It’s no big secret, the trick of how to start a record label definitely involves some cash and most definitely involves some talent. If you want to know the secret to how to start and run your own label then here it is, talent. You have to have something to sell your business pitch with. It doesn’t matter what your particular genre is, you need to get out there and discover your first million. Yep, I am talking about dollars.

If you are just sitting around trying to figure out how to start you own independent record label then you are wasting your time. Get out there and try to find “the” band or “the” person that is worthy of a record deal. Go to clubs, rummage through MySpace, hang out at bars with live music, there is talent all around you so find it.

Do you have friends or a band already in mind? If you do then you are one step ahead of the “how to start a record label” game. Two or three bands would really be optimal when beginning your own record label. For those of you who don’t have someone in mind, then you have some work to do.

A good way to search for talent is to have an idea of what you are looking for. If you are going to learn how to start and run your own record label then you must be able to find the gap. There is a gap somewhere and you need to find it. Keep in mind, you are searching for someone who is marketable, a true money maker.

If you can’t quite pinpoint a gap, then identify a target market you think you can penetrate and go for it. Who would have thought that the Backstreet Boys or 98 Degrees would have made it big? Well, the guys from their record label were definitely on to something. Teenage girls were where it was at and boy did those guys stumble on to something big and man did they make a profit! Believe me, that is your first step in how to start a record label.

Just like with any other business, you are going to have to sell your product. And you can’t sell your product until you have your product. So, this is your first lesson in how to start your own independent record label. In this business, you are going to have to think outside the box and when you do that, you will be ready to start your own record label.

Author Bio: The former owner of an independent record label, current owner of Platinum Millennium publishing & national music industry seminar speaker/panelist. He’s also the author & creator of 40+ best-selling music business books, reports, courses, audio products & more “How to” resources, that helped 1000s of people like you to success. Go to TheUltimateRecordLabel.com for more info.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com – Free Website Content

It’s the famous old question on every hungry band’s mind – How To Get Gigs?

I can hear your pain from this computer screen – “Everyone else can get gigs left right and centre but my band is still struggling to figure out how to get gigs…..”

The truth of the matter is that getting gigs and playing live shows isn’t really that hard, you just need to understand the sensitivities of how the live music system actually works.

Why Clubs and Bars Host Live Music In The First Place

From the club and bar owner’s perspective, they are not there to make you famous and they are certainly not there just to be nice, they are simply part of the live performance equation for one very blunt reason – to sell more alcohol, get people to play their poker machines and buy cigarettes. Nothing more, nothing less.

Creating a stage and giving bands a platform to play their music in a live environment is really just another ploy on their behalf to keep their customers in their room and get them to spend more of their money before they go home.

Sad but true.

As a result, it’s important to realize this notion when trying to figure out how to get gigs and build relationships with local bars and clubs.

Proving your value to any bar or venue booker is a little bit like building a business relationship with someone. Do not ever expect to get the Saturday night headline spot without the venue knowing what sort of crowd you could pull and what value you are really worth. It’s not a very arty musical way to think about it all, but unfortunately this is how bar owners think – they are in it to make more money.

Once you understand and surrender to this concept, knowing how to climb the “how to get gigs” ladder becomes a whole lot easier.

Take Whatever You Can Get In The Beginning

When you realize and understand the above, you are ready to pitch yourself to the local venue booker with an offer that they have never heard of before…

You want to shock and surprise the agent by requesting to take the Monday or Tuesday night headline spot. 99.9% of other bands they come across will always be pushing for the Saturday night headline and wont settle for anything less.

However, when you’re starting out, the idea is not to play in front of hundreds of people straight away, it’s more about proving your “value” to the bar owner and venue booker and starting that relationship that will hopefully get you to the Saturday night spot in 3 months time.

Additionally, all the bar owners and booking agents talk and once they start to hear that you’re doing good things in one bar, watch how quickly the other places will start calling you!

Invite your friends and get pumped up to try and help your local bar make more money that Tuesday night than ever before by fulfilling your role in this business relationship between the bar and your band. You need to fill the room with as many friends as you have and focus on putting on a great show that will make the booker stupid for not wanting to invite you back.

Personally Deliver Your Demo To Each Venue Booker

This might seem a little over the top and time consuming but it is absolutely critical.

When there are twenty other bands all trying to play in the same five rooms in your town it’s important to have some personal connection with local venue bookers when figuring out how to get gigs.

From my own experience I used to conduct proper research on each venue and find out who the local agents are. I’d get their names and phone numbers and then request five minutes of their time to go down to the venue and deliver them the band’s music myself.

I would give them a quick spiel about the band and that they would be happy to take any openings and would keep a big smile on my face at all times.

Remember that the music industry is all about building relationships and networks, that person you just met might be booking another venue in six months time or they might be running the local radio station the following year.

Taking the time to personally deliver your demos and meet these people, even the venue owners is worth a lot more over time than you think

This approach to meeting venue bookers will almost always eventuate in some sort of gig opportunity – just by being personal and nice. Nine times out of ten you will probably catch them at a time when they are filling up the next months spots and they’ll just flick you a few dates for being there.

Definitely a surefire tip on how to get gigs.

Network Like Crazy!

The music industry is all about networking and meeting people. However if you really want to know how to get gigs and lots of them? Make sure you are always carrying a ton of your CD’s in your backpack wherever you go and make sure that your band is at the front of nearly every single conversation you have with anyone remotely involved in the music world.

This is a very grass roots approach to getting gigs however it does work

The other benefit of networking like crazy is that when you do get gigs, you’ve slowly built up a list of people to bring along to the show and hopefully some of them will know your tunes because you gave them a CD to listen to

Weekly Residencies

Residencies generally seem like a thing of the past but if your trying to figure out how to get gigs and are stuck, then going to your local venue and offering to play for free every Tuesday or Wednesday night is not only a great way to build a relationship with them, but more importantly it’s a great way to rehearse for free!

Again, the idea isn’t to play in front of large amounts of people, it’s a stepping stone to the next level. Do not under estimate the value of playing in front of very few people. It’s a humbling and soul strengthening experience that forces you to really shine in an adverse situation.

Contact Other Bands You Like

Again really simple but is always a great way to get your bands name out there. Booking agents and venues get cd’s and demo’s all the time, but how many do other bands get?

Besides from making the band feel special and important, very few people actually try to contact the bands themselves and ask them if they can support them.

The key is to track down bands that you think your band would fit well with musically and slowly warm them into the idea of giving you a support slot.

Another networking opportunity and a great way to get more gigs

Go To Shows and Meet Other Bands

If you want a career in the music industry as an artist, going out and seeing other bands and artists isn’t really a choice it’s imperative and part of being involved in the business.

When you go to other gigs, introduce yourself to other people and other bands, get to know the people who work behind the bar, go up to the bands that night if you thought they were good and give them your CD and ask to play with them next time.

Again it’s all about networking, networking, networking and getting yourself inside a particular scene.

Make sure you also go and check out some of the bigger more happening bands in your area as well. It’s more than likely that industry folks from labels, radio stations, booking agencies etc will also be standing around checking out the talent.

So there you have it, seven new ideas to consider and contemplate if you are trying to figure out how to get gigs and fill up your touring schedule

Here the author writes about tips on “How to Get Gigs”. In present time every one wants to be popular. Author describes 7 simple & true steps about getting gigs for you. Read more about Music Record Labels, Music Promotion Marketing on www.inside-the-music-biz.com. Article Source: ArticleDashboard.com

Choosing your entertainment will be one of the most important decisions you will make as you plan your party. A fabulous live dance band will help to create an exciting and festive atmosphere for your special event, however a band that plays at an overly loud volume, is poorly mixed, or uses a substandard sound system can easily ruin your special day.

Everyone wants the band’s performance of great party music to lure the guests onto the dance floor, but your non-dancing guests need to be able to carry on conversation without yelling into each other’s ears. Balancing these concerns is a challenge, but you can have your cake and eat it too – the key is finding a band that is able to perform at a volume that pleases you, and also has the proper sound equipment and qualified personnel to run it.

Evolution of Live Wedding Music

Live music at wedding receptions has undergone its own changes in recent times. For most of human history, live musicians have been part of every special occasion across almost every culture. Commercially available music recordings did not even exist until the 1890s.

The concept of a mobile DJ providing party music was fairly new in the 1950s and didn’t really take off until the disco era of the 1970s. Ever since, bands and DJs have had to compete with one another for gigs of all varieties – dances, parties, wedding receptions and so on.

While at one time, recordings attempted to emulate the energy and sound of a live performance, today we are finding also the opposite to be true: bands are striving to match up to the pristine production of modern recordings. Needing more musicians to cover all the musical elements, live wedding bands (and their sound systems) have grown in size over the years.

In common use today are full-range speaker systems that can faithfully reproduce the low frequencies as well as effects units and reverbs that tailor the sound to modern recording aesthetics. Many bands also incorporate sequenced (pre-recorded) rhythm tracks, drum loops, and interesting sound effects into their live performance to capture the effects of today’s dance records.

Wedding music is becoming high-tech and a sound engineer is usually needed to manage and operate the complex equipment during the party.

Keeping the Music at a Reasonable Volume

It is the responsibility of the band and their sound engineer (if they have one) to ensure that the volume level during the wedding reception is both comfortable and enjoyable. Keep in mind that what guests are hearing is a combination of live stage sound made by the instruments/amplifiers on stage and the sound coming from the speaker system.

In order to reduce a band’s overly-loud volume while still maintaining a good musical balance requires the drummer to play softer, onstage amps to be turned down a bit, and perhaps the master volume of the PA system to be lowered. The danger of lowering the volume of the PA too much is in losing the presence of the vocalists and being unable to understand the words of the songs. An experienced group will be able to perform at an ideal volume level, but will also be willing to adjust appropriately if requested by the bridal party or guests.

Given that most banquet halls also serve as live music performance venues, it is surprising how many of them suffer from poor acoustical design. Room geometry and materials incorporated are the two main factors in determining a space’s acoustic characteristics.

Rooms with upholstered chairs, carpeting, drapes, and other absorptive materials will make for a dryer sound that is generally lower in volume and more easily controlled. Hard surfaces such as glass, mirrored walls, marble floors, and wood paneling reflect sound much like a mirror reflects light.

Hard surfaces contribute to making a room sound echoey or muddy and can cause the volume of your guests’ conversations as well as the band to shoot up beyond comfortable levels.

Rooms with poor geometry can make for poor intelligibility of sound and acoustic oddities such as being excessively “boomy” when listening from certain spots while sounding “thin” in others. These factors should all be considered with care when choosing a banquet facility for your wedding reception.

Ask questions and raise concerns to the bandleader before your event to ensure the music will flow with the party both in terms of styles and volume. A talented wedding band putting on a dynamic, heartfelt performance will be effective no matter what the space and its limitations may be, and in the end that is what is truly important to the success of your special event. Good luck, and don’t forget to have fun!

About The Author: Chris Czerw is sound engineer for Ariel Entertainment, a New Jersey based entertainment company providing dance bands, djs, and small ensembles for weddings and other special events in the tri-state area. Visit their site: ArielEntertainment.com

However, you must always remember that YOU are not the primary purpose of the restaurant or bar. The primary purpose, as for any business, is to make money.

As a performer, you should be able to relate to this, since you need to make money as well. (If you are just doing it for the music, while a great noble and artistic attitude, you’re better off just jamming at home.)

Your purpose, as far as the club is concerned, is to bring in customers – and keep them there. Remember that at all times, even though it can mean swallowing your pride.

You do need to have artistic integrity, but you also need to recognize where your needs conflict with the needs of the paycheck writer.

There is probably no musician alive who can hear the words “you’re too loud” without jumping into a defensive attitude. It doesn’t help that it always seems to happen just when you’ve hit that “sweet spot” where you feel like everything is working together perfectly. Bam! “Turn it down!”

There are two areas to this problem that you will have to deal with: Mental Solutions and Physical Solutions.

Mental Solutions

First of all, remember again that one of the reasons you have been hired to play is to keep customers from leaving. If you really are too loud, turn it down. Don’t let your ego sour your attitude.

Still, you always need to be aware that someone may ask you to turn it down at any time, and don’t take it personally. (I know, this is easier to say than to do.)

The fact is, no matter where you play, you can’t please everyone. There will always be those who think you are too loud and those that want you to crank it up. You can’t play to the extremes. You need to find the level that is right for the majority of the customers, even when that seems too low for you.

Physical Solutions

Sometimes it just isn’t physically possible to crank it up to the sound level that will make you happy and still keep the customers happy. When that’s the case, you need to get creative.

If your volume is so low you can’t hear yourself over the chatter, you’ll never play your best. So you need to find ways to play louder for yourself and quieter for the audience.

Here are a few solutions that work in difficult situations:

• Run everything direct to the mixer so that instrument amplifiers don’t overpower the room. (Good luck if you have drums!)
• Use small monitors as close to you as possible, for instance on a mike stand.
• Use no house speakers (or minimal, for clarity). Let the stage mix be the house sound as well.
• Use no stage monitors at all, using in-ear monitor systems or headphones. Then the house speakers can be adjusted to the level that is comfortable for audience.

Every situation is different, so these solutions are not the definitive answer. Look at the problem from both the club’s perspective and from yours, then use your head to find a workable approach.

You just may well may remain sane enough to play your heart out!