Why The Majority Of Musicians Don’t Get A Record Deal

It’s common for most musicians to not get signed to record deals because they make false assumptions about how this industry works. Don’t make the mistakes they make. Inform yourself and build value in your music career so you can offer it to record companies in the future.

Below are three critical mistakes tons of musicians commit when trying to get recording contracts (and what you need to do instead):

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10 Record Deal Red Flags

This guest post by Canadian entertainment lawyer Byron Pascoe originally appeared on the Bandzoogle Blog

When a band receives their first record deal, there’s a sense of accomplishment. Someone likes me! Where do I sign?

Before signing a contract with a label, it’s important to understand what you’re signing.

When I’m reviewing a record label agreement for an artist, it’s not uncommon for there to be a number of “red flags” – warnings to watch out for in the agreement and/or the relationship with the label.

The following list (in no particular order) provides some common red flags to keep in mind.

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Major Vs. Indie: What Really Happens When You Sign A Record Deal

As the recording industry continues to battle against the steady decline of physical album sales, and now steady decline in digital album sales, it can be difficult as an independent musician to determine the best path to take for long-term growth and success.

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The Internet Killed The Record Deal: Launch Your Album On Your Own

Saying you need a record deal to launch an album these days is like saying you need a desktop computer to visit the Internet. Twenty years ago people would not have believed that you could have every song in the world in the palm of your hand or on your television, but here we are. Now it just takes a mic, a bathtub, a computer and few clicks to launch your record and make it accessible to people all over the world. But it’s also just as easy for your music to get lost in the shuffle and disappear into obscurity. The following tips are your best shot at making it in this ever-evolving music game and getting the airwaves bumping with your heartbeat.

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The Importance Of Taking (The Right) Action In Your Music Career

In any industry you go into, there are always two types of people: People that take action, and people that don’t. In fact, let’s not limit that to industries people are in. In LIFE, there are two types of people…

The people who take action are the people who usually end up getting further. They are brave enough to make things happen, and even if they don’t work out as planned, they can always give it another go.

So why am I talking about taking action? Simple, because this is exactly what a lot of musicians fail to do!

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What are the odds of succeeding WITH a record deal?

If your aim as an artist is to purely chase a record deal as a means to succeeding in this business, I will tell you right now that you are doomed for failure. You can throw all the trumped up statistics around that you want, but fundamentally your chances of actually landing a record deal are extremely slim. Furthermore, your chances of actually making money directly from that deal are pretty much zero.

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What are the odds of succeeding without a record deal?

I found an interesting Blog post the other day that seemed to cause major disagreement between musicians on the subject of record deals, specifically whether musicians needed a record deal at all nowadays. The original Blog was entitled, Do Social Networks Really Help Musicians? It makes the point (in a round-a-bout way) that social networks create so much opportunity for musicians that overcrowding, by and large, negates the benefits for the masses.

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