- When sending in your demo to a record label, have your chorus hit in the first 30 seconds of your song.
- An eye-catching font will attract attention. Details are important.
- When e-mailing someone in the industry, make sure you use the name of the person you’re trying to impress.
This, and other tasty gems of wisdom were freely passed out at the Music & Entertainment Industry Student Association’s first annual music panel April 7 in the Reitz Union.
The panel was attended by a who’s who of the Gainesville music scene including Var Thelin, of No Idea Records; Casey Robbins, manager of Cardboard Box records; and Eric and Travis Atria, of Morningbell. Also in attendance was Ben Westermann-Clark, of Grooveshark.
Among the vast cornucopia of knowledge was an important piece of info that Thelin had to share about e-mails and letters he gets from bands.
“I always reject bands who use the phrase, ‘Take it to the next level.’ In our old warehouse, we put up a note every time someone used that phrase. Our wall was covered.”
Eric Atria, the bass player of Morningbell, had some tidbits of his own to share.
“Nothing substitutes for being nice to people," he said.
Thelin’s record label, No Idea Records, has been in Gainesville more than 20 years since its inception as a fanzine in 1985.
Thelin spoke about what makes an artist viable.
“It’s about the performer you’re watching being compelling enough that you stop what you’re doing and watch them. It’s not about being a musical genius. Genius is a fleeting thing. A lot of geniuses are coo-coo,” he said.
Travis Atria, the lead singer of Morningbell, recently self-released a record with his band entitled, “Sincerly, Severly,” available for purchase at the band’s Web site. He said there was a reason that the band wasn’t signed to a start-up label.
“Any label that could sign us couldn’t do anything for us we couldn’t do for ourselves,” he said.
