In Today's music industry climate, it's all about getting creative

It's kind of funny, well sad but funny, when bands talk about getting signed or getting a "deal" these days. I'm always thinking "really? like what kind of a deal and have you been living under a rock for the past few years". Getting the old school record deal is pretty much a pipe dream these days and that may be a good thing. If you haven't read Steve Albini's breakdown of one bands record deal circa early 1990's,  read it now.      http://www.negativland.com/albini.html  

    Now before you put all of your gear on craigslist, let me try to move you in a different direction. There are great things happening out there that can really help you to build some type of income and career in music. You just have to think about it in different terms. Remember when everyone started to use myspace as a way to promote their band? That was a huge change in the industry and a huge change in how bands got things done. Those changes are happening faster than ever before and you need to be in the loop on these changes or you will be left in the dust. Social media is rapidly changing and advancing and so are the new portals for getting your music out there and for you to get paid. It's up to you to really figure out how to use these tools for your particular situation but it all starts with getting into this loop and staying in it. How do you stay abreast of these rapid changes and get one step ahead of the curve? Here are some places to start that you may find useful.
   First is the Mashable website. Mashable is the leading site for learning about social media and how it impacts everything from music to non-profits to marketing and more. Check it every day...It is rad!!
    Check out sites like kickstarter.com. This is an amazing concept site and can really help you fund your next project. Here is an example of a kickstarter project loaded up by Trever Keith from my band, Face to Face.http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/119348482/face-to-face-12-limited-edition-vinyl-and-corey-mi

     Now I know everyone has a facebook page and a twitter account etc but do you really know how to use it properly? Read this book to learn. "Six Pixels of Separation" By Mitch Joel.

    Another great promotion site is socialkik.com. This site can really help build your facebook fan page or to promote a video on you tube. The Music Factory is using this site right now to push a video about our new down loadable lesson project.

    The bottom line is that once I started to pay attention and develop a desire to learn these things, new web sites and tools started to fall into my lap. You won't find it if you are not looking....