Should You Move to Nashville, NYC, or Los Angeles?
Got this in my email box...
I think it's great to be in a "music center" like Nashville, NYC, or Los Angeles. You'll have a lot of opportunity that you won't have in a city without a similar infrastructure of all things music business, such as labels, managers, studios. or other quality musicians.
With that said, you don't have to be in one of these cities to do well in the music business. Sometimes, it may actually be better that you're not, since the "that's the way we do things around here" mindset is common and may not work for what you're doing. I love Nashville as much as anybody, but an inability to think differently from what everybody else is doing has killed off (or changed beyond repair) a lot of really cool projects that simply didn't fit the mold.
So the answer is, "I don't know." But I do know that keeping a band together can be tough anywhere you are. If you're thinking of moving though, I'd suggest a couple of trips to check out where you want to move to-- one during an event such as a music conference or festival and one on a random week when nothing special is happening. I'd also try to connect with "locals" online, via songwriting and musician organizations.
Before doing that though, the first thing I'd look at is yourself... In this case, specifically about how you're connecting with other band members.
From my experience, the best results come from when you're very clear about who you are, what you want, and where you want to go. Clarity if half the battle...at least.
For more info on the subject, check out this episode of Music Business Radio with Chris Pandolfi. He's in a band called The Infamous Stringdusters and talked a lot about keeping a band on the same page and moving forward. And The Infamous Stringdusters has six people, so he knows as much as anybody!
About your specific location...
One of the things about Canada that I love is that you have an audience that is hungry for Canadian acts. It's very easy for many countries, especially one so close to the United States, to get lost in the music that is created here. The upside of that though, is that the "local boy makes good" act can absolutely kill it.
So why aren't more acts conquering Canada? The main one is that it's huge and you're going to have to hit the road to make it happen... That means playing all the little towns from Toronto to Vancouver. If you can though, you can have a long career. Just ask Trooper or any of the other Canadian bands still working after 30+ years of doing it.
Best wishes!
Source: www.MusicMarketing.com
I live in Ottawa, Canada and have been struggling for the past 5 years to keep a band together long enough to build momentum with my music. Every time i start building, some idiot quits for what has become an encyclopedia of reasons. I've heard them ALL. I have a professionally recorded and partially mixed album (which i wrote and co-produced) filled with what people describe as 'bloody awesome' tunes. Mike Turner (Our Lady Peace), Dave McMillan, Jason Pierce, Shawn Lefevbre and Adam Kasper all worked with me on it. People keep saying 'if you can't conquer your city 1st, don't expect to conquer the world', but i can't get anywhere here.Good question! Am going to answer it in two parts. The first about the general concept of moving and the second with something specifically regarding Ottawa (and Canada in general)...
My question is this: Would you recommend packing up and moving to a better music mecca, or staying and marketing myself as an individual artist (rather than my band), maybe getting interest from an indy label that way and hooking up with the right musicians then??
I think it's great to be in a "music center" like Nashville, NYC, or Los Angeles. You'll have a lot of opportunity that you won't have in a city without a similar infrastructure of all things music business, such as labels, managers, studios. or other quality musicians.
With that said, you don't have to be in one of these cities to do well in the music business. Sometimes, it may actually be better that you're not, since the "that's the way we do things around here" mindset is common and may not work for what you're doing. I love Nashville as much as anybody, but an inability to think differently from what everybody else is doing has killed off (or changed beyond repair) a lot of really cool projects that simply didn't fit the mold.
So the answer is, "I don't know." But I do know that keeping a band together can be tough anywhere you are. If you're thinking of moving though, I'd suggest a couple of trips to check out where you want to move to-- one during an event such as a music conference or festival and one on a random week when nothing special is happening. I'd also try to connect with "locals" online, via songwriting and musician organizations.
Before doing that though, the first thing I'd look at is yourself... In this case, specifically about how you're connecting with other band members.
From my experience, the best results come from when you're very clear about who you are, what you want, and where you want to go. Clarity if half the battle...at least.
For more info on the subject, check out this episode of Music Business Radio with Chris Pandolfi. He's in a band called The Infamous Stringdusters and talked a lot about keeping a band on the same page and moving forward. And The Infamous Stringdusters has six people, so he knows as much as anybody!
About your specific location...
One of the things about Canada that I love is that you have an audience that is hungry for Canadian acts. It's very easy for many countries, especially one so close to the United States, to get lost in the music that is created here. The upside of that though, is that the "local boy makes good" act can absolutely kill it.
So why aren't more acts conquering Canada? The main one is that it's huge and you're going to have to hit the road to make it happen... That means playing all the little towns from Toronto to Vancouver. If you can though, you can have a long career. Just ask Trooper or any of the other Canadian bands still working after 30+ years of doing it.
Best wishes!
Source: www.MusicMarketing.com
