"I don't want to hear any local music."

Recently I heard a young lady say that she didn’t want to hear it if it was “local music”.  “Local music”? I asked as I became more and more offended.  She said “Yeah, if it’s music made here in town then I do not want to hear it.“  I explained to her that local music is what keeps music alive and fresh.  Some of the best music out right now comes from the underground scene.  What’s great about the underground scene and local music is that it is for the most part so far from being commercial.  Allowing artists to be themselves and not fear about what the major labels are looking for.  A lot of the time you can find the next best trend, because these artists are not looking to fit in, but instead stand out.  Trust me, I know in 2013 with today’s technology and social media everybody and their grandmother is an artist and poor quality of music becomes a reoccurring theme.  However, you have to realize that “local music” is the prerequisite to mainstream music.  You have to remember that at one point in time Jay Z, Usher, Justin Beiber, and Taylor Swift were all local artists making “local music”.  I currently manage an artist on the local label 56 & Runnin’ Entertainment by the name of Chris DeVille.  Now there is a great chance that you have never heard of neither 56 & Runnin’ or Chris DeVille, but does that mean we produce poor quality music?  In my opinion Chris DeVille’s music can stand up against many mainstream acts.  The only difference is that the right person just hasn’t heard it yet and let’s be honest if you do not have the financial backing you might as well go back to making music a hobby.  You be the judge and check out my artist Chris DeVille’s latest video: 

I hoped you enjoyed the video.  Of course we don’t have the money at this point to hire the big name directors or to purchase the next hot beat from Timbaland, but as a local artist you become resourceful and that goes a longer way than just throwing some money at a project.  At the end of the day, even if we come up short on our goal to make it big, hopefully we can inspire the next aspiring artist to chase his or her dreams.

What are Music Record Labels Looking For?

As I am always looking to read up and educate myself on all things in regards to Music Record Labels and Artist Management; I recently found myself reading an article posted from Music Clout’s website musicclout.com.   From time to time I find their articles to be insightful.  The article I read this week was titled “5 Important Things Record Labels Look For”.   This article spoke about 5 aspects labels are looking for in artists.  They listed the five things record labels are looking for as:

1. Branding/Marketing

2. Sales/Draw

3. Touring

4. Sonic Quality

5. Attitude

I have to admit that I agree with a lot of the information I read in this article.  However, I feel that more emphasis should be made on the artist’s branding/marketing and their fan base.  Of course as a music artist your music should be a top priority, but that should be a given. The way people perceive you plays a huge role in how they feel about your music making branding/marketing a number one aspect for me as well.  As I said earlier, fan base in my opinion is a close second.  Fan base is huge because without a fan base, every other aspect is irrelevant.  After the music and after the image come the fans.  Artists need to constantly look for ways to increase their audience.  As an artist you should constantly be asking yourself the question “How can I turn one fan into two?” With social media the world has become smaller.  Take advantage of this.  Touring is important, but is the expense worth the travel, especially if the audience has never heard of you?  Some may say, yes.  To many this is a great way to gain fans.  However, you should have marketing in place already in that area so that they are somewhat familiar with your image and sound.  This marketing tactic will also help to find out if that area or demographic is receptive to your image/sound.  Music Clout’s list continues on with Sonic Sound, which I already stated that music comes first.  If you do not provide top quality sounds, then you need to sit down and think about if you really want to make music.  The music industry is chess, not checkers.  Be sure to always bring your "A" game.  Lastly, the list ends with Attitude.  Having a positive attitude is a principle not a top aspect.  If you don’t carry a positive attitude in life, where else are you going to carry it?  Having a positive attitude is another given in my opinion. What are your thoughts?  How do you feel about Music Clout’s top five aspects that record labels are looking for?  Check out this short video: http://youtu.be/IzStEN1bKs0.  Feedback is appreciated.