I'm a musician and I want to be noticed, help?

[xx.tess]

I'm 16 and from a small town in Canada, if I want to be something, I need to start now. Here's a video I uploaded yesterday to youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvY5TWvvtlM
I was wondering what people think and if they have any tips on my music or how to get into the business. I finally got a backing band today, we aren't bad but we do need tips and stuff on how to get into the music business.

[caulin]

to start out well simply play at easily accessible community events like a community talents show ... other things you could do is go busking or ask for time at a local radio station or maybe advertise yourself somehow.

[Tinpanallycat]

I won't look at your video becaise I refuse to waste my time looking at youtube ANYTHING.. I judge talent shows and I seen enough lousy talent and huge unearned egos at those.. so I don't get all excited about seeing the same thing on someone's youtube offering.

Take your band and GO WHERE THE WORK IS.. If you REALLY want to be noticed then you have to get out where people will see you. For every person who gets 'discovered' on youture, the are 20,000 others who have to come to Answers to ask why nobody has noticed them.

If you hope to make it big.. then you are NOT going to find talent scouts who will come to your home and audition you in your mother's basement.. you are 'noticed' by going where and when you can be 'noticed'.

[Adam D]

I was expecting crap. I was pleasantly surprised. Your video was cool, but needs work. The mix on the song isn't that great... needs to blend in better with the guitar, because your vocals were too loud and pitchy at times and the guitar was too low, but again, it was pretty good (just giving you things to look out for).

I'm down to represent you... if I had money or was in the recording industry I'd think about checking you out. My friend owns a record label, but they are completely different than your style, so I can't help you there.

What I can do, is offer you advice and give you a couple things that you can get started on now. The name of the game is getting fans. You need to get them on your myspace, facebook, youtube and whatever other social networking sites there are.. twitter, yeah, gotta get people to twitter you. I don't tweet, so I can't... but get others to start it for you.

After you've built up a fan base on these sites, you can start earning money.... for one, after so many video hits, you might be able to start getting paid from youtube. Also, you can get sponsorship deals from local and national companies, if you represent them on your pages. I know people who do this and get free things, money, and at the very least, huge discounts on equipment... and it can be anything.. your favorite companies that you wouldn't mind putting ads up for them, or even big corporations like Coke and Pepsi do this ALL the time as well as guitar, amp and string companies. It's called building your portfolio or making up a press kit. On the internet, it's called an E-press kit, I think... or EPK, or something like that... I can't really remember.

Anyways, you'll want to build up your online EPK, as well as having an official press kit. This should include a demo, pictures, and biography of you and your music... as well as anything else you can include like stickers, write-ups from local magazines/newspapers, or online reviews of your album or show. Send these to bars, clubs, coffee houses, or ask them how to get in touch with the people who book bands/musicians to play at the venue. Send this to record labels... etc, and make sure that you provide the links to your myspace, facebook, and youtube pages so they will know that you have built up a fan base already.

It can take a long time, or you can be an instant success like Justin Bieber... the rest is just luck.

Meanwhile, just keep getting local shows, and you're 16, so you are almost old enough to be going out by yourself to other cities/towns. You need to start meeting other local musicians, and start supporting them, so that they will start to support you, which will give you good insight on the best places to play, and also they can help book you shows if they need an opening act.

(advice: when you're just starting out in the music scene and you're gonna play a show.... you don't want to be the first band on stage, cuz they are usually seen as the worst, and people aren't drunk yet. Likewise, you don't want to be last, because most people have gotten too wasted, or have already gone how... SO, you're looking at playing 2nd or 3rd, depending on how many acts there are.)