Hi just wanted some advice. As a new artist I'm excited about new ways of getting my music heard by a mass audience. I've been fortunate that via the garage market I've stayed in touch with good old fashioned pop music that appeals to everyday people, at the same time, i have been able to transform that music into a live sound cos i have my own regular night that has just started @ Ronnie Scotts every Tuesday. Now with a live band and a regular spot in a famous venue plus great songs, and a fanbase due to success in the Garage scene, I think i could say I'm in a good position to go mainstream.

However I'm totally lost on which way to go even though I'm glad to have choices. I've been reading up on the 360 deals. They seem great if your already mega famous but pretty pointless if your new to a mass audience, I don't like the idea of one company being in control of every part of my career.

If you take someone like Danni minogue as an example, Danni has never been seen as a major artist but has kept her career in the public eye constant and has been able to constantly re-sign deals.

This is due to the fact that outside of her record deal she always has the option to do TV, Theatre, calanders, films etc. If your label is doing a bad job at promoting you, does this mean that cos they control every part of your career as a brand, you will no longer be able to step outside of that, like Danni did and find other ways of promoting yourself?


The Live Nation deals looked attractive, the idea of signing with a tour promotions company is ideal for any artist cos touring is obviously gonna be the main source of income for music in the future, plus the deal Madonna signed means that she has complete control over the direction of her music, thing is it appears that Live Nation are the only Concert promoters offering to distribute music, are there any in the UK? are there smaller ones for smaller artist? Is it better for a new artist in 2008 to sign with a non music label and think about branding?

Any advice you could give would be amazing!

Oggie

myspace.com/oggieuk

Hi Oggie,

please keep us all informed as to how the night goes,nobody at our place here can make it this week, but there is a general "thumbs up" for what you are doing, as I say, just stay with keeping us up to date and one of us should be with you at the gig soon.

Don't discount for a second the impact that Kylie's continued presence in the limelight hasn't largely contributed to Danni's ability to have a career.

Danni is not a normal case.

Agreed.

Thats a good point, but I'm not really here to discusse Danni she was just an example and to be honest, Danni is a very good case, she's a hard worker.

I'm just saying that if an artist fails with album sales cos of whatever reason, if they work hard enuff and are open to taking other entertainment jobs to stay visual, chances are they can keep making music, especially now days, all you need is good promotion and you can pretty much run your own music career. I just wonder if the 360 is gonna help you or hinder you thats all.

To be frank all I wanna no is whats the best type of deal for new acts?

Hi Oggie,

I remember you posted before.

Boring, but I still think that a new artist needs nurturing, ie a good manager to build on the contacts and move forward. The sales part can indeed be managed more easily, starting with selling from your own site and then scaling upwards as the opportunity arises. Plus, some licensing to a relevant sponsor along the way to finance further promo. So a label per se is not strictly necessary at the outset. I wouldn't get too formal about choosing between a 360 or other model, as frankly the 360 has yet to prove it works (rumours that Live Nation is abandoning recorded music are already rife).

It all depends how far your manager wants to or can bring the operation. Only you can answer that.

It takes serious contacts to get things going internationally, by the way. I don't really see too much happening on the continent around garage/DnB/whatever these days. Either that means your market is wide open or no one has had the resources to exploit it. Make of that what you will!

I think it would be crazy for any really talented act with a strong work ethic, to tie themselves to a 360 deal, without there being significant outs for the artist if performance levels are not met. I'm talking about 360's from a label, manager , or producer for a relatively unknown act. Robbie's 360 is a totally different thing.

A good example may be Katie Melua and her relationship with Mike Batt. She was unknown when they started and Mike certainly deserves to benefit from what has come of it. But even that may be a rare situation.

It takes money to do things right.......even now, so if someone is putting large dollars/quid on the table to help an act then maybe. I wouldn't do it with a major for my life at this point in time. Major labels cannot exist much longer on selling recorded music.

Randy Newman..."Its like being a blacksmith in 1909".

I really appreciate that advice Michael, thank you. Garage is great but it is really just a break through sound for me, mo own stuff is pretty much electro 80's, but i you pointed out some great ideas and yes i do need a Manager, thanks for the advice!

Oggie

I agree with everything you've said, It's all good, I guess it's my job as an artist to be creative with how to promote myself it just means working harder. Thanks

Well Oggie , from our point of view in this office here, we weigh up , as Michael points out also, how much an artiste will do for themselves as well.


I don`t think anybody wants to plug, release etc an up and coming artiste that sits back and waits for it all to come to them.

If you look at the term "360" another way, you as the artist needs to think about the whole circle of what is required as well and what you can do for yourself to reduce that number for somebody else to help with their portions of the pie chart.

Hi Oggie,

Keep everything in-house for the moment as there is a lot of uncertainty in the music business and to be totally honest with you I don't think many labels in the UK can handle "urban pop music" that well.

Realistically speaking for you I think the first thing you need to do is to develop a strong website which would be the springboard for all your activities. I can talk to you more about this. Email me a phone number and I will give you a call and some pointers.

There are a lot of opportunities. I myself have tested a few options and at the end of the day nothing breeds success more than success so the first thing you want to do is create your own success and add to you team as you develop.

Go to my website and email me from there.

www.vhprecords.com/vhprecords/?q=contact