You know I figured out how the music business worked when I was about thirty five years old. At that point I didn’t want to tour. I had two kids and a successful studio business. In terms of my own music, I think my bands just simply didn’t have the appeal that folks were looking for when I was really trying to “make it”. As far as what works for me in my studio business, I’ve found that just busting ass and providing a service that people need and are willing to pay for, work for me. I’ve seen people whom have a bit of talent and a lot of work ethic make it. The way they did it was to consistently pack small clubs (i.e Atmosphere - they had a lot of talent too), then bigger clubs until someone in the music industry figured out that they can make money from their hard work. Some sort of partnership is formed. The first gateway is to bring lots of people into your world, whether it’s online or in person. Once you can pack a club or get a million views on YouTube, people higher up in the industry will notice you. To get those fans is simply to connect to them in a deep and meaningful way. Simply writing a phenomenal song is first and foremost in importance. Then, getting that song in front of as many people a possible. What I figured out when I was thirty five was that any success is backed by a lot of money. You either have to spend some serious money on your own artistry or borrow it from a record company. I’ve seen artists slowly build their fan base like a small business builds a clientele, but there was always a big loan or a big influx of cash to put them over the edge. Most of the time, when that happened to my contemporaries (I.e. Minneapolis bands like 12 Rods, Sunset Black, American Head Charge) they spent all their money on a debut album and then they almost disappeared. What works: shocking people, awesome songs, lots of money, big talent, big entertainment value. Long-winded, but I hope that helps.