| |
About the Author
|
|
Dan McAvinchey is a composer/guitarist living in Raleigh, NC.
He believes every musician or composer has the power to release their own record.
His latest CD release on Guitar Nine Records is entitled "Guitar Haus".
Please direct all comments and suggestions for future columns to Dan McAvinchey.
© Dan McAvinchey
|
Help For Your Independent Label or Release
Many of you, at some time or another, will be exploring the possibility of releasing your own independently produced record, tape, or CD. You may even want to start your own record label. The benefits of doing so are numerous:
- Earnings from sales of a smaller number of independently released recordings can be more profitable than large sales on a major label
- You can start your label and release a record today; you do not have to wait for a label to contact you
- Your future is in your own hands, not in the hands of hardened bureaucrats
- You retain complete creative control over your music
- Releasing your own record is a relatively inexpensive option, and it's a way to get heard
With that in mind, you may need some help in completing a recording project for the first time. Following are reviews of several excellent books on everything from making your record and setting up a label to publishing and legal concerns. Good luck!
Note: All books reviewed may be purchased through our association with Amazon.com Books -- simply click on the book cover to order.
Releasing An Independent Record
By: Gary Hustwit
In a new, enlarged and updated sixth edition, Releasing an Independent Record focuses on a step-by-step approach to starting a new record label and marketing your music on a national basis. Mr. Hustwit (formerly with SST records) uses his own personal experience to give musicians and budding record label executives the knowldege they need to get their music heard. The book includes an extensive contact/mailing list (radio stations, press, distributors, etc.) that can be used as a publicity and marketing tool. The book would be worth buying for the contacts alone. Mr Hustwit uses a very encouraging tone throughout the book; you get the impression he really wants you to take action and start a label immediately. Rockpress Publishing, ©1997, 210 pp.
Sell Your Music
By: Mark W. Curran
One of the most up-to-date guides available to help you sell your CDs online is Mark W. Curran's Sell Your Music. Written for the Internet novice, Curran outlines the online landscape for the reader, covering band web pages, download web sites, publicity sites, online radio, Internet record labels and the major CD sellers such as Amazon.com. Especially revealing are interviews with seven artists who have successfully used the web to market and sell more music. The book even devotes a few pages to setting up a digital home studio, but for the most part, concentrates on the business end of music - marketing, sales, publicity and promotion - the areas where most musicians need the most help. Recommended for musicians who are entering cyberspace looking to supplement their live CD sales. NMD Books, ©2001, 194 pp.
Net Marketing
By: Bruce Judson
If you are plannnig to sell your records on the Internet, you may want to gather ideas about what works and what doesn't work from an expert. Chock full of sound Internet marketing advice based on the author's practical experience developing Time Inc.'s Pathfinder site, each general principle is illustrated with insightful discussions of the best examples of Internet marketing. The second part of the book examines various companies Internet strategies by industry, and many of the approaches can be modified or adopted when you set up a internet site for your record label. Highly recommended. Random House, ©1996, 301 pp.
|
Page: 2 |
Label Resources [Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8] |
|
