By Martin Frascogna For 99.9% of the bands out there their goal is to sign with a record label. Call it an acknowledgement of the hard work, a badge of pride for the years of sacrifice, gutting it out on the road, a platform for personal expression, delusions of money, whatever – the goal is to get signed. The truth is, getting signed is pretty damn hard on one hand and incredible easy on the other. Easy because in today’s industry there are hundreds of thousands of bush league labels and so called “label executives” looking to nickel and dime you. Assuming you have good judgment, stay away from these clowns. As for the beneficial situations, getting signed to a record label is pretty damn hard. There are layers upon layers of gatekeepers to push past in order to eventually, hopefully, sit down with the right person, the decision maker, in order to make your 10 minute pitch. If you can make it this far God bless you; but remember you need to deliver something different to standout because there are thousands of potential replacements waiting outside the door. If you can get in the door I’ll reveal the tricks to stay. Unfortunately in today’s industry, and you can argue with me until you’re blue in the face, but your actual music isn’t the dealmaker. Here are the 4 things executives will be secretly evaluating besides your music. Arm yourself with these tricks and impress the decision makers while increasing the chances you’ll get signed: Read the entire post @ http://hitmusicacademy.wordpress.com/2010/01/15/4-ways-to-get-signed-start-with-diy-success-guest-blog/