Whatever genre of music you’re in, you need to define your definition of success. If your definition is ‘being a rich and famous superstar’, then, well ‘good luck’… but if your definition is ‘being a creative artist doing what you want to do in life by sharing your music with those who will listen’, then you should succeed. And if you’ve got the bottle to stick to your own sound and style, your own beliefs of how your music should sound, then you’ve even more chance of success in the long term.

But be warned – flying in the face of convention, of what is current, is always difficult. But trends fade and die – original talent and music does not!

If you’ve recorded an album yourself then get independent feedback, both musical and technical. Friends and family will always say your music is great (and hey, that’s fine, you need that support). But, the person who tells you everything you do is great may be good for your ego, but they’re of no practical use at all! The harsh reality is that you need good constructive criticism from independent sources who know what they’re talking about. Okay, easier said than done, but there are publications like Sound on Sound, for example, who provide demo reviews.

Another tip is seek out your local recording studio and pay for a studio engineers time (or better still the studio owner if you can), just to listen to your recording. Pick their brains and ask their advice on all aspects of your recording. I did this myself and it was invaluable. You’ve got to make sure you can relate to the studio engineer and that they can relate to what you’re doing. But at the end of the day, you’re paying them just to listen and to give you the benefit of their experience. Believe me, many studios will be glad to do this when they realize you’re serious about accepting constructive criticism and you’re willing to pay the going studio rate for it. But I reiterate, ensure you find someone who has experience and some empathy with the music you’re doing.

The reason that this is so important is because often, when starting out doing a first album you wont have the knowledge or equipment to make it sound anything more than a demo. Unfortunately, so many aspiring musicians get so close to their creation that they fail to hear that the music isn’t as good as they think it is, particularly on the technical side!

It’s always good to remember that there are probably tens of thousands of people around the world (maybe millions, who knows?!) doing the same thing you are. There’s no shortage of home studios turning out music and no shortage of organizations, particularly on the Internet, telling you how to Make it Big.

So, the trick is to stand out as being ‘different from the rest’ while achieving a standard that is ‘professional’. How do I define professional? Where someone has taken the time and effort to take the recording beyond a home demo. Okay, I know that may seem a little opaque, but the truth is that it’s difficult to define, you just know.

Music is very subjective – we all hear different things in it, indeed, we all need different things from music to make it acceptable to us, whether as a composer or a listener. There are great musicians who are technically amazing playing various instruments but record music that is devoid of soul or passion and restricted by self imposed musical constraints. Conversely there are musicians with little or no training who can blow your mind with fabulous and inventive music because they are not constrained by formal musical training. It’s also worth pointing out that being a competent musician doesn’t make for a competent composer of music! And even a competent composer can’t necessarily imbue the composition with that special ingredient that make people sit up and take notice.

It’s also true to say that a good musician/composer is not necessarily a good studio engineer! This is a fact that in my opinion, is often overlooked. Too many composers think that because they have access to an all singing, all dancing workstation and/or computer, they can turn out a great recording. More often than not, nothing is further from the truth. Composing is a talent, and engineering an album is another, very different talent. Mastering an album is yet another, very different talent. I’m not suggesting an individual cannot do all these things well. Of course they can, with years of experience, and even then, with input from other sources.

Too many times I’ve sat listening to a demo where the composer is convinced that the music and the recording is great when in fact it isn’t. The recording and use of sounds is cheesy and naff, but the composer can’t hear it because they haven’t stepped outside the box, as I would say. They haven’t stood back from the music and really listened to the recording and compared like for like against professional recordings of the genre.

It’s a hard lesson to learn, to be self critical of your own creations and sometimes to realize that your creation is actually far from perfect and that sometimes, the best place for the creation is in the bin and that you need to start again on another idea. But this is probably one of the most important lessons to be learned on the musical journey.

It also important to consider this one unpalatable fact. Your album may be great. It may have nice songs, be well recorded etc. etc. but it simply may not be good enough to be anything more than an inde album that sells a few hundred copies. That’s Life!

It’s a simple fact that record companies will listen to the first 20 seconds of a demo and then switch it off and consign the demo to the bin if it doesn’t make an instant impression.

That’s not just A/R men either. Some years ago, a major label had so many demos that its A/R department couldn’t handle them all so it gave piles of demos to everyone, even the cleaners to sift through. Everyone ended up doing the same thing – if the CD didn’t make an instant impression, then it was on to the next.

Sure, that may seem unfair, but if you’re the record label exec trawling thru thousands of demos, how would you do it? Again, I run a small inde label, so I know what it’s like.

I’m not suggesting you record your demo to send to a big label. I’m relating the story to hammer home the point that with so many people making music, all thinking theirs is the best album ever, that you have to be realistic – you probably have more chance of winning the UK lottery and the Euro lottery in the same week than getting a record deal!

But that shouldn’t stop you!! Your demo should be well recorded and recorded well enough that you could press it and sell it yourself. In this day and age, that’s probably the best way forward. Sure, still send copy to record labels, but also remember that record labels will be looking for a lot, lot more than just the music. They’ll be looking for experience, an image, a malleable artist and lots more besides for today’s music industry.

Your music should have an identity that stands out from the rest and it should have an emotional presence. Achieving this is very, very difficult and in truth, it cannot be taught or learned. I truly believe music either has that magic ingredient to make the listeners hair stand on end, to perk people interest, or it doesn’t. And that comes from the musician – not the production, the engineering, the mastering the record label or anywhere else – it is the defining essence of the artist.

So, what am I trying to tell you here? Well, to summarize, embark on the road of being a musician with passion and belief but accept that the chance of major success thru a record deal is virtually impossible. Understand that you must listen with open ears to what you do and learn to be critical of your music. Make constructive criticism your closest ally through people whose opinion you value and trust. And however hard you think it’s going to be to have any measure of success, realize that it will be even harder!

Any new band will go to almost any lengths to get their music heard and the Internet offers many straightforward ways to do this. Many new bands post information about themselves and their music at www.myspace.com where visitors can either stream or download music. The mini sites offered here are customizable and the quantity of space available very generous.

These sites thus allow personal connections to develop between bands and the fans that follow them. The up and coming band called ‘Yeah Yeah Yeah’, for example, recently previewed their new album exclusively at www.myspace.com allowing their fans to hear the material before it hit stores. To date, this exclusive arrangement has lured tens of thousands of people to check out the band’s own site, offering them unprecedented publicity for free.

While this arrangement would seem advantageous to both musician and listener, some bands find the notion to be anathema, assuming that it will mean lost sales and ultimately, lost profits. Many more established bands have been slow to create their own music sharing sites, while others have fought to have file-sharing using peer-to-peer networks stopped altogether.

And yet the notion that online music sharing will exert a negative impact on CD sales seems to hold little water, as British band ‘Artic Monkeys’ recently displayed. The band made available on their website all their material and instead of losing out on CD sales, their debut album quickly became the fastest selling debut album of all time.

It seems that the ability to download MP3 benefits all concerned, both band and fan alike. So may the spirit of sharing long continue, so that everyone can continue to enjoy the fruits of the musicians’ labor.

17 th March 1978 was an unforgettable day for U2 as they got their first major break by wining a music talent contest on St. Patricks Day in Limerick . One of the judges of the contest was Jackie Heyden working for CBS Records. Observing the electrifying performance of the boys, he became an immediate fan of U2. It was Jackie Heyden who first took U2 to the studio for recording their debut demo. Although it was not so successful it was still a real confidence booster for the young men.

Their thrilling music and breathtaking performances soon managed to amass crowds of dedicated fans. Through the combination of devotion and passion they rose to be the most popular rock and roll bands of 80s. The zealous struggle of U2 allowed them to nab a respectable place in the music world during the era of synthesized pop and heavy metal music.

They launched their debut album in 1979 with the name U 2 three, which grabbed the top place in Ireland music charts. Later when it was released in England , it was a disappointing failure.

The next year was filled with extensive touring worldwide for the band. In a couple of years two of their albums were in the market, naming The Boy and October, and the boys were now recognized in Ireland . Nevertheless, U2 really hit the big time with the release of their album War, released in March 1983. The New Years Day single became chart topper in England .

U2 was on the flow and their records were selling like hot cake throughout the world. Their 7 th LP The Joshua Tree did record breaking selling in England and remained the big seller in 22 other countries. The fame of U2 was swelling uncontrollably and they amassed millions of dollars from world over.

Next albums were Achtung Baby,1991, Zooropa,1993, Pop1997and their latest album How to Dismantle a Atomic Bomb,2004, which are still remembered by millions of rock music lovers.

There has been no deterioration in the fame of U2 till the present day. Several U2 concerts are still due during this summer in Spain, England, France, Italy, Holland, Switzerland and other European countries. Millions of fans are excited about these concerts all over the world, as can be judged by the fact that most of the tickets have been sold out.

U2 has been maneuvering the rock music scenario constantly for over two complete decades which is an achievement of sorts. They have chartered success on their own terms on both the artistic and business sides in the music industry. And it seems apparent to thousands of their fans that their sun of limitless fame might never set!

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