Any Success Stories Here?

[Buck62]

I was just wondering if any of you had any bit of success when marketing your home~recorded music and how you went about making the most of different sales strategies (i.e. internet, gigs, word of mouth, local record stores, radio statios, etc. etc.) Is there a unique way that was successful to you that would help the rest of us?? I'd appreciate any feedback... Tanx!

[Benny]

Sure would be funny if nobody can answer this one.... or would it? Hahaha.....ha

[HAWLK]

Well this went well,
Nobody who uses this site has ever done well, or maby the people who do well don't need to come back because now they have nothing to worry about.
I'd like to think it's the second one.

[Brad]

Well, I don't know if this counts...

A major market morning radio show (syndicated in 25+ cities) had a contest to come up with a theme song for a segment of their show. This was back in '96. Anyway, I wrote up a quick number and sent it in. I WON!!!!!!
So, my song received airplay a total of 9 times in over 25 cities. Hmmm. I could take that to the grave and be content. But all it did for me really, was give me the qualifications to join ASCAP as a writer and my own publisher. So I did. The writing and recording of the song took about 3 hours total and I did it in my closet!

[Buck62]

Cool story, Brad. You must have been in shock when you found out that you won! Especially for a 3 hour effort. Anybody else???? Even small successes are noteworthy, so please share your experiences with us.

[Brad]

Well, I was in shock when I heard my song on the radio. That was special. I was actually in my car when it came on. I had to pull over because I was shaking so bad.
I know i'm gonna get shit for saying this, but the only reason it only took 3 hours to write is because I decided to write in the Rap/Hip Hop genre, which I am not used to. I had to do it fast, so i picked what seemed to be the easiest. I am not saying that Rap & hip hop can't be detailed, difficult music to write, I just knew I had to come up with something fast, and the song I was hearing in my head was a rap song. I wasn't about to change it to my style just to suit myself. In this case (with a contest deadline) it would have taken too much time.
And if any Rap/Hip Hop guys out there think that I am dissing their genre of music, I am not and I don't mean it to sound that way.

[HAWLK]

That would be so cool,
Just yesterday i was given an offer to have my music played at some schools thing, i don't get paid and it's pretty small, but it could just be my big break. I still doubt anyone will get really famous from this site.
It has helped me however with some engineering jobs i've had thou.

HAWLK

[Shailat]

Well.....
I am an arranger and I have produced several Cd's that have done quite well,
and gotten a lot of airplay but ......
Being the arranger, My name NEVER gets mentioned, My name on the cd's is printed in small letters, and I have ( almost ) never been aproached by somebody telling me "
Cool you are "XXXX" the arranger"

My last Cd that I arranged produced, made it into a list of the most sold cd's for the biggist distributing company in that type of music at # 29 out of 250 BUT.....
It han't really dented my career and I'm still
having a problem paying the bills.
!@$#&^

On a recent newspaper review with the artist, they mispelled my name.

And so .... my dream of screaming girls tearing from the eyes and at my clothes
has come true - my 1 year old and 3 year old daughters, cry and cling to me every day.

[This message has been edited by Shailat (edited 11-23-1999).]

[This message has been edited by Shailat (edited 11-26-1999).]

[drstawl]

If your measure of success is how many dollars you can squeeze out of your efforts in Home Recording, you probably won't get many responses. Even really proficient performers/composers teamed up with great recordists AND some great equipment have difficulty extracting cash from this pursuit.
The real success stories are those folks with tunes that someone wanted to capture and did, thanks to the equipment now available at reasonable prices.

[Dondello]

My songs are getting radio play at the University of Manitoba radio station.. Well.. a couple plays, anyway.. Well.. It hasn't happened yet. But one week from today it will! And.. well.. maybe people will call in and say, "hey, what was that cool-ass song, can I hear it again? And again? And again?" .. but I doubt it..

[Shane]

You've probably never heard of our stuff, but, 4 out of 7 songs from our last CD made it to medium rotation on several radio stations worldwide. The name of the CD was Under the Influence. I recorded the whole thing at home.

[dmcsilva]

drstawl:

well said.

[Slackmaster2K]

One time I posted some mp3's to this particular site and some people said things like "hey, that sounds pretty cool!"

Man, it might not be success by some definitions...but it sure felt good to me.

When I think of success I rarely think of money..I think of how many people are listening to my music. I'm willing to bet that most people around here don't expect to make a dime. Pretty cool really...

Slackmaster 2000

[Buck62]

My definition of success is this... If people that I have never met hear my songs and are willing to shellout a few $$$ to buy my CD, then THAT would be a success. Even if I lose money on this venture (which I probably will), it's nice to know that somebody appreciated my effort.

[David Hooper]

Have you guys tried Gajoob.com ? I can't think of a better source for marketing lo-fi stuff.

David Hooper
http://www.kathoderaymusic.com -- We make a living helping bands make a living.

Try http://www.indiebiz.com for a free music promotion newsletter!

[S8-N]

My first band "Nest of Saws" got a slot at the Crossroads music conference in Memphis as a result of a demo we did at home with a Yamaha 4 track...
Our slot was at Club 616 which has 2 stages... one upstairs and a crappy one downstairs... The idea was to have a band playing on one stage while the next band was setting up on the other stage... Therefore eliminating the setup time between bands. The schedules didnt run exactly on time and things got shifted a bit and we ended up playing at the same time as a hyped-up rap metal band who I just happened to know from near my home town... guys I used to Skateboard with. Young guys... not much talent... kinda sounded like Kid Rock sounds now... but this was 7 years ago...
Anyway, all of the A&R people were upstairs watching them and I suspect a good number of them didn't even realize that there was a band playing downstairs...
Anyway they got signed to EMI and did an album and a tour... We went unnoticed... They were called "Mothers day out" and did one album "My soul is wet" and got dropped.

That was probably the closest I will get to a record deal...

S8-N

[Spin]

kid rock not much talent?..i live in detroit...and al sutton produced my first cd...(he engineered kid rocks devil with out a cause"...ive grown up watching kid rock struggle and battle...he deserves EVERYTHING he has...theres never been a nicer more deserving guy...
spin

[Spin]

record deals can be the WORST thing to happen to a band..i know a local band...who did the circuit with kid rock...and sponge...and now they all work odd jobs trying to pay back the record company thier loan

spin

[Eddie N]

record companies suck.. satan.. check out " confessions of a record producer " by moses avalon.. ( doubt you like his name ).. interesting stuff...and not really outdated... also , for a site with some good info , check out www.getsigned.com ...

- eddie -

[Fishmed]

I have recorded many demos for various bands. I have a few dedicated bands produce a CD. Some of these projects, Demo or CD, have had some air time from local radio stations.

[David Hooper]

Regarding Kid Rock, he has had his deal about nine years, but they delayed the release because of fear people would think he was another Vanilla Ice. He would have lost that deal if everybody they played his stuff for hadn't been really impressed. They knew he was going to break when the time was right.

"Mother's Day Out" was from Clarksville, TN and had their deal sewn up long before Crossroads. Conferences always try to take credit for showcasing artists getting a deal, but the deals are usually done well before the event takes place.

David Hooper
http://www.kathoderaymusic.com -- We make a living helping bands make a living.

Try http://www.indiebiz.com for a free music promotion newsletter!

[S8-N]

If Mothers(Muthas?) Day out is from Tennesee then their moms drove them a long way every day to grow up in Batesville, Arkansas. And I was there when they were approached Karen DuMonde from EMI records. They hardley had their deal "sewn up" since Crossroads was their FIRST gig. My band opened for them at their second gig and eventually I was approached about joining the band to replace their old guitarist.
I think you might be confused.

[David Hooper]

You're right. I'm thinking about "Every Mother's Nightmare."

I know the band you are speaking of though. They were pretty young, weren't they?

Their success (if you can call it that) is one of those things that keeps wannabe bands doing crazy things like moving out to LA with no plan.

For every Axl Rose, there are 100,000 guys who die trying.

David Hooper
http://www.kathoderaymusic.com -- We make a living helping bands make a living.

Try http://www.indiebiz.com for a free music promotion newsletter!

[S8-N]

Yeah, they were really young. Their Bassist was 14 and had to be put in "home school" so he could go on tour.
They were young and cute with little talent or musical ability... The record company rewrote all of their songs for 'em and told them not to write anything funky or heavy and tried to mold them into a marketable clean-cut youth band... It backfired miserably and they never sold an album...

[Eddie N]

are we talking about hanson here ? S8-N , you were asked to join hanson ?

- eddie -