National Industry Exposure for Independent Artists

When an artist, manager or agent call a music pro, they all have their own agenda, and music pros know this all too well. Since the IAR does not have a stake in any money changing hands, music pros take their recommendation to heart. “Really what we do is put our neck on the line for these artists when we select them as members,” Wendell said. “If we start referring sub-par artists, those music pros will stop using our service. So it’s our reputation at stake when we say that we feel so-and-so is one of the best independent artists in the country.”

While the IAR works with the nation’s top 100 record labels, A&R reps are only a portion of the music industry pros who use the service. Promoters, talent buyers, publishing companies, music conferences & festivals all use the IAR to find new independent artists making waves.

Tom Green, founder of Diversafest, a two day Music Conference in Oklahoma agreed. “We get artist and band submissions from all over the country - but only have so many slots we can fill. So as we’ve grown, we’ve become more selective in who showcases at Dfest, Green explained. “Last year, the IAR approached us about one of their members - a band called the JazzWholes. They wanted us to give them a showcase at one of our venues. Now we only select bands who submit to us directly, but since the IAR is based on actual talent and potential, we took a shot and gave them a spot. They turned out to be one of those buzz bands of last year’s Dfest.”

So how does the IAR qualify talent and potential? “We have certain minimum standards that any artist who wants to apply must meet,” said Wendell. “They have to play at least 30 shows a year, with some of those shows outside of their home market. They have to have a CD with original material, a press kit and a website. Having those, or not having them is a good indicator of how developed an artist is. Most of the music pros I know won’t even look at myspace pages anymore because the pages take so long to load. Still tons of bands are settling for a myspace page and getting rid of their own website. Big mistake!”

Another unique wrinkle the IAR has incorporated is the artist driven format. Any artist that meets the minimum standards can apply for the IAR, but it’s the artist’s responsibility to initiate and maintain contact. The IAR does not chase bands who don’t follow through.

“There are quite a few talented bands out there with great material,” said Wendell. “But many of them think that having great material is all that matters. It obviously is important, but so is how you present yourself, how you communicate with the people you want to work with etc. Look at Pete Doherty from the Babyshambles. Everyone knows the kid is genius, but labels are wary of him because he is so unpredictable.”

The IAR looks for artists who have the total package. In the first year, they only selected 133 artists out of the thousands who applied. “Really, the IAR is a filtering process,” said industry pro and artist development consultant David Codr. “It’s all about quality over quantity. There are so many independent artists out there, it’s almost impossible to find developed artists ready for the next level. The IAR is great because the limited number of artists who are granted a membership have earned it, not paid for it with their credit card.”

She’s Your Sister, one of the first artists to be selected for the IAR enjoyed national exposure capped by their debut CD skyrocketing up the CMJ top 200, topping out at 113. Not bad considering they were the only independent artist included in the top 200. Their CD In Between received extended airplay on stations from coast to coast and was the most added artist two weeks in a row.

In addition to arranging festival showcase spots and national radio airplay, the IAR has been successful in getting their artists write-ups in national music industry publications too. PH10, a member of the IAR’s second class of artists received the top review score in Music Connection magazine, “All in all, this is an inventive, never a dull moment collection of tunes. Scored 7.8 out of 10 ” (January 1st 2007 edition).

“We were really impressed with the talent level of the artists who have applied for the IAR,” said the service’s director Josh Wendell. “We try to fly under the radar a bit to avoid the American Idol types, so we haven’t had a big PR campaign. But we did get the word out to mid level music pros – club talent buyers, promoters and other industry people – asking them to nominate artists they have worked with that should be given a look. That and word of mouth have really carried our message to the right artists and bands.”

“We were really impressed with the talent level of the artists who have applied for the IAR,” said the service’s director Josh Wendell. “We try to fly under the radar a bit to avoid the American Idol types, so we haven’t had a big PR campaign. But we did get the word out to mid level music pros – club talent buyers, promoters and other industry people – asking them to nominate artists they have worked with that should be given a look. That and word of mouth have really carried our message to the right artists and bands.”

The deadline for artists to apply for the next IAR class is Friday April 27th. If you are an artist that meets the minimum requirements outlined in this article, and you want to see how you measure up, you’ll find the application online at www.independentartistregistry.com. Just click on the “Submit an Artist” button at the top of the page.

If you’re a music pro and are looking for some of the best independent artist in the country, do yourself a favor and visit the IAR’s website. You can view detailed information on all of the 133 artists selected so far, listen to their music, read their bios, download media, etc. No login or membership required.