Music promotion books have been written to help unsigned bands learn how to get a record deal. Band promotion has changed dramatically in recent years primarily because of online music promotion. Learning how to promote your band successfully is not optional; it is essential.

When you start reading one of the music promotion books you might be tempted jump right in to something like Myspace music promotion or placing videos on YouTube. But do not start your band promotion process by overlooking the initial crucial step of knowing your market.

You can not sell a lawn mower to someone looking for a computer no matter how great your lawn mower is. But find someone looking for a lawn mower and your chances of selling them one increase dramatically.

Most record labels will promote a certain genre of music. You need to research this thoroughly. If you are a Christian rock band you do not want to market to a heavy metal record company. Many unsigned artists do not pay close enough attention to doing this properly and never get a record deal as a result.

Music promotion books usually contain a list of all the record labels and the genre of music they market. The Songwriters Market is a good resource to help you get started with your research. Study the different record labels and see what artists they have previously signed. Listen to some of this music to learn as much as you can about what kind of music this label is looking for.

It may take you a little time before you find that one record label that seems to match your music the best. But finding it will make it much easier to eventually get a record deal. The closer your music is to what the record label is looking for the greater your chances of success.

A good music promotion resource will also teach you another essential step in band promotion and that is branding. Branding is encompasses many aspects of your music and your band.

Branding often begins with a certain look. Remember how the Beatles all had dark hair that was cut similarly and they all wore the dark suits, white shirts, and plain dark ties. That became a part of their brand.

But branding includes more than a look so you will need to really put some effort into successfully branding your band.

Speaking of the Beatles I want to remind you that you can certainly learn a great deal about band promotion from those that have been successful in the past. But you still have to have your own unique brand and presence if you want to be noticed by the music industry. Being a copy cat band in not how to get a record deal.

When deciding which one of the music promotion books to use you will certainly want the one you choose to cover these two topics thoroughly. But there is much more that you will need to include in your promotion strategy.

You must learn successful online music promotion through sites such as Myspace, facebook, and YouTube. There are particular ways to do this to create a base of raving fans so make sure you find a resource that gives you specific instructions on how to do this.

Learning these secrets may be all it takes to get you signed and moving forward with your music career.

Author Bio: Steven R. Thomas blogs for bands to help them leave the ranks of the unsigned and join the ranks of elite artists. Learn the secrets of band promotion that propelled others to successfully sign big record deals at Best Music Promotion Books .

Category: Entertainment
Keywords: music promotion books,music promotion online,how to get a record deal,band promotion