EVERY musicians wants to know what happens next, after they've written songs, practiced them until they're great, and then....what? They know vaguely where they want to go, but they aren't sure exactly how to get there.

The problem with the question is that there is no one size fits all answer. There are so many things that can shape how you should start taking your music from a private pursuit to the public domain, from your personal goals to your genre of music.

Perhaps the easiest thing to consider first - something to give yourself a little bit of a roadmap - is to decide if you envision an independent music career or if you see yourself settling into a major label world. An independent music career can include both DIY pursuits and working with music related businesses at the independent level. Which is right for you depends on a few different factors. First of all - your preference. Some musicians are fiercely independent. Some don't want to take on any work other than working on their music, and so at the very least have no interest taking any DIY approach. Genre also matters, particularly if you're interested in breaking into a major label dominated world like pop music. In other words, sometimes your brand of music will dictate how you need to approach your career.

If your genre doesn't make things clearer, consider the options by reading these articles:

• Major Label Deal Pros and Cons
• Indie Label Deal Pros and Cons
• Self Release Pros and Cons

Identifying your chosen industry path will help you do the most important thing - make a plan. In a nutshell, to make it to a major label, you'll need a manager and maybe even a lawyer who will shop your music to the labels on your behalf. If you're going the indie road, you may release your own music, or you may shop it to indie labels yourself or with the help of a manager.

So, as you can see, the step that comes before signing with a label usually involves attracting the attention of a manager, but how does one do that? Demos can help - and in fact, recordings may be the most important thing if you're an aspiring pop star, but the one thing that everyone can - should - MUST do is to play live. Live shows will give you exposure to the industry and to fans - and every show brings you one step closer to either winning over a manager or winning over enough fans to attract the attention of managers, labels, booking agents and others within the industry.

As you can see, there are a lot of intangibles involved in launching a music career, and often, there's no clear answer that is sure to work. I know, I know - it's frustrating - but trying to circumvent the process and pursue things you're not ready for - like a show you're not prepared to play - will actually do more harm than good. Instead, if you're looking for an absolute first step to take to get your music out to the people, decide on your goals. Then, make a plan. Then start playing live. Setting these wheels in motion will set everything else off - and you'll be able react to the unique opportunities they generate for you as an artist.

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"... Lightnin' Hopkins taught us, "the rubber on a wheel is faster than the rubber on a heel" and Muddy Waters taught us "you don't have to be the best one; just be a good 'un" .. that just about says it all, always strive to be a good 'un..." - Billy F. Gibbons - Z.Z. Top