Emerging talent!

Top 10 tips for bands hoping to break into the Music Industry in Ireland. People often ask us the best way to break into the Irish Music Industry and we have put our heads together and come up with the following tips which we hope that you will find useful.

1. Get yourself heard! – Try and find as many platforms as possible to promote your music, be it online or by getting involved with college based cd’s. Don’t be too precious, it’s about getting your music out there to a point that you can build up enough support to go after that elusive deal.

2. Competitions – It is always a good idea to see if you can create hype around the band. By entering competitons you may be able to fund your next project or to pay for studio time.

3. Songs, Songs, Songs – Very simply the bottom line is most A n R people will take 20 to 30 seconds and if your lucky 60 seconds to listen to a track and decide if it is a hit or not, it’s all in the song , the lyrics, the melody, some of the simplest songs ever written were completed in just 4 minutes.

4. Find a good manager – Ask whoever writes for the local magazine or music organisation and see if you can get a recommendation from someone who has been in the Industry for years.

5. Find a good Agent – Look for a passionate and dedicated booking agency with a proven track record and good contacts and ultimately with your best interests at the forefront.

6. Start with the Colleges – Build from the Grass roots up, they will be your first fans and will spread your music virally. College’s are a great place to start performing and perfecting your craft. They also have a large number of events over the year.

7. Social Networking – Everyone is using Social networking sites these days and you need to be involved in Bebo, Facebook, My Space, Twitter to name a few. You can post your songs online, let your fans follow what you are up to, post photo’s and spread your Music. Get them talking!

8. Support a good cause – Giving your services for free at charity events will increase your profile and get your name out there, it costs you nothing. They do the PR, you just turn up!

9. Be Passionate and divide the different tasks among the band members – assign a task to each band member then come together as a unit. Be smart!

10. Build links with Artists and Venues – Strike a deal with a band from another County or Country and agree to host each other so that you will be fresh in someone else’s eyes.

“ Work Hard, Write Great Songs, Get Involved. Use the Web to the Max, Keep the Faith and Believe in Yourself!

Wishing you a Fruitful Career – Mark @ Audionetworks.ie

Mark Downing is CEO of Ireland’s largest independent Entertainment Booking Agency http://www.audionetworks.ie.