Digital Harmony Australia Pty Ltd is a music production company with our own recording studio based in Wahroonga, a suburb of northern Sydney.
Until recently I was the Board of Directors and Vice
Chairman of the Music
Manager's Forum and have been a member (on and off) since 1995. I was on the board of ACT Music Inc. (an industry advisory and lobby group) for 3 years.
I remain active in the MMF.
Over the last 15 years I have worked as a management consultant in the music
industry and managed acts.
I run this web site, a resource that offers free information about the music industry for artists and managers.
In 1997 and 1998 I managed New Years Eve concerts for the ACT Government in the Civic Square of Canberra (Garema Place.)
These were very successful being attended by 6,000 people in 1997 and 11,000 people in 1998.
I have played bass guitar and guitar since age 14 and have played in covers bands for about 7 years. I currently own a recording studio that can be seen on the My Studio page.
If you are looking to do some recording and are serious about doing a really good job on a couple of songs give me a call. I am especially good at producing female vocals. See the Services page for more information about what we do. Talk is cheap, what does my work sound like? See the My Studio page for links to songs I have produced.
The Internet has changed everything in the last few years. There is no "tried and true" road to success using the Internet and there probably never will be. The Internet is likely to be a place of endless innovation. The Internet has become a primary tool for musicians to start building the buzz for themselves.
I have a commitment to quality and bringing you nothing but the best information for free. Things in the music industry are changing quickly so I will frequently update the site as I spot new trends.
You should know heaps about the industry, but as soon as you can, limit yourself to being an artist. Read industry related web sites like this one, music business books from Immedia and the music business books you can buy from Amazon.com.
Learn everything you can about the industry, management and music marketing.
Initially you will have to do most of this stuff for yourself. You and your band will have to book the gigs, promote the act, organise every part of the CD and artwork etc.
Once you have a buzz going you have to find the best management you can to hand over control and concentrate on being an artist. Practice writing better songs, practice your instrument, do heaps of gigs, radio interviews and be the face of your music marketing machine. By this time you know heaps about the business but you will do none of it.
The music industry is very much a victim of corporatisation and globalization especially in the English speaking world. This means that product produced by a few companies in Hollywood and New York account for about 70% of the total music sold in the world. These companies have massive market research and marketing budgets and employ some of the best marketing and production people in the world. The trick is to find competitive advantages so the likes of you and me can compete with these global marketing machines.
If you have had trouble getting a deal with a major record company consider that Sony BMG knocked back Russell Crowe, the world famous actor, because they are were too busy with their existing acts to take on Russell. It is important to have a realistic appreciation of how hard it is to succeed in this industry, but it is not impossible.
Any plan that relies on 'sending stuff to record companies' is doomed from the start. This is more true today than ever before. A good plan involves building such a vibe that they come to you.
Usually to get a record deal in Australia as a you need to be famous from TV - Neighbors, Australian Idol or Home & Away OR build your own vibe using the Internet and playing live and leverage the activity around those gigs to build a vibe through coverage in the media. (The live work can include DJ work.)
We have studied the way many people in the industry have succeeded and how many have failed. There are common threads to stories of success and you can follow other people's path to success. At the same time you can avoid other's mistakes. Most of the advice you get from well meaning people is advice from people who have not been successful in the music industry. The result of this is that many commonly held beliefs about succeeding in the music industry are not true. In an effort to bring you high quality advice I have sought feedback from serious players in the industry. This includes artists who have had Top 10 records in Australia and USA, producers, record company A&R Managers and other members of the Music Managers Forum. Most of the feedback has been totally in agreement and at other times I have changed parts of the site. What do YOU think? Send me your feedback because I value your opinion, even if your are 15 years old and have only played 1 gig.
Listen to music on www.MySpace.com and www.ReverbNation.com to keep in touch with what people are doing around the world. This is the quickest and easiest connection with the "Underground". With the Internet there are more opportunities around than ever before. Be innovative, find the opportunities, make the most of them. Remember luck occurs when opportunity meets preparation. If you are making really good music and promoting it well then opportunity will be banging at your door and if you don't let it in go around and bang at the window. Just learn to recognise the good from the bad.
Get really good and practice. Being just another average singer, songwriter or band is going to give you average results. Listen to the best material you can find on www.ReverbNation.com be honest with yourself, how do you compare? In April 1996, in an interview with Guitar World, when asked about how he went from playing his first open A chord to playing "Eruption", Eddie Van Halen replied:
“Practice. I used to sit on the edge of my bed with a six-pack of Schlitz Malt talls. My brother would go out at 7pm to party and get laid, and when he'd come back at 3am, I would still be sitting in the same place, playing guitar. I did that for years — I still do that."
The other thing every musician and especially singers should do it ear training a.k.a. aural training. This can make a huge difference to your musical talent. There is ear training software and books with attached CD's. Just search www.amazon.com for ear training to see what resources are available. My favourite piece of ear training software is: Auralia from http://risingsoftware.com/ (I think there are torrent downloads available for you to try before you buy.)
Basically you get famous by: Building a buzz around yourselves using the media, Internet and live performances. While the buzz is on the boil, record and release a series of "radio friendly unit movers" that become HITS. The HITS are what make you famous.
To sell an interesting number of CDs you need tens of thousands of people out there who have had several positive experiences of your music. This experience can come from: Downloading an MP3 from your web site, downloading a QuickTime video of a live gig, seeing you live, hearing you on the radio or seeing your film clip on TV. The experience can be reinforced by things in the print media and advertising. Advertising alone can not sell music. It is a numbers game.
If the music and total package is good enough then small amounts of promotion can sell a lot of it. One friend recommending your music to another via word of mouth, e-mail, Facebook or other means is by far the best promotion.
It is just that it is easier said than done!
Check out the articles on this site that have been published by Drum Media, IMMEDIA!, BarFly and others. Note, I am not selling anything. These days I have too much money to be interested it trying to get my hands on your money. I am just giving away information for free.
NOW PRESS EACH OF THE LINKS YOU CAN SEE ON THE LEFT TO GET TO THE GOOD INFORMATION
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I value your feedback and peer review. Please send me your comments to: info@digitalharmony.com.au
Copyright © 2003 to 2010 Mark Ellis