“How To Make It In Music.” (A True Story) from Paul Alexander on Vimeo.
There is a message in my film about band promotion within my website that I don’t want my viewers and readers to miss. Band promotion ideas I researched ended up fostering the (almost) greatest accomplishment in my career as a Singer, Performance Artist, Writer, and Film Maker. As a singer and writer, I was awarded with a 1st place international singing award/trophy by the IMTA (Ashton Kutcher, Katie Holmes). The trophy broke into two pieces. During a period of down-time, coinciding with a necessary “spring cleaning” at my (then) apartment in Studio City, CA, I considered throwing the broken trophy in the trash. I wanted to start a slew of free band promotion websites, and ended up founding: www.MusiciansCompanion.net. I was “down” on my self-esteem and felt awards and accomplishments meant nothing. I needed inspiration by inspiring others to pursue their dreams in music. Plus, I had a broken piece of material that I was hoping to get rid of to lessen the amount of (unnecessary) objects I had placed away in a cabinet. Still, I wanted to teach Artists how to sell songs.
***Barnes & Noble has the ONLY music promotion book that will show you how to launch a successful music career, REGARDLESS of your age. Don’t want to wait for the book, and don’t own a Nook? You can ALSO order an Instant Download by clicking here.
As I made trips to the dumpster with various objects I was willing to part with, I pondered “fixing” the problem of my broken trophy with super-glue (it’s still mine, da&* it, I earned it, plus it’s my only proof!), I came across a wicker basket carefully placed on a wide cinder block directly next to the dumpster. The whole “scene” humorously came across to me as an intentionally visual sarcastic statement. In the dumpster was an “Emmy.” It was, however, to the (former) owner, a “lesser Emmy,” or more appropriately, a perceived “slap in the face” from Hollywood (I’ll explain in just a moment). Not unlike the difficulty of independent music promotion, the only other item in the wicker basket (NOT featured in this film) was an empty container of cat food (RRaaaaar…hissssss); “Hilarious,” I thought to myself, as I grabbed the “lesser” Emmy (for no particular reason at the time), and bolted from the sight. This was where the IDEA for this very short film was born, as the dual incidents of “one person repairing a trophy and another person throwing out a perfectly good one,” aligned in a most noteworthy way with my creativity.
While the Emmy in the film is not a “real” Emmy, it IS in its own right, since it was a “lesser, inside Emmy” given to someone who performed on-the-job but was not presented with the trophy “on television,” and did not have his/her (individual) name on it (talk about the difficulties of the business in general, not to mention independent music promotion). The Emmy was (likely) manufactured as a well-meant gift from the network to say: “you matter,” (believe it or not). I checked Souvenir Shops around Hollywood to compare the quality, and this was superior (much like the courageous challenge of marketing independent music). In many ways, it was not unlike the trophy I had received, and I had a celebrity performing with me as my “sidekick.” In the world of music and marketing, he instead became a Soap Opera Star.
I got to thinking about the emotional state of whoever left the basket there. In terms of music and marketing and other entertainment jobs, I thought to myself: “why be so hard on yourself and take away all your accomplishments? WHY DID YOU THROW THIS OUT, and why do you think your story is over? Where is your pride and sense of self-worth? You EARNED this (measly) little trophy, and how many years did it take you? You would HAD TO have been good, and I’ll bet you can earn FAR more than this (maybe even some money). You have MANY years left too, so why throw out the (lesser Emmy) with the cat water? (Okay, it was cat food, but I just wanted to sound more like the original quote). Then I started to think about a whole universe of music business advice and education I had behind me. I wanted to give away music business marketing advice and web resources for FREE.
I had a broken trophy from a first place international singing competition, and instead of throwing it out, I glued it together (with an attempt to re-glue my spirits). In terms of music marketing, this was the crux behind the invaluable resources, advice, and information I decided to offer Musicians and Songwriters, regardless of where they were at within their careers. I was already MORE than established with multiple publishing awards, excellent press for my albums, honors, live shows, CD sales, and plentiful online sales of MP3s. Music marketing and promotion are constant responsibilities that I firmly believe can be SIMPLIFIED by doing a MINIMUM of “1 task a day.” The problem is, most people don’t know what to do. This is where I decided to come in. Automation of your music promoting efforts is key.
***Barnes & Noble has the ONLY music promotion book that will show you how to launch a successful music career, REGARDLESS of your age. Don’t want to wait for the book, and don’t own a Nook? You can ALSO order an Instant Download by clicking here.
Music promotion is a much easier (luxury?) today, thanks to the Internet, itunes, Amazon, etc. Hence, I created: www.MusiciansCompanion.net as a FREE music promotion site, along with the book: The Musician’s Companion, which offers EVERYTHING you need for online and real-life music promotion tips and web resources for the development of a SERIOUS music career, ON YOUR OWN SCHEDULE & TERMS. My music promotion website and book will give you EVERYTHING you need for a successful career. Musician Marketing does not require you to “reinvent the wheel.” Promoting your music should be as easy now as “The Jetson’s” had it in their own lives (believe it or not). I guarantee it. The wisdom and the advice I continue to offer is from the heart and from a multitude of REAL-WORLD successes.
P.S. I hope you enjoy my film! 
P.P.S. I also got to show off, though briefly, a piece of artwork I did in the film. What’s wrong with showing off your skills if YOU are multi-talented? I highly recommend that you do. PEACE. 
(C) 2012 – Paul Alexander for: www.MusiciansCompanion.net – All Rights Reserved. Paul Alexander Music: http://www.PaulAlexanderMusic.com – The Official Home of Paul Alexander Music.
