One of the most unemphasized facts in the music business today is that it is, in fact, a business.

Sure, most bands and individual musicians start their musical journeys with fun and creativity and all that wonderful feel-good stuff at the core, but the reality is, if you’re really serious about taking your music to the next level, you have to start treating it like a business.

“A lot of bands don’t understand the business of it. They just think play some local shows and rock out and that’s all it takes, but there’s a lot more to it than that,” affirms Byron Stroud, who, along with fellow musician Terry “Sho” Murray, runs ShoStroud Productions, a music production and music management firm in Vancouver, B.C.

“Learn the business, because that’s what it is,” continues the extraordinary bassist, best known for laying down the low end for metal juggernauts Strapping Young Lad and Zimmer’s Hole, and his latest project, City of Fire. “You could have the best songs in the world, but if there’s not one guy in the band that can take it to the next level with the business side of things and cover your asses, then you’re screwed.”

Byron Stroud performing at The Underground in Calgary, Alta. with Zimmer's Hole in 2008.

While companies like ShoStroud Productions offer a variety of services to help bands of all levels get their name and music out there, the real work starts at home. And although this article is by no means exhaustive, it should get you promoting in the right direction.

First of all, make a presence on the web. It’s simple and, best of all, most are completely free.

And it doesn’t matter if you’ve played 500 gigs, or if you’re still rehearsing for your first. Don’t ever estimate the effectiveness of efficient viral social marketing.

Assuming you’re already spamming your friends, you’ve got a MySpace site, you’ve just added everyone you know to your new Facebook group and you’re toying with idea of Twitter, the next step is music-specific social sites. There’s sites such as iLike.com, last.fm, reverbnation.com, soundclick.com, skullNbones.com, and nonelouder.com. If nothing else, just register each with your band name as the extension, just to make sure you own ‘em.

Also make sure and register your band name as a domain name, even if it’s just a site to redirect people to your MySpace. I’d recommend getting both .com and .ca sites if possible, then get the .net and .org if you have any change to spare. It looks pro to have these sites, and if you’re one of the lucky few that eventually earn a living from your music, good luck getting them back for $20 a year.

Overall, make sure your pages aren’t too cluttered. They should be easy to navigate and not take two hours to load. For the people who stumble on your sites, you need to make a good impression. And trust me, if you have this many sites, you will eventually dominate the search engine results for your band name and anything close, which will draw more traffic, more attention and, ultimately, more listeners.

To further boost those search results, you can also enter your band on database sites like metal-archives.com, and musicmight.com. There a gazillion more metal-specific database sites out there, and they’re easy to find, so I won’t list anymore here, otherwise very few people will read to the end of this article.

But whatever you do, don’t forget about Wikipedia. It’s not only edited by anyone, pages are created by the general population as well, and if you do a simple search of your favourite band, a Wikipedia entry is usually one of the first results. Granted, they’re almost always wrong in some respect, but that’s all the more reason to utilize the free service yourself. So, if you’ve got a bio, create an entry, or have someone with an account do it for you. Don’t have a bio? Write one. Two or three paragraphs about how the band first got together, what the band sounds like, and what you’ve got planned should do it. And be sure to include any album releases so people know you’ve got music out there.

Speaking of music, get it licensed. Copyright protection is automatic in Canada as works of art are created, but organizations like SOCAN can further protect your copyright AND help you make money. Sure, it might take a while for that royalty cheque to exceed a few dull pennies, but in business, every cent helps.

One thing you will have to dish a little money into is a press kit. I know, I know, a lot you are thinking that in this digital age the traditional press kit is obsolete, but that would be an assumption far from the truth.

Why? Because a simple glance on MySpace shows 611,365 metal acts, 449,625 hardcore bands, and 280,645 bands that are plugging themselves solely death metal, and I shudder to think how long it would take anyone to check them all out. Simple yet undeniable truth, a press kit gets attention, especially in this digital day and age.

Don’t underestimate the press kit as a valuable resource in band promotion. It shows the potential publication, venue, record company everything they needs to know in one simple package. Most press kits should include a band portrait, band bio, copies of any newspaper or magazine clippings, a list of previous gigs, song list, booking info and demo CD.

And don’t just slap it together. Put a little thought into it, a little money, and don’t be afraid to get a professional to proof read EVERYTHING before you print out all the copies. Get photos done professionally. Your mum, your brother, your girlfriend or your drunk neighbour with a point-and-shoot is not going to do the trick. It might be good enough for your MySpace, but when you’re reaching directly out to labels, journalists, management firms, publicists, promoters, and anyone else who could help you further you career, you need to take the time and get quality. Put it all in a nice folder and either mail or hand deliver to the intended recipient. And then follow it up with a phone call or email.

If you do decide that being completely digital best suits you, your band and your budget, you still can’t skimp, and all the above still applies, with the exception of printing. SonicBids.com is a great place to host an online press kit, while MySpace is a good link to include in your press release, but nothing can replace a good old-fashioned physical press kit. The band that takes that little extra effort makes the difference between me clicking on a different link, or actually opening the envelope.

Make sure to send a press kit to local media, but make sure and send it out to metal magazines and webzines as well. They’re easy to find, and most include guidelines for submitting press kits and albums for review on their websites. Too many bands ignore the fact that there are countless publications out there and most of them don’t have time to surf the net looking for you. For every publication, there’s tens of thousands, if not more, musicians looking for their “big break,” or at least a little press. You have to look for it; but fortunately it’s not that hard to find. That goes for radio, too. Not all radio is what you dial into from your crappy little car stereo. Most metal radio is online and satellite; both are radio for the future.

Holy, information overload, Batman! Stay tuned for a future installment of Inside the Musician’s Studio when we dig into the difference between agents, managers, publicists, and the role of the label.

Until then, here are a few additional resources that will help you save and maybe even make a little living from your music:

Indie Guide

Indie Music Source

MediaWebSource

Music Dish E-Journal

The Musician’s Atlas

Sign Me To Road Runner!

Byron Stroud’s latest musical genius can be heard on City of Fire’s self-titled debut album, which was released digitally Aug. 15. Visit the band’s official website to stay tuned for the physical release, as well as upcoming tourdates throughout western Canada.