Just last night, I was having this very conversation via Skype with a high profile British musician with a finished album featuring people you will all know very well indeed - no names being mentioned here! - and I was advising him that, as he has recorded and produced this album, he would do well to trot off to a decent distributor and do a P&D (production and distribution) deal for himself and forget using a label. The 18-20% fee they will charge him will mean more money in his pocket if he can rid himself of the idea of an advance - and remember, advance means just that. They are paying you money that they will be taking back. See it now, you wonet be seeing it later.

It may seem odd me, the proprietor of a label, advising a musician considering signing his record over to me to do it himself. This is how the prevailing winds are blowing through the industry and our genre.

Everything is in stores - the HMV`s and Virgins of this world - on an SOR (sale or return) basis. There is no risk at all attached to the process for the big chains, they donft sell it then they return it for a full refund. Distributors usually hold 10-20% of what they owe labels back to cover this.

And herefs the big one. Listen very closely when I say this, itfs very, very important. ADVERTSING DOES NOT SELL MORE RECORDS. This is now a very widely accepted fact within the industry. In 95% of cases, itfs money - your money - down the drain. This is something I have learnt from bitter experience. The internet is now a far more effective way of letting people know your record is out there - and thatfs all advertising does, after all.