A Little Goes a Long Way by Mary Bonney
Some of you may be looking at the scene and wondering how certain artists have jumped the gap from unknown to landing a summer-long gig at Warped Tour. While in some cases, talent can carry an artist to fame and fortune, sometimes all it takes is one person to give bands the chance they need to make it big.
A band may send out their demo to a thousand radio stations and get them all returned, stamped with ‘Unsolicited Mail’ (if not thrown away). But if just one DJ likes anything about that track and spins it at the right time with the right person listening, that band could be on climbing their way up the Billboard charts (or maybe more realistically, I-tunes) before they can call their mom to tell her they’re on the radio.
If an artist signs with the right label, someone might owe someone a favor from way back when and, with a little sweet talking, they might end up playing a snippet of their song to an audience of thousands (as was the case for such recent breakthrough artists as Friday Night Boys and Nevershoutnever who both played on TRL’s “Under the Radar” segment)
While it’s inarguably important to focus on the music, making connections with the right people who have the ability to get you that one shot is sometimes all an artist needs to get their career going!
