Music coach and former A&R exec Rick Goetz (Kid Rock, Matchbox 20, Sugar Ray and Damage Plan) returns today with a must-read article detailing some of the things you need to do to find out if someone in the Music 'Biz is for real or not. Do you know what to do if someone approaches you or your band and claims to know how to get you signed or discovered? Read Rick's article right now and protect yourself!

How to find out if someone in the Music Biz is for REAL or not: Separating the Wheat from the Chaff


What 'getting signed' means today is vastly different from what it meant when this site was first launched over 13 years ago.  This article - and many of my upcoming articles, will not be directly aimed at how to put a demo or an independent record into an A&R executive's hands.  They will, however, be focused on how to advance an independent artist's career.  There is much more to the game these days and much more an artist has to do on their own before the odds of approaching a record label (or any strong strategic partner) are better than the odds of buying Lotto tickets.

I suspect I lost a great deal of readers after that opening paragraph - so be it.  There are no shortcuts in the music business.  If you showed up at this site after typing, "get a record deal" into Google and were disappointed that there wasn't a 1-800 number to call where labels were giving out lucrative deals - this isn't an article for you anyway.  I have no doubt that for the low price of just $99 someone out there claims they can get you a record deal tomorrow that comes with a limo, a case of Covassier and the Swedish Bikini team but that, my new friend, is the point of this article.

A mentor once told me that being an entrepreneur is about separating the wheat from the chaff.  This should come as no surprise to you as a musician.  If you are on Getsigned.com the odds are that you are a musician or work with musicians / or are related to one.  The point is- if you run in these circles you know how much BS there is out there.  In my experience with both musicians and executives - hollow promises and lack of follow through are quite common.  How does one find the services and strategic partners that are going to do what they say they will?

In this day and age - musicians have to be entrepreneurs.  Most people have to take a stab at doing everything themselves.  They have to do everything from being their own label, manager, booking agent and their very own online marketing guru.  This work comes after all of the effort that goes into making great products and self- branding.  It is understandably too much for people.  This is why they turn to outside help - and help is available out there.  As of the typing of this article, Google has 129 million results for "How to make it in the music industry."  The digital age has made the outsourcing of solutions to what were major obstacles to musicians in the past rather easy to overcome.  For a nominal fee you can get digital distribution.  You can take a stab at your own website for free on sites like Blogger, Tumblr and Wordpress or even upgrade to your own URL without knowing how to program for less than $75 / year.  There are music business coaches, online marketing services, radio independents and various other kinds of helpful services out there waving around their contact information just waiting on your call.  Today, musicians have the power and the reach to hire contractors.

Back to the problem though - who's real?

What is this ‘provider’ promising?  Does it sound to good to be true?  If so - it probably is.  There are lots of people out there who promise the moon for a low fee or a signature on a contract and they are really just preying on people's hopes and dreams.   Below are some tips that can help you sort through both potential investments in your career and potential strategic partners

1.  First-hand testimony

 The first and best choice when thinking about making a purchase of services (or even just the investment of time into a new technology or social network) is the testimony of someone you know and trust.  If it is a large investment or decision I would look around for multiple opinions if possible.

2. Internet searches

Look at this person online.  Try searching for their name in quotes and their company name or their company name and the word "reviews".  If you are really suspicious try their name and the word "lawsuit” If they have online profiles on social networks like LinkedIn see if what they say is reflected on their resume there and who they are connected to.  This is entertainment - there should be some references even if they are ones generated by the person in question that at least tells you they are wiling to go on public record with what they have told you.

3. References

Still have questions?  Try asking the provider or partner for some references from their other clients.  People unwilling to provide references are suspect to me.  You can also take it upon yourself to cold email someone who has used the service and see if they get back to you with their experiences