Tuesday, February 21, 2012

This Machine Kills Record Labels, Pt. 1: What Record Labels Don’t Want You to Know | DIY Musician

For the next 5 days, Molly King and I will be in Memphis, Tennessee (home of Elvis, Stax Records, Sun Studios, and Beale Street) for the 24th International Folk Alliance Conference– an amazing event where thousands of independent folk, americana, bluegrass, singer/songwriter, and pop musicians come together in the Downtown Memphis Marriott to perform, collaborate, encourage one another, and make connections.


Many of these folkies are professional musicians who make a living managing their own careers.


The Folk Alliance Conference is always fun to attend for the simple reason that everywhere you turn (in lobbies, hallways, hotel rooms, exhibit halls, and on showcase stages) there’s amazing music being made; but it’s also incredible to see these talented artists doing their OWN networking with concert and festival promoters, DJs, house-show bookers, bloggers, and other industry professionals. It’s one of the clearest signs that things have changed forever.
The major label system is dead; the time for musical independence is here!


Now you have at your disposal all the tools you need to achieve musical success on your own terms. Armed with just a guitar and a laptop, you can sustain a musical career without selling your soul or giving away all of your musical rights to someone who is just looking at the bottom line.


You no longer have to fit into the mainstream machine’s mold; you’re free to pursue your art the way YOU want to.
In the new music business you can:


Build your own following. From recording to promotion, you now have the tools you need to achieve and sustain a suc- cessful independent music career.


Keep all your rights. No more signing your life away in blood on a barroom napkin. You get to decide how your music is heard, licensed, and distributed.


Earn money and KEEP it. Gone are the days when a label kept the lion’s share (or more) of your earnings. It’s YOUR hard work and music; you should make the money.

——————————


Over the next 3 days, we’ll look at each one of those areas and share information with you that will help you move your music career forward.


Oh, and if you happen to be in Memphis at the International Folk Alliance Conference, stop by the CD Baby booth! Molly and I will be giving out some amazing prizes– including a beautiful Nashville-strung acoustic guitar, rad CD Baby trucker hats, and some other fun stuff.


For a chance to win, we’ll be giving away free temporary tattoos with the “This Machine Kills Record Labels” logo pictured above. Grab one of those, apply it, take a picture, and then upload to Twitter or Facebook. Be sure to leave a creative caption and tag CD Baby. At the end of each day, we’ll choose our favorites for the prize winners.


-Chris R. at CD Baby



This Machine Kills Record Labels, Pt. 1: What Record Labels Don’t Want You to Know | DIY Musician
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