Hi Folks....

Depending on the final cut, my music may appear in the movie "thunder over reno"...here's the cool trailer!

Hi Folks,

I am currently working on various projects and hope to have some updates soon.
The good news is that my production music is selling more than ever and attracting more clients each month.
I have also invested in some new studio gear including the new POD X3 which is an awesome tool and highly recommended!

Take care and have a great Easter!
Rob

Elevator Pitch — Honing It Down

What is an Elevator Pitch? If you were riding in an elevator with a stranger, and you had 30 seconds to sell your band to that person, what would you say? There's a reason this section is limited to 300 characters! We want you to choose your words carefully, as this is the first impression a promoter will get of you and your band.

Many artists write it as a recipe: "If you mix a cup of Lenny Kravitz with a spoonful of David Bowie..." We like short ones that are all about the music, e.g. "Heavy, dirty synth mixed with Shirley Manson-style vocals."

Including your influences is a great way to describe your music. Avoid the trite:

My band has the most unique sound you've ever heard!


My singing defies genre and comparisons. I don't sound like anyone but me!


People should watch out because we're going to be the biggest thing this year!
This not only sounds a bit arrogant but it doesn't say anything about your music or your performances. So no matter how good your songs are, they might be passed over based on your pitch.

Here's an example of a good Elevator Pitch:

"A guitar full of Lenny Kravitz mixed in with electronic drum & bass back beats that's guaranteed to get any crowd moving with an intense live show. They're a nonstop rock-and-groove fest with an unlimited amount of energy, guaranteed for every performance."

Another approach is to include quotes from reviews, or major accomplishments. "Toured with Bon Jovi 1999-2000, opened for Aerosmith 2002, and currently headlining the Vans Warped Tour" will give any promoter an idea of where this artist is in their career.

Keep in mind that the overall point of the Elevator Pitch is to generate some interest from a talent buyer's point of view. So make sure you sound professional and come across as serious about what you do — but you can have fun as well. Remember, what you might not have room to write in this section can go anywhere in your biography!

Biography — Tell Me Something Good

The EPK Bio is probably the most typing you will ever do for your EPK in a single section. Your bio is incredibly important! It shows promoters, talent buyers, A&R reps, and anyone else viewing your EPK what you have accomplished so far, who you are, what you do and why you do it.

Some tips to get you started:

Have a list of accomplishments ready as well as a list of goals, and use those as a guideline. Keep in mind that you are not writing this bio for your fans, but for getting gigs. Promoters review many biographies, and they want to see the important information as soon as possible. Think of it as a resume.


A good way to start is to mention a project that you are currently working on. For example:


"John Smith and The Awesomes are currently in the studio working on their 3rd album release."
Then immediately segue into what you have accomplished:

"They were the winners of the 2006 Best Song of All Time Contest (BSATC), and sold 53,000 copies of their last album We Are Awesome without any major distribution support."
Remember, it's important to be honest. Making up accomplishments or giving out false data is something that can permanently hurt your career. Promoters, bookers and others who view your EPK can see through insincerity and exaggeration.


You may want to include a brief background of some of the players, or the interesting history as to how the group was formed, or how you got started. Save the detailed history of each member of your band for the fans on your website. Promoters may not want to know that your drummer whittles his own drumsticks by hand.


You don't need to include everything in your bio, just the stuff that makes you different from everyone else. Make sure it's interesting to read!


Some alternatives to merely writing, "I was born and joined a band," include:

- a tale from the road that altered the way you play your music
- trials and tribulations that led to your album title
- whatever happened to your "lost tapes"
- the guy in the audience who always requests the same song
- recent accolades or high-profile booked gigs (point viewers to your EPK calendar for full details)
The bio should waste few words. Reread and rewrite until it's perfect: magazines writing articles on you will thank you for it! Get a friend or a fan to look it over if you're stuck.

It's not a bad idea to write another version of your bio to send to magazines that are doing in-depth interviews, and want to focus more on the human aspect of your band.

Remember, there never really is a wrong way to write a bio, so long as you include the key points. Make sure readers know what you've done, what you're doing, and how well you do it.

Lastly, keep it up to date!

My music features in the demo for Defypictures new DVD......watch this space!

Music Licensing Income: What Every Composer Should Know -
By Steven Winogradsky


Anyone who has had their music used in television or motion pictures or has had a hit record that received substantial airplay is well aware of the income that is generated through ASCAP, BMI and SESAC for public performances. But whether the music you write is (a) a "work-for-hire" and owned by the production company, (b) controlled by a publishing company under a songwriter contract, or (c) self-published where you own the copyright, there are other uses of this music that are capable of earning substantial amounts of income for the composer.

The ability to license music for use by third parties is one of the exclusive rights given to copyright owners under the Copyright Act of 1976. If you own the publishing to your music, this gives you full control over the use of it and the fees charged for its use. If the music is owned by a publishing company or the publishing affiliate of a production company, they have the right to license this music to others under any terms negotiated and agreed upon by both parties. This right is subject, however, to an obligation to share the revenue earned by these licenses with the composer, who usually receives 50% of the net income.

It is important to remember that what is being discussed here is the licensing of music to third parties. Under most production company composer agreements, the production company has the right to include the music created not only in the production covered by the agreement, but in any other film or television program produced by that company without any further compensation to the composer. In addition, the music may be used in all types of promotion for the production, including other uses such as games, toys, etc. without additional compensation.

An example of third party licensing would be where an independent party wishes to use this music (either the underlying composition only or the actual soundtrack) in another context. This other context may be a phonograph record, television program, motion picture or other visual media, or to print sheet music (as that term is broadly defined below). This would include the licensing of a film clip containing your music from the production into a program produced by this third party.

Unless self-published or negotiated as part of the production or publishing contract, the composer has no voice in how or under what terms this music may be licensed. Composers should, however, try to be aware of the uses of their music in order to determine whether they are receiving their share of royalties. For example, if your composer statement from your performing rights society lists the use of music in a motion picture or television program that would require a synchronization license (to be discussed in next month's column), your royalty statement from the publisher should have a corresponding entry.

The language relating to composer royalties is usually buried somewhere in the middle of a 10 to 25 page contract. As such, many composers are not fully aware of the types of uses and division of income that these agreements cover. In this month's and next month's columns, I will attempt to explain the various types of licensing and some of the key terms of potential agreements for the use of music.

MECHANICAL LICENSES
A mechanical license is the type of license used in order to manufacture and distribute audio-only product, such as compact discs and audio cassettes. Of the types of licenses discussed in this article, the mechanical license is the only one where the Copyright Act specifically sets out a method whereby a party may obtain a valid license without the consent of the copyright owner. This is subject to certain procedures being followed, and to a statutory rate of payment. As with all other types of licensing, however, it is possible to negotiate the terms of a mechanical license on a basis more favorable to the publisher or the record company.
Section 115 of the Copyright Act provides for a compulsory license to make and distribute phonorecords (audio-only devices, such as vinyl records, audio tapes and compact discs), when:

1. Recordings of the music have previously been sold to the public in the United States under a valid license from the copyright owner;

2. The party wishing to license the music notifies the copyright owner;

3. The statutory royalty is paid for each copy manufactured and distributed, with royalties paid monthly.

As of January 1, 1998, the statutory rate for mechanical royalties increased to 7.1 cents for a recording up to 5 minutes in length. For recordings over 5 minutes in length, the rate increased to 1.35 cents per minute, or portion thereof.

Not all uses are licensed at the statutory rate, however. The term "controlled composition" refers to any composition written, published or owned by a recording artist. For instrumental tracks on soundtrack albums, the composer is usually the artist. A controlled composition is generally paid only 75% of the statutory rate. However, the royalty paid may be even less if the total royalties on a soundtrack album are higher than what the record company releasing it wants to pay. The record companies have placed a ceiling on the amount of the mechanical royalties they will pay on an album to 10 times 75% of the statutory rate. If some non-controlled compositions are included on a soundtrack album and paid the full rate, the difference will be deducted from the controlled compositions.

Of course, when not dealing with a controlled composition situation, the publisher is free to negotiate any terms it can agree upon with the record company. This may involve a reduced royalty, but it would be based upon the mutual agreement of the parties, not an arbitrary decision by the record company. Negotiated royalties are usually paid quarterly, not monthly, and paid on units sold and not returned instead of manufactured and distributed.

Other negotiable terms include the amount of money held back as a reserve by the record company, reduced royalties on record club sales, "free goods" or promotional copies, and limitations on the license to the recording actually licensed.

PRINT LICENSES
The licensing of printed copies of music is the derivation of the term "music publishing." Until the early 1900's, this was the only method by which music could be reproduced and distributed to the public.

A print license allows for the reproduction of printed copies of music such as sheet music, folios, concert arrangements and the printing of lyrics in magazines, advertising and books.

Although not the income producer it once was, print licenses, especially for well known songs or well known songwriters, can still generate substantial income. The print music publishers have become very creative in marketing their material, sometimes printing folios containing all the songs from a hit movie or album, or notating guitar solos from heavy metal songs.

There is still a large market in instructional music books for people taking music lessons and for educational uses, such as choral, marching band and orchestral scores. For educational uses, it is not uncommon to grant a royalty-free mechanical license for recordings of the arrangement to be made as a promotional tool by the print publisher.

Royalties have become fairly standardized and are usually granted on a Most Favored Nations basis, which means that all parties are paid at the same rate.

A music publisher entering into a print licensing agreement should make sure that the agreement states that the copyright in any new arrangement is owned by the music publisher and that it should be considered a work-for-hire, with the music publisher considered the author of the copyright.

SUMMARY
As noted above, music created for one particular use can be licensed for many other uses, all of which may earn royalties for years to come. Whether composers publish their own music or have their music controlled by other parties, the opportunities for licensing this music to third parties are unlimited. A party who actively seeks out these opportunities can generate a substantial income for both publisher and composer with minimum effort once the use is secured.

In last month's column, composer royalties from mechanical licenses and sheet music were discussed. Both of these types of income are paid by the user to the music publisher who, in turn, pays the writers their share, according to the contract.

This month, the focus will be on synchronization licensing-the act of marrying, or synchronizing, audio to video. A sync license is necessary whenever a visual image is accompanied by sound. This most often involves television programs, videos or motion pictures, but can also involve computer games, Internet sites and other media not yet developed.

SYNCHRONIZATION LICENSES
Synchronization licensing is part of the right of reproduction granted exclusively to copyright owners in the Copyright Act. Although the word synchronization is not mentioned specifically, publishers are given the exclusive right to authorize the reproduction of their music in copies, such as television programs, motion pictures and home videos. In other words, publishers can grant the right to producers to synchronize their music with a visual image, either on video or film. This grant is usually non-exclusive and is totally discretionary with the publisher. Permission may be denied for any reason whatsoever.

Generally a synchronization license does not include the right to use the title of the song as the title of the production, or to incorporate the story of the song into the production, although those rights can be negotiated.

Because many of the types of programs into which music can be licensed also generate public performance revenue, it is essential that the publisher of the licensed music obtain a copy of the music cue sheet for the production. Failure to get a copy of the cue sheet, or not filing that cue sheet with the performing rights societies, can cost both the composer and publisher a substantial amount of money that cannot be recovered in later years.

TELEVISION
As a right of reproduction, it is important to understand what type of television program requires a synchronization (sync) license. All programs shot on film, a reproductive medium by definition, require a sync license. However, because there is no reproduction, live programs do not require a sync license (although they are still covered under the performing rights licenses). Examples of these programs are news programs, sporting events and special events like The Jerry Lewis Telethon or The Academy Awards.

In addition, certain programs recorded on videotape do not require a license. The Copyright Act allows a transmitting organization (such as a local station or television network) to make an ephemeral recording of no more than one copy of a particular program if the recording is made solely for the purposes of broadcast. This is the so-called live on videotape exception.

In this case, programs like The Tonight Show, which are recorded on videotape earlier in the day for broadcast at a later time, do not require a sync license for their original broadcast. Extending this provision by custom and practice, neither do the first run episodes of any other program on videotape, such as Home Improvement. Reruns of videotaped programs, however, do require a sync license. The very fact that they are broadcast again means that they were recorded so that they could be reproduced. As such, reruns are outside the scope of this exception.

As a practical matter, since virtually all prime-time programs are repeated, television producers of videotaped programs negotiate for sync licenses prior to taping their programs. This gives them some negotiating leverage, and the ability to prevent the use of a song that may not, for whatever reason, be licensable.

Other than the specific contract language, negotiating for a sync license involves two main elements: permission and a determination of the license fee. As an exclusive right of the copyright owner, permission must be obtained for the use of the work in the program. Granting of permission and the setting of a license fee is totally within the discretion of the copyright owner, since there is no compulsory license provision as there is in mechanical licensing.

Because of the changing patterns and uncertainty of television distribution, it is common for producers to negotiate for a number of different licensed rights and options for future exploitation in order to fix their costs at the outset of production. For the use of a composition in a single episode of a television program, the license terms consist of 1) media (free television, basic cable television, pay television, home video, etc.); 2) territory (World, United States, World excluding United States, etc.); and 3) length of license term (one year, five years, perpetuity, etc.). Remember that for each term licensed, a sync license earns a flat fee, no matter how many times a program is broadcast within that term. All of these, including the type of use and duration of the music in the program, go into determining whether permission will be granted and the amount of the license fee.

MOTION PICTURES
In licensing for motion pictures, many of the same concepts apply. The one key difference is that for motion pictures, producers will want to acquire all rights in all media in perpetuity for a fixed price (buyout). This includes media not currently known or developed. This is a major negotiating point.

In the days before home video, sync licenses either had language allowing the studios to distribute the films "in any and all media" or the license was silent on this point. When these films began to be released on video, the music publishers were unable to combat the studios with regard to additional payment for video.

Now, with the advent of all types of new media platforms, such as CD-ROM and CD-I, movies can be shown on a personal computer or television and manipulated in ways never dreamed of even 10 years ago. The major studios are requesting language for rights "in any and all media, whether now known or hereafter developed," without paying any additional fees to music publishers, and are suggesting that publishers who do not grant these rights will not have their music used in these films.

One provision of motion picture licenses is that there is a grant of public performance rights for theatrical exhibition in the United States. By agreements entered into between the Justice Department and the U.S. performing rights societies, music publishers are required to issue domestic public performance licenses directly to movie producers on a per-film basis. As a result, performing rights societies in the U.S. do not license movie theaters as the foreign societies do in their respective territories. Sync licenses should include a provision granting public performance rights directly to producers for U.S. theatrical exhibition.

HOME VIDEO
Licensing music for home video (traditionally including video cassette and video disc) is similar to the types of licensing described above. One key element is that, depending on the resources of the producer, the methods of payment may differ.

For home video releases, there are three main types of payment structures. The first, as described in the section on motion picture licensing, is the buyout. This is a flat-fee payment for all rights to include the composition in the video, regardless of the number of units sold. This is a calculated gamble by the producer as to the success of his project and by the music publisher as to the limited appeal of the project. The advantage of a buyout fee to the publishers is that they get a larger amount of money up front and do not have to worry about tracking future accountings by the producer. The advantage to the producer is the elimination of the cost of accounting to the publisher on a quarterly or semi-annual basis for the duration of the license term.

The second type of payment is a royalty. A fixed rate, usually a number of cents per copy, is paid by the producer to the publisher for each unit sold during the license term, with regular accountings. It is common for the publishers to request an advance payment covering anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 units, with the producer paying the royalty on each unit sold thereafter. Standard auditing provisions accompany this type of agreement.

The third type of payment, a combination of the two listed above, is called a roll-over or limited buyout. Here, the producer pays an advance on a certain number of units. When sales equal the agreed upon figure, another advance is paid for an equal number of additional units. For example, if a roll-over is paid on 10,000 units, when unit number 10,001 is sold, an advance is paid on the second 10,000 units, and so on.

While a buyout is usually granted for duration of copyright, the royalty and roll-over are granted on a more limited period of time. Also, since this media is produced for home use, there is no public performance language necessary in the agreement.

MULTIMEDIA
Licensing for multimedia product is the newest type of sync licensing and, therefore, the area in which the fewest industry standards and practices have been established. Examples of multimedia licensing are karaoke, Compact Disc Interactive (CD-I), CD-ROM (read only memory), computer games, and other platforms still being developed.

As with any new media, the publishing industry is taking a cautious approach to the licensing of music, granting limited rights. In the case of some publishers who do not yet understand the media involved, they are refusing to grant rights at all until a clearer picture of the marketplace evolves. With consumer capabilities to play back this type of media still in its infancy, a grant of limited rights is usually accepted by the multimedia producers.

It should be noted that, with many types of interactive multimedia product, the use of music is not linear in the same sense as it is with compact discs or television programs. The media allows for manipulation of the music in many different ways, such as extracting the string section of an orchestral work or extracting the bass line of a pop song for closer examination by the user. Some programs also will allow the user to produce their own version of the composition, much as the record producer can manipulate the various tracks in a recording studio. All these things should be considered when licensing for multimedia use.

SUMMARY
By keeping a close watch on how their music is used, even though they might not control the ownership and licensing, composers (and publishers) can generate substantial income from the exploitation of their music far beyond what may be earned through the performing rights societies. Composer agreements should clearly spell out what shares of these types of license fees should be paid to the writers. The failure to have that in writing may prove to be very expensive when trying to collect your fair share.

I got a call from totalguitar magazine today saying that i had won £1000 worth of fender gear!!!

It was a Fender Telecaster koa special edition and a G-Dec 30 amp plus cleaning kit.....

I dont play fender so i ebayed the lot and got myself an Ibanez SZ320 EX EH white.....it's gorgeous!!!

My music has been used for the entire soundtrack on a DVD called

"...Comedy in the Living Room, Vol 4" 

Product Description
Welcome to another evening of Stand Up Comedy at the Mutineer Comedy Club. Get ready to laugh your face off as some of America's funniest Stand Up Comedians Hit the Stage. The volume is headlined by the Very Hairy and Sexy Tomahawk. Tomahawk has appeared in "6 Comics from Miami" and "Comedy in the Living Room, Vol. 4".

Click here to watch the trailer 

The DVD is available from Amazon.com today click

 ...Comedy in the Living Room, Vol 4 to find out more!

Well...it was a good game but there was only one team to win it and well done to the bokkers and Englands red roses should be proud of how well they played....till the next time SA!

WHAT IS A PERFORMING RIGHTS ORGANIZATION?

Great question. We get it all the time. A P.R.O., as they are often called, collects money owed to songwriters for the public performance of their songs. Some examples would be radio airplay, placements in movies or TV shows, concerts, "elevator music," and even music on hold for phone systems. These are all uses of the song that the writer(s) gets paid a "performance royalty" for, and the P.R.O. collects that royalty and distributes it to the appropriate people. The three P.R.O.s in the United States are ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC.

WHEN DO I NEED TO JOIN A PERFORMING RIGHTS ORGANIZATION?
You don't technically need to be a member of a P.R.O. until your songs are being played on radio or TV, but the P.R.O.s can help further your career, if they like what you are doing.

HOW CAN A PERFORMING RIGHTS ORGANIZATION HELP MY CAREER?
The P.R.O.s, if they believe in what you are doing, can help by introducing you to collaborators, publishers, A&R, and other industry types. They hold periodic showcases to feature new talent, and hold workshops and seminars designed to educate and connect their members.

love to read business books — especially marketing books. One theme that is repeated throughout many of my favorite marketing books is that you (or your product) need to represent just one thing. If you can't describe what or who you are as an artist in a single, succinct sentence, how can you expect anybody else to?

Why does that matter?

Imagine that you've just discovered a new artist that you're absolutely head over heels about. You tell a friend. The friend responds with, "What do they sound like?" If your answer is, "I can't really describe her," there's little chance your friend will run out to buy the CD.

On the other hand, if your answer had been, "She sounds like Lucinda Williams meets Sheryl Crow," then your friend would immediately have a mental picture and be able to decide if that type of artist would be appealing enough that he would go buy a copy.

I'm not saying that you need to change your music. I'm suggesting that you find a way to label it or describe it in such a way that it makes it easier for word of mouth to work in your favor.

And while we're on the subject of word of mouth, I'd like to publicly thank TAXI member Mary Beth Maziarz for sending me the book, "The Tipping Point." It's a very popular business book that explains what makes something "tip" and become the type of thing everybody is talking about. One of my favorite examples is the huge spike in sales that Hush Puppies experienced in the mid-nineties.

It was essentially a dead brand, but because a handful of influential, young New York "hipsters" rediscovered Hush Puppies, other people who wanted to be hip talked about the shoes, and most importantly, they bought the shoes. The scales tipped and sales soared.

Central to this theme is identifying the "sneezers" as best-selling business author Seth Godin calls them in his book, "Unleashing the Idea Virus." Sneezers are simply people who are influential — people who other people look to for advice and recommendations.

If you were going to buy a new guitar, who would you talk to other than the sales person at Guitar Center? Your friend Bobby from the band The Viral Evangelists? Yes!

Why?

Because everyone knows that Bobby is really cool. He's been around the music scene forever, and he always seems to know what the next big thing is. Bobby is a sneezer. He's a marketer's dream. He's a guy with influence and a large audience of fellow musicians that he can infect with his enthusiasm — be it for a guitar, the next hot band, a new Pro Tools plug-in, or his favorite recording studio.

Your job is to identify the sneezers who can help you infect lots of other people with the idea that your music is great. Who are the best people to proclaim "You've got to check out her CD, it's incredible!" Your aunt Nancy? Who is she going to tell — the ladies in her gardening club?

If you're doing Country music, then a great sneezer would be a DJ at a small Country station — more approachable than a DJ at a huge station, but still has thousands of listeners under his influence. Why not 50 DJs at tiny little Country stations all over the South?

If you're doing atmospheric New Age music, then your sneezers might be people who work at health food stores. You might also give it away to massage therapists who will then play it for countless clients while they work on them. If the massage therapists comment about how much they like your CD, then why not give them some copies on consignment that they could sell to their clients? That's marketing!

The big hurdle that you will need to overcome is motivating your sneezers. You want these people spreading your "germs" like a virus in an overcrowded elevator. But it's always been my experience that you can't really motivate anybody. They've got to be motivated from within.

Think about it for a minute or two. Remember when your parents tried so desperately to get you to study hard when you were in high school? Did their prodding or exhortations motivate you? A big, fat "NO!" on that one, huh?

But what about when you first discovered music. Did anybody have to motivate you to listen to music every chance you had? Of course not. You were self-motivated because you derived pleasure from listening. You received a benefit.

The same will be true for your sneezers. For them to be successful at spreading your virus, they'll need to be self-motivated. And what will motivate them to tell everybody they know that your music gets "Two Thumbs Up"? Great music! That's their benefit. They get to enjoy it, and they get to look like geniuses for recommending it. It always comes back to the music doesn't it? You can try every trick in the book to get people to buy your CD and go to your shows, but if the music is just good, not great, you probably won't succeed. However, if your music is exceptional, it will practically sell itself.

From where I sit, that's true for almost any aspect of life. The more passionate you are, the more motivated you will become. If your motivation level is high then you are likely to become exceptional. Once you become exceptional, the more likely it will be that people will be attracted to what you do. If you attract enough of the right people, they will spread the word to others and your "virus" will spread like measles in Mrs. Taylor's fourth grade class.

You really are the master of your own future. I just used a little marketing lesson to help you realize it ;-)

Any way you can. Success in the music business at any level requires dedication, persistence, energy, and passion. It simply isn't good business to wait for an audience to find you. You must reach out to your audience and find them.

Do your homework. Read books and articles. Talk to successful artists in your area, and borrow their techniques. Most importantly, you must take charge of your own career development. Don't sit around waiting for a Brain Epstein to come along and make everything ok while doing all the work. You will likely be waiting a long time. Do it yourself!

How do I get my music on the radio?

Radio has always been one of the most difficult nuts to crack in the music industry, and with many radio stations now being owned by a small number of corporations that make centralized programming decisions - it's not getting any easier.

It's not impossible, though. Try making contact with college or public radio stations in your area (in the U.S. these are stations on the FM dial that have frequencies in the 80's) that play your kind of music.

Many commercial stations have local and new music 'specialty' shows (usually on Sunday nights). Find out who at the station is responsible for programming these shows, and try to get your music in their hands. The DJ's on these shows usually pick which music they play - unlike every other DJ you hear at other times, by the way. The days of DJ;s choosing their own music are long gone. Those decisions are now made by Music Directors and Program Directors.

Try to make friends and allies at your local stations. Go to the station and bring them food. Offer to play at any live charity functions they may be sponsoring. Be creative - if you can win them over as fans, they may be able to help you along the way.

How can I build a fan base?

Get out there and work at it. Offer to play clubs for free that are reluctant to book you. If you win over the crowd (or bring a healthy crowd of your own) they'll have you back. Do this in an ever-widening regional circle, returning on a regular basis, and you will eventually build a regional fan base.

Build and maintain a database of ground and e-mail addresses of your fans. Always look for opportunities to add names to your mailing list. Keep them up to date on your gigs and any other important news. Offer free tickets, t-shirts or other incentives.

Put together a "street team" of fans in areas where you play who can help promote your shows, and spread the word. Many young, die-hard fans will work like crazy just to be recognized, included on the guest list, and be considered something of an insider.

When producing CDs for sale, be sure to include a Universal Product Code (aka a "bar code") and register your product with Soundscan (the service used to track record sales). This allows A&R research people at record companies to notice and track your sales from their offices.

Be creative. Go where your audience is. Does your music appeal to high school students? Play lunchtime shows at high schools. Or shopping malls.

Trade gigs with like-minded bands in your general region. Offer to have them open for you at clubs where you draw well. In return you open for them in their strong areas.

There isn't any one road map or required way to build a following. There are techniques that work well, but you are free to come up with your own ideas, too.

Do I need to hire an outside marketing company?

Probably not. It doesn't require an expert to do the kinds of self-promotion that many artists have used to achieve local and regional success.

If you do decide to hire a marketing or promotional consultant, make sure that your goals are absolutely clear, specific, and agreed upon by both parties. Most importantly, make sure that results are verifiable. There are quite a few unscrupulous radio promotion people out there, for example, who will generate false airplay reports. Make sure airplay ( aka 'spins') can be verified by the airplay monitoring service, BDS. You should also personally call and verify that all radio stations that are supposed to playing your music, are actually doing so.

How do I book my own gigs?

Call club owners and bookers and send them a CD. Offer to play for free if they are reluctant to take a chance on you at first. Offer to trade gigs with popular bands from nearby towns. When you get a gig, market the heck out of it and get as many people in that club as possible Build and maintain a comprehensive mailing list of your fans.

How do I get a booking agent to book gigs for me?

Booking agents can be hard to come by. Ask club owners and bookers at suitable venues for your kind of music which booking agents they work with. Make contact and send them a CD. All the better if you can show that you are already drawing well on your own.

Ask touring bands (signed and unsigned) that come to your town who their booking agent is. See if they will contact them for you, or simply give you their number. Then go to work.

If we look back at the history of music, you will notice that music styles come and go in cycles.

Some cycles repeat and re introduce old styles of music to a new audience, whilst others are a combination or evolution of one genre.

Current examples are Heavy Metal + hip hop = Nu Metal.
Most music cycles last 4-5years depending on the genre of music and you will know when they are popular once they hit the mainstream.

Most new music starts off underground in clubs bars and pubs with a hardcore fan base that follow their band everywhere.

Have a think back and remember when you started listening to your favorite bands and then think when they started to disappear from the scene.

The only music genre that really stands the test of time seems to be pop and no matter how many different styles come and go , pop music has always been a constant and that’s why most pop artists like Madonna etc last the distance as they can reinvent themselves.

As for me, my particular vice is hard rock music and heavy metal, though my tastes are pretty varied as it helps my playing.

To give you an idea of how rock music has changed and especially which guitarists are in and out, let me take you on a trip down memory lane.

The year is 1988 and I had just moved from Hong Kong back to England to complete the last two years at high school..
I was introduced to the joys of “heavy metal” via my best friend’s walkman during a school lunch break in the playground.

I was taken from the normal world of pop music and brutally dropped into the world of fast guitars, big hair and screaming vocals.

First on the hit list was “Iron Maiden” and they typified English heavy metal of the late 80’s.

The charging anthems and raw guitars really got me as well as the bands enthusiasm on stage. If you want to feel unfit, try watching Bruce Dickenson and crew running around for two hours!

Then the American invasion soon followed with the big hair metal bands and their trashy lyrics and gymnastic guitar. They included Gun’s & Roses, Poison, Mr. Big, Motley Crue, Alice Cooper, Faith No More and many more.

If they weren’t in the charts they where on the TV and a new age of Heavy Metal was alive and kicking and I loved every minute.

“Heavy Metal” was a phrase first penned by a journalist commenting on the sound black Sabbath made whilst playing back in the late 70’s.

And while it felt like Heavy Metal music was going to stay around forever, by the time a young guitarist called Kurt Cobain came along with his new band Nirvana, the news was out “grunge had killed metal” and a new era of indie music began.

In the after math and cancelled record contracts, only the strong bands like Metallica and Aero smith etc survived due to their wide scale commercial appeal and creative marketing.

The message with music cycles is to be successful or creative in any industry means opening your mind to new cultures and experiences.
So when the music stops, make sure you the one with a chair!

*****This is a great article!!!*****


What is your definition of a successful guitarist? I would answer, one who plays for life. If you love music, and love playing the guitar, wouldn't it be great to play your whole life? I'm still relatively young by most standards but I've done okay so far. Even though the average guy on the street doesn't know my name, I've done okay as a guitarist and I'm going to tell you how I've done it up to this point. How I satisfy both my financial and artistic needs and how you can too.

What's The Difference Between An Artist And A Musician?

The Artist....................
I'll start with the artist. The artist plays for himself for the most part. His objective as a guitarist is to please his own artistic hunger. He strives for artistic elegance. Don't get me wrong, this is not necessarily a bad thing for me and you. It's great. Artists make life for the rest of us better. Artists create art. I have Picasso hanging on my wall, not something a graphic designer drew that I found in a magazine. The problem with being an artist isŠit's rough to make ends meet. Artists are generally only brilliant at their own music or working with artists that fall into the same category as themselves. Artists constantly study art. That's the reason it's hard to make a living. The artist is always striving to create better art. He creates art with such high standards, the average Joe has a hard time understanding it. The artist is so involved in creating art that he often creates a gap between himself and the masses. I'm not saying all artists are broke but it's a gamble.
The Musician
The musician is a different animal all together. The musician is a hired gun. Although he may have musical preferences, he isn't picky about what he plays to pay the rent. While the artist may be particular about what he has to play to get paid, the musician will play anything. He is well versed in all styles and can mimic various players. These types of players make good studio musicians, session players and teachers. They usually do all these things. Like the artist, the musician is always working on learning new skills. The only problem with the musician is that he tends to find himself artistically frustrated. Let's face it, deep down inside, we all really want to be the artist. We want our music to live on after we're gone. We want someone, after we die, to send one of our CDs off into deep space so some alien can find it in a million years and say, "Them earthlings wrote the most glorious music in the galaxy."

Balance....................
Which would you rather be; the artist or the musician? Remember the phrases; "the starving artist" and "the struggling musician." I personally would rather struggle as a musician while I commit myself to creating art. I think the best way to live a satisfying life as a guitarist is do dedicate your life to both of these ambitions. Most guitarists get themselves in trouble by focusing on only one of the two. Most of the money I have made in the business as a player came from playing other peoples tunes, not from my own CD sales. But to be honest, releasing my own CDs is way more rewarding (mentally, not financially). Doing both makes my career well balanced. One feeds the other.

The Rules Of Making A Living As A Guitarist....................
Bite off more than you can chew (almost) - Never turn down a gig. There are two ways to look at doing a gig; first, a way to pay the rent, Second, a chance to learn something. The worst mistake you can make as a guitarist is to turn down work because you think you not good enough yet or you don't have much experience playing that style. When I was in my twenties, I got a call to do a country gig for about twenty bucks. I had never played country before and I was tempted to tell the guy on the other end of the phone that I was busy on that night. In the end I couldn't break my own rule so I took the gig. I got the charts and the music, worked out all the tunes, borrowed my roommate's Telecaster and had one of the best learning experiences I have ever had. Was I scared? You bet I was. That's exactly what helped me work the tunes out in time, good old fashioned fear. I, of course have my own musical preferences, but I rather play guitar for an hour at a wedding, learn some new tunes in the process and get paid fifty or a hundred bucks than to work at Burger King for minimum wage. My students get to see me real angry when they tell me they turned down a gig for some trivial reason.

**Don't bug anyone** - Simplicity will keep you out of trouble. When you're at home practicing, reach for the unreachable. When you're on the gig, know your limits. My experience as a studio player has taught me to focus on every single note I play. When you're recording for another artist, on somebody else's time, you have to play everything perfect. For every mistake you make, you have to punch-in the part again. The tape rolls and after you record your part; you go back into the room where the engineer and the producer are mixing the recording. They turn down the other parts to check out what you played. Your guitar is really loud in the mix. There is no escape. It's like looking in the mirror. Every time you play something a little out of time or a little sharp or flat it makes you cringe. My first experience in the studio taught me to listen to every single note I play, all the time, even when I'm not recording. It taught me to know my limits whenever I play, and to stretch those limits by good practice. While in the studio, I try to get the track done on the first or second take with no punch-ins. Next time you are on a gig, pretend you're in the studio recording for Michael Jackson. See how long you can play without making even a tiny mistake. Let this become a habit.

****Love your enemies** - When I was learning guitar as a kid, I wanted to crush the neighborhood guitar kids like grapes with my technique! Competitiveness is important; the need to be the best is what drives people to be just that. But don't let it blind you. Every time Mike Stern or Scott Henderson are in town, I dread going to hear them play. It always depresses me. It forces me to compare myself with them and to truly see what kind of player I am in a true light. I could easily avoid the whole miserable thing and stay home but I force myself to go. After it's over, I go home, don't touch my guitar and go to sleep. The next day I force myself to get over it and practice like a maniac. I have had similar experiences all my life. There is always someone who plays better than you. It is important to search them out, make friends with them, pick their brains and learn. It's okay to secretly hate their guts! Use envy and jealousy to your advantage. The interesting thing is that the guys that I always want to beat in guitar wars, usually become great friends and refer me for gigs from time to time. Players who avoid better players are destined for mediocrity.

Listen To What Your Mother Told You....................
This is really important. No matter how great a player you are, that is only half the battle in being a successful guitarist. Here are the other things:

Never be late -
If you show up late for studio work, you'll never get called back. Time is money. Get there early, set your equipment up and be ready to go before the session is supposed to begin. The same thing goes for auditions. Even if you are the greatest guitarist to ever walk the face of the earth, you'll make the producer nervous if you show up late for an audition. He's running a business so he is going to figure that you're late all the time and since he's got enough to worry about he'll pick someone for the job who is dependable. You won't get a call back. The same thing is true for rehearsals. A good friend of mine has the touring gig with a super big artist (ain't gonna tell you who). He was telling me that the keyboardist in the band came to rehearsal and didn't have all his stuff set up in time. He made the artist wait about a whole minute to get the rehearsal started. Instead of rehearsing he got fired on the spot. He lost a $2,000 dollar a week gig for being a minute late. Don't make the same mistake.

Appearances count -
Before you play your first notes, the audience has already made a decision about you by your appearance. This goes for auditions too. First, go to the magazine stand and get yourself a copy of the newest GQ. I'm not joking. Check the photos and see what guys are wearing these days. Music and fashion walk hand in hand. Dress for success! I know tons of great players who lose out because they wear the same stupid t-shirt everyday. Think of Miles Davis, not only a musical genius but a true fashion plate. The first lesson I learned about this topic was from a band member when I was eighteen. He told me to get some new shoes because mine were dirty. I had figured that nobody looks at a guy's shoes but when you're standing on a four foot stage that is the first thing the people in the first row look at. Take pride in your appearance and carry yourself with confidence. Charisma, charm and style carry a lot of weight in the music business.

Wear as many hats as you can -
Play as many styles as you can, this will increase the amount or gigs you can do. Also, work on your singing chops. Sometimes this alone will get you the job. A lot of bands are looking for someone who can do both. It saves them the money to hire two guys. If you can sing harmony it's a plus. If you can sing lead, it's even better. This is also a good strategy for your band. You can make way more money as a trio than a quartet. Most gigs pay by the band regardless of how many band members in the band.

Education

Get an education -
Just like any other kind of job, education is important. Lessons are great but if you have the time and money, enroll yourself in a good music school. I spent a year at Musician's Institute in Los Angeles where I ended up also being a teacher for six years. The great thing about studying at a big music school is all the students that you also get a chance to learn from. The thing that is great about MI or LAMA in LA or The Collective in NY or the schools that I run in Japan is that they are not art schools as much as they are trade schools. They strive to teach you how to make a living at being a guitarist while also giving you plenty of creative support. They don't cater to any one particular style of music as an "art" school does. The trade school teaches you a trade rather than an art.

Get in education -
A well rounded musical education will also prepare you for education. One of the most rewarding things I have ever done is to get into music education. After I left MI in 1992, I found myself in Japan as the Director of Education at Tokyo School of Music. Teaching will teach you more about music than studying will. When I was teaching at MI, I found myself teaching in the classroom next to Scott Henderson on one side and Paul Gilbert on the other. I would eat lunch with jazz legend Joe Diorio. Just being in the same building as players like these and absorbing what was going on around me was an invaluable experience. Teaching also forced me to organize musical concepts which in turn helped me become a better player. If you are fortunate to get work at a school that also has courses in recording, you may be able to sneak in there and learn a little about the newest technology. One of the biggest advantages of working at a music school is the fact that you can network. I'm always surprised to see how much the teachers at my school end up working together. They refer each other to gigs as subs and even get them on their own gigs. The great thing about teaching is that it is usually a day gig which doesn't interfere with your night gig; playing. Its extra cash and it's steady.

Some Advice On Getting A Teaching Job

The Interview....................

Your Manner -
A lot of guys ruin the whole thing here. Here is how it usually goes; I get a call from a guy looking for a teaching position. I ask him to come down and he does. I talk to him a while and decide he seems like a decent cat. His eyes aren't red and he can carry a concise conversation. You may think I'm joking. You would actually be surprised how many guys come to an interview high on something. This is a sure way to not get the job. I don't care what anybody does in their free time but, anyone who comes to an interview at a school for a teaching job stoned is probably going to come to teach his classes stoned too. Also, like I said before, never, ever show up late for your interview. One of the most important things for a teacher to be is on time.

Passion -
I also want a guy who is passionate about teaching. Remember, a school is a business so I want a teacher who is going to teach all the students, not just the gifted ones. Most kids quit school because of discrimination. Not racial, religious or sexual, but talent discrimination. Anyone can teach someone with a ton of talent to be a great player. I'm looking for someone to teach the kids who struggle with the guitar. If you feel that filtering out the students that are not "musically gifted" is a teacher's job, you won't be working for me. I want every student who enrolls in my school to graduate. Remember that during your interview too.

Your Profile -
Don't disclose the unnecessary. You will need to give the school your profile. Leave out anything that you may be doing that doesn't involve music. When I look over profiles for teaching position at my school, I'm looking for someone who is a working player. Anyone who is gigging plus, let's say, works at the local Kmart is out. I'm looking for guys who are going to teach the students how to work full time as a guitarist so they better be doing so themselves. Don't lie, but don't disclose the unnecessary details.

Your Demo -
Let's say the interview and the profile go over. Here is the next thing that a lot of guys screw up. They don't have anything recorded. I want to hear them play. You'd be surprised how many guys don't have a decent demo. I generally don't like cassette tapes. I'm looking for a decently recorded CD. It can be burned at home or at a studio but it needs to showcase what you are good at. This is also true for auditions. A lot of times, before you even get to audition, you first have to send your bio and demo. Be careful not to send a demo of you playing Bebop to a producer looking for a rock guitarist.

Empower Yourself

Don't wait for a break -
This is my advice for those of you who want to satisfy your artistic needs. No matter how much money you make teaching or doing gigs as a hired gun, the truth is, your dream since you started playing probably has been to be rewarded for your playing and your own music. In the past, most artists would make a demo, and shop it around hoping that a record label would pick them up. Those where sad times. Artists had absolutely no power whatsoever. Even today, there are still plenty of artists doing the same thing; they have yet to see what great times we live in. Because of technology today, releasing a CD is a simple thing to do. If you are well rehearsed, you can be in and out of the studio in three days. That includes the mix down. I recorded, mastered and pressed my own CD, "Prospects" for about three-thousand five hundred dollars. That includes the money I paid for the studio musicians to do the session. If you have a band with permanent members you probably don't have to pay them, so you can do it for less.

Recording tips -

Be totally prepared. The trick to getting the session done inexpensively is speed. The misconception that you need a month in the studio to do a good recording is completely false. If you are well rehearsed, you can knock each song out in two takes. After that, you decide which take you like, punch in any parts you don't like and move on to the next tune. The difference with my newest CD is that we never rehearsed. I hired studio cats who just read the charts. We ran through the tune once, recorded two takes for each song and never did any punch-ins. The musicians where top notch players. If you get in the studio and start rehearsing, you are never going to get done in time.
Selling the thing once you get it done - In the old days, the only way to sell a record was to get a contract with a record company and a distribution deal to get the product in stores, advertise, tour and wait for you measly royalty check. Royalty rates vary slightly from company to company, but I'll just tell you, you have to sell at least a million records to be able to pay your rent. That's the sad truth about "a major deal". But now we live in glorious times thanks to the internet. Once you get your CD done you can sell it from your web site (I'll get to that after this). You can also send it to cdbaby.com and/or guitar9.com and/or a bunch of other sites that will sell it for you. In the mean time you can send it to some different sites that will review it for you. If you do a good job on your CD, you should be able to get some good reviews from sites that specialize in just that.. Other people looking for new music will go to these sites read your review, go to your site and buy your CD. I used godsofmusic.com, prognosis and some other sites. You just put the link for cdbaby.com or guitar9.com on your site and they will be directed directly to your page on those sites. Guitar9.com, cdbaby.com and most other similar sites such as Amazon.com will sell customers the cds you send them by credit card and they in turn will send you a check from time to time. They take four or five dollars from your sales and everyone walks away happy. You are basically doing your own distribution. With a "major deal" you would make about a dollar on a CD sale, this way you make about ten dollars, about fourteen on the ones you sell at gigs or from your site by personal check. You only have sell ten percent of what you would with a "major deal" to make the same money. But the most important thing as that you are empowered; it's your own motivation, dedication, footwork that moves your CD. Do it yourself and learn a bunch in the
process.

Your Site - If you think putting together a site is way more than you know how to deal with, you're wrong. Buy yourself software like Dreamweaver for a few hundred bucks and you are on your way. You don't have to know anything about code to do it. It's as easy as "Word" or "Powerpoint". It'll take you about half an hour to install it and have your first few pages going. The other thing you need to do is get yourself a domain name and someone to host it. That's easy too. Just type in "domain names" into your favorite search engine and you are on your way. I think mine costs me about seven or eight bucks a month for 50MB. I need at least 50MB because I have mp3s on my site available for people to download. You may or may not need that much. The only other problem is graphics. Your site will be dull without cool graphics. If you are into that kind of thing you may want to try to do it yourself using "Fireworks" which is included in the "Dreamweaver" package or some other software such as "Adobe Photoshop". Or, (shameless plug) you can purchase your own custom graphics from a company like ominousgraphics.com for next to nothing. Yes, ominousgraphics.com is my own company that does web graphics for artists for cheap. Once you get your site going, have as many sites as you can add your link and you'll start getting traffic. Include in your site; audio files, your bio, a cd page with links to cdbaby.com and guitar9.com, a links page, a news page, a schedule page so you can get people to come to your shows (and buy your CD) and photos, etc. It's important to do it yourself. If you don't, information will always be slow and your site will be a big bore. Like I said before, do it yourself and learn something in the process. Check out my site if you have a chance. You may get some ideas.

Green....................

Managing your money -
This will probably be the first time you are going to get financial advice from a guitarist. A lot of musicians give up playing as a professional for money reasons. One of the tricks in surviving in the business is to manage your money. No matter what happens, pay yourself first. Before you pay your rent, bills, buy your girl a watch, pay yourself first. Whatever you can swing is okay. Let's say, two, three, five hundred dollars a month. No matter what happens, every month, you put it away first and you don't touch it. What if you can't make ends meet? You make ends meet! If you can't come up with the car insurance at the end of the month, you'll work that much harder to find a gig. If I had started doing this when I was eighteen, I would have about a million bucks today. I'm serious. I started doing this in my late twenties; I put the money into a mutual fund that earned me, on average, about twelve percent a year. Here is a rule that you probably never heard before. They never taught me this formula in school.

72 divided by yearly interest earned on any investment = the amount of years it takes the investment to double.

Let's say you are eighteen and invest six thousand dollars ($500 x 12 months) into a mutual fund that earns you ten percent a year. 72 divided by 10 equals 7.2 years for your six-thousand dollars to double. It will double again in another 7.2 years. Let's just make it an even seven years for demonstrational purposes.



Age
Investment
18
6,000
25
12,000
32
24,000
39
48,000
46
96,000
53
192,000
60
384,000

You would retire with three-hundred eighty-four thousand dollars from only one year of properly invested savings. Figure out what you would have if you had done this every year of your life starting form when you where eighteen. You would be a millionaire! You don't have to believe me, do your own math. Go to yahoo finance and do some mutual fund historical research.

Becoming a guitarist has been one of the greatest joys in my life. I hope that sharing some of the things I learned along the way will help you to be successful in the music business. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to e-mail me anytime.

by Sven Stichter

The what should I be able to do's.......

To be in good shape for recording sessions there are a lot of things you can practice at home. Be prepared and know your abilities!

Here is what you can do and what you should work on:

A solid rhythm:
- Practice 8th notes, triplets, 16th notes and rests with a metronome or drum machine.
Practice strumming patterns and picking patterns for acoustic.

A good ear:
- Practice ear training! Figure out chords, progressions, intervals by ear. Be able to get a grip on phrases quickly.

Clean playing:
- Muting and dampening strings, changing chords with little or no sliding noises.

Dynamics:
- Hear how volume and sound differ if you pick the strings softer or harder and get comfortable with this. Be able to include it in your phrasing to feature accents and to add more life to your playing.

Variations:
- Practice chord inversion, chord changes with little overall tonal movement, changes in different inversions all over the neck.
If you play the inversion the producer hears in his head quickly you save time and this can also get you the next job.
To practice this skill, write and arrange guitar parts that contain 3 or more different guitar tracks that fit well layered over each other.

Versatility:
- Be able to play different styles with their distinct details as reliable as possible. You could be listening to Slayer in the car and run into a country session. To work on this skill switch through radio channels and improvise over what you hear in that certain style.

Earpleasers:
- the usual cliche things. No one needs a wholetone lick when a simple pentatonic doublestop does the job. To know what the producer wants - to listen as fast as possible -- is one of your most valuable weapons!

Vibrato and Bendings:
- I think it was Steve Lukather who once said that he could hear if a guitarist is good or bad by just listening to him bending a note. I agree with him. To make a perfect bend or vibrato can tell you how much control that guitar player has. The more control, the better. Adding a sweat vibrato to a note is better than just waiting for a note to fade away.

Lead sheet reading:
- practice reading lead sheets and be able to write your own.
Sometimes you have to figure out progressions by ear, sometimes you get a lead sheet. They can differ in quality and are subject to change a few times during the session. Make sure you can read chord symbols and their variations.
A lot of lead sheets are written by Keyboarders or Pianists. It is possible that they don't
write out the chords as you would see them. For example:
They would write Dsus cause they want a suspended sound there but you would see the
chord as a C/D. Or they think of a Amin7/C which could be your average Cmajor
shape. Be aware of those differences in chord spelling. Be flexible.

Simplicity:
- don't overplay. You are not recording a guitar album. A lot of times you are just there to fill spaces or to just deliver the sound of a guitar. Do this. Listen closely to the beat and melody, maybe vocals if available as well and fill spaces logically. Listen to jingles and hitsongs, basically everything that is commercial and figure out at which places the guitars are added. If you are used to play whole melodies, try to play just every second note. Same with chord changes.

Know your gear:
- be in tune. Tune before every take if necessary.
A good guitar (bridge, nut and tuning machines) can save you that hassle and saves time and nerves.
If you bring your own pedal(s), know how to tweak the sound quickly
(thinner, less distortion, more mids etc.).
Most of the times your small multieffect unit does the job and no hi-tec racks or Marshall walls are needed. In some situations even the distortion is processed directly with the computer and you plug the guitar into the studios tube pre-amp that's connected to the computers soundcard. That makes it possible for the sound engineer to adjust the amount distortion in the mix.

If you realize a slight delay between you plucking the strings and you actually hearing it through the monitors, ask the sound engineer to adjust the latency. Don't dare to play like that or you'll be wondering how messed up your timing will be.

Relax:
- don't panic, no matter what. You'll get sweaty hands and your muscles will tense up and you'll have a hard time sounding relaxed.
You are dealing with human beings and mistakes are natural for everybody.
Have fun. Smile and have a laugh if you hit the wrong note. You are doing this because it's fun and nobody forces you to do it. Don't be afraid to play even when you get corrected a few times.

Know your abilities. If you honestly feel that what you are asked for is beyond your abilities, be fair and humble and admit it. That will save valuable time and stress, plus they will know better for which situations you can be booked in the future.

Nobody can be perfect in all situations.

Know what you do:

- To know what key you are in helps how to play harmony parts for example.
Be able to double a take exactly. Maybe the producer wants to pan the
guitars, or they were not recorded in the first place.
If you offer possible guitar lines that you would play, and the producer goes "yes, that's exactly what I want", you should be able to redo it.


The cashtalk

Last but not least a few words about money:
Of course you should be paid for what you did. But be fair.
Maybe you can ask around and find out how much that studio usually pays to be not too much off.

Don't write a 400 dollar bill for playing two straight power chords and insist in getting it - especially if it's your first job at that studio. Be realistic, fair and understand that if the producer gets 500 for the job, he won't pay 400 to the guitarist.

If you are a pain in the butt he might do it, but you'll never hear from him again. Remember that a good reputation is what gets you jobs in this business.

If you can sort out a good deal that works for both parties, they'll be happy to call you for the next job. I'd even suggest doing the first job for free depending on the situation. Be someone to get along with well and don't show up with dollar signs in your eyes.


A word on Home recording

Doing home recordings surely helps to know the basic procedures of recording and gives you a picture on what you sound like on tape.

Nothing helped me more with sounding good than doing home recordings. There were times when I was recording and re-recording just a few seconds of a solo for hours and hours, 1000 takes maybe until it sounded the way i wanted it to sound.

The product is what you will be judged by. Nobody will ask you how many hours you spent in front of your 4 track, as long as they hear quality playing.

Before you decide to learn all the modes of the feng shui scale, take what you can already play and make it sound perfect - don't compare yourself with your high schools best guitarist but with world class players. Push the limits higher and always mess with the best. Even if you fail, let your goal be precious and valuable and you can be sure to succeed on your way.
Work on all the tiny bits and details, listen with the ears of an elephant and be highly critical with the stuff you record.

If you want to impress a girl you would take care in ensuring your words don't fall out off your mouth like stones as well, wouldn't you?! The notes and musical phrases are your words and sentences now- let them be as perfect, meaningful and true as possible - then you can pass on your recordings and be assured, even if someone doesn't like the music you are doing, that you have done everything possible to express what you wanted to say.

You should record yourself (a tape recorder can be enough) over and over again to check your playing from a listener's standpoint. You may be surprised if you are doing this for the first time. It's like hearing your voice on tape for the first time. You might go "Oh my god, is that really me?", but that is how everybody else hears you. If you don't like what you hear, analyze it and change what annoys you with practice.

Be brave, and good luck.
BY Sven Stichter

Money is a very touchy subject when it comes to musicians at all levels. It’s the way some of us will define success, it’s broken up some of our favorite bands, brought bands back together, and in some cases has changed how we view our favorite artists/bands completely hell some people in this business have been killed over it. So if you’re completely anti-money then this particular column is not for you.


So you’ve been doing session stuff for a while, for friends maybe or you’ve even lucked out and hooked up with a few other artists or two, you wake up one morning and say “You know if I asked for money I could quit my crappy job and play music all day, but I wouldn’t know the first thing about what to do.” I’m not a seasoned vet when it comes to this stuff but with no one to guide me I’ve had to learn a lot of things about the music business the hard way. Hopefully this can help someone else that is considering trying their had at this.

Find Out How Good You Are.............

I know this may seem like a no brainier to some folks but some people haven’t a clue how good of a guitarist they actually are. Like so many of the bad singers on American Idol some players are walking around thinking they’re the next Hendrix when it’s really not the case and even worse there are some great guitarists out there who think they’re playing is crap. How can you possibly solve this? Well the simplest things I can think of is number one finding some good and different musicians to jam with if you can keep up with them you’re probably good, if they turn their faces up like something smells bad chances are you still have a ways to go. The second thing would be to either get to know some studio musicians or buy some records in all different genres and see if you can keep up with the guitar playing, if you can then you’re probably alright.

Know The Market..........

Try to get an idea of how much the best guitarist in your area gets paid for a session. If you’re good and you’re living In New York or LA the rates for studio guys will be better than say if you live in Boise Idaho. When you begin to figure out what your rate is going to be it’s good to know what the top dog is being paid. You don’t want to live in Idaho and charge New York Prices, if you can warrant New York prices you wouldn’t be in Idaho. One thing I can tell you is that the best rates are in cities where music is produced for major labels, New York, LA, Atlanta, Nashville, etc.
I know I mentioned this before but it’s also important to know what genres are big in your particular area. I live in Philadelphia and the biggest genres for original music are Punk, Hardcore, Jazz, Folk, Hip-Hop, R&B, Singer/Songwriter, Pop, and Soul. Most Punk and Hardcore (which I love to play) acts in this area are bands so there’s normally not a lot of work in that area. Generally the work is going to come from solo artists who need musicians to play on their stuff. That usually ends up being Folk, Hip-Hop, R&B, Singer/Songwriter, Pop and Soul. Basically at the moment I’ve been getting work in the R&B and Soul Scene here, a lot of them are looking for a Rock edge to add to their music. Tomorrow it could be something else they’re looking for but right now I’m working pretty steadily. Paying attention to trends is always important.

Know What You Want To Do..............

I try to do as many different sessions as it relates to genre as I can, I just think it’s better to be versatile because there’s more money for me that way but that might necessarily be for everyone. If you want to do all different kinds of music that’s fine if you want to focus on one or two things specifically that’s cool too because truthfully there may only be one or two genres of music that are prevalent in your area and you may want to make that your main focus.
It’s also important to decide exactly how much you want to work. Do you want to be constantly in the studio or do you only want to work three to four times a year. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. You make more money if you do more work but you can also saturate the market with your sound. When everybody has you on his or her tracks you run the risk of becoming passé and if you’re not that versatile of a player you can find yourself out of work. It’s also important, especially for people that are in bands, to figure out how important doing these sessions are to you. If you are a good guitarist you’re going to get a lot of work and that work could take a lot of time away from your band I’ve seen some guitarists be kicked out of their bands over stuff like this.

Build The Right Image.........

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. You want to project an image of a musician that’s on time, prepared, and easy to work with. Everyone that does this stuff talks to each other and if you show up to someone’s session an hour late reeking of booze and weed chances are you’re not going to get hired much. If the guys at the studio are into booze and weed it will be at the studio and if they want you to partake they’ll let you know, and if that’s the case try to get your work done first before drinking or sparking.

Know Your Worth.............

All the previous things I talked about contribute to the most important thing when it comes to money. You have to have a concrete idea of how much you’re worth. Know that the people hiring you want to pay you as little as possible. Think about how good you are, how much money is actually out there, then factor in whether or not you have to drive there and pay for gas, do you have to lug an amp to the session, how long you have to be there etc. I’m of the mind that the more work you have to do in order to do the session the more you should be paid. Also understand that a lot of people trying to do this stuff are struggling music types just like you, so keep that in mind before you charge them 1000 dollars for a session.
Last time I checked (which was a ways back) the standard union rate for a studio musician was like $370 an hour that could have changed. Generally I charge on a sliding scale depending on the type of budget a client is working with, usually around 30-250 an hour with a five hour minimum (meaning you will be paid for five hours work whether it takes five hours or 20 minutes after five hours your hourly rate applies) to do the session that must be paid on arrival unless there is some sort of written agreement between the two of us which is generally the best way to go. Contracts prevent you from being screwed. Be willing to work with people but make them understand that you are skilled and skill doesn’t come cheap. You’re least likely to have your time wasted this way.

Never Do Something For Nothing................

People take advantage of musicians especially young ones who are hungry and love music. They have you bust your ass to get to their spot, work you for 12 hours, say thank you, and send you home. It doesn’t necessarily have to be money, especially in the beginning, if your fine with being paid in booze and pizza that’s cool (it gets old after a while) if he can put you in a good position in the music industry, fine, give them a discount, or even if they’re willing to give you free studio time in exchange for your efforts that’s great, but don’t walk away from the table without getting something for your efforts. Nothing in this world is free especially not your creativity and skill.

Beware Of Bullshit Artists...

A lot of the time when someone contacts you about playing on their sessions they want to get you in and have you play for as little as possible and if they want to pay you next to nothing or have you work for free they lure you to their spot to jam and hang out then they spin you a tale about how in five years they’re going to be big time and when they are you’re going to be the guy they use on their big time sessions. Young and hungry musicians fall for this all of the time, don’t be fooled, they want free labor and if they do make it big it’s likely they will find a high priced studio musician to do their session because they can afford it. More often than not you’re wasting your time. Look at it this way; if they can’t afford you they’re not ready to have a good quality musician play on their sessions.
Even worse there are folks who have the money and still don’t want to pay you. They prey on that rock and roll philosophy “You should play because you love it not for the money” or “I thought you loved music” or “I thought you were cool I didn’t think you’d be so greedy” and again if you’re young and/or hungry you fall for it and sometimes even proud that you didn’t “sell out” not only has he got your services for free he plans to press that CD up and sell it and not cut you in. These folks are preying on your dreams; always walk into a session prepared to walk away.
This is why knowing your worth and what your rates are is necessary. If you right away say, “I’d love to work with you, my rates are…” it keeps a lot of this nonsense out of your life.

Get It In Writing.........

If you can get an agreement in writing, that way if someone tries to jerk you around you can settle the matter in court if you have to. A lot of people seem trustworthy in this business and most of them are. But there are some pricks that agree to your terms and will string you along until you give up. Be very careful about who you do business with and never leave a session without your money or something in writing saying that you will get your money by a certain date.
Of course there are exceptions to every rule. We all have musician friends we do solids for and generally they do solids for us. You may meet an artist you believe in so much that you’re willing to work for next to nothing just to be a part of the situation but those cases should be few and far between, every artist isn’t special, every artist isn’t going to make it, so be very careful when it comes to charity. For those of you who are thinking about doing this I hope this helps you not to make some of the same mistakes so may musicians in general make (including myself) at a very young age when they’re hungry and just want to play.

Great news, i have been accepted as a composer on FilmTV-Tracks who are a stock music website supplying music for TV and film as well as multimedia...

Visual Sound Theories DVD - Available 18 September

Steve's long-awaited and much anticipated DVD, Visual Sound Theories will be released through Sony/Epic on September 18, 2007. This DVD features the live performances from the Aching Hunger concerts with the Holland Metropole Orchestra in July 2005.

With a total running time of over 2 hours, the DVD includes 14 tracks in both stereo and 5.1 surround sound:

Kill The Guy With The Ball
The God Eaters
The Murder Prologue
The Murder
Answers
Lotus Feet
I'm Becoming
Salamanders In The Sun
The Attitude Song
Gentle Ways
Liberty
For The Love Of God
Shadows And Sparks
Frangelica Pt. I & II

Bonus features include:
- An Orchestra-only performance of "Bledsoe Bluvd."
- A behind the scenes featurette
- An interview at De Oosterpoort with Steve Vai
- "Steve Speaks"
- Feature length commentary with Steve Vai, Michael Mesker and Jason Feinberg

The DVD will be available in all major record stores, Amazon.com; and through our Vai.com Online Store. Fans in the USA can also pick up the DVD at the merch booth on Steve's upcoming Sound Theories USA Tour. Check back in the coming days for a sneak-peek DVD trailer.