You Can't Get There From Here

You probably wouldn't think of a small town as a being a bastion of super stardom, let alone notoriety, celebrity, fortune or fame. But, many of the greatest names in sports, movies and music have come from such places. The names are many, maybe even someone you know.

I bring this up because I happened to be reading a local news paper when I noticed a half page write up on an artist from my neck of the woods. The article stated that this artist was about to release their debut CD. I don't actually know this person, but it was a little more than intriguing to read the story. As it happened, music was not this person's first career choice. However, not being able to pursue choice number one, fate took over and music led to an appearance on MTV.

As I continued to read the story, I discovered that this person had moved from small town USA to New York. That's when it hit me. Most small town success stories are the result of someone relocating to the big city. If you want to make it to the top, you've got to get out of the sticks. Or do you?

This is the point where I was originally going to go off on a rant about why I remain in small town USA. The fact is, I love my home town and I would be very proud to represent it, doing just about anything. Besides, with the state of new technology, I, as well as millions of others, can purchase any recording gear our budgets will allow. And, the internet gives me and those countless millions of artists a global stage on which to perform our creations.

My personal favorite program is Pro Tools. Pro Tools is digital audio recording software that has become the music industry standard. For about $249, anyone can make their music sound like a million bucks.

And, you can take your music a step further by using online distribution. Places such as Tunecore, CDbaby, and Reverbnation.com can distribute your music to e-music stores like iTunes, Rhapsody, and Amazon.com.

Myspace also has a music service, and you can upload as many songs as you want into their music player. Facebook, which doesn't have a music service, does allow artists a free page and a limited space to upload music.

Then, there's YouTube. YouTube allows anyone to upload video to their own personal channel. Artist can use YouTube to either augment their live performances, or if you're unable to tour, you can use the videos as your performances. The site is hugely successful and the high level of traffic can be used to increase interest in your music.

So, while signing to a major label, and getting on TV or radio are still the main sources for exposure, there are ways to get around packing up all of your belonging into your VW and heading for the big city.