You go to a gig and your favourite band has their latest CD for sale. You buy it, but why? You’re probably not going to play it anytime soon. Your car doesn’t even have a built in CD player anymore, so you’re just going to listen to the songs on Spotify and the CD is going to get dumped in the glove compartment or (if it’s lucky) in a cupboard at home. You’re happy because you have supported your band but that CD was made to be heard!

I know that fans want to bring something physical home from a gig but it is time that bands stopped wasting their money getting CDs pressed. Sure, one guy out of 100 may be a big CD collector and be annoyed that you don’t sell them anymore but what about the guy that collects mini disks or cassettes? My point is that music moves forward with technology and if you are still making CDs, it is time that you did too.

So what can bands do? Get creative. QR codes are a fantastic way to guide your fans to your promotional material. I think they look pretty cool (if used in the right way) and because people are nosey, the intrigue will be too much and they will scan it just to see what is “on the other side”.

T-shirts, posters, keyrings, plectrums, mugs, stickers, badges, mousepads, phone cases, coasters… All more likely to see the light of day than your CD. Stick your logo and a QR code on and get your fans and their friends through your online portal.

Speaking of online music, there are now plenty of ways to get it there for free. A simple Google search will bring them up. Some sites even offer to sign you to a label (do not rush, we will come back to this). First of all, you need make sure your recordings are representative of your sound and not just recorded on the cheap. Get into a studio and deal with people who know what they are doing. There is no point in having a fantastic song for the lyrics not to be muffled, or for the drums to be too loud. Get your tunes on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer etc. and you will start to earn money from it too. Please don’t press CDs.

Music is something that so many fall in love with. No matter what genres you enjoy, music is there in some of the best and worst times of your life. For some, it becomes a passion and ultimately a career. In these series of blogs, we are going to offer help and advice to aid your career in music.

The first (and most important thing) is that you are going to need an ability to actually create music. We will assume for most of these blogs that you are a good singer and/or an instrumentalist, looking for a way forward in the music business.

Do you write your own music? Or do you want to sing covers? Both can be lucrative and more than adequate to pay the bills. You could even do both! If you feel you are ready to start performing, get to some open mics in your area. It will build your confidence, put you on show and help you create new contacts that will have a wide range of skills and experience. These people could be a great help in the future!

You should be wanting to do this for the love and not for the fame. If you are just here for the latter, you are unlikely to get it. You need to be truly passionate and committed to this. This will still be a job and you are going to have to work hard. At the start, this will often mean working for little or no financial gain. You are also likely to have to do it most days, if not every day! Hopefully (for the most part) it should not feel like a job but for those days where it does, your passion and love for the art of music should pull you through.

Making a career in the music industry will see you encounter a rollercoaster of emotions. Some days you will feel invincible and others you will feel like you don’t even want to hear a song at all. It is a tough gig, so to speak.

This is why it is important to set goals. What do you want to achieve? We will look at these goals in more detail over the next couple of weeks. Do you want to sign to a specific label? Do you just want to get your music on Spotify? Do want to try and pay the bills doing what you love to do? Decide on your long term goals and don’t lose sight of them.