Original link: http://electricgypsy.info/indieplan.htm

A Plan of Action for Independent Rock & Roll Acts
By Mike 'Shmoo' Steely of Electric Gypsy
(and of DMusic/Boycott-RIAA)

The dream of "getting discoverd" and subseqently signed to a major label and being propelled to "stardom" is utterly preposterous. If you refuse to put such ideas out of your head, then I hold no hope for you! Even back in those "once upon a time" dayse when such a plan of action was very minutely plausible to attain, it was a long-shot craps-shoot! It was even then so fraught with peril to be highly inadvisible. About he only acts that get signed and promoted these days are American Idol finalists and child television stars. (Hopefully, you are neither of those!) Besides, why would you ever want to be enslaved by an RIAA label? The only money you'd likely ever see is the 'advance' (...out which you must pay for the exorbitant production costs of a studio more-so than not picked by the label!) And don't forget, the advance is really just a loan against your "potential future earnings" on sales (earnings that probably will never exceed the amount of the advance.) I bet you'd loose control of your artisticly envisioned sound. I definately know you'd loose control of your sound-recording's copyright! Chances are high that you must share even at least half of your publishing royalties with the label's own publishing arm. What does a label really have to offer its' indentured artists? Promotion? Ha! They don't get behind anyone anymore except for a their 'proven' legacy acts, those Idol contestants, and a few child-stars. I am of the opinion that the few new artists of any worth who do get signed these days are merely given a contract so they can be put on a shelf in order to be kept from competing with the lowest-common-denominator pabulum they keep shoving down our throats.

So, since we all know that the RIAA labels have a monopoly on all the traditional avenues of distribution, does that mean we should just give up? Hell NO! (Not when the dream is about the music instead of shallow superstardom!) What to do then? Here are a few strong suggestions. (No particular order, but most all should be adhered to!)

Commit to remaining independent! Now more-so than ever this is a DIY world for the creative artist seeking an audience. Because of the improvements and advances in technology and the advent of the Internet, highly professional stuff can be recorded and distributed by anyone with a modicum of talent and the determination to make it truely happen. (Thank all gods that be!) Only slightly more than just a decade ago, this was not the case! Back then, you absolutely had to have backing. (Well, it could have technically been done if you had a million or so dollars to blow. But let's be realistic! Almost nobody has that kind of pocket change to challenge the industry! If you DID have that kind of money, you probably were in the industry's pocket!)

Hone your craft! Hit that woodshed! Polish your turd! And, get your act together! It is imperative that you be the best you can be as a performing and recording artist. Don't do things half-ass! Get any drug or alcohol problems under control and manage your other distractions! The music MUST come first (or, a close second to the famb-damly!) You need to consistantly put on a good show each and every time! I recommend being able to perform one or two amazingly good well-rehersed 45 minute sets at the drop of a hat!

No slackers! Make sure your band-mates are as dedicated and as "ready to roll" as you! If you rely on a particular instrumet/voice as an integral part of your band's sound, it goes without saying that the performer needs to be on board and fully committed. Too many show cancellations due to an under-devoted member who can't always make it ...and, too many bad performances because of an under-rehersed or 'talent-lacking' mate is a detriment to avoid.

Acquire the skill/art of recording and live sound! This will be as arduous a process as learning how to play your instrument well. But it is important to have someone who is a permanent member of the band handle these aspects of your sound. The audio engineering is very close to being as integral as any instrument or voice! Sure, sometimes you will let someone outside the band handle the job, but at least if you know how to do your own audio, you have the ability to get that "professional" engineer and/or producer to do as YOU want done. (It's YOUR music after all!)

Vinal is final! No, I'm not crazy! If you truly want to sell your music, put it out on those "old-timey" LP's and 45's. I suggest pressing at least a thousand copies once you have really really good recordings to feature. Only hang-on to maybe 100 units for yourself, freinds/family, and/or for promotional give-away, then sell the rest at $15 - 20 (shipping within country included in the price) per LP. (Maybe a $5 - 7 price range for a 45.) Cds are not as collectable as vinyl records. Fans will be more likely to loose/toss a Cd after a few listens than they would a lovely grooved record-disc. Vinyl makes a stronger statement of permanence and shows you are serious about your art. It holds its' value. (Even professionally manufactured glass-mastered Cds are unable to match the intrinsic "specialness".) You want your fans to feel they got something special from you, don't you? Anyone can burn a Cd. Not everyone has vinyl to offer! And, you can always (...and probably should) include a CDr with every vinyl sale cheaply enough!

Give away those .mp3's Don't bother trying to sell downloads. That's futile! Give your digital audio and video files away left and right! Plaster them all over the Internet at every indie music website you can think of! (But only at those sites that don't try to rip you off by charging a fee.) Stop believing in the imaginary bugaboo of so-called "piracy"! You should WANT your stuff downloaded and virally spread far and wide! (Do whatever you can to make it happen!) DRM infected files are a complete no-no! Placing a price-tag on your online music is actually going to hurt your promotional efforts IMHO. And, don't hold the good stuff back! Even the tunes you plan to sell on vinyl should have been dubbed to .mp3 and freely shared. I promise it won't hurt sales. It will instead garner fans who will be more likely to support you because you aren't being a tight-ass with things. (And, always make it easy for those who seek your music to stream or download without having to jump through hoops!)

Build your own damn website! I can't stress this enough. Sure, you kind of got to suck it up and have a damn MySpace and Facebook page. You should also have a presence on Bandcamp, Soundcloud, DMusic, (etc.) ...and don't forget YouTube and Dailymotion! But your pages on third-party hosting sites should all LOUDLY be pointing at your own band's url. With your own website, YOU are in control. Try to encourage interaction by visitors, but don't insist on it. Don't make them jump through any hoops to find your music. (Sure, ask for an e-mail, but don't require it to listen/download anything!) Don't hit them with any pop-up ads! Build your site as creatively as you are capable, but the main thing is to provide visitors with direct "one-click" links to your stuff hosted elsewhere (no need to waste your own bandwidth on those audio/video files) ...and, of course, give the fans an option to donate or buy from you. (Don't forget to tell them where you are playing next!)

Gig! You need to play live often once you really have your act down! Performing is not only half of "what it's all about", it is also your fastest way to move product and to get your music heard (...which is the "other" half of "what it's about"!) If you want to sell those thousand records, chances are they will be sold at your shows!

Network and Promote! Do this both online and offline constantly! Print up thousands of cheap business cards with your url. Give them to anybody willing to take them! When your LP is available, don't forget to send them to college radio stations in your area. (Don't bother with commercial radio. The RIAA bought and killed that duck long years ago!) Research and establish a rapport with music bloggers who fit your style/genre. (These are also folk worth giving a free copy of your LP!) Utilize those online social networking friends you have to spread the word around! Kick, scream, holler, spam (...well, don't do THAT, but DO shamelessly "self-promote" your band's name and url wherever an whenever you can!)

Do I practice as I preach? Well, I try. As of yet I am still too far in the poor-house to put out vinyl yet. (I have the songs, and the means and ability to record, but just not the money for manufacturing!) My band, Electric Gypsy also suffers from not being blessed with a permanent drummer. (We have the 'Spinal-Tap' curse it seems!) And, our bass player lives 2 hours away which doesn't help things. But we certainly try to adhere to all else above and are slowly, continually working on these things! We'll get there! (Or die having had a lot of fun in the attempt!) Besides, TRUE "rock & roll dreams" are probably found along the path instead of at the destination!