Hi, new Pop and Rock artist, needs help please....
 

Hi,
My name is Elfie, I'm 16 and I'm a new unsigned, pop and Rock artist....
My new myspace profile which has had over 600 views in about 24 hours.

I have written 14 songs, 2 of which are uploaded on myspace
I put on a forum my myspace and if people could give me feedback on my songs yesterday. Their comments:
Have a unique, great voice,
I have a pretty texture to my voice
I have a nice smokey quality to my voice
They like my lyrics.
I need music behind my voice, it will sound much better then
Needs editing.

So here goes...........
1. I don't have a band or music, so where would I get some music?
2. If I went to a recording studio, would they find me some music?
3. If I had a manager or had a music producer who was willing to help me, would they help me find music or a musicians?- I'm a solo by the way.
4. Where do I find a manager, and how to find a good one.
5. If I get a manager, what do they charge?


Thanks everyone, please help me. As you can tell, a confused and helpless teen here lol.
Have a great day
E xx

If you think that just because you have a few songs on a myspace that you are suddenly going to be signed up & given songs to sing you are very much deluding yourself. It doesn't work like that.

But I shall answer your questions.

1. You go out & find it. Find other musicians, hang out around record shops, gigs, watch local bands, advertise for musicians in the local paper. They won't come to you. You have to go out & build up a network.

2. No. When you go into a recording studio all you are paying for in the rental of the equipment, why on earth would they find you songs? Finding the songs is YOUR job.

3. Yes they probably would. But the chances of you getting a manager or producer is virtually zero at the moment. Unless you have very rich or famous parents who indulge your every fantasy you can forget having either right now.

4. You don't. They find you. You could of course send demo tapes to management companies but bear in mind they probably get thousands of these a week so your chances of being heard are very remote.
Most bands that get management deals usually have a few years of playing around in pubs & clubs and gaining a loyal following before a manager will even look at them.

5. I believe 15% of everything you earn is the going rate.

There are probably millions of musicians & songwriters over the world who have played for years and never come anywhere close to being at the chance of needing a manager or producer. You need to stop wanting to be a famous pop star and do it because you enjoy playing music because the chance of making a career out of it happens to a very very select few people.

Do you play guitar or piano? if not, you might want to take a few lessons--if you find a teacher who has worked in a band, he/she may even have some pointers on writing music. You don't need to be Mozart, but a little proficiency on an instrument could open up a lot of options--you might not need as much assistance from others.