The World of The Unsigned Artist Revealed!

Getting into the music business is hard, its’ often a matter of knowing the right people or being in the right place at the right time. ‘Right’ seems to be repeatedly used to describe getting into this lucrative business yet ,it cannot  be used to define the means an artist must go to, to become a part of it. Pav Bhatti delves into the world of the unsigned artist and the connotations attached to it...

There are thousands of people in the world that have a pipeline dream of making it onto T.V screens in every continent, singing to the masses at the best festivals and venues in the world, jet-setting and being recognised for their talent - being the ultimate success - but very few make it.

I was once one of these individuals, disillusioned as to the difficulties and hierarchical structure of the music industry. When you are born with a passion for music and told by many that you possess a talent unlike any other -you start to believe it. Hopefully my friends, family  and teachers weren’t telling ‘white lies’ like the people who tell their tone-deaf friends to audition for X-factor - much to our amusement!

Like thousands of others I got together a band and began what could be noted by my biographer as my first E.P. Being a teenager at the time, my influences were like most my age: Nirvana - a band that seemed to understand the angst that every teenager feels at some point in their life.  By default, I started to learn how to play the guitar like my idols and I felt like I could make it.... but the vital question was... how?

How could I make my dream a reality? What were the steps between myself in the practice room of my High School  and being on MTV or on stage at Wembly? Trust me when I say: you do not get these answers from google.

So what did I do?... I read various interviews and books on how to get into the industry - they did not work.  I spoke to people who had remained on the outskirts of the industry merely managing to get their foot in the door. I heard stories of record labels wanting image changes, song changes even a whole new genre of music to be performed, but mostly, I heard tale after tale of rejection and feelings of being unsuccessful and old.

I guess I am one of those people that lose faith if they do not get what I want in the time-scale they expect to get it in. When I didn’t get my record contract with E.M.I three weeks after I decided I wanted to be a famous, I decided to give up. That was the end of my career as a Rock-Star. But unlike myself there are thousands of acts and artists that persist, push and eventually excel in the music industry.

To me: making it in the industry is 1 part talent, 3 parts luck and  6 parts persistence. That is, if you haven’t got contacts dotted in PR, Record Labels or a Mommy and Daddy with a 6 figure salary - each.

So if you are going to be the next big thing... and nothing has come up just yet. The key is to carry on, if you manage to add three parts of luck to your life bowl you could make it to he NME awards, Brits or even the Grammys?! The future is open and fate is what you make of it.