Getting Signed Or Getting Smart

Over the last three years, there are two artists that I worked with. Each artist had very different music marketing paths. Both bands were well funded internally, but didn’t have much of a local draw. They were both great bands, and had the potential to create equally successful careers from a music standpoint.

One band scraped and fought for a record deal. It was a small deal, with a label that no one had ever heard of, but they “had a deal”.

The other band hired a publicist and released their record pretty much on their own.

The result?

I never hear about the first band. The second band I see in national papers, blogs, and opening for major label acts all of the time. They are selling records and getting noticed.

The first band “got signed”. The second band “got smart”.