‘Indie Band Survival Guide’ helps musicians spread the sound

Travel back to 1985. Topping the charts were George Michael’s “Careless Whisper,” Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” and Wham!’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” (don’t worry, we won’t make you stay here long). It was a time when major record labels dictated what you heard and bought. If a band wasn’t signed to a major label, chances are, you’d never heard it play a single chord. 

OK, come on back to 2008. Topping Billboard’s pop charts are Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl,” Chris Brown’s “Forever” and Jesse McCartney’s “Leavin’.” Not necessarily a whole lot better than 1985, you might say. The difference is, you can now also tap into music from around the world on the Internet, satisfying a boundless array of musical proclivities without leaving home. The hit-driven music industry is dying, and major labels no longer decide what you listen to.

“You have access to more music than ever,” said Randy Chertkow, co-author of “The Indie Band Survival Guide.”

This is also good news for musicians. Whereas getting signed was once the chief aspiration of any serious band, signing away the rights to your own music now seems like a poor business choice. Bands have an endless array of avenues to get exposure. They can get their music played on MySpace accounts, MP3s, podcasts and online play lists. Bands can record in home studios, get coverage on Web sites and blogs, and distribute through online stores or at live shows.

Hence the first sentence of the “Survival Guide”:  “There has never been a better time to be a musician.”

Authored by Chertkow and Jason Feehan, both of Chicago-based indie rock band Beatnik Turtle, the book is billed as “The Complete Manual for the Do-It-Yourself Musician.” While it may not be the first book of its kind, the industry has changed enough over the last few years to make past musician guides outdated.

“The list is very, very long on the types of things that we use daily as an indie band that didn’t exist when those prior books were written,” Chertkow said.

According to Chertkow, who plays saxophone, flute, bass clarinet and penny whistle, the only advantage a major label has that small bands might lack is a large marketing budget. Everything else— recording, manufacturing merchandise, promotion and distribution—is now within reach for unsigned musicians.

“It’s really the distribution more than anything else that has caused musicians to basically feel locked out, like they need to go with somebody else to help them,” Chertkow said. Because of that, in decades past, “you were either a local band and pretty obscure or you were with a major label, and there wasn’t much in between,” he said.

Since forming in January 1998, Beatnik Turtle has recorded 18 albums and released more than 400 songs. The group has licensed music to Disney and written material for TV shows, commercials, films and theater, including Chicago’s comedy troupe Second City. In 2007, Turtle completed a song-of-the-day project, releasing one song for every day of the year. The band has also twice completed albums for The Wire’s RPM Challenge.

The new book largely documents the tricks of the trade that Chertkow and Feehan picked up during their years with Beatnik Turtle. “It was from our own experience of just trying to find the information ourselves,” Chertkow said. “We are looking to share the stuff that we wish somebody would have told us when we started.”

The 336-page book is divided into two parts. The first, “Get Prepared,” includes chapters on how to establish a Web presence, gain a network of support, create merchandise and know legal rights. The second part, “Get Fans,” instructs musicians on how to get noticed, get booked, get distributed and sold, and get publicized and heard.

The authors interviewed a variety of musicians, journalists and industry professionals who provide helpful tips on how to make it in the music biz. There are even pointers on how to prepare for interviews with the media. Considerable time is devoted to “new media,” which consists of online blogs, podcasts and Web sites.

Although the times are ripe for indie bands, getting exposure still takes work outside of making and playing music. The authors quote Ariel Hyatt, of Ariel Publicity, as saying, “I don’t care what business you’re in, big or small, unless you spend 40 percent of your time on promotion and marketing, you’re dead in the water.”

But according to Chertkow, the amount of time you need to put into a band depends on your goals. If you want to make a living off of music, promotion and marketing demand lots of attention. The authors themselves both have day jobs, Chertkow as an information technology specialist and Feehan as an attorney. They pay a public relations expert to help promote Beatnik Turtle. Other bands can do the same, doling out the jobs they don’t like to specialists who do.

“You do not have to do everything yourself,” Chertkow said. “All these people are out there actually really waiting to help people out. They’re happy to do it.”

But the basic resources a band needs to get off the ground are minimal. If you have a computer and can afford a microphone from Radio Shack, you can create a home studio with free recording software. If you post a Web site, you can provide fans and media members with just about everything they’re looking for.

Chertkow and Feehan applied many of the same principals that have made their band successful to the new book. Chertkow believes the practices recommended in the book can be applied not only to music, but to just about any do-it-yourself type of business.

“Any area where the distribution used to be the barrier and you can break through it is where this book will help you,” he said.

For more information, visit www.indiebandsurvivalguide.com.