The Creativity Gamble
As a blossoming band, your developing sound is compromised as soon as you try to explain it to people. When you make comparisons you are diluting the essence of the source. When you try to clarify it, you lose important meaning. Music is a personal experience. Creativity is a gamble. A game of chance upon which enough of us at one point have no differences.
Does My Band Need a .com Website?
Yes. Even though you can host your files on a free site like MySpace, I recommend you spend the $40 per year for a domain and hosting for your own dot com Website. Here’s why:
Do you remember a Website called MP3.com? Before MySpace and before Napster brought the industry to their knees, MP3.com was THE website to upload your songs to and many bands used it as a surrogate for a real Website. One day (and abruptly), MP3.com closed down their free service and all the bands were out of luck, many missing out on thousands of fans that they failed to point to their own Website. They have since resurfaced, but it was too late for thousands of bands and music lovers. You never know if MySpace will power down their servers in favor of something else. Be safe.
Here are the basics you need to know and some reasons why:
Soulfound featured on Under the Radar Compilation
Soulfound’s song Looking for Me is featured on this month’s indie rock sampler distributed with Under the Radar Magazine. Under the Radar has a total circulation of 60,000. You can find Under the Radar at Borders, Barnes and Nobel and hundreds of indie record stores, college bookstores and newsstands throughout North America. Sampler Vol. 6 is shipped with the Best of 2008 issue (green cover). Thanks and support independent music by supporting independent media!
The Value of Pre-Production before Recording
Recording can be very expensive for inexperienced musicians on tight budgets. Unless you have spent dozens of hours in a recording studio, it can be tough to envision how long things can take and how different recording to regular-old practicing in the garage. After spending 8-12 hours in a dimly-lit recording studio, you can easily lose perspective and damage your songs in the process.
One thing bands can do on their own time is work out their songs during “pre-production” before going into the studio. Pre-production entails recording rough demos of the songs you will be recording to make sure all the parts are where they are supposed to be. Doing this will in turn yield shorter recording sessions and will keep more money in your pocket for either more studio time or for promotions.
Define Your Goals
After getting your band together, coming up with a name and writing a few songs, the first thing you need to do is make sure everyone is on the same page by defining your goals as a band. There are two main types of goals: Overall Band Goals and Tactical Goals.
