This industry is hard to navigate, but as I would caution someone telling you to pay for every opportunity; It is also disingenuous to convince up and coming artists that major artists and their teams, on their rise to fame, never paid for performances, publicity, radio promotion, and more. Its just simply not true. Often the artist isn't even aware how much the label is paying to keep that artists relevant, so its discouraging to see people telling independent artists not to invest in themselves and that they should believe in their craft enough to have others pay them and invest in them at all times and at all levels. Even at high levels of fame, money and investing in an artist keeps them relevant.
2 simple examples:
If you pay a $200 for blog promo, and are then able to use platforms such as your own blog or social media to share those posts and then have a organic non-paid buzz around the paid posts, then the reach can be magnified and multiplied and give you credibility. Often if an established blog site sees comments and interaction based on your social media following in the future they will post your music for free. It also opens to door to reach out and call these editors and say they have posted your music in the past, which increases the chance of getting posted free. If all you do is pay and sit back with no following, its a waste of money. But to use $200 to get the ball rolling and use organic means to create a snowball effect is not a bad idea at early development stages. Please learn more before you judge everyone investing in themselves, that's what labels do, they pay to develop relationships, then leverage things other then money when possible, move like a major.
If you pay $200 to open for Jadakiss, and you get 5 VIP tickets, those 5 tickets plus you(6) to a $25 dollar show is already a value of 150, so your paying for your camera man and hype man and crew more then your paying to perform. Then you sell $150 bucks worth of Merch and gain exposure. If you had those 5 VIPS pay you the $25 like everyone else in the club, you would actually make money on the $200 you spent, plus their backstage, on stage, and get to meet other artists. Most networking goes on backstage, get there anything happen!! During that show you record it, and begin shopping that video to venues which leads to more shows, and your telling me I'm dumb for spending the $200. If people are telling you there are absolutes in this industry they are wrong, if they say never pay for something chances are they paid for it in the beginning it worked for them and now they want to limit their competition.
Major artists have major budgets, yet industry people want independents starting out with minimal buzz in comparison to expect their talent to pave the way. Its a combination of both. My fans shouldn't feel lied to if I pay to perform, they should see confidence in my willingness to invest in myself and pay my way to entertain them knowing if done right I will see a return on my INVESTMENT, keyword...INVESTMENT!
Stop lying to independents and up and coming artists, with that said, every time you pay for something figure out how to maximize that opportunity, build that connection, have it lead to better less expensive opportunities, and give your brand credibility. Obviously the cost is the major factor something worth $200 is simply not worth $500, but there is way too many factors unique to each artist to determine to who what is worth what. Believe in yourself, don't feel quilty smartly investing in yourself. Remember your favorite artists with all their buzz still spends promotional money...or their label does.
In Conclusion:
If you just pay and sit back, you are wasting money and not understanding the industry. If you limit your chances by not investing when appropriate you are also wasting you talents and time and not understanding the industry. Take it for what its worth!
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