THE MUSIC INDUSTRY SELF HELP GUIDE: Taking Your First Steps Towards Trampling Over The Obstacles In An Independent Market
About this ebook
Michael Repel has been involved with underground and independent music scenes since 1986. Observing from a young age how the mechanics of these music scenes operated, he has developed a keen eye for what makes many artists, bands, and even music markets as a whole achieve success, growth, and sustainability along with the factors that cause their inability to function and ultimately their overall failure.
Adopting the rigidly-held DIY (Do it Yourself) mindset that was the mantra of all of the bands he grew up with, he has embodied this into a chronological development strategy which contains the vital information that is necessary for getting ahead of a large and growing number of directionless artists and bands. This strategy can be best described as a current A-to-Z development plan for breaking into and out of the independent music market. This book contains chapter upon chapter of critical developmental tools that many of today's musicians are missing.
These chapters include information on;
music theory, songwriting and composition,
formation of bands and businesses,
creating your brand, marketing your product, and merchandising,
the importance of a fanbase and support structure,
copyright information, publishing and performing rights organizations,
presskits and interviews,
working with labels and management,
problems with promoters,
how to book your own shows,
do it yourself touring,
performance riders and guarantees,
correcting problems with live sound,
violence and shows,
chemical dependency and how it effects your group,the practices of independent and underground music scenes in different genres, a detailed analysis of the current state and future of the music industry along with other useful and valuable information for emerging artists.
As a live performing musician and independent record label owner himself, the author has provided you with the building blocks necessary to serve as a launch pad for your career along with valuable insight on how to build visibility, equity and and leverage for yourself, while also addressing many of the problems that permeate today's industry.
Written in an honest, conversational, thought–provoking, and inspirational manner, this book begins with an introduction that is sure to pull the wool off of the eyes of even the most delusional reader. The author sets a straightforward tone from early on this book that reflects his personal approach to the music industry. After underscoring the fundamentals of the DIY mentality; this book jumps right into the more comprehensive information that many artists are missing due to lack of experience, lack of access to information, and even at times, complete lack of common sense.
Whether you are just entering the music industry as a hobby or as a profession this book will eliminate a majority of the guesswork you will face and place you well ahead of the curve of most of the people who are in your position and empower you to become a leader in your local music community while encouraging you to play a more active role in your music scene.
About the author
I wrote this book because it seems that every musician goes through the same stages of development and needs access to the same tools and information to get ahead in this industry.
I see a reoccurring disparity with different musicians that don’t know where to look—and don’t know what to look for—which keeps them isolated with no real hope of success. I’ve encountered this not only in local developing music scenes but also while formally mentoring aspiring artists at music conferences across the country.
I’ve always felt the need to share my experiences in this industry with up and-coming artists. This experience dates back to my participation in independent music scenes since before I was in high school. The things that I learned and the networks that I’ve seen function and flourish helped me with the development and growth of my own bands, which I not only performed in but managed as well. The management style I employed for the advancement of my own groups utilizes the same skillset that I used to start my own independent record label.
In this book, I will provide you information from the point of view of an artist, a manager, and a record label.
Multiple books and publications have been written on some of the subjects contained herein that have a cold encyclopedic reference style of providing information. I wanted to approach as many of these topics as possible, link them all together, and present them on more of a personal and direct level.
Combining this information with my personal experiences in this book will give you enough of a working knowledge of all of these topics to allow you to hit the ground running and get things done after reading this book.
Because of my own relentless approach to finding a way to get things done, and due to countless hours of research, I’ve obtained firsthand experience and knowledge in this industry that can give you a serious head start and help you move forward if you choose to implement this information.
This book’s main focus is on the independent market, because this is the place that you must pass through while earning your stripes and paying your dues in this industry.
How far you get beyond the independent market will not only rely on the quality of the music you release, but will also hinge largely on how you utilize the things that you read in this book.