Industry news & advice blog

Manchester music’s movers and shakers give us their unique perspective on the best (and worst) of working with unsigned acts…
 
Chris Long is the producer of BBC Manchester Introducing, on air every Sunday at 10pm on BBC Radio Manchester (95.1FM & Digital Radio) or online at www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/introducing
 
Favourite Manchester bands:
Airship, Envy, Delphic, Lost Knives, The Jessie Rose Trip, Beat The Radar, Shmoo, Pegasus Bridge, A Me B, Everything Everything.
 
What’s the best way for unsigned bands to approach you?
The best approach is through the BBC Introducing Uploader – www.bbc.co.uk/music/introducing/uploader/
It’s a simple tool to use and it gets the information that I need directly to me without the need for CD burning, envelope buying and post office visiting.
 
How can they make an impression?
By writing and recording music that they honestly believe in. Our show isn't about gimmicks or pluggers - we simply play and support music that we believe in and love.
 
What’s you biggest bugbear when it comes to dealing with unsigned bands?
It has to be bands who can't take criticism. If you are going to succeed, you are going to have to be reviewed and critiqued and sometimes, people aren't going to like you - that doesn't mean that you are necessarily appalling or that whoever wrote the bad review should become a hate figure to you.

It's only one opinion in a vast world of critics and you need to learn to swallow them down, move on and push forward.
 
Top tip for unsigned bands:
Take chances and experiment. Listen honestly to your own music and think about whether it stands out from the crowd.

Remember, it's about making music that makes you believe in, that moves you and makes you excited, and not about copying your favourite band.