chapter12

The Music Gladitator Manual

A must read for any artist or label wanting to succeed in the music industry

12 TOOLS OF THE TRADE
“A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.”

Bios:

A bio is an important ingredient for your press kit and your web page. Artist benefits from having a well professional
bio created. However if you are going to write it yourself, don’t tell the reader what he or she should feel about the
artist.

Don’t tell the reader how the artist started playing the piano at 7 years of age at the very beginning of the page.
Start it as you would an employment application. Begin with the present and go back in time, only if it worth telling.

Don’t include facts which are not related to the music business about your life.

You should also make sure you check your bio for wrongfully typed or miss-spelled words and never lie or
exaggerate concerning something on your bio.

Identify your musical genre. If you cannot find your musical style labeled in the record store, then know one will be
able to find your product.

Less is more. One page is enough space for your bio.

Mastering:
Recordings are mastered to make sure your song sound consistently good with a comparable sonic quality to other
recordings in the market place.

You can have the vocals brighten and depth added to the sound of the recordings.

When going to have your product mastered. Make sure the engineer understands your music. Take a reference
recording which you would want your music to sound like. I also suggest you set up a date and time to meet with the
engineer who’s going to master your project and spend ten to fifteen minute analyzing the recordings. This way you
could get some suggestions on your mix beforehand to get the sound you need.

Another important issue with mastering is in reference to the speed at which the master is being duplicated. It
should not be more than two (2) times the speed. In fact, for a high quality sound, have them duplicate it in real time.

Know the sequence of your songs and label everything correctly. Most people know mastering is the final process
done to a recording, but few understand how it is your last opportunity to get a professional sounding CD, which will
help you stay in the game to compete with thousands of others trying to grab the attention of the buying public
and/or major labels.
Recording Studio:

“No one makes demos anymore.” People go the extra mile in today’s environment to put their best foot forward. And
with the technology being what it is, a person has a lot of options available when it comes to recording. Home
studios are not only affordable; they also helped level the playing field.

A smart move is to use your home studio, but having a professional engineer to mix and master your project.
Though using a home studio would be easier to put into your budget, leaving you with money to market your
product. It would be in your best interest to do it this way. There can never be a great substitute for a set of trained
ears from a skilled engineer.

Now you have the best of both worlds. The comfort of not having a cost restrain on your budget and you or your
artist can create without the worry of time and money. Since many emerging artist cannot afford to record a whole
project at a professional studio, this is a good mix.

In addition to having the ears of a professional engineer, you are increasing the quality of your product. Please
remember if you are tracking live drums, use a professional studio, you will be glad you did.

Recording Tips:
•        Rehearse your songs before going to the recording studio. A studio should not be used as a place to practice
  and reveal the weak parts of a song.
•        Make sure to eat and sleep well before recording.
•        Get to the studio on or before time.
•        Memorize your words to a song before the going to record. You will then be prepared to add emotions and
  feelings to the song while recording.
•        When you mess up during a recording session, don’t stop and start over. If you keep this up; you will burnout.
  Anyway an engineer can punch you in to correct any errors.
•        Keep guests out. As an artist, you want to remain focus.
•        Listen to your recording sessions at a volume which your fans will listen to it in their car or on their boom box.

IMAGE:
Most importantly you must have an image to project. When a gladiator walks in the arena with a helmet covering his
head and it looks differently then the rest of the competitors, he creates a sense of mystic in relation to himself.
This is in addition to wearing a chest and one arm matching armory protective shield to protect him and create a
sense of style to his character.

Now he stands out among the rest and the spectator’s eyes are glue to him and the crowd has created a
preconceived image of him as being their champion.

As with the gladiator the artist must also have an image to project to the audience when presenting him or herself.

The time between recording and the final product is released and your appearance to the public, you should
develop an image which will be used for a few years. An image will create a statement of: “all eyes on me” to the
people.

Keep in mind an artist is a product. And if an artist is offering the same image the other artists are offering besides
selling the same song, music and messages, your career will not go very far. Distinguish yourself as an artist. If you
are a label representative, make sure your artist is developing a fan following which is loyal to your artist image,
songs and music.

Just as the last standing gladiator raises his or her sword in the air and turnaround for all the spectators to see as
they cheer before leaving the arena, you too must raise your arm and wave to everyone in the audience before
leaving the stage and say these two important words. THANK YOU.

Now you are overwhelming the spectators with what they want! “Image, music, words and a characteristic of
humbleness.”

Radio Promoter:
Once you know your song is ready for radio to increase its marketing potential, a radio promoter will be necessary.
When you hire someone to do this function for you, make sure they are contactable and creditable enough to do
the job. Ask for credentials, and then check them out.

Don’t hire a radio promoter expecting radio play to increase your units of sells to one million (1,000,000), because
radio play alone will not accomplish such a task. As a marketing tool, it could help increase sells, but it will assist
building an awareness of the song and artist by getting you press, gigs, and interviews.

Please note it would be in your best interest when selecting someone for radio promotion, to check with the radio
station music directors of the areas you have targeted in your plan of attack. No sense of doing national radio
promotion when your product is not available nationally.

Radio:
The chances of getting national airplay for your independent record are next to none. In fact, most commercial
radio stations treat the independent artists and musicians of today the same way they treated them yester-year,
which wasn’t great. However, this doesn’t mean airplay isn’t available from radio to Indies if he or she knows what
they’re doing.

There are lots of mix and specialty shows on commercial stations which may offer some airplay, which will at least
get the artists some awareness in the marketplace.

However, the more realistic approach for airplay is to consider noncommercial radio. With the combination of
college radio stations, community stations, your chances of getting your record played are much better.

Web:
The benefits of using the web to promote your artist or yourself if you are the artist are great. But if you think by
placing your song or songs on the Internet is going to give you stardom and cash? You’re wrong!

There’s a reason why majors like an artist who looks good. It is easier to sell and market a pretty face or faces in a
world where there are a lot of talented people. Remember those 300 CDs a week. There is a lot more music being
added weekly on the Internet.

This means you must put in a lot of work here to create a buzz around your music while marketing yourself to stand
above the rest. With all the music community sites available today, you will spend lots of hours posting and doing
what it takes to get people to listen to your song. The good news is the more traffic you get, the larger your fan
base can become.

After all, there are people out there who will enjoy listening to your song.

Here are a few tips about Internet Promotion:
•        Keep your site updated.
•        Web page image is important. “make an impression”
•        Talk to your fans.
•        Give some music away.
•        Get those who like your music to push it as well.
You cannot run from it. It takes work to succeed.

BOOK, MAGAZINES, ARTICLES and SEMINARES
In an age where the business of music is experiencing major changes as a consequence of new and emerging
technologies, in addition to rights and new distribution mechanisms, the need to continually improve your skills in
reference to your endeavor within the music industry is even more critical.

To stay on top of it all, continue to read magazine and articles about the beast you are ridding.

There are numerous of magazines, seminars and courses available to increase your knowledge of this industry
continuously. There is also different type of information available on the internet as well. “Knowledge is King.”

GRAPHICS:
Like it or not. Your graphics can be the difference between getting your CD played, sold or heard by a major label.
It’s very important to realize your promotional materials will require graphics.

LOGO:
The first step too graphic consistency is your logo. It should be recognizable and easy to read. It should also stand
out from a distance.

OVERVIEW
The only limitations you have in obtaining your objective in this music business would be your own limiting thoughts
and beliefs.

Yes, I have stated repeatedly you must work hard at your goal, but you must also work smart.

It is better to subdue your competition without fighting which is a skill of cleverness, then to waste your energy
combating.

A gladiator won more competitions from the use of his skills than the use of his strength. Mohammad Alley won the
fight against George Foreman with the Rope–a–dope strategy, which let his opponent wear himself out.

In this industry there are more people who fail then those succeed. But, in this industry, people who succeed work
hard.

Therefore, have fun while establishing your label, or becoming a successful artist or band, because with the issues
you are going to engage in, having fun will assist you in keeping your sanity.

You should always keep in mind as an independent record company; your purpose is to expose music which might
not otherwise be heard on a local level, as well as breaking an artist into the mainstream consciousness. To
accomplish this goal, you must be able to capture a sound and promote the hell out of it with an impressionable
image and lots of hard work performing multiple functions.

Regardless of what you hear from other up-and-coming record companies in the street. Conquer your home base
first. There are no excuses, with the exception of incompetence of not being able to become successful in your own
town first.
And remember, it does cost money to succeed in this music industry. You can spend less cash by targeting your
hometown to make additional money to start promoting in your backyard towns and/or city. In fact it will become
easier. Why? It’s simple. It’s easier to duplicate success.

There is no reason to think you can create success in a city you know nothing vs. a city you know something in
relation to the places, people and thing.

I would rather pay someone cash in a city I live in to accomplish a task for me than a person in a city miles upon
mile away from me.

Anyway, it is much harder for a person to make another person accountable for a task you paid to have
accomplished, when the person lives thousands a mile away. However, once you’re successful in your city, you may
have enough to visit a person in his or her own town to discuss business.

Complements of JaHMa.net Written by; Kenneth Bosket

M.B.A.

It's the competitive
spirit of the artist,
team and/or
company, which
increases its odd
for success.

Not money!

Money is the
results of your
worth from actions
taken by you or
someone else for
you.