Beware! Indie Artists.
In my previous blog Schemes Exploiting Indie Artists, I have written how some schemes have conveniently existed in the worldwide music industry and exploited indie artists for years. I am going to continue writing about few such schemes in this post.
I want to be nice and not take names, so I am just going to warn you about what actually happens. Also because I have a vast network and everyone has different experiences in their career, I am going to refrain from sounding opinionated. Just for the purpose of spreading knowledge, what happens is that there are some schemers that use their connections from the music industry to get you a meeting with a major record label executive. They pretend like they are interested in your music, ask for a press kit and then ask your budget (with regard to, how much are you ready to pay for a meeting. Only to have some label executive, with no real decision making power tell you that your songs are good but you need to improve!).
The truth is that nobody ever listens to your press kit. You never get signed from these meetings. There is no such thing as a short-cut to success. The only artists who get noticed are the ones who are working hard and working smart. Not the ones paying for fake views and followers. The ones who are creating extraordinary content and backing it up with right marketing strategies.
If you do some basic research, you will find that few of these schemers have had success wearing various hats in the music industry. You might be unable to discredit his achievements. But you need to focus on exact words of what they are offering you. Mostly, it will be only assistance. Never assurance. If you are not careful, there is a high chance that you will be paying a lot of money for zero result.
Some artists’ music is really meaningful, videos are extremely captivating, and the overall marketing strategy is focused on inspiring through music. They are passionate about the message that they convey in their videos. One example of such video is Burning Buildings, sung by Clive Stewart, directed by Himesh Bhargo. I have written about it in detail in my blog Do Black Lives Matter? It definitely resonates with today’s reality. Browse through the social profiles of the artist and director to check out their music and get a better understanding of what I’m talking about. I bet if I asked such indie artists how they got to where they are at, they wouldn’t say because of a meeting that they had to pay for!
The Online Service
This one is probably the most common and complicated. There are certain online platforms that promises you contract for your music in TV commercials, movies, feature films etc. They ask you to fill out a profile, register and submit your music for a music expert to review and decide if it can be placed. The most important thing to do before considering any such online company and its services is to search the company’s name on Google followed by the word “scam.”
You might find thousands of complaints about them online. The only thing I am sure about here is that I have never heard of a truly valid success story coming from an online platform. Nobody has ever bagged a life-changing placement or publishing deal through them. My only advice is to steer clear of services like these.
Paid Feedback
This is a funny new scheme that is going on in the industry. You are required to submit your music (for a fee of course!) in order to have an industry professional listen to you and send you a personal video containing feedback on your song. Sounds awesome? I don’t think so! Independent artists and bands, please concentrate on the feedback that you get from your fans! A producer who is getting paid to give you feedback is not the answer to your prayers. He is going to give you some very generic pointers on improving your work. Transaction complete!
You can find these pointers on the web for free, if you search for them. Your real feedback is in the data behind your music. To collect this data, send an email survey to your email list, create a questionnaire or a form on your website for visitors to leave feedback. Hyper Effects can help you do this efficiently. Hyper Effects is one stop for your website, marketing and cyber development requirements. It helps you to create a website to display your talent or sell your indie music or indie art and collect feedback on your website for your work. Invite your fans to the studio for a listening and feedback session or check your YouTube analytics to see which videos are getting the best engagement. Just use any data and measurable stats to determine how to plan your career. Paying someone to get advice is not the way to go.
If you’ve read this far, I hope you learned some lessons. Avoid shortcuts. You can’t pay your way to success. Be genuine in forming relationships with people. Attract success organically. Keep making great music. Continue to develop your art. This is really what it takes to make something happen.
Please share your experiences in the comments section. They are my inspiration.
