Most independent artists or unsigned bands have to turn to the "DIY" form of getting their music out there in CD, or cassette format, promoting themselves, touring, distribution, setting up publishing and even their own record labels and much more. Many artists have either decided to just do it themselves rather than wait on a record label to come to the rescue and sign them to a contract that may or may not be exactly what they need or in some cases want, in the first place.
The benefits of DIY are you pay for it yourself so you don't owe anyone recoupment. You get to do things in your own time and by your own rules, and you learn the business much better and can better protect yourself when a label opportunity comes around. You also get to keep every cent you make instead of getting a small percentage of what you earn.
The drawbacks are lack of funding to do everything you need done. Most bands cannot hire a good producer, some can barely afford studio time. Some can't afford manufacturing and other promotion. Some don't know who to turn to or how to obtain distribution. These areas are where being on the internet can help and I will explain more below.
The drawbacks of a label deal can mean loss of control, getting paid nothing while you wait for your album and tour etc to pay back the record label their costs and then you get just a percentage of what your albums and tours earn.
The perks of label deals are of course, better publicity and promotion, better distribution, and better touring conditions, such as opening for an established act.
Your best bet in a DIY situation is to be on the internet or can access it thru a friends computer or WebTV or something. There are MANY web sites dedicated to helping indie/unsigned artists. Such as distribution and promotion companies online.
Like Independent Distribution Network which you can locate at this URL http://www.ivs.net/IDN they will help any artist with an album distribute it. No matter how small the project.
They distribute both online thru their online credit card secure purchasing catalog or thru traditional retail outlets which are supplied by independent reps in each city.
If you need a UPC code because you want to start your own record label you can visit the Uniform Code Council online at: http://www.uc-council.org.
If you need lists of manufacturers or mastering facilities for your albums,many of the DIY sites have listings and even links to their web pages. Also you can search using any search engine or site directory on the internet, such as the most popular sites like:
Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com), AltaVista (http://www.altavista.com), Lycos (http://www.lycos.com), Excite (http://www.excite.com) and others. Use keywords like: CD, tape, manufacturer, duplicator, cassette, mastering, studios, and other words to describe what they do, or what you are looking for.
You can book tours by visiting my personal favorite In Your Eye at: http://www.inyoureye.com where they have extensive directories of booking agents/venues and contacts, radio stations, and record labels. All with contact information and most with format or genre information and club listings. This site even tells what kind of equipment the clubs have such as PA or lights. Another place for booking information and other DIY tips is at the Musicians Assistance Site or MAS located at http://www.musicianassist.com.
You can find an entertainment lawyer online thru the law database serach engine, http://www.wld.com/wldsearch/. Many entertainment attorneys are not listed in local phone books because their work is so specialized, or they do not mention it on their yellow pages listing. Many times a copyright and trademark attorney also does entertainment law but not always.
You can find other resources such as Kathoderay's Indie Music Site at http://www.kathoderay.org/main, my own Artist Management Services web site http://ams.2kweb.net where we have provided various contracts online for unsigned artists to protect themselves and a long list of resources and links. Even lists of books and directories. There is also Indie Centre http://www.csd.net/~muji/indiecentre.html which has wonderful DIY information on their web site, along with articles and more.
On CompuServe there is the Music Industry forum and the Bands A Jammin' forum both dedicated to working musicians providing information, networking,and contacts for them. If you are needing help with a home studio they also have the MIDI forum which has an entire section and library dedicated to technical help with recording matters and also advice from others.
You can visit http://www.bmi.com or http://www.ascap.com for information on BMI or ASCAP and their services to the musicians and songwriters they deal with by being performing rights societies who help protect the songwriters royalty rights etc. The BMI web site has wonderful tips for songwriters and protecting themselves with copyrights. Their site has proven to be an easy to understand copyright site where the US government also has a great copyright site useful for printing our the forms, http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright where you can download and print the copyright forms and their instruction sheets and information for convenience, but as most government sites are the technical jargon can be difficult to understand and the BMI website gives you more of a laymens definition of all information on copyright that pertains to musicians. You want to establish your own publishing company you can set it up with either BMI or ASCAP. Both with modest fee's.
If you want promotion on the web tons of places do it or you can develop your own web site and promote it yourself. You can also hire companies to design the site for you if you don't feel you have time for it. My company for example does award winning web design for a modest fee, along with our many other services. There are sites out there like Netbands who will also design a site, list a Real Audio file and more for you at a modest fee. You can find out more about them at http://www.virtualtv.net.
The web is definitely the place to be for a DIY musician in terms of self promotion, distribution, and information. You can develop online press kits,you may have sound files, photos, everything you would have in a conventional press kit but in a web page.
You can keep your tour dates updated and even list them on TourDates.Com http://www.tourdates.com or list your band among even the top major and indie label artists on the "UBL" Ultimate Band List http://www.ubl.com. There are so many choices and opportunities available on the web if you just get out there and find them.
Also remember a band is a business venture, a career. You can (and legally should) keep tax records. You would be shocked what can be a tax write off at the end of the year. If you play a college tour for example you will HAVE to claim that money on your taxes. Colleges claim that money paid to bands (even small unsigned bands) as expenses and you MUST claim it as income. So keep good records. Save your receipts. Your guitar strings are a tax write off, if you wear special clothing or costumes on stage that is a business expense. Gas, lodging, food, etc are all expenses just as in any business.
Most bands being payed cash in clubs may not claim their earnings, because it was cash payments but colleges pay by check so you have to keep close tabs on that income and should legally cover the cash payments but that is a decision I leave up to you. You did earn it as income and the IRS can come down on you for not claiming it but that decision falls on your own head wether you feel they will or not. You can talk to a professional CPA or registered tax preparer about these things for more information. Album sales also are considered income and often most states require sales tax, you may consider checking into that as well with your state offices.
Trademark your band name, at the very least at the state level which does not cost very much at all. Trademarks on the national level can be very costly and not do you much good if any unless you become a national touring artist and getting tons of publicity. A good tip when choosing a band name would be to search the internet for that name and also search using various spellings of the name. For example search for both Badlands and Badlandz. (That name is taken by a prominent recording artist but used here as an example).
I hope the web addresses and other information here prove helpful to you in your DIY project and help keep you protected. If you do a DIY project learn as much as you can to protect yourself. Know what is going on in your career and research, research, research everything.
Tam McClure President of Artist Management Services http://ams.2kweb.net E-Mail: ams@ams.2kweb.net On CompuServe GO ARTMAN 501-354-3724 48 Dogwood Lane Springfield, AR 72157 1998
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