Edmund's Entertainment Corner

Entertainment: It's a Business

Becoming a Professional Recording Artist


Read Part I: Before You Embark

Taking the Stage
Now that you have made some informal connections and become part of a community; it is time to begin shaping yourself as a professional recording artist. By now you should have numerous songs written, and plenty of concepts to  use as a base for new material. Your focus now should be honing your live performance and preparing to record a CD sampler or Demo. Prior to performing regularly, take time out to join a Performance Rights Organization (ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC); better to get some simple tasks out of the way rather than having someone else "deal" with them later for you. I will go into detail of what these organizations offer you in my next post. Utilize your connections to garner choice/preferential placement at performance venues. The more performances you do, the more you grow as an artist; adding value to your repertoire, which will give you leverage when the time is right. The purpose of live performances is to connect with your fans, and therefore you must use as many tools possible with respect to growing your fan base-don't forget to get email addresses for those who attend your shows, it's a great way to follow up and retain fans. Websites such as Myspace.com (use the music option), iLike.com,  Facebook.com, and Bebo.com offer free profiles that will bolster your connection to your fans and even help you gain new ones. You can also use services such as Reverbnation.com, and Sonicbids.com to find more venues for performing. As you do these live shows, you will find out which songs would be best to include on your Demo. Recognizing that you are on a journey and not zipping by a drive thru will help you immensely. Delusions of grandeur are a hindrance and will do more harm than good. This is not the time to look for and hire booking agents, look for sponsorship deals,publicist and all the other "amenities" afforded to more established artists. Remember, the idea is to make these people seek YOU out, not you hounding them to give you a chance. Use the business to your advantage, do not have the business take advantage of you. Along with talent, connections, and perseverance, the key to making it in entertainment is preparation. Creating a set list, stage layout, fee structure, building relationships with venues, etc. are common ways of preparation. Live shows also help you determine whether you enjoy that aspect of the business; if not, you may decide that you would rather be a songwriter or producer than a performing artist. Knowing this early on will save you headaches, heartbreaks and most importantly time and money. Regardless of which option you choose, a Demo is still necessary. My next post will cover the three different options you can choose from as an artist-songwriter, recording artist, and producer as well as ways of getting your content to your fans.

--Edmund Starbanks

Edmund's Entertainment Corner

Entertainment: It's a Business
Becoming a Professional Recording Artist

As a recording artist and record company owner, I feel it is necessary to share some of my knowledge with up and coming musicians and fellow artists looking to break in to the entertainment industry. The entertainment industry has many barriers to entry and is full of many people and companies ready and willing to take advantage of others trying to achieve a dream. I hope this series gives people some needed info. I will not only focus on the music industry, but other facets of the entertainment business as well. Being a recording artist myself, I will of course begin with music. Make use of this info, because not too many will give it to you for free.

Before you embark
First and foremost, know yourself. Regardless of the type of music you want to make, recognizing which aspect of your personality you want to channel will help you determine the type of artist you want to be. After you get yourself together, nurture your creativity by surrounding yourself with creative people. Seek out the community of artists in your area and make organic connections. This is not the time to be in a networking frame of mind where you make connections strictly for business and career purposes. This is the time where you are in a learning frame of mind; making connections that will help you grow as an artist. Be an observer. Go to open mics, and performances from other artists within and outside your genre. The more you interact with other creative people, the bigger network pool you will have-and will be more meaningful and lasting because the connections were born of honesty and not greed. Before you know it, you will have a pool of people to select from for team members. Those team members will be vital in helping and guiding you to become a professional in the music business.

It is my opinion that regardless of being a performer, producer, or songwriter, you should be able to write a song. I believe it will give you an insight  to the mechanics of a song, which you would not have if you just focused on being just a performer, producer, or songwriter. During your observation and learning time you should also write everyday. The big misconception here is the thought that it has to be a full song or verse. Writing one line or a concept for a song is sufficient and will be beneficial in the long term. Keep in mind that everyone creates differently. This is why it is important to be in a community of artists. You can glean from them what works, how they deal with writer's block, and possibly some inspiration. Write about something that relates to you directly or indirectly. All your music does not need to be about self reflection and insight, or specifically about events in your life. If you want to write about the circus then write about the circus. Far too many writers over think and get caught up in trying to be witty, or prolific, or appeasing their audience. Writing should be simple, not to the point of nonsense where it seems you don't care, but with integrity and will. In the next segment I will discuss performances and recording a demo.

Ellison a.k.a Edmund Starbanks