I wrote something a little while ago for my band’s monthly newsletter suggesting that bands should work together, and not against one another. I’m going to use the bulk of that writing here because I think it ties in nicely with the ‘movement’ this forum has established. As an extension of the forum playlist, I would like to give The Solo Album forum members a chance to share their thoughts and ideas with each other through the forum blog. Initially I thought it would just be a place that I could share my ideas with the forum membership. After thinking about it for a while, I thought that it would be much more interesting to give members an opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas with everyone on the forum. This would give us all an opportunity to work together. After all, we’re all coming from different backgrounds and experiences and collectively we are much more knowledgeable than any one person. Before I go any further, consider the following…

You’re an independent recording artist. I’m an independent recording artist. And guess what?

It’s so easy to ignore other artists and keep feeding your ego, telling yourself that your music is somehow ‘superior’ to theirs. Nonsense! I encourage you to take a step back and see who else is out there. This isn’t a competition. There is a common goal, shared by many, and can actually be achieved by many. It appears that most artists are out there working hard, but not necessarily working hard together.

In this 21st Century, most artists are trying new online tactics, concentrating their efforts on self-promotion. CD Baby, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter…Twitter? What the heck is that? Sheesh. It almost seems like everyone is shouting, but no one is listening. How many MySpace ‘friends’ do you have? How many of them are other bands? How many of them actually respond to what you post?

If you’re in a band, ask yourself how you identify or relate to other bands in your area, or genre. Are they competing against you? No. Are they your enemy? No. They are your peers. They can even be your friends! Not MySpace friends, but actual real-life friends. Go check our top friends on MySpace though. :-)

To my fellow independent artists…let’s face it, the record industry isn’t what it used to be. But even if it was, would you want to be part of it? It’s a question most of you ask yourself from time to time. So who do you look to for support? Yourselves. It’s tough, I know! So ask yourself, "Could there be someone else out there in a position to help me?" What if that person is in another band like yours? Have you thought about how you could possibly help them? Have you thought about how you could work together? Why not send them an email?

To those musicians who are supported by a record label, what insights of the industry can you share? My gut feeling is that even if you are supported by a label you won’t be seeing the Pearl Jam record sales yet. In many ways, I still consider you to be of an ‘independent’ status. I think to myself, “Now there’s a hard-working band. Not to mention they have some great personalities and…….awesome music!”

Yes, it’s ok to appreciate music that’s not yours. Haha. Go ahead, try it. But only if you mean it. Lord knows we don’t need any more empty relationships like MySpace is cluttered with.

That being said, I’d like to offer the opportunity for The Solo Album forum members to share helpful information via the forum video blog. What insights about the recording process can you offer? What about the music business? How can you help others spread their music and find new fans? My only advice would be to pick a very specific topic to talk about. We can’t be everything to everybody.

If you would like to record and share a video blog with the members of this forum, please fill out the form below. This information will be emailed to my inbox for review. I am really looking forward to what you have to offer, and I’m sure everyone else here is too!

Brian Dobbs
Musician and Webmaster