L'attirail

I would first like to say that Leeds is an amazing area to work in and I enjoyed every day working there as a music journalist; however it can be very expensive to live in Leeds city centre, with increasing rents and a lack of available properties to occupy, making it difficult for a young professional to live comfortably.

These are my five top factors for entering the music industry and being successful, regardless of the age of the band, gig history or presence in the music scene.

5. Subscribe to a plethora of magazines and online blogs Even though NME and Kerrang are industry leaders in terms of music magazine publishers, there are an array of others to choose from that can yield similar (and sometimes better) stories in which you can retrieve news and get a lot of information from. Online blogs also usually have up-to-the-minute information before any magazine could; however it is vital to check sources and reputability of the blogger. This will give you insider information that you can use to further your band’s progress.

4. Join Last.fm and promote your band as much as possible: Last.fm is much more than a website that collates information about who you have been listening to – you can build a band page for free, upload any songs that you have recorded and stream them, as well as linking to music stores, netting you a small profit. Whilst facebook has begun to make itself a presence in this respect, using Last.fm presents the easiest and most generally recognised way to get your band out there.  Read more...

With the recent rise of groups in the UK such as Arctic Monkeys and Arcade Fire, the internet is proving its worth more and more in the music industry. As traditional formats decline in use, the internet is providing independent musicians with a myriad of possibilities for promoting their music. Indeed, unsigned bands can reach their audiences without needing a record label.

Emerging artists used to spend most of their time down at the post office, licking envelopes, sending off cassettes and making further copies of their cassettes. Looking back, it seemed like the dark ages. Today’s indie music scene sees many bands sat at their computer screens, looking for new ways to promote their music. The emergence of several top bands over the last few months thanks to the Internet is proof that the cream will always rise to the top, and using the net, they have every chance of doing so.

Almost all artists have band pages nowadays. In fact, it seems to be the first step on the way to internet recognition. A band page will commonly feature a news page, a separate page for downloading music for free, a photos page, and a contact page. These band pages are, in effect, business cards for musicians. The website receives promotion on various music websites and forums, and the band can create their own image through web branding.

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