Several years ago I was doing some freelance marketing work for a company called Java Music. Well, I was cleaning the hard drive on the ol' IMac the other day and found a series of articles that I wrote for them. I'll post them here in the journal section from time-to-time for your entertainment. I don't know how relevant they are for you - or in general anymore. But, hey...no charge.
	Entry #1: So you wanna Be a Rock and Roll star............ There use to be and old saying "if you wanna end up with a million dollars in the music business - start with three million." While becoming a successful artist is possible with a lot of hard work and talent, it is far more common to run into the artist who is poor and famous. Some times it was bad choices, some times it was trusting the wrong people but, most of the time it was caused by people not understanding the very nature of the business they fought so desperately to break into. While talent is important we all know there are many "underwhelming" artists running to the bank while the local guitar genius is strumming away Robert Fripp licks between customers behind the counter at the local self serve gas station. With the onset of the internet and JavaMusic everyone has a chance to get their music out for the world to listen. JavaMusic desires to instruct and help you help yourself as you endeavor to create your musical career. You will be informed on how to get along in the music business from start to finish utilizing our site, the Internet and even old-fashioned methods The up side is of the Internet is that we are all have the chance to hear many musical styles and cultures from all parts of the globe at all levels of talent and competency. The downside is sometime it seems like going to the dump, you may find a bicycle but your going to have to wade though a lot of trash first. This series of articles will get you thinking about how best to plan your musical future. But unlike most "how to" articles, this one is a little different. We are going to point out the best routes to failure and then tell you what not to do to follow them. Additionally, we will provide many sources of information and contacts that you may further research on each weekly subject. From making a good Press Kit and demo to booking gigs to knowing what to look for in a manager to finding other musicians that you can work with - these and many other subjects will be explored here. I don't know of truly famous people who can say why or how it happened for them out side of hard work and peculiar luck but, I know tons of very talented people who can look back and pinpoint disasters or bad choices they made out of arrogance or ignorance. We will also look at how marketing and producing music has changed. Gone are the days of the local artist saving for weeks to spend six bills on a roll of two inch tape when today, for a few shekels more he can buy a home studio. You no longer have to wait for a record company to validate your music. You can present it yourself to the world on JavaMusic. No more printing up a thousand CDs only to have them sitting in boxes in the garage taunting every time you walk by. Now you can get paid for your downloads and see if there is a market for you current project first. As you can see there are a lot of issues out there and we hope to guide you though the endless possibilities JavaMusic and the internet have to offer you and your music.