01Get your sound
02Build your online profile
03Get good; get on the road
04Get a manager
05Get a record deal
06Get your entourage
07Get sponsored
08Tour more
09Release your debut album
10Enjoy the acclaim
Rock stars are now essentially CEOs of their own small (and big businesses). Learn how to harness patrons, sponsorship and the digital revolution, and you could soon be selling out, without selling out.
Don’t try to do it all yourself, and don’t expect to skip any steps. Find people that offer different skills, on business and creative fronts. Don’t expect to be a star overnight. The reality is that it takes talent and commitment over a period of time to really show results, but it can happen.
It’s hard for me to give advice to a new band because I did everything wrong really, it’s amazing I’ve made it this far. It’s the best job in the world, but it’s relentless and takes up your whole life. You have to really love it to do it. Also, inspiration can come from very strange places so be open.
Success online is about creating a tribe, and tribal leaders have to provide a rallying point. Decide what you’re about, make sure it stands out and find ways to communicate it. Don’t be afraid of a love or hate scenario, as long as people have an opinion.
iPhone apps are an artist’s new A&R ally. Internet radio services, such as Spotify, are available as apps and reward artists with a new “Pay2Play” business. Apps such as Shazam make music discovery easy. And for artists wishing to connect directly with fans, app development costs are dropping because it’s hot.
Trust your instincts. It’s 100 per cent critical to stay true to what you’re about and if you let anything get in the way of that then you’re in danger of losing the magic that people get off on and fans connect with.
Issue 8
Title's good deeds, Sydney.
Issue 1
We kick off the first of our monthly themed rundowns with our take on the perfect Sunday morning: a cycle through Lisbon, our ideal media menu and a brunch prepared by our Aussie friends Wall Two 80.
Issue 4
Issue 50
Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel, aka French ambient electro band Air, talk to Monocle about their working life, from a reluctance to dance on stage and their inner maths geeks to finding studio voodoo power.
Issue 61
Books, films and music to make a date for.
Issue 6
Offbeat literary recommendations; *Monocle* music for September; rocking' in Iran and T-shirt devotees get their own glossy title.
Issue 6
Music festivals have become big business in Japan, whether you want kodo drummers at The Earth Celebration or J-pop at A-Nation. But the one that started the boom is still the biggest and the best: Fuji Rock. We headed to…
Issue 28
Oumou Sangaré sings from the heart about pain, poverty and polygamous men. Her feminist lyrics and unflinching political stance have made her a role-model for thousands of women in Mali – and across Africa as a whole.
Issue 6
In 2000 Hector Mijangos founded a clothing range for DJs that led to his branded parties and then the foundation of Noiselab Records. Signing local and international bands, his label has changed Mexico’s music scene.
Issue 7
As the music industry is forced to evolve in the face of digitalisation and online sales, one radio station stands out. Monocle meets Germany’s pioneering Motor FM, providing an output for underground music in a precarious…
Issue 48
This month's books, music and films.
Issue 3
Other Music, New York.
0:00:00 0:01:00