Quick tip 142 Work within your means

Some friends of mine just finished an album, that took them one year to record and cost somewhere in the region of €10000. It was what I would call a labour of love. The album sounds great and it will definitely open a lot of new doors for the band. Even though I don’t think they planned to spend so much on the album in the first place, I would call this a calculated risk. Still they will need to work hard and long to make their money back.

But too often I see bands burning out a fortune without getting anything back for it. With the restructure of the industry around recorded music, it can be hard to make your money back from a big studio recording. I said it before and I’ll say it again, artists need to get smart here. You need to learn the basics of “home” recording. With most recording software companies offering light versions of their software for very little money or even free and with the new development of online recording software like the Melosity, it is easier than ever to get started. YouTube is full of videos to guide you through the process ass well. All that is required is your willingness to put the work into it.

As an artist you need to learn to work with in your means. No business can sustain itself by continually investing more money than they are making. Music business is no different. Set realistic budgets for your next recording, tour and travel light. Utilise all the forms of free promotion before you resort to paid advertising. It might take a lot of work, but  learning to run a lean business is extremely important in today’s music business.

J.P.

The author J.P. Kallio is a singer songwriter
To get EIGHT of his songs for free go HERE