists Management lays out concepts and terminology which can be applied by all professionals, whether a musician, attorney, or label. Once you wet your pallet with This Business of Artist Management, move along to -

2. The Future of Music
The book taps into essential concepts which were published at the appropriate time. In the past, industry books focused on the dinosaur model-molding musicians with labels as opposed to merging musicians with an industry DIY model. The Future of Music strokes the tip of the iceberg, transitioning into the now booming digital marketplace. Slightly outdated, the missing issues (ie: Soundcloud, updated statistics, etc..) are irrelevant. The Future of Music is sure to provide an eye opening experience for musicians when viewing raw industry numbers as to what makes albums a success. Feel like you’ve got a good grasp as to where the industry is heading? Move along –

3. When Cultures Collide
Correct, it’s not a music industry book, however When Cultures Collide may be one of the most relevant sources in today’s music economy. Why? As the dinosaur model shifted to a digital DYI age, the current pendulum swing is pushing international boundaries. Recommendations one and two won’t get you there, but When Cultures Collide provides quick and simple concepts to help identify country by country behavior nuances. The book should act as a day to day reference guide when you want to know about expanding into particular target areas. Ready to rev up the plane and head overseas for music tours? Review -

5 Tips To A Compelling Press Kit

Entertainment law firms receive dozens of press kits on a daily basis from groups scattered throughout the world. Our firm is no exception, as I feel the press kit wagon has a scheduled unloading every morning outside my office door. Because it’s impossible to review every single one due to sheer volume, entertainment attorneys issue little tricks that help us assess EPK’s quickly. Maybe we’re lazy or maybe we’re freakishly efficient with time, but when groups send information we expect a level of professionalism to come with it. I’m looking for a product gift-wrapped for my weekend review. When digesting the information, a first look is nothing more than a quick glance analysis. If I like it or feel the impending client has some potential, I’ll review it further. If I see something I don’t like, the EPK goes straight to the trash. The obvious question – “What gets you trashed?” Before getting to the music, I skim for five things. Reject my opinion or implement these strategies as you may, I can assure you relevant management firms, labels, PR companies, distributors, and booking agents use similar tools. I’ll shoot you straight, sometimes a few press kits kick the door down because something in it will peak my interest. So if you’re not implementing the following strategies don’t be discouraged. However moving forward, try to be effective with solicitation and use time wisely. Never toss the dice to see what sticks when your career is at stake.

*“Press kit” has different meaning to different people. This article is basically referring to: one sheets, EPK’s, press folders, promotional folders, and other material used in a promotional form used to advance musical groups into the upper echelons of the music industry.

1. Write To Your Audience
Too many bands develop EPK’s geared to fans. Don’t. Use press kits for business development purposes. Essentially you should have three press kit specifically structured to reach three different audiences. First, a press kit that is relevant to booking agents, venues, and festivals. Enclosed information should obviously focus upon past, present, and future gigs because you want to communicate to the reader that the band is actively performing. All of these parties will measure a group based upon how many people they can draw to a gig. It is important to mention the capacity and sales numbers of previously venues performed. Secondly, have a press kit geared to managers that focuses upon income stream topics. Hint around to your income stream channels but don’t flaunt specific numbers (this is a second conversation and a different blog post all together). Managers care about marketability, creative income, and upcoming gigs. Because managers take a percentage of creative income they essentially want to see a group who is already developed not a band they’ll have to sink energy into nurturing. Last, you should have a press kit geared towards labels and attorneys. What to include in this press kit will be addressed in the following sections.

2. Rethink Your Band Bio
A band bio should be quick and to the point. If you’ve got material addressing “at the age of three John always knew he wanted to be a musician” or “the band was formed in John’s basement during a fateful moment in 1997”, or anything about winning battle of the bands in junior high – START OVER. Keep everything one page in length (max), and lose all the descriptive adjectives about “melodic guitar riffs, driving sounds or thrashing vocals.” Let me place my own description to the music as opposed to cramming the bio down my throat. Lastly, it’s understandable band member’s wear many hats these days. It’s fairly common to see songwriter/producer/lead vocals when describing individual members. Stop doing it. The perceived triple threat only screams you’re doing to much or there isn’t enough to write about concerning the band as a whole.

3. Think About The Gigs
Press kits are traditionally laced with dates/touring/gig information tabs. These sections can indirectly cut a band’s throat. If I read an EPK and review the gig section and it reads, “coming soon” I equate this to unemployment. If I review tour dates and see three performances listed, I associate this as an ineffective touring group. If I review the information and see nine performances all at the same bar, I don’t think you’re in high demand I link your too local. If a gig directory isn’t an impressive laundry list, don’t provide in an EPK. Sure, I can do additional research and find out how many gigs your performing if it’s not included in your EPK, but at that point I may have formed a favorable impression based upon music, marketability, or background and could care less if the group gigs only at local bars. Keep in mind however that you do need to inform fans to any upcoming shows. This information should be provided on the artist website, not the EPK.

4. Contact Information Speaks Volumes
Contact information and e-mail addresses speak volumes. For instance, if I review a press kit and the band lists their relevant PR contacts, manager, agents, etc., immediately I form a positive impression. To me the inclusion proves the group (a) works well within a team, and (b) is serious about progressing in the industry. It also provides further insight as to the bands success. If management is a reputable company or the agent works with a successful agency I’ll know the band has a legitimate business foundation. Secondly, know that an e-mail address tells a detailed story. Should I receive e-mail from a person directly (e.g. johndoe@yahoo.com) there is something genuine in the delivery. I like it. To the contrary, should I receive e-mail from an alleged legit business who uses a service address (e.g – hitrecords@msn.com) they’ve just told me everything I need to know. The later reveals the sender hasn’t invested money into a website, business perception, and probably isn’t with a legitimate organization. Why would anyone receiving the e-mail make a time or financial investment if the sender’s not willing to make a financial investment in them self. Let me give a few examples:

makingmusichits@google.com = Amateur / Don’t send me material
john@theband.com = Acceptable
johndoe@hotmail.com = Acceptable
milliondollarrecords@msn.com = Your company is run out of Mom’s basement
dat_hitz_maker@mac.com = Unacceptable
booking@theband.com OR info@theband.com = Look, I know it’s a member of the group using the account but nonetheless it beats the alternative. Acceptable.

5. Show Ownership
This last point only applies if sending a press kit to either an entertainment attorney or a record label. When bands venture into that ambiguous “next level,” two mandatory pillars help establish a solid foundation – band agreements and properly filing intellectual property. Both have business implications, which done improperly, can hang around like a tight noose for the duration of a career. Bands must have a band agreement in place. Why? First, in order to protect the interest of all band members in a group there must be a legal agreement in place, which identifies what happens if a band member leaves. Believe it or not, most bands split after a few short years. What happens to the equipment? What about prior investments? Who pays them? Is the departing member still on the hook? If the band doesn’t break up, GREAT, but how do you vote on particular internal issues? How will development topics be addressed? How will assets be divided, etc? Band agreements, in their basic form, provide the rulebook or the internal boundaries specific to creative organizations. No tricks and no surprise cat fights, band agreements allow the entire group to have all cards on the table and know how all conflicting issues will be dealt. Secondly, legitimate labels will likely not touch a group who doesn’t have a band agreement in place. Because a new signing can be a substantial investment for a label they want to have piece of mind as to what happens if a band splits (i.e. their investment). Should you have aspirations of signing to a label, best get the band agreement in place far in advance. When bands have taken the time to invest in proper business development (i.e. band agreements), it reflects they’re taking the craft and business seriously rather than treating it as a hobby. This speaks well to people in the business world who are looking to sign bands, make financial investments, or partner for endorsement deals. Because many bands typically don’t know the appropriate time to bring in an entertainment attorney, and at a basic level, structuring band agreements can be the best time to do so. Never structure a band agreement yourself, never use form contracts, and never allow a manager (if you have one) to do it for the group. Band agreements have long lasting implications so a legal eye is needed to identify all the legal elements at play. Another logical time to partner with an entertainment attorney is with intellectual property. Assuming everyone knows the necessity in filing copyrights for music, many forget the power of the trademark. When legally filed and used properly, a trademark can become a group’s most lucrative income stream component. Using it properly, how to license the mark, and how to use it as leverage in negotiations can all be handled by your attorney. Labels find trademark ownership relevant because it’s one less thing they have to invest in. Groups who legally own their mark have a substantial leg up on the competition. Highlight ownership in an EPK by listing (a) the year of filing, (b) the attorney who filed the mark, and (c) and the year of clearance.