Music Business Contacts

The music industry, as anyone who has ever tried to survive in it can tell you, is an extremely rough place. Major labels and their bands tend to hold a monopoly on many of the bigger distribution channels, clubs to play, magazines, and radio stations. For decades major labels have strong armed the industry, caring more about the bottom line then the artists themselves. Nevertheless, over the past few years independent record labels and bands have been gaining more and more attention (even to the point where some of the majors are starting to sign only DIY bands and buying out the bigger independent labels). For instance, during the first week of 1997 Soundscan (a service which keeps track of record sales by their barcode) showed that for the first time independent record labels, as a whole, out sold the Warner/Electra/Atlantic conglomerate with a total of 21.23% of the week's total sales... and these are only the independent records which HAVE bar-codes. Thus, the independent music industry is gaining in speed quickly, despite the fact that major labels have seen their sales steadily decline over the years.

So what does this mean for you? It means that now is one of the best times for you to get your ass and break into the industry! Yet there's one small problem -- how? Well, the answer to this question is actually quite simple. The only way to get into the industry is through contacts and networking. While many people misuse contacts (or fail to use them at all), it is my hope that this article will give you a better idea of what direction in which to head.

Where To Start:
There a few things that one needs to know before they can go jumping into the industry. Foremost it is important to have a good idea of what you want to do as a label, band, booking agent, etc. Let's say, for the sake of argument, that you are in a band. By limiting the focus of your CD release to local/regional level rather then national, a band can greatly increase their popularity and sales while spending significantly less money then a major label would. Not to mention (and this is one of the most important concepts in promotion and networking) DO NOT overextend yourself through mass blanket mailings to radio/zines/distributors/etc. This sort of philosophy will get you nowhere fast. Rather, spend your time developing personal relationships with these people, and most important focus your marketing and promotional plan. This way you will get a lot more bang for your buck. A good way to go about this is to make as many contacts as possible where you are located. While this may not necessarily be where you want to end up, it's the best place to start. Local fans are extremely loyal.

Another great place to start is here at the Vision Entertainment web site. There are hundreds of contacts that you will undoubtedly find useful in networking. Other great places to look are annual trade manuals like the Musician's Guide To Touring and Promotion, as well as Book Your Own Fuckin' Life.

The Musician's Guide To Touring and Promotion is put out by Musician Magazine and is a definitive guide to the independent music industry. It has listings for A&R/Labels, magazines, radio stations, etc. and it even has this information listed on a city to city basis IN ADDITION to an individual category basis (meaning that if you want to find as much information as possible about a specific city, this is a great place to look). The Musician's Guide To Touring and Promotion is available for $10.00 at just about any major book store.

The second source I mentioned is Maximumrocknroll's and Volcano Fanzine's Book Your Own Fuckin' Life. BYOFL is a main stay of the punk/underground musician. This guide has extensive listings bands, zines, promoters, clubs, radio, DIYers, and the like -- world wide. I only recommend BYOFL to the punk/hard-core/ska/underground/DIYers out there as this is not as "mainstream" as the Musician's Guide To Touring and Promotion. Nevertheless, Book Your Own Fuckin' Life is a great resource. This is available at just about all major book stores, or you can get it from Under Volcano for $4.00ppd at PO Box 53 Nesconset, NY 11767.

Where to go from there:
Once you have a list of places that you want to contact, for whatever reason, the best advice I can give is double check the phone number, address, and contact name. Give the place a call and make sure that all the information is correct. There have been many times when I have just blindly sent out a promotional package only to have it returned to me as a bad address. Also, by contacting people first you are notifying them that you will be sending a package their way. This is also a great way to get your package noticed among the many others that they get. Not to mention that you are establishing a personal relationship with the contact.

Essentially, it is the personal relationship that is the most important part of networking in the music industry (or in any other business industry really). The friendship you strike up with distributors, booking agents, magazines, clubs, and other bands will be the mainstay of your early career (or, if you do it right, your entire career). Friendships will open many doors which were not once open to you... but to succeed in the music industry you don't have to be friends with everyone. A good professional relationship is just as good as a friendship.

How to strike up good professional relationships:
The key to a good professional relationship will usually be the first impression. In other words, don't be a jerk. Realize that many of the people you contact, may they be clubs, distros, or otherwise, deal with many people and many bands. By going into a conversation knowing that, you increase your chances of getting somewhere greatly. For instance, if you call a club and they say that you should call back in a few hours because they're really busy right now... do it! Be willing to be flexible, even if they say they won't talk with you at all. If that is the case, just say, "thank you for your time" and hang up the phone. Not everyone is going to be nice, but most people (at least in the independent community) I find will be... but only if you are too.

Beyond just being friendly, go out of your way to do the things that they ask. If you are talking with a distributor, and they would like a promotional copy of your CD before they agree to distribute it (which, by the way, most will ask for a promo), send them one. Send along with the promo copy a good promotional kit. It is these sorts of things which really make a huge difference when networking.

Following up:
Beyond professional relationships, it is key to follow up on everything, including the things you say you will do. For instance, if you send out a promotional CD to a distributor (one that you have previously contacted) call them a few weeks after you send it. Just make a quick call to ask them if they got it, how they liked it, etc. A follow-up phone call can sometimes make all the difference- but whatever you do, don't be a pest. Following up on the contacts you make is a very important step, but because many of the people you talk with are simply swamped they can easily forget about the CD you sent them, even if they liked it. On the other hand- if you bother them too much they'll often discount you as an "annoyance." The same goes for clubs. If you send a promotional CD to a club, and they don't have a slot to book you in, place a follow-up call every few months or so to ask them if any slots have opened up for you. Also, you can place them on your mailing list and update them on what you are doing as a band (and especially where else you are playing). It's amazing how quickly a booking agent's opinion can change if they see that you are gaining in popularity.

Another extremely important aspect of networking is to follow through with what you say you will do. Realize that most people will only judge you on your word. If, for instance, you contact a record label and say you're going to send them a demo tape of your band (and the label says its okay to do so) do it. I can not tell you how often I get inquiries from a band who says they would like to send me a demo, and then I never hear of them again. Follow through on your word with your actions... this is another key to getting somewhere in the music industry.

Conclusion:
So recruits, what are the main points to networking?
1) Be friendly (or at least professional).
2) Don't be a pest.
3) Follow up on yourself.

If you follow these three things I promise you will get further in the music industry then you would if you didn't follow them. Thus, good luck, have fun, and may the force be with you.

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