Jackie DeShannon – HuffPost 10.19.11

Mike Ragogna: Jackie, what advice do you have for new artists?

Jackie DeShannon: (laughs) Well, it’s such a different planet today. I guess that you can just get on the internet and get your exposure. It’s very easy to do in that sense. When I was doing it, there were just a few tiny labels, so it was very, very hard to get your songs out and get your music out. But I think the main thing is you have to believe in yourself and have the drive to continue when people say, “I’m not interested,” or “I don’t want to know.” Adding to that, the other thing I would do is get a really great music attorney so that you get paid for whatever you do and so that you really understand how the business side works and so that when you make decisions, you are informed. So many people coming up in my day just didn’t understand, and a lot of people don’t want to listen if you say, “You have to think about this, because you may not get paid the way you think you will.” They’re so excited to do something that they don’t take the time to make sure that they understand it from a business level, and then when the disappointment comes and they don’t get paid properly and they don’t see the kind of royalties they’re looking for, then they don’t understand what happened. So, I think being informed is really, really, really important.