Even if some people who hear it loathe your music, there will always be some who adore it. Whether you care about either camp, or just decide to make music to please yourself, is entirely up to you.
You don't need to have Top 40 hits to make a living from your music. Just ask Kent Brainerd, who has made a tidy sum by composing music for company training and presentation videos. Find out how...
The growth of the Internet and email-based communications should have made it easier to contact the people who could help you to further your musical career — but, of course, it's not that simple. Robin Morley offers advice on how to use message boards, email and newsgroups to develop useful contacts...
Even the most robust musician can be turned into quivering jelly at the prospect of having to sign a legal document — yet it's impossible to make much progress in the music business without signing contracts. Robin Morley guides fellow musicians through the contractual maze of management, publishing and recording deals, in an attempt to make things a little clearer...
Last month Robin Morley told of how, armed with a new understanding of the music business, he set out to secure himself another record deal 10 years after signing his first one. In the second half of his feature, he explains how a willingness to think about marketing and promotion bore fruit for him — and how it can work for you.
The traditional ways of attracting the attention of record companies are becoming ever more difficult to pursue, and if you don't have a well-connected manager, you might think that you don't stand a chance. As Robin Morley found, however, a little ingenuity and industry knowledge can do a lot for you...