davidguide on Nov 19th, 2007Session Singers
As a session singer myself, and former talent booking agent for the William Morris Agency, I can attest to the number of sessions that I have personally sung on where I wondered why some of the singers were even invited – And yet other sessions, and the vast majority, where it’s a pleasure to be [...]
davidguide on Nov 19th, 2007The Booking Agent Inside
As a recording artist, singer or songwriter, finding a booking agent who will actually book your act or show, can be tricky at best. A well qualified booking agent is like finding the needle in the hay stack. While many companies offer traditional artist booking services on a number of levels, there are few out [...]
davidguide on Nov 19th, 2007Singing Gigs and Session Work
We’ve all made the comment, “How did so and so ever make it as a singer?” As a former talent booking agent with the William Morris Agency, we were also amazed at times. At best it was a guessing game of who we would sign and wouldn’t – it was more of a speculative stock [...]
davidguide on Nov 19th, 2007Make Money Singing
You’ve been thinking about it for a while, but you’re just not sure how much time, money and emotional expense you want to invest in your singing career. You’re sure you’ve got the talent or you wouldn’t even be deliberating the opportunity, but still the question remains. With so many so called “experts” all willing [...]
davidguide on Nov 19th, 2007Singers, Bands & the Artist Management Team
As singers and bands compete for the ears of music industry pro’s, hoping to become the next greatest pop icon, mangers and the relationships with their acts have become increasingly important. With the evolution of technology, the internet and fledgling record labels, trying to compete for the next money making act, you can be sure [...]
davidguide on Nov 19th, 2007Your Singing Career
As artist demos pile up on the floors of A&R directors offices and on the tables and window ledges of music industry pros offices alike, one thing you can be sure of, the vast majority will never be heard, will be overlooked because of unprofessional marketing and packaging and likely not have the “It” factor [...]
davidguide on Nov 15th, 2007The 10 A&R Commandments
Every time I speak at a conference or conduct my popular FACE THE MUSIC! workshop which offers a commercial critique of songs, I’m constantly asked what A&R professionals look for when it comes to evaluating and choosing artists they want to sign. While I can’t tell you specifically why any A&R person signs a particular [...]
davidguide on Nov 15th, 2007Tips to Keep You Working in the Music Business!
Tips (to help keep ya workin’)
Hey everybody, I am going to change the name of this page of my website to Tips & Tricks because I intend to rap with the musicworld about just that. Tips & Tricks, Both musically and businesswise.
ATTITUDE
OK..Here’s tip #1. It’s something that my father used to always tell me: ”Make [...]
davidguide on Nov 15th, 2007Who’s Managing Your Manager?
If you are a music artist that has a need for someone to: filter communications between you and third parties that have expressed a professional interest in your services as an artist, or the use of your music; negotiate contracts and offers of employment; schedule and coordinate your professional activities; direct and interface with the [...]
davidguide on Nov 15th, 2007Why New Musicians (Rappers) Fail: Three Reasons and Solutions
Despite the title of this article, the purpose of it is actually to HELP new emcees AVOID some common traps on their journey to learning how to rap better. You can come up with a million reasons why new rappers fail…or why any artist fails for that matter, but we’ve boiled the list down to [...]