How To Page 4

SELLING CDS

This is the business end of the deal. If you can't sell your CDs, then you have nothing more than a stack of coffee coasters stored under your bed. "Distribution" is getting the CDs from under your bed into stores and retail outlets. The signed, "Major Artists" have their distribution organised by their Record Companies. Independent Artists must do the hard work themselves.

Distribution

After the initial success of your debut single, you may find yourself in the position to sign with a Distribution Company for the release of your CD. Ensure that you get professional advice before signing the contract. Make extensive enquiries in the industry and with other artists on their books as to their reputation. The wrong company can actually damage your career.

Without company backing, your first step should be to make enquiries with a general distribution site such as Mulga Music. Mulga have a vast catalogue of Australian Country Music and make their catalogue available to retail stores and via the Internet.

There are a few companies such as LBS and ACMEC, who use their "Label" to promote their select stable of artists. These artists are still Independent, as they pay for and control their own music and careers.

Online, you can sell through several outlets such as Chaos Music and One Stop Entertainment.

You can place CDs in certain stores (usually independently owned) "on consignment". They pay you only when the CD is sold, minus a 20% commission. This works well if you can keep in contact with the stores. Ensure you get the manager's signature on the consignment form. Give the stores a big poster to hang on their walls. One of the best is The Country Music Store in Brisbane, which also sells via the Internet.

Remember, when you do interviews or shows in the area, tell the audience that they can buy the CD at Joe's CD Emporium.

Sales at Performances

Make sure that if you do sign with a Distribution Company, the contract specifies that you may sell CDs at your shows. If you are a good performer, you will probably sell more CDs at shows than any other outlet. Always stack your show with numbers from your CD. Tell the audience "This song is from my new CD!" Push the CD at every opportunity. Give the audience a "discount price" because they're "such a great audience". It is good to have someone sitting at a table under a big poster with a stack of CDs for sale while you're up on stage.

Never hide out the back in your breaks, no matter how weary you are. Go out and meet the fans. Sign copies of your CD. But, unless there are fans waiting at the sales table, don't just sit there and wait for people to come to you. Work the audience. Spend a short time at every table. Ask people if they would like to join your mailing list so you can send them regular newsletters about what you're doing, where you'll be playing next. Ask for email addresses especially. Use a classy looking address book and people are usually only too happy to join if it costs them nothing. Don't put a price on Fan Club membership… not until you've made it.

SELLING YOUR ACT

Image

The image of Country Music Artists in Australia have gone through some changes in the past decade or so, but people still equate hats and RM Williams boots with "country". A while ago, the "grunge look" assaulted us. Looking scruffy and unkempt may seem rebellious, but it certainly makes a terrible and lasting impression on a large section of the audience. You cannot afford to alienate ANY section of your audience. You don't have to look like Tex Ritter in spangles and spurs. But you don't have to look like a drug addict or a streetwalker. Don't wear ordinary street clothes. Dress up for the stage! Dress for the occasion! Wear clean, classic, dressy and fits-perfectly. Make sure you inspect your outfit in a full-length mirror first. Does anything bulge or wrinkle? Avoid too much black. Black tends to blend into the background while light colours make you look larger than life. (Do you want that?) Colour and sparkle draw attention.

Do not EVER drink alcohol on stage. Never appear ANYWHERE drunk or intoxicated. Now you have an image to uphold, never let yourself down by appearing in public ANYWHERE in a dirty, slovenly or drunken state. Bad news travels fast and a bad reputation always sticks.

You must work hard to keep in shape. Like it or not, the physical image of the performer is a very big selling point for both CDs and the artist. If you look like Mama Cass, you better have a voice to match her talent. If you don't fit the mould of "young, pretty and slim", you'd better be extraordinarily talented.

Many female artists make terrible errors with make-up for the stage. Spotlights wash out the face, so ensure that you use foundation and blush. Accentuate the eyes and lips, and don't forget eyebrows, which often disappear under the lights. But however much make-up you put on, it should never be so much that you would be embarrassed to be seen in it walking into a shopping centre to buy a bottle of milk. Remember: Class, not Tart.

Performances (Spots, Gigs & Band Work)

Whether you have an existing band, are a solo performer, or this is all new, you will now have to get into the spotlight. Invest in classy posters that also advertise your CD. Get gigs everywhere, whether they are spot gigs or full sessions.

If you don't have an existing band, or even if you do, you may have to work with strange musicians at various times. Rewrite your chord charts for live musicians. These guys do NOT like turning pages, so it is best to keep to two or three sheets at the most, glued or taped together so they cannot come apart. As before, mark verses, choruses, bridges and solos very clearly. Always use black permanent marker. Never use red under any circumstances. Why? Because under coloured spotlights red often vanishes completely! Arrange repeats so they always come at the beginning of a line for ease of reading and mark them well. Draw a thick horizontal line through solo sections on the lead guitar player's copy only.

Always remember that you are there to entertain the audience, not to carry on a private tête-à-tête with the band. That's not to say you can't have fun with the band. If it involves the audience, fun is good. Keep on-stage musical directions to the band short and to the point. Never turn your back to the audience; it insults them.

Accept that mistakes do happen, and if the worst comes to pass, NEVER let the audience know that you are upset. Keep going. Keep smiling. If you all get completely lost, re-enter the song at the chorus. Step back from the mike, eye the musicians quickly and tell them, "Chorus in 4! 2! 3! 4!" Then start the chorus on the next 1 beat. (Run through this possibility before the show starts.) Keep a few one-line jokes on hand to lighten the mood

Festivals

Country Music Festivals are great for selling yourself and your CD. When your single starts climbing the charts, start phoning Festival coordinators. Start small and work up. Some Festivals prefer you to use a live backing band, some may allow you to use the Karaoke CD. Don't ask for a ridiculous amount of money. Cut it bare to your costs. You can always charge more when you're famous. Don't be shy to ask other artists how much money they got paid for appearing at Festivals - and how much they got when they were just starting out. Be prepared that they might fib a bit… or a lot. Ask more than one. Be prepared to do Festivals for free or for travelling costs if you can. It's all good publicity and you will make good brownie points with the organisers.

Tamworth

Tamworth Country Music Festival in January is hot and exhausting. But it is Australia's premier event. You will certainly not be able to get a paid gig in Tamworth unless you work at it at least 12 months in advance. However, it is a great meeting place and a learning experience. There are some venues where you can promote yourself, such as The Launching Pad, sponsored by Mulga Music. There are also great "Walk-Up" venues all over town. Keep your karaoke CD with you.

Mildura

The Mildura Country Music Festival is the biggest Independent Country Music Festival in Australia. Held in October, it has great weather and a wealth of entertainment. You have a good chance to get on the bill there, given that you get in early enough, you are talented, and that you have had a good response to your single and CD.

The Muster

The Toyota Country Music Muster, held at Amamoor in Queensland every August, showcases the top acts in Country Music. Getting on the main-stage there is nigh impossible. However, entry into the Muster Talent Search competition could land you on the main-stage if you win a section. The entry costs are very high, (you need to buy a three-day-pass as well as the competition entry fees) but if you are serious and talented enough to win, the benefits make it worth the expense.

Norfolk Island

Could you use a holiday on a beautiful island? This is an experience that you will enjoy. Norfolk Island is stunning and you will meet some tremendous people there. Once again, you need to get in early to get on the bill.

Video Clips

Unfortunately, there is no reliable prospect to air video clips on Australian TV. If you have access to a digital video camera, a simple, but classy, tape of you in performance may assist in getting you those Festival gigs, though.

Management / Agents

Do not be too quick to sign contracts with Managers or Agents. Always have a solicitor, experienced in the music business, look over every legal agreement. The task of Manager or Agent could be filled by a family member for some time. This is often better, because they will do it for love, not for 10% or 20% of your earnings. When you start making a living out of your music and life starts to become hectic, or if you start missing out on vital career chances for lack of one, then it may be time to look for an experienced guide.

An Agent books your appearances. He/she is not responsible for your PR or public life. The common percentage he/she may take is 10% of your appearance fee.

A Manager ensures that your career will run smoothly. He/she is your "go-to guy" for emergencies. He/she gets the PR campaign on track with appearances, signings, releases, interviews and everything else in balance. By law, he/she may only take up to 20% of your earnings after expenses. A Manager can also act as an agent but he/she may NOT take an extra commission for doing so.

Remember that what a Manager or Agent says or does reflects back on your reputation, whether you agree or not. Do you know this person well enough to trust them with your career?

Clubs & Associations

Membership in all of the Clubs and Association in Australia would be expensive, but the various clubs have their values to your career. Most of the information is freely available anyway, but the real value is in the people. The premier club in Australia is the CMAA (Country Music Association of Australia). Professional membership is expensive, but the CMAA has many benefits to weigh against the expense.

Education

Never fool yourself into believing that you know it all. The CMAA run a College Of Country Music to educate and introduce young and emerging artists into the Country Music world. Tamworth Camerata is another "college style" course run for younger aspirants. The costs are easily offset against the knowledge and experience you will gather and the contacts and friends you will make.

Competitions

Losing a competition is one of the most humiliating experiences your ego can ever go through. Therefore, it is vital that you enter competitions. You must learn that losing does not mean you are a "Loser". Take it on the chin and try to learn from the experience. Always congratulate the winner without resentment.

If you are talented and have "that certain something" that the judges are looking for on that particular day, and you manage to win, it can be a great boost to your career. However, one triumph doeth not, a career make. The way you conduct yourself in these situations, win or lose, will make an impression.

Expectations

There may come a day when you are at the lowest of the low. Your career is stalled, you can't seem to get the good gigs, your CDs are still stored under the bed in numbers you don't want to count and nothing you do seems to make any difference.

You have two choices: Give up and get a job, or keep plugging away. It may seem like you are beating your head against a brick wall, but almost every artist knows exactly what you are feeling. Don't allow yourself to feel humiliated. Some artists actually avoid their colleagues, retreating into their own private world to suffer in silence. Don't do that. Get out there. Talk to your friends and colleagues about it. In a while, everything just might seem a little less dark and dismal.

The key to success as an Independent Artist is "Longevity". Stick in there. Keep the music flowing. The first CD introduces you to the industry. But are you are flash-in-the-pan? A one-hit-wonder? The second CD is the confirmation. It proves you have talent, not luck. Still, some people consider the third CD to be the guarantee. It proves that you are committed to the industry. You aren't just in it for the starry-eyed excitement. You've been through the highlights and the lowlights. You have built a career.

You have survived.