KEITH Harris worked with Stevie Wonder’s management for more than 35 years. This weekend he is one of the speakers of the conference section of Liverpool Sound City.

 He is here to talk to music biz wannabes  about how to make money internationally from the industry.

Harris is also director of performer affairs (no, not that sort) at the UK music licensing company PPL and has worked in the industry since 1974.

The event, which is taking place in conjunction with PRS for Music, is titled International Success and Maximising Your revenue Potential. In other words, how to swerve the JobCentre and a life working in a Speke call centre.

Taking place at the Titanic Hotel, he will lead a panel with Irwin Sparkes of The Hoosiers, Australian singer-songwriter Gabriella Cilmi and Myles Keller, director of membership and development for PRS.

Ahead of the event, Harris has provided Confidential readers with his Top Five tips on how artists can get the most from the music business, and boost their earning potential.

 

 

1) Firstly, stay positive: it is a hard industry to crack, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Let your passion drive you and stay positive during the hard times. If you’re not signed, it can be even harder as you’ll be managing everything yourself, which is why you’ll need positivity in abundance.

2) I think it’s really important that anyone who is thinking of making a career in music really invests  in their talent. The industry is so competitive, that if you want to make money from what you love doing, you have to be very good at what you do.

3) There are now more tools than ever before to help you promote you and your music. Getting an understanding of what tools you can use to help boost your presence and start engaging your audiences is a wise thing to do to help you get your career off the ground. Crowdfunding is an option if you are finding it hard to get a recording deal.

4) Maximise your earning power; there are now lots of revenue streams open to performers looking to make it in the industry. For example, if you’re going to be playing live shows, having CDs or a sample of vinyls on hand to sell can help to boost your income in addition to ticket sales and helpto promote your material. If you have a website, you can even sell your music through it to generate additional income.

5) Make sure that you know how to get paid for what you do. Joining PPL and PRS for Music is essential if you have written songs or performed on recorded music. Both of these organisations license users of music and distribute the money to the music creators, the performers on a record In the case of PPL and the composers of the song in the case of PRS for Music. There is no registration fee for either organisation.

*International success and maximising your revenue potential, this Friday, 22 May at 12.30pm – 13.15pm, Titanic Hotel, Regent Road.