Everybody knows there's money in music but the whole industry sounds so cabalistic that it excludes nearly 99% of the population. The traditional model of promoting music is so top-centric that only a few record producers manage to survive and succeed, following a time and tested music business program to success.
Technology, however, has perhaps the greatest influence in flipping that model over its head. With new softwares and gadgest, it's now very easy to produce a music video or arrange a music through preset melodies. Through the Internet, promoting music and selling your CD has never been so easy. YouTube, metacafe, MySpace, even Facebook are just some of the sharing sites people frequent to upload their videos.
If you dream of producing your own music or starting your own music business program, there's actually a way to do it without being tied down by the traditional industry model. Forget about books, seminars and workshops which usually result in the speaker and organizer getting rich at your expense.
Instead, try to join a music business program online instead. The project-based scheme seeks to create savvy music entreprenuers by training them on the basics of production, design and marketing online and teaching them the ins and outs of the business. The best thing about it is you can already earn money, while you are still working to perfect your skills to become a record producer or an artist.
These online programs give you hands-on experience and prepare you for the shark-infested world of music production. But you have to tread carefully to make sure you are making the right choice. It's easy to be cheated online especially if the sharks smell an easy prey (that means you) fishing in the water.
Once you're enrolled. You are not left out there alone because you are assigned a team to produce a CD, simulating real-world conditions rather than just studying theoretical applications. The team is a diverse group of invidiuals, such as lyricists, arrangers, musicians, or event organizers, with different skills to contribute to the CD-making process.
The subjects include step-by-step process on how to start a business, how to run it using a successful template, and how to promote and market your CDs.
Even the most basic requirements in every music business program like what artists you should look out for based on their appeal, genre, and talent, and how to package them to maximize their potential by teaching you about creating a strategy and pointing you to the right marketing tools to promote them better.
One of the tools available to reach out to the largest possible audience is submitting your completed tracks to Neilson Soundscan, which tracks audio and music video sales throughout the World Wide Web. After your artists have developed a fan base online through CD tracks, you can now schedule a marketing blitz by having them tour the circuit like mall appearances, concerts, or autograph signings to create a buzz for your talents.
They also have directory of contacts that you can approach and link up if you are ready to test your product. But don't worry, once your talents have developed a reputation, thanks to a very reliable music business program, record producers will beg to have a meeting with you, not the other way around.