Open Auditions for male & female country artists

As of today April 24th we've started accepting open auditions for country artists. This is an important milestone for us as Covid has ended and life is getting back to normal, or the new normal.

What were looking for in a nutshell:

-Country artists/bands who have put time into their career and want representation to move forward and become established, have a voice for country music and are ready to record.

- Artists that know how a song is produced, what it takes in time and effort to make a commercially ready track(s) ready for market.

- Bands, if you've got what it takes we want to hear from you as well.

- The time to dedicate to a song(s) to bring them to market.

- The ability to play an instrument is nice to have but we realize not everybody can play an instrument, if that's the case knowledge of and some recording experience is a must.

We are accepting both artists who have written their own songs and artists who are looking for great songs to sing. We have a number of writers in the country genre looking for people to get their music to market. So go ahead, send us a link to your best song, (we'll accept a cover version with credits, if you don't have your own song.) Let us hear your voice and we'll take it from their.

We are accepting artists/bands to publish and artists/bands for our label. please indicate on your submission if you are new to music or an established artist. We wish everyone who submits the best of luck. Phone calls will not be accepted on submissions. Our A & R team will be in touch with their decision either way. Please follow the link to submit your music. Submissions

You've wrote an amazing song, now what?

Like most writers, musicians and composers will tell you, creating a song is just the start. After that there's recording it in studio quality sound, producing it in the varied formats required for digital streaming, downloading and radio airplay.

Coming from a musicians background and now production and a record label itself I can tell a few things. Many of the people I work with that are very talented in production and composing all say the exact same thing. In this world of digital downloads and streaming to just put your song out there without a plan is like throwing your song in the garbage. There are adds all over social media on how for a fee for a book, course or gimmick there going to get you followers and show you how to make money.

I've checked out many of them in these last months during Covid and I can honestly say, don't waste your money! The only way your going to get your song heard and played repeatedly is to get it out to commercial market radio period... If you new to the business and don't have a budget approach your local radio station that plays your Genre and their program director. price for submission, free. If they like what they hear they'll put it in rotation. Ensure it's studio quality and in radio format.

I think I've seen every possible sales pitch asking for your money with promises of riches for musicians and singers out there in the last (18) months and we'll go through a few of them. (1) Instagram/ Facebook there are so many Instagramer's promising huge audience potential for anywhere from $25 - $150 bucks that's its ridiculous. I have to date to find a single one that actually has the numbers to warrant spending money with them. Check them out, where are they from, how many followers do they have and ask for references. This is an easy one, look at past posts and contact people they say they've ran successful campaigns with.

(2) Twitter, As with Instagram there's an abundance of people with promises and the same result, sorry to burst your bubble here but anyone coming from social media lately is not worth your time. If your really going to give one of these people you've never met, from potentially another country a whirl, do it with Paypal and ask for a guarantee in writing, keep a copy of your messages and if they fail to give the results contact Paypal. Again, keep all the correspondence because Paypal will ask for it and they will refund your money if you can back up your claim.

So as either a seasoned musician or a newbie to the world of music how do you get exposure? Well like I said previously, (1) explore your local radio market, play local gigs and don't loose site of your plan. (2) connect with a reputable music marketing company and be prepared to spend thousands of dollars on P.R. (3) send your music to a major record label and be prepared to wait.. (4) build you circle of people that can actually help you with your career and P.R.

I sincerely hope this article stops you from wasting your money and time with people who are only in it for a quick buck and not for you. I've spent over (35) years in the business, still compose, collaborate with people from many genre's, love music and help many people from those getting started in the business to polished professionals looking to get their music out to the world audience. Check out our corporate services page and send me a message.

By Doug Banks

CEO

Tiger Music Productions Canada

Trends in the industry and avoiding the biggest mistakes an artist can make

We've all been there as new artists, you made a killer song, put it to music, now what? You search for someone to listen to your music, search the web hoping to find the right people that will actually listen to it and you wait. Today we are all digitally connected and just putting it out there is like throwing a needle in a hay stack. The internet is full of people that say they love your music and for a price they will push your music somewhere. This is the first pitfall many new artists fall prey to. I could list hundreds of examples from people on Facebook, Instagram and even twitter saying they have massive audiences and for a fee they'll promote you. I have had artists tell me labels have contacted them and said for a price they will give them a promotional package and exposure. A reputable record label would never ask you for money

You have a choice, you become an independent artist and go it alone, meaning you pay for everything yourself and you'd better have a healthy bank account $10,000+ just for P.R. or you look for a record label to represent you. I've heard and seen a substantial amount of negative publicity lately about labels, sorry I've been in the business 35 years and I am a label. Let's be honest here, I don't know of any new artists that have the piggybank to do P.R., the resources to produce their songs or the means to publish them. Lets not forget about pushing their music to commercial radio stations, all the online stores and tracking it for royalties.

So how do record labels make money, artists sign contracts with us, we pay for recording, production, distribution and marketing. And for all of this outlay of money which can run in the thousands for a single song we do a royalty split on streams, sales and mechanical licenses. yes we want a return on our money and yes were going to take a bigger portion until were paid back which could take years. That is the business of music, we have investors who want their money, no different than getting a loan or a mortgage. Are we taking a risk, absolutely. we are working on the premise that you work will catch on and people will want to hear your music. Are we selective about who we put on our rosters, definitely...

The last and biggest mistake I see today is from the indie pop market, young artists are using other peoples music and publishing their work without a mechanical license. Most if not all sites that have samples do not allow you to publish or alter their music for commercial sale. If you want a law suit for copywrite infringement which usually starts out at 1.5 million, yes I said million don't even think about it. With new technology and companies like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok all being made to use copywrite checking software chances are you going to get your accounts revoked and possibly sued. If your serous about your music start by signing up with a Pro (performing rights organization) like Socan, Ascap, Bmi or Sesac in the U.S or whatever you have. Lastly this shouldn't be rocket science, if your serous about your music and a career, find a label that works with artists in your Genre.

Doug Banks, CEO

Tiger Music Productions Canada