Even worse than getting bogged down in questionable advice is paying for it. There are A LOT of people out there who have enough understanding of the music industry to recognize that there is a knowledge gap and to know that there are many people who would pay just about any price for a shot at making their music business dreams come true. And so, they charge you an arm and leg (in some cases, two legs) to give you vaguely inspirational, business buzz word filled advice that either has little real world MUSIC BUSINESS application or is just plain wrong.
Please, please, PLEASE don't pay people hundreds and hundreds of dollars to tell you things you probably already know yourself. There are plenty of places online where you can get good, free advice. If you want some real insight into making it in the music industry, check out some interviews with people who have gone down the same road that you're on. Soak up their stories and learn from their successes and failures. It's free, and it's worth way more than most of the advice these people who charge you tons of money to tell you to set up a MySpace page can give you.
Now, I'm not saying here that people shouldn't be compensated for working for you, and if someone comes on board and helps you out with your career, then sure, they should be paid. How can you tell the difference between legitimate opportunities and people who are trying to sell you common sense? The less than legitimate people will tell you that anyone who disagrees with them doesn't know what they're talking about and that anyone who doesn't sign up for their program lacks vision or isn't really committed to making in music. Come on now, you know better than that. The music biz is risky, and a lot of people lose money in it. That's a fact. Just don't lose it to these people.
Advice from The Pros:
