Knowledge is King. It's surprising how many musicians spend so much time fussing over their bands image and music that they forget to do one of the very important things, which would help them to leap many more steps forward in their music careers. And that is to KNOW what is really happening around them, and to brush up on their music industry knowledge.

It was shocking one time to speak to an unsigned band during an interview, that showed every inch of personal assurance that they were the best band that ever existed. They were asked if they had ever been approached by an A&R scout. "A what...?" they replied! Enough said. If you don't know who is looking for you, how can you find them? Buy books and scour the internet. Read about how the industry really works and what is expected from musicians today. Do you know how many labels out there are selling millions of albums in your genre? And where and to whom they are selling them?

A great resource to check out is Getting Signed! An Insider's Guide to the Record Industry By George Howard, in which he covers important topics such as the following:

Knowledge is essential to your growth as a musician in the industry. Get clued up as much as possible. Make a list of tasks to fulfill in your learning approach, and tick one off each day until the time arrives when you know exactly which door to knock on and when, and by this point you'll probably know who is gonna answer it!

Get serious from the start! If you're music just received the finishing polish in your home studio, and you think it's got the potential to blow all other bands into the external hemisphere, then you need to STOP. Send that music to a professional's ears before you send it to anyone, anywhere.

Find a distributor/label that is already selling your type of music. Call them up and explain that you would like a producer to review your music for a commercial opinion. What you want is his/her opinion on what you want to sell, because of course they are already selling it. Ok, its likely they won't lend their ears for free so you may have to fork out a few quid for this, but surely, its money well spent if you are serious about hearing the truth, and a real professional is going to put you in place.

Never accept 'Good' as a review. 'Good' is the reduced price of Bacon at Tesco's down the road! You want a FULL report of the commercial quality of your music and the production itself, plus any tips and advice to help you improve before you pay a penny. You may feel that you'll have to go back and produce it all over again, or suprisingly, that your music is possibly of a standard that could be taken seriously by the men in suits. Don't forget that what you want to sell, needs to be convincing enough to the people who believe that it will fill up their money bags down the line. If you are disappointed by the analysis, the reality might beat you up inside, but it's better than spending the next six months trying in vain to promote something that will end up as a coaster on your bedside table!

Face the facts. Not everyone can make it. And most won't. The music industry is a cut throat business that reeks of money making deals from the top of the line down to the very bottom. Everyone is in it for something, and rarely will you get much for free! As they say 'if it's free it can't be true'. Never take anything that's said to you at face value and never sign deals or be taken over by big promises that will never realistically be fulfilled. Having said that, there are genuine business people out there looking for talent and the acts they are looking for are the most hardworking people, who have shown themselves to be very much in touch with today's music. These types aren't going to empty your pockets and deliver nothing in return, but they are fussy. Don't give up too easily and become despondent if the first few opportunities that come by happen to slide away. It's a tough business which requires tough attitudes.

This is why researching reputable agencies is such a good thing for you to do. Seek reputable seminars for the unsigned. These folks have already gathered all the advice into one bag and can guide/help you through the minefield. Look up reputable band managers or management agencies. Never hand over cash for an instant 'deal'. Get legal advice if a deal does come around that appears to be worth pursuing. Seek opportunities (there are millions) and sift through them carefully. Bin the ones that promise fame, and look carefully at the ones that expect you to do some work in return for working with you!

It's not all about hard work. But sitting back will get you nowhere. Rewards are the little things that fly back to you after you have made an effort. Once you've brushed up on your knowledge, and your music has gained a bit of a stint of approval from a few reliable sources, take the plunge and promote, promote, promote! One can never get enough promotion and when it's free, grab that too! Promise yourself not to beat yourself up inside. Make deadlines such as... "I'm going to do this by such a date", such as send your demo to a radio station. Don't lie around dreaming, hoping praying, (well not too often)...If you invest in yourself and your music wisely, someone, somewhere is going to notice you! And even if you never make it to Glastonbury, don't forget to remind yourself that you cut some damn fine music, worthy of its praise!

Money is the whole root of the music industry. And the largest music businesses have been reaping it in for decades. But for struggling musicians that are paying the mortgage/bills etc, at this point talk is so much better. Why? If you move into the right circles more opportunities will come bounding your way. Spread yourself wide, spend time meeting and talking with as many people working within the music area as you can. You'll get more gigs, get heard much more, and clock up the little bits of advice that they give you for a rainy day.

Print a few demos of your music and take it outside. Play it in your car stereo. Go into your local town and hand a few to people for free, (people love freebies!) and in return for that, ask them to give you a review of what they thought of your music, and pass them your contact number/ email address. Some won't remember to, but you may be surprised! If some of them liked your music enough they will do so. And there you'll have some new fans!

Whilst most unsigned musicians have not much to give but their talent, it is well worth saving up a little and investing it back into your talent if you can. This could be in the form of music college courses, to brush up your playing, production, singing, performing skills! Or a ticket to a music demonstration festival where producers and musicians flock together, chat a great deal, and hand each other contact numbers like sweets. One such place to start finding these events is at http://www.festivalfinder.com/ which categorises over 2,500 music festival events. One great popular music festival is the International Musikmesse Frankfurt, which offers the presentation of the complete spectrum of musical instruments, computer software & hardware. If you make the effort to attend this annual event, you'll be bumping into more producers than you can fit inside a football stadium!

It's hard work, but no one ever said that working for yourself was easy! At the end of the day you've created your own business and are hoping to attract someone to invest in it! If it was so easy, well, all musicians would be lying in penthouse suites drinking champagne and saying 'Well I woke up one morning, and it just happened!