The Major Underground

Last Thursday, the energetic and very informative Dessa Darling talked to my Calm class. So much was covered, it was unreal. But all the information was real stuff every musician should know and be aware of AND learn about.

Ok... So you recorded a cd. You are very proud to have your rocking songs on a little silver disc that goes into your cd player. Now, all you have to do is get that cd into everyone else's cd player. Sounds simple.... YEAH RIGHT! But there are ways to go about getting this done. There are a few things you have to do in order to get your music into your fan's/friends iPod. Here are some ideas we discussed in class;

1. Find an Audience (who will listen to your music)
2. Marketing (Publicity you pay for)
3. Promoting (FREE Publicity)
4. Perform/tour (play for people other than your grandma)
5. Distribute (Digital and physical)

First thing first. Take advantage of anything FREE! You are just getting started and Dessa had some great examples of free publicity. There are the obvious free publicity such as social networks. Remember, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter are your allies! Let us not forget about some other forms of online media. YOUTUBE!!! Put together a video of you playing music, or anything as long as it has your music and a little niche so people remember it and revisit the video, tell their friends, and all of a sudden your music has become a virus. SWEET!!!

Dessa showed us examples of videos of a local rap group she is in, Doomtree. Besides having their music, it was catchy and they advertised for gigs. They were very catchy and I noticed each video seemed to have thousands of hits and 4 or 5 star ratings. Each video was unique and entertaining to watch. Doomtree really engaged people, and probably gained a lot more fans.

Dessa also talked a bit about major and indie labels. She made a very clear point that I thought was awesome. She said we are all in the indie world unless we are signed to a major label. Yes, this is a very obvious fact, a fact that I believe is often overlooked. Being in the indie world is great for everyone. Why? Well you just may click and find the indie world is perfect for your music, and you may never go to a major label. Also, being involved with an indie label, you get a professional product and good exposure which is a huge step to being signed to a major label if that is your ultimate goal. If you have sold many albums in the indie world, chances are the major label will have higher interest in your versus the person of same talent with no real serious product in their hands.

GAIN THAT UPPER HAND!

What Dessa talked about also tied in with some of the things Sheila E. talked about when she visited the school. Sheila talked a lot about being prepared for everything you do. In a sense, if you want to get signed, be prepared by having your professional product done and ready to show them. That may include a lot of different things, but be prepared! How do you find out how? Ask people, ask a lot of people! in fact, ask EVERYONE YOU KNOW, that has relevant information. Which is probably more people than you think. From my experience, any professional in the business will gladly spend time with you and help you out.