So here’s the thing, I’ve been doing promo for people for almost 10 years now. The majority of my clientele are music artists. I’ll be the first to say that I’m only speaking from my own opinions. These are not the views of On The Rise Magazine or its affiliates.
To me, for someone to truly have a desire to pursue a career in music, they must do their research. This can be a very tricky game indeed, and just thinking you’re going to just jump in and get your music spun all over the radio, well, you may need a little awakening. It’s so much to do in this music business, that it would behoove of all new artists to learn the ropes.
What Would You Do:
If after months of promoting that hot new single you just recorded, I’m talking open mics, SoundCloud, ReverbNation, and constant Twitter streams, blasting that hot song, and you finally hear it on the radio. That’s awesome right? But to your dismay, it’s your song, with someone else’s voice… the tune is even a little different- your song has been jacked! What do you do? Call the radio station? Tell them it’s your song! Go to social media and find that artist? How bout you SUE?
You can’t do anything at all if you are not registered with a performing rights society such as BMI or ASCAP. Sad, sad, world indeed. It’s an awful predicament that many artists are faced with oh so often. Simply because they don’t know any better.
Somewhere in Atlanta in the early to mid 2000’s, a new artist, Eatha, out of NC, who was full of gumption and raw talent hit the scene hard, looking for his come up. He networked and met up with a lot of people from the industry. The young lyricist came in contact with a group called The Shop Boyz and according to him, they stole his song “Party Like A Rock Star.” That sucks. If he had known what so few artists know, he may have been able to relic in the glory of the success of the 2007 club anthem.
I said it once, I’ll say it til the day I die, do your research. People in this industry are NOT all your friends. This is not as easy as it may seem. There are a few things that you must absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt do, in order to be legitimate. No matter how talented you are, you and your music can be replaced and slapped onto the next artist. I’m not going to go all into everything today, but keep your eyes peeled, because personally, I’m tired of seeing people thinking they are ready to go full force with promo, yet have not covered the preliminary measures to secure their sound.
Well enough of that for today, do your research! Your homework is to look up Performing Rights Societies, and educate yourself of why you need to join (or be accepted into) one!
Photo Credits: www.Billboard.com
Signing off-
Angel Rice
Xtra Angel The One True Angel
Elegant and informative. Thanks doll 🙂