Home > Archived Issues > 1999 Issues > Issue 6

Succeed As An Independent Musician

Creative ways to book, manage, and promote your own band:

    The book is written by Nyree Belleville, formerly Nyree Rabushka, an independent musician for 10 years.  In it, she covers just about everything you can think of when it comes to being an independent musician.  Let me quickly give the chapter titles:

Chapter 1. Opportunities within the Music Industry.  Chapter Two.   11 Key Attributes of Your Success  Chapter Three.  Your job as Manager, Booking Agent, Publicist, Merchandiser, Record Label, and Artist.  Chapter Four.   The Music.  Chapter Five.  Office Tools.  Chapter Six.   Recording.  Chapter Seven.  Playing Shows.  Chapter Eight. Standard Venues.  Chapter Nine.  Alternative Venues.  Chapter Ten.  Booking Shows.  Chapter Eleven.  Merchandising.  Chapter Twelve Your Business and Marketing Plan.  Chapter Thirteen.  Your Artist's Plan.  Chapter Fourteen.   Touring.  Chapter Sixteen.  Your Fans.  Chapter Seventeen.   Copywrighting and Publishing.

    Her goals with the book are:

1. To help you [the independent musician] realize your dreams using effective, creative, alternative methods of booking, marketing, and promotion.

2. To give you the benefit of my [Nyree's] experience (and countless months of research!) by providing a consummate, truly helpful reference.

3. To help you avoid frustration and burn-out; to help you make the best decisions; to help you allocate your energies to the most fruitful tasks; and to keep you from spinning your wheels in a dead-end path.

4. To present all of the ways success can be achieved, instead of focusing on potential failure.

    I believe Mrs. Belleville is successful in all four of these goals.  She definitely covers effective, creative, and alternative methods to booking, marketing and promotion.  She certainly doesn't do it all for you, but she does help you in the right direction.  I personally have wasted dozens (possibly hundreds) of hours of my time finding out on my own what she tells you in this book.   The first three and a half years that I was trying to make it as a musician, I was simply trying to get a major label deal.  I sent my tapes to talent agents, and to radio stations, hoping a major label would hear my music and sign me.  Well, I didn't get on the radio.  I sent a demo tape to a top 40 station.  Talk about naive (I was only 14 at the time).  The talent agent I gave a tape to said I needed to be me and that rap was on it's way out.  That was 1993, before Wu-Tang Forever, before Puff Daddy, before Notorious B.I.G.  Anyway, it was things like this that I had to learn the hard way.  I was not going to get a record deal just by recording a demo at home, and sending it to the right people.  Even if it got to the right people, a home recorded demo would never be listened to.  Nyree is quick to point out that major labels now look for successful independent musicians, instead of spending big money trying to find the next talent.  She also shows you that you make more money doing things yourself at first, instead of hiring a manager and an agent.  All of this is discussed in just the first chapter. 

    Chapter two goes on to discuss the 11 key attributes to your success.  All eleven of them are very wise, and would probably be helpful to read or recite everyday.  Chapter three talks about how to put together a press kit, how to create databases, how to establish new contacts, etc.  Chapter Four discusses improving your musical skills and how to stay creative.  Well, I think the rest of what is highlighted in each chapter can be seen from the chapter titles above.  The important aspect of her book to note is that just about everything is covered, even some of the legal things involved in music, such as business permits, tax registration certificate, seller's permit, fictitious name statement, taxes, (all in Chapter 5)   UPC number (Chapter 6), Copywrighting (Chapter 17), etc.  The book gives information on how to register with BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC (Chapter 17).  If you need to know how to go about putting a cover song on your album, it's in there too. 

    There is so much information in this book that I can't possibly go through all of it.  I can tell you that I definitely recommend buying it for yourselves, because it is the best under $20 investment I have made in my music career, and I'm not even performing live.  I'm strictly a studio musician at this point.  There are at least five chapters devoted to touring (including what equipment to use, when to use your own equipment, what kind of money to expect to make at shows, when you should contact the gig, etc.), and if you are just starting out, then you really need to get this book.  Unlike most music business books I've thumbed through, read, or tried to read, there isn't much fluff in here at all.  It's very straightforward, and arranged in a very easy to understand format.  If you are smart enough to find this article, you are more than smart enough to use this book.  For those of you who do buy it, I suggest keeping it in an easily accessible place.  Taking notes on it isn't really necessary, because the notes would be almost as long as the book.  I do suggest following her suggestion in Chapter 12 about getting a pad of paper and a pen, though.  It's a very eye-opening exercise that she has you do. 

    That's all I'm going to say on the book in this article.  If you want to know any of what I mentioned in this article, you'll need to get the book yourself.  You can do that by:

1. Going to her website, located at http://www.nyree.com/ (if you go to the site, be sure to hit back on your browser a few times to get here) or

2. Call using Visa or Master Card (707) 996 9296

"There Was A Man" Contest

Win a free copy of "Intro To My Mind," a free copy of "Delve Deeper," and a free Underground Music Monthly T-Shirt.

    Well, I'm back in the studio again, recording "Delve Deeper."  To date, I have recorded 23 tracks, and have ten more before it is finished.  I'm offering you, the readers of Underground Music Monthly, the chance to win it before it is released.  I have included a RealAudio soundclip of "There Was A Man," and the lyrics for the song.  All you have to do is interpret the song, and email me with your interpretation.  The person who comes closest will receive a free copy of "Delve Deeper," as soon as production is done (before the official release date), a free copy of "Intro To My Mind," and a free Underground Music Monthly T-Shirt (available in Large or Extra Large).   The T-Shirt and "Intro To My Mind" will be sent as soon as a winner is announced.

The Superheroes are a fresh dance group from Sweden

by Gary Milholland

    Unfortunately, the Superheroes only sent me a single with four songs on it, or I'd have a great new full length CD.  Once every couple of months, I get a CD that gets put into my personal listening rotation.  Past artists in that company are Eden Automatic, Bumblefoot, and MISS (for the short time I had the privilege of borrowing them from Rachel).  I definitely want to get a hold of their full length album when it is released. 

    The first track, "See You At The Railroads" is a lovely sounding sweet song, which makes me feel peaceful and gives me joy.  The lyrics are an emotional railroad, going back and forth from being happy and sad.  The lead singer's vocals are very pleasant to the ear, and add to the Superheroes great sound.

    "New Romantic Sounds" is reminiscent of a couple of great 80's synth bands.  With traces of Depeche Mode and Duran Duran in the music, and the vocal style, I'm glad they made this song.  I'm even more glad I got the CD to review. 

    "Let's Dance" has one of the coolest beats I've heard in any song in a very long time.  It's one of those dynamic beats, and dynamic songs, that I so thoroughly enjoy.  If you want to add joy and motion to a party, this song is a definite must to play as well.

Thank you Superheroes for putting together three wonderful songs, and one pretty good one as well, and sending them to me.  If you, the reader, would like to find out more about Superheroes, go to their website, at www.superheroes.dk.

A Fog Of Beats Twilights An Electronic World Of Brown25

by Carrie Wagner

    Musical instruments melting inside outerspace, lyrical vocals that sound like the vocals of Beck;  These are key words to describe this band. All of this is
played inside an eleven track CD. Boys and Girls, this is simply a wonder to
wonder about.

    Every song has a new article of mystery and diversion for the listener's
ears to reach upon. But from each song to the next, is there true diversion
and character?  I say well, a little bit of yes and no.  After listening to
this CD, I met upon a road of enjoyment and annoyance. 

    I enoyed the song "Stool Sample," which allowed me to travel along with
the synthetic world in which it was created.  My world continued through
"Squelch" and "Full Nelson".  These two songs are interesting variables on the cd. The lyrics in both of these song literally squirm inside my head for personal enjoyment.  But by the time my head squrimed to "Gas Food Loging," the 8th track on the CD, my head was flooded with annoyance. My ears told my brain, humm hasn't this beat been used before? Haven't they used this
fiddle in the same sequence to the back beat? Hey maybe I am just a critic? Maybe there is such a thing as too much of a good thing? Maybe- Overall the band Brown 25 is creative, orginal and has the familiar sounds of the pioneers of diffusion with instruments. After a while maybe Brown 25 just needs a rest from the turn table for more of apperation of the
later tracks on the CD. Maybe.

    But hey, check it out on CDNow which has them up on their runner's up
list in CDNow Unheard. They, as a band, have air time on college radio
stations in those important cities, such as San Francisco.  You can check the
band out on their indie label's home page at www.bionicmilk.com, or even
become exploratory by ordering their cd at the Internet''s underground
musicians archive at brown 25.iuma.com, or 1-800-850-Iuma and I am sure you'll find a wonder to wonder about.

Da Mad Musician is done well, but not my style

by Gary Milholland

    Da Mad Musician is pretty smooth in his rhyming, but is nothing truly special.  He has some singing ability as well as rapping ability, as can be seen in "Geto Life."  The beat is just a bit too repetitive.   Basically, it's 8 seconds looped for 5 and a half minutes.  The eight seconds are cool, but get old after a while.  I'm more into the Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony, dynamic beats. 

    "Happy Feets" is a pretty cool party song, however.   You can definitely move to the beat, although it is again repetitive, just as the chorus of the song.  The recording has a lot of noise, but I think that may be intentional, because it almost sounds like a record with the needle slightly off. 

    To sum up my feelings on Da Mad Musician in more or less one sentence.  Da Mad Musician can rap, and has a lot of potential, but needs to grow musically a bit.  His next album could possibly be a major hit.  If you want to check out more of Da Mad Musician, you can go to http://freedomofculture.iuma.com.