To start with, one from the vaults....

Well, here i go, like a newborn foal finding it's sticky weak legs. In this blog i'll write stuff i know about, probably some stuff i think i know about, and some stuff i just like.

This will be entirely personal and not related to my day job. Expect some music industry advice, new bands i love, gig tips, digital music industry stuff and the occasional sandwich, pie or soup blog -all of which i'm a big fan of.

Here is an entry pasted from my myspace blog to get the ball rolling, feel free to comment, attack and critique. The issue addresses those generic 'come check my band' messages one receives on via myspace and emails.....it was written in a self-righteos rant and i stand by it! Ben

Personalised messages from bands and artists...BANDS PLEASE READ!!!

This advice shouldn't really have to be said as it's so bloody obvious, but here we go anyway...

The following is meant to help you, it's not just a self-righteous, self-important soap box rant -for the most part.

Bands, artists and performers. When you contact myself or ANYONE else in the music industry from whom you are seeking advice, support and /or management etc, you MUST personalise the fekking message!! This is a 'people business' if you're not a 'people person' learn how to be one quickly, or get someone to represent you that is.

If you can't even be bothered to take the time to say Hello personally, what chance do you think you really have of working your ass off to succeed in this industry? That's how we see you instantly. You look lazy and instantly fall in to a pool of thousands of other 'myspace bands'. The delete button beckons like a seductive siren, unlike your generic message which is seldom actually read.

I've never listened to a link from a generic cut-and-paste message and never will. It's the same for other serious industry folk. Do you realise just how many (mostly shit) bands contact us every week? The answer is a lot, so what makes you think you're worth a listen without even reading our profiles or getting our name to address us properly?!

Whilst i'm on one (this soap box sure is comfy) ...never ask me or anyone 'just check me out' or 'let me know what you think'. Why??!! What reason do we have, and how is listening to your latest offering going to enrich our lives?!

By doing this, what your asking for is (often) valuable advice and consultancy for free and offering nothing in return. Let people know what you are up to and what it is you are trying to achieve i.e. "We have an album ready to go and we're looking for a good indie label /management to help us make the next step" or " this website /NME /music mag said this about us and we're looking for help with decent gigs...etc" this will arouse much more interest than a standard cut and pasted 'band babble' message.

Do research on the person your contacting, read the bands they like on their profiles and drop them in to the email! If they have a postal address send them a letter -you will stick out and they'll remember you. It also massages their ego a bit more -which of course, we luuurve.

Contact industry at the right time when you are ready to go, timing is crucial. Scrappy demo's aren't fun to listen to, make sure your putting your best foot forward all the time to give yourself the best chance. Forget "we're going in to the studio next month, it'll sound much better etc etc" -send us the studio recording! It'll help you and it's worth waiting.

Remember you're looking for that 'one' person to give you a break, so each and every correspondence you send should be treated like a letter to the queen, or a rich elderly relative on their death bed. Get it right. Tell them where you are and what you're looking for and how they might be able to help. Show them how you are succeeding already and why they should get on-board with you.

It takes a lot of ridiculously hard work to achieve in this business, along with a pinch of luck. Help make your own luck by taking the above advice.

I hope this helps. I also hope it stops some slack bands from pasting generic 'throw away' messages to me...but unfortunately it probably wont.

Oooh, that did feel good...