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 Ignorant Musicians
Finish Last
by Christopher Knab - Fourfront
Media & Music - August 2011
Back to Music
Business 101
Ignorant, mis-informed musicians are a menace to themselves. Enough already!
Over
the decades there have been countless stories of musicians who were
ripped off by their record labels and music publishing companies. Why?
Exploitation was the name of the game. Keeping musicians
in the dark was standard business practice. However, the past has
passed, and today, any musician who signs a record contract, and learns
later what he or she signed, has only themselves to blame.
The
amount of free information on the web is astounding these days. Type any
topic about the business of music into Google and you will be drowning
in resources.
In addition, there are many schools that now offer
2-4 year programs on the business of music. Also, there are many
seminars and workshops available on a year round basis in most major
American cities.
Consultants, Attorneys, and Business
Organizations abound, and so it is only myth, superstition,
stubbornness, and immaturity that stand in the way of any musician
making a commitment to educating themselves about the business that
exists to exploit their music.
When people said to you “ Spend money on quality instruments and equipment”... you did that.
When they said “Spend time and money on practicing and rehearsing”, you did that, for the most part .
When they told you “Spend time and money finding the best recording studio, producer and engineer you can”... you also did that.
Well, nobody until now has told you “Spend time and money learning all you can about the business of music”.
But I just did!
So…do it!
It
has been said (about education) that we don’t know anything until
someone tells us. If that is true, the fault in "not telling" musicians
is that they MUST spend some time and money on educating themselves on
music business issues is the fault of the businessmen and women who kept
their clients uninformed.
( Ignorance IS bliss as far as the old
guard of music executives are concerned). But, KNOWLEDGE IS BLISS should
be the byword for the musician of the new millennium. Please... spend
some time and money educating yourselves about the music business. A few
dollars and hours spent now can protect your future forever.
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Christopher Knab is an independent music business consultant based in Seattle, Washington. He
is available for private consultations on promoting and marketing independent music, and can be reached by email at: chris@chrisknab.net
Chris Knab's new book, 'Music Is Your Business'
is available NOW from the Music Biz Academy bookstore.
Visit the FourFront Media and
Music website for more information on the business of music from
Christopher Knab.
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