Originally Posted By: Notes Norton
Depends on what you mean.
Having a career and making it famous are two different things.


Originally Posted By: jazzmammal
It's hard to read exactly what a poster means when he posts a question like this.


Hi. Original poster here.

My ambition right now is to release something independently, ideally an album or at least a couple of singles. I intend to sell CDs over the Internet.

I know, I know, it's old fashioned, nobody buys CDs anymore etc. But I am not entirely convinced. I for one buy CDs. Rarely, but that's because I rarely like anything anymore. I don't like the music that tops the charts nowadays.

And I have seen two band members (different, unrelated bands) in the heavy metal genre say that they sell enough CDs to make a living, in a very independent fashion.

I know a lot of people think I am aiming at something impossible, but... what if (bear with me, WHAT IF) my music is actually good? What happens then? Is there still any possibility that I might catch someone's attention who might want to sign me up? Is being signed up still good? Is it better than being independent?

You see, I am not really much of a performer. I am a songwriter who wants to produce and record my own music. Playing generic gigs such as weddings or ballrooms is not in my plans. I want to write, record and release music first. Touring is not even in the building, much less on the table.

I don't think I am ever going to be big. My style is not very mainstream, it's more alternative. But I certainly hope to have a small but faithful following. Think about, for example, Dead Can Dance (before Gladiator for better perspective). They are not very famous. I only have one friend who even knows who they are. But they are successful. They're just... erm, "alternative." That's my goal, some modest success in the alternative arena.

(If you think that Dead Can Dance is not a good example, maybe it isn't. I spent more time trying to think up the name of some act that is not exactly famous but gets by and is well known enough to get my point across than I spent writing this whole post. How about the Tom Tom Club, is that better? Young Gods? Kristin Hersh? You get the picture.)

Anyway, that's what I want to do and I will probably do it, but I do wonder if it's really worth the effort because I might be just wasting my time etc. The dream is SO BIG even when I try to think small.

I am very grateful for all the replies. People in this forum are very, very nice. Thank you very very much.