Advice for unsigned artists and writers
Breaking into the music industry is tough.
Chorus published songwriters have come together to pass on the following advice to hopefully help you take the next step towards being paid to do what you love.
1. Be unique
The professional music industry is one of the most competitive fields in the entire world. With so many people wanting to be picked up by A&R as either professional songwriters, artists or both, it is essential that you offer something an A&R department doesn’t already have.
The most important question you can ask yourself is this:
What can you, as an artist or songwriter offer, that no one else at the label or publisher can?
Find the answer to that, and you might just find yourself a contract, an advance and a new career.
2. Work, work work
Working in the music industry is a far cry from the lacklustre, work shy, paradise your uncle, who was once in a student band, thinks it is.
Songwriters, producers, and artists work really long hours, and they work hard.
If the writer of your favourite song has spent two hours trying everything in their power to come up with a better last line for the bridge of a song they’re working on, you should probably be spending three!
3. Collaborate
Artists who write their own songs in there entirety are incredibly rare.
Artists need co-writers, and songwriters need artists. So you need to collaborate!
Collaboration is a great route into the industry. If you’re a writer and you’ve written some songs a label loves for an artist they’re looking at signing, your chances of coming to the attention of a publishing company have just exponentially increased.
4. Songs, songs & more songs
The entire music industry is centered on one thing. Songs.
The most valuable commodity in this multi-billion dollar industry is the hit song. It is not uncommon for an artist who has been signed by a label to write more than 50 songs before they release a single on a label.
Published songwriters will often write 100 songs in a year, so if this is something you want to do for a living, you need to be prolific. To be prolific you need a constant stream of inspiration.
Luckily for you we’ve created the perfect piece of software to help.
5. Don't give up
There are as many paths into the music industry as there are people in it!
Paths into the industry come in all shapes and sizes. For some people, success comes quickly; for others, it takes time.
Keep learning and keep working. The more songs you write – and the more people you write them with – the better chance there is that your talents will come to the attention of those already working in the industry.
Feeling inspired?
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