Frequently Asked Questions
What is artist development?
Artist development is the process of getting a singer/rapper/band ready for a career in the music industry. You will feel like a star throughout the year’s development programme with 360, but by the end of it you will be ready to be a star and confidently approach record companies with a full package to get signed.
Artist development can include:
Training:
Vocal coaching
Performance training
Microphone Techniques (live & studio)
Social Media training to build fanbase
Music Industry (business) Training
Songwriting
Production Training
Media:
Song Recordings
Personal Styling
Photoshoots
Music Videos
Promotional Material
Web Presence
Experience:
Live Performances
Industry Showcases
Interviews on radio/tv
Touring
Attending award ceremonies
Record Company Auditions
Why is it called 360 Artist Development?
We give a ‘360-degree’, complete development programme to our artists to prepare them for everything they need and not only that, unlike most other artist development companies out there, we not only want you to do well, we help you by assisting with your social media management, send emails on your behalf, actively try and seek out opportunities that have led to great things for our artists (see ‘what have your artists achieved section) – it’s not just a case of there’s your songs, good luck. With us you are part of our team and we are definitely team players.
Does it cost?
Just like any training (singing lessons, university, summer school) there is a cost involved, however we offer three different levels of development programme so that it can fit everyone’s budget and our prices are significantly lower than other companies – one of our competitors charges almost the same as our yearlong programme for a 9 day course!
You can pay by standing order monthly, up front, by card, bank transfer or cash.
What have your artists achieved?
At 360 our artists are at the heart of everything we do and we have our own special place for everyone on our website. We believe that when our artists do well, so do we and for that reason we are always looking for opportunities to forward their careers. So far, we have had numerous success stories including:
A record deal
A best newcomer award
Nationwide touring with signed bands
A best newcomer award
Opening Reading and Leeds festival main stage
ITV news interview
Radio Play
Newspaper articles on our artists
A song on Love Island
Experiences recording and performing in Nashville
Performing at London Fashion Week
Multiple live performances
Numerous record company meetings with Polydor
Scouted for the X Factor and The Voice
Music video recording in the UK, US and Spain
Tracks forwarded for consideration on TV shows
Personal goals such as overcoming anxiety, eating disorders, depression and low confidence
And much more!
What makes you different to other artist development companies?
We have had a number of artists come to us having been with other development companies first, so this question is answered based on their feedback. At 360, we treat artists like part of a family. We have your back. We are honest. We aren’t just there for you when you’re stood in the studio – we answer texts, calls and emails. We don’t run a ‘conveyor belt’ type of system when you’re in and out. We don’t forget about you until your next session because we are always trying to get things happening for you. We surprise you with exciting opportunities, we care about your music and getting to know you as an artist and as a person.
If I get signed do I owe you anything?
No! We want artists to want to work with us, not be forced to. The only financial contract of you physically paying us is the year that you are with us for the development programme. Over 90% of our artists continue to come back to us after their first year; whether it be for more development, more songs, recording in the studio or for promotional support. Any songwriters who have been involved in making your songs will continue to receive royalties. This is an automated process by royalty collection agencies and so you do not have to pay anything yourself and if you’ve written on the songs too then again, this is an automated process and you’ll also receive those royalties. If you don’t write on your songs, then you will still receive performer royalties.
I’m just looking for management. Will you be my manager?
First of all, you need to be really sure that you are ready for management before approaching a manager. They work on a commission basis so will only earn when you do. If you haven’t been trained to a high enough standard (if you’ve never had singing lessons for example, forget management!) or if you haven’t got a big enough fanbase (nobody to sell anything to) and don’t have a financial history to show that you can make money in music (your manager would be taking a big risk working for free if there was no track record) then it is highly unlikely you would be taken on by a manager. We act as a kind of interim manager for our artist development clients because we contact industry experts on their behalf, try and get them different opportunities and steer their careers in the right direction, but we believe that once ready for record company level, management should be left to dedicated managers and we therefore encourage our artists who have completed the development programme to go to a dedicated professional.
How do I get onto a programme?
The first step is to contact us with a short introduction about who you are (name, age, location, genre you perform in, short biography). Send us a photograph of yourself and attach either a recording of you singing or point us to a video online where we can see you.
From there we will contact you and if we like what we see you will be invited to an audition. From there you will be assessed for a development programme and if accepted it would be your decision as to which you would prefer to join (standard, premium or elite).
What if I only want to record songs?
That’s fine! We have song and album packages available. We can develop your songs or we can write for you.
I don’t write music; can I still join?
Yes absolutely. We write for most of our artists in many different genres and we also train them how to write songs so that by the end of their programme we can write together if they want to. We even got a song to number 4 in the country chart that we wrote and our artist performed – so definitely don’t worry about not being able to write music!
What if I live quite far away from your studio?
Most of our artists live far away from the studio. In fact, we have had people from as far north as Edinburgh, as far south as Hastings and everywhere in between – Hull, Doncaster, Leeds, Nottingham, London, Bolton, Manchester, Glasgow – oh and Texas and Slovakia!
We are really flexible how we manage sessions with artists who travel. You’ll have longer sessions booked in for recording and training time and we can do some of your lessons by video call so that you don’t have to keep coming in person.
I don’t really know what I want to do just yet, it’s all very confusing
We can give you a full consultation in person, over the phone or by video call to look at everything you’ve done, what you want to achieve and give you a plan on how to get there. Contact us for details.
Do I have to travel to Leeds?
The short answer is no, but to get the best experience from the development programme, you should be willing to travel to Leeds at a minimum, to record your vocals.
You can take the development programme by distance learning. Many of our artists like you, live some distance away from Leeds and need a solution whereby they don’t have to keep travelling in order to keep improving and developing their music and therefore we can conduct all of your training by video call. You can learn the songs remotely and practise at home and you can also record your vocals in a local studio (at your cost) if you choose to do so – they can send the files to us afterwards to finish off your record through the process of mixing and mastering.
Many of our artists have their training online and then travel to us once a month to record. Others will stay overnight and have one session the day they arrive and another the day after and only come once every two months.
There is flexibility for you to enable you to work the programme around your own lifestyle. Just keep in mind that to get the most out of the experience, you should be willing to attend in person.
I don’t know if I can travel that far
To get the best experience from the development programme, you should be willing to travel to Leeds – at a minimum, to record your vocals.
You can take the development programme by distance learning. Many of our artists like you, live some distance away from Leeds and need a solution whereby they don’t have to keep travelling in order to keep improving and developing their music and therefore we can conduct all of your training by video call. You can learn the songs remotely and practise at home and you can also record your vocals in a local studio (at your cost) if you choose to do so – they can send the files to us afterwards to finish off your record through the process of mixing and mastering.
Many of our artists have their training online and then travel to us once a month to record. Others will stay overnight and have one session the day they arrive and another the day after and only come once every two months.
There is flexibility for you to enable you to work the programme around your own lifestyle. Just keep in mind that to get the most out of the experience, you should be willing to attend in person.
Can I do this as well as University?
Yes, absolutely and it is a great time to take a development programme when your mindset is completely focussed on learning and self-improvement. To see whether this programme is a suitable substitution (as opposed to a compliment) for taking a university course and decide if it is right for you, please watch this video
However, if you are simply enquiring as to whether you’ll have enough time to complete a development programme as well as your university studies, then absolutely!
You can choose a programme that suits your own budget and time availability – such as a standard programme that has 3 songs and 3 videos in a year – or; if you are closer to Leeds and can manage more than this, you can choose the Premium or Elite Programmes. Monthly training can be provided over video call and you can attend for recording sessions once a month. You will need to dedicate sufficient time to manage your social media growth and practise sessions.
What if I’ve got a full-time job?
None of the Artist Development Programmes are full time; in fact they are designed to fit into any lifestyle and having a full-time job is not a problem; quite the opposite – because you will be in a position to be able to afford to promote your music properly and see exponentially better results from the work that you put into a programme. Most of our artists are either in full-time employment or full-time education. You may need to consider which programme is right for you, as doing 3 songs in a year on the standard programme is of course far less work than doing an 8-song album in 18 months.
We have flexibility in allowing those taking the Elite programme to do this over 24 months if required and if you read the following, you will be able to understand how much time you should dedicate to the programme a month to see whether this fits into your own lifestyle or not.
Each programme requires two hours a month for your lesson times. You will also have approximately 3-4 hours per song in recording time and 1.5hrs each cover video recording time (so multiply that over whichever programme you are thinking of joining).
You will also need extra time for songwriting (if you want to write your own songs) and any further work set in the lessons for practise, research etc.
You will then need to dedicate as much time as you can to social media to build your fanbase.
We are on hand all the time to answer questions by WhatsApp and the phone pretty much never stops, so we know our artists are regularly spending time planning and preparing.
Because of the above, it is extremely easy to fit these programmes into your own lifestyle. Some people who have full time jobs and children of their own come once a month and do the other work of an evening when children are in bed. Others who have more spare time pack in the Elite Programme over a year and are always working on things.
There is no right or wrong way to go about it but, in our experience, the more time you have to dedicate to social media, the more successful you will be overall.
When do the courses start?
The great thing about the development programmes is that they do not run like a college or university. This is bespoke training just for you and therefore it starts from the moment you make your first payment. For example, if you join on the 11th of the month, then your monthly lesson allocation will reset on the 11th of each month and so on.
What if I don’t like a song? What if I want something changing?
It wouldn’t benefit you at all if you were given songs that you didn’t like and this is a genuine concern that is asked a lot prior to development programmes starting. We cannot have artists singing on music that they don’t love – apart from anything, the song will not shine if the artist isn’t into it.
That’s why we sit down with you at the start of the programme to really, truly understand your likes and dislikes. You will provide reference songs for the way in which you want your music to sound and our producers will work to exacting standards to ensure that your songs match those key indicators.
Because of our process before starting work on your music, we have only had 3 songs in 10 years rejected and thereby replaced with alternatives. I’m not sure what that makes it as a percentage, but it’s a pretty good statistic! Sure, some people ask for minor changes of lyrics or taking out a rap section to add a harmony section instead, but complete rejection of songs? Extremely rare! So you can be assured that your happiness is our priority and you will not be forced to sing on songs that you don’t love. It’s all about communication.
What if I don’t write songs?
Not every singer writes songs. The music industry is always about finding the right person for the job and if you are a fantastic singer but not very good at songwriting, you wouldn’t be likely to find success by releasing your own songs. That’s why when you’re on a programme you have the option of having songs written for you, so you can concentrate fully on the singing. But you can also learn songwriting and lyric writing with us during your programme and then work towards writing with us during your programme, if you want to!
Can I write songs with you?
Absolutely! You can learn lyric writing and songwriting as part of the development programmes if you wish to improve your skill even further, but as long as your writing skill will not hinder your chances of success, we absolutely encourage artists to write with us and have an input into the songs. That is what makes your music uniquely you and it can also open up extra earning opportunities when it comes to royalties, so it is a skill which many artists like you should harness and grow for your future career.
Sometimes we get artists who are such great songwriters that we start writing together straight away and sometimes we have artists who don’t want to write and prefer to concentrate purely on the singing. The majority start by having us write for them and begin honing their skill through the programme and then work with us on the final songs (and any subsequent work they do with us after their programme ends). It’s all about flexibility and individuality, so wherever you are in your skill at songwriting, we will use it to your maximum benefit.
Who will I work with?
When you are on a programme, all of your training will be provided by the Director of Development – Matthew. You will also work with him on the recording side of the programme, If you are on the Elite Programme you will also meet Richard (our photographer) Gurbinder (our makeup artist) either Anna or Aga (our stylists) and if doing music videos -Dan (our videographer).
You will be working with (but not meeting) our network of producers and session musicians from around the world who work on different genres of music, depending what style you work in will determine who works on your music as it’s always about finding the best person for each part of the music creation!
Do you have a London Studio?
We are based near Leeds, West Yorkshire. We do not have any other branches around the country but we do have a lot of London based artists who choose to work with us. You are welcome to use a studio closer to you to record your vocals if you choose and in theory you never have to visit us in order to take a programme (though it is not recommended).
You can take the development programme by distance learning. Many of our artists like you, live some distance away from Leeds and need a solution whereby they don’t have to keep travelling in order to keep improving and developing their music and therefore we can conduct all of your training by video call. You can learn the songs remotely and practise at home and you can also record your vocals in a local studio (at your cost) if you choose to do so – they can send the files to us afterwards to finish off your record through the process of mixing and mastering.
Many of our artists have their training online and then travel to us once a month to record. Others will stay overnight and have one session the day they arrive and another the day after and only come once every two months.
There is flexibility for you to enable you to work the programme around your own lifestyle. Just keep in mind that to get the most out of the experience, you should be willing to attend in person.
Would I be better off finding something local?
This is a valid question and quite possibly you may be better off finding something closer to home, especially if you are looking simply to record your own music. Staying closer to home will take away any long journeys to Leeds, you can find the best studio for your needs and you can hire a local singing teacher and use free resources online (even subscribing to our own) to educate yourself with how to build your fanbase. Many artists have learnt to create their own cover videos at home and it means that you can spend money on music as and when you want, or are able to.
You should weigh the benefits up for yourself when considering if a programme (with any artist development company) is a good fit for you because programmes are more than just recording music and some people don’t need the extra benefits of being on a programme.
If you don’t need:
• To learn anything (we teach vocals, performance, social media management/building a fanbase, technical/production, songwriting/lyric writing, media interview techniques, music business and contracts and more)
• Support in your social media management and growth of your fanbase
• To have general support and advice on hand at any time
• Help with producing cover videos for your online presence
• Support with releasing and promoting your singles
• To have one team of professionals in one place for you (i.e you prefer to hire songwriters, teachers, promoters, videographers, social media managers, stylists, photographers, graphic designers etc. separately)
Then you probably don’t need a development programme at all.
If you do need those things, then your decision becomes whether you choose to work on this with a local company or whether you choose 360. Only you can decide this- and we’d be happy to answer any questions that you have to see if we are the best fit for you. Some things to help you when comparing us to others is that:
• We have won multiple awards
• We have built artists to the point of signing a record deal, winning a best newcomer award, national news coverage, BBC introducing plays, gigs/tours with signed artists, major label record company meetings and more.
• We only have 5 star reviews – and not only on our site but across all open platforms including Google and Facebook.
• We have been around for 10 years now and are experts in our field
Who have you worked with?
This is a question we get asked a lot and it is asked in the sense that people want to know if we have worked with any famous artists or people in the music industry. It is important to clarify that we are specialists in working with unsigned artists like yourself and building them to the point where they can have a successful career. That is what we are best at and that is why we are still here 10 years on, multiple awards later and with so many 5 star testimonials from artists like yourself.
Many companies throw random names out there without clarifying what they actually did with that person and try and fool people into thinking that they are more special than they actually are – because they worked with x or y person.
It’s very important when researching companies that you test their claims and get to the real detail of what they mean.
For example, recently we worked with Jack Rouben who has mixed countless hit records and Billboard Number 1 Chart hits. He mixed a record for one of our own artists. Therefore, we could leave it there and say “We’ve worked with Billboard Number 1 Mixing Engineers” and that would be true but it would also be misleading. Because we paid him to mix the record.
In this day and age you can hire anyone for the right price. So don’t be fooled into false claims and instead look at the real results that are achieved, such as the success of our artist development clients, like:
• Josh Taylor who toured with signed artists like The Tide and New Hope Club and later signed a record deal himself with his band The Hara and has since enjoyed massive touring and record release success, in addition to huge press appeal likening him to the next Freddie Mercury, performing at Reading and Leeds Festival and sell out shows across the UK.
• Marlia Rae, who gets over 400,000 views on TikTok videos and had her song So High played on Love Island.
• Amie M who was invited onto ITV news to talk about the release of her first single
• Max and Lukas Bowker, who had celebrity endorsement with Perez Hilton advertising their YouTube efforts. Max also had meetings with Polydor record company in London.
• Despina, who was invited VIP to the Urban Music Awards
• Wayne Edward Dawson, Seyi and Despina who were all invited to audition for a $1m record deal
• Amy Barker who was invited to perform at a showcase gig in the 229 club London, where previously Kings of Leon, Florence and the Machine and Paul Weller have performed
• Tony Fascione, who was featured on Amazon Music for his single release
• Amanda Kuppan and Tony Fascione who were invited to perform with a platinum selling songwriter Tommy Barnes after he came in on our studio session out in Nashville.
• Katy Galloway who was invited by the BBC to play at a showcase event for them.
• AND MORE!
In all but Josh Taylor’s case, these things happened whilst they were still on a development programme with us
What successes have your artists had?
Success is measured differently to each person. Sometimes success is changing someone’s life to make them a more confident person. We have had many parents turn to us and say “this programme changed my Son/Daughter’s life” (and adults alike!) because we have worked with them to bring them out of their shell, made them more confident versions of themselves and this in itself is success. We have had artists who suffered with mental health, anxiety, fear of leaving their house, eating disorders and more and we have worked with each to bring them to a point where their lives have changed following a development programme, whether that be because of a music career or not.
We have had artists go on to be songwriters, work in sync music, sign a record deal, remain independent…the list is totally varied. However, some examples of career success would be the following – all of whom were or are on our development programmes and in all but Josh Taylor’s case, these things happened whilst they were still on a development programme with us!
• Josh Taylor toured with signed artists like The Tide and New Hope Club and later signed a record deal himself with his band The Hara and has since enjoyed massive touring and record release success in addition to huge press appeal likening him to the next Freddie Mercury performing at Reading and Leeds Festival and sell out shows across the UK.
• Marlia Rae, who gets over 400,000 views on TikTok videos, had her song So High played on Love Island
- Karin Ann won best newcomer award in the Czech Republic and supported Imagine Dragons on their world tour
• Amie M who was invited onto ITV news to talk about the release of her first single
• Max and Lukas Bowker, who had celebrity endorsement with Perez Hilton advertising their YouTube efforts. Max also had meetings with Polydor record company in London.
• Despina, who was invited VIP to the Urban Music Awards
• Wayne Edward Dawson, Seyi and Despina who were all invited to audition for a $1m record deal
• Amy Barker who was invited to perform at a showcase gig in the 229 club London, where previously Kings of Leon, Florence and the Machine and Paul Weller have performed
• Tony Fascione was featured on Amazon Music for his single release
• Amanda Kuppan and Tony Fascione who were invited to perform with a platinum selling songwriter Tommy Barnes after he came in on our studio session out in Nashville.
• Katy Galloway who was invited by the BBC to play at a showcase event for them.
• AND MORE!
Will I get famous taking a programme?
Can you get famous taking a programme with us? Absolutely.
Will you get famous? Nobody can guarantee that.
What is for sure is that every famous person started out as a non-famous person like you, on a similar path of personal and professional development. They worked to build a solid foundation of songs and fanbase before then becoming signed and ultimately famous.
If you don’t take time to develop in order to be in the top percentage of performers in your game, how can you compete with those who are ultimately better/more prepared/savvy than you?
Look at it this way, if you wanted to be an Olympic athlete, what do you think you would need to do in order to get to that stage? A lot of training and development, practise and ultimately competition. Why would the top levels of singing be any different?
A development programme will not only train you to Industry standard levels but will equip you, all in one place, with the tools, songs and experience to succeed.
But don’t take our word for it. Just consider some of the success stories and testimonials from our artists:
Do you promote my singles?
When it comes time to release your music, we are passionate about helping you to get it to the right places and make it heard. We do promote singles, but we don’t include promotion as part of the development programmes because everyone wants different amounts of promotional support and has different advertising budgets, so we always keep this up to individuals.
When you’re ready to promote your single we have various options for you, whereby we can create a report of similar artists’ metrics (in other words it tells us that famous artists who are similar to you have fans who are aged x,y,z; interested in a,b,c and live in d,e,f cities in the world) so that your advertising is correctly targeted to the right people from the beginning (this will save you a lot of wasted advertising money because you start out knowing that you are asking potentially interested people to listen to your music).
Then we get a graphic designer to create your single image and also create a lyric video for your song (if you aren’t going to be doing a full on music video to it).
We have adverts translated into different languages (depending on what the industry report suggests as to where your likely fanbase will be in the world) and we then set up adverts on the most popular social media platforms with your budget and keep an eye on how they are performing to make tweaks when required.
We set up a hub page for your single to direct people to and this allows us to retarget (show adverts again to) your fanbase for future songs (again saving you lots of money in advertising cost).
We do this by embedding pixels (cookies) that keep track of who visits the page, that Facebook, Google and similar can read – and because of this they know that those people were interested in your music, so when we advertise future singles for you, those same people who showed an interest last time will be targeted again and this can lead to more loyal, engaged fans.
We help with playlist promotion and send emails to media and news outlets on your behalf, upload to BBC Introducing and we also promote your music (where appropriate) to television shows and other sync opportunities as well as music industry connections.
Do you contact record companies?
In the past few years, the landscape has changed and now it’s much more about creating a buzz and a big enough fanbase for record companies to want to contact you.
There is no shortcut to getting signed. There is a formula to follow and work to be done and building a fanbase and having great streaming numbers is number one. After all, when you go onto Amazon and are presented with two items that are similar and one has 1,500 5-star reviews and the other has 10 5-star reviews, which are you drawn to?
When we feel that you are ready for record company representation, we do contact them and have had a number of meetings with artists at labels like Polydor but meetings don’t guarantee success and so you need to make sure that your first impression for them is a great impression, so numbers (in streaming and fanbase) are where the magic lies!
Record companies are no different. You are in effect saying “sign me and sell my product to a worldwide market”. They need to know that they will make a profit doing so and one way they judge that is by how popular you already are.
Are you a music manager?
Not in the traditional sense. We act as what would be called an ‘interim manager’, in that while you’re with us, many of the activities we do would be considered acts of management – contacting media and record companies on your behalf as your representatives, representing you at meetings, helping get you live performances, releasing your singles, giving you advice and direction, helping plan your music videos, directing photoshoots and more.
We work under the terms of the development programme only. You are not entering into a management contract with us. We take no commission on your earnings like a manager would and you are not tied to us in any way, save for the development programme terms and duration. You don’t owe us anything if you get signed and receive an advance.
We would of course love for artists to want to work with us past this point, but it’s important to want to work together in this business and not be made to.
Even during the development programme, you are welcome to sign a management deal with a music manager.
You may find it useful to watch our video https://youtu.be/gHxpRKoj20E on when you actually need a manager. It’s part of our #TuesdayTopTip free learning resources on YouTube. Please subscribe for more.
Is this a traditional 360 deal?
A traditional 360 deal is one in which the company earns from all aspects of an artist’s career. This is not that. Period.
The term 360 in our name only relates to the fact that this is an all-around, 360-degree programme that develops you in all areas. We don’t take commission on any of your earnings and you aren’t tied to us, save for the development programme payments and duration.
Am I tied to you if I get signed?
You are free to work with us after you are signed…or not!
We build great relationships with our artists and often it’s not worth upsetting the status quo if you’ve got to the point of being signed with the team you’re used to working with, just as many famous artists choose to work with the same producers and songwriters throughout their career because they understand them and they make hits together.
But we also believe and understand that you need to have choice and free will with who you choose to work with in your career especially when working in a creative sector like music and so there are no ties to us if you get signed.
How long do the programmes last?
We offer programmes of different lengths – 12, 18 and 24 months.
Can you tailor something for me?
Absolutely! The current structured development programmes are put together from what artists commonly ask for, to make it easy to see what things cost. However, it can be as flexible as you want.
If you’d like help deciding, please get in touch with us and we’d be happy to talk over your options.
What genres of music do you work with?
We work with Pop in all its forms, RnB, Country, Hip Hop/Rap, Gospel, Adult Contemporary and Folk.
Do you develop DJs?
No, we do not work with DJ development.
Why are your prices cheaper/more expensive than other places?
It’s very important to know what you’re paying for and to understand why prices can vary in this industry. To understand our pricing structure please watch the videos on the pricing tab as it explains everything about this commonly asked question and will also help you if you are looking elsewhere and want to understand different terms of business.
What do I have to do to get onto a programme?
We only take on a small number of artists at a time to our development programmes. First you should ensure that you have watched the video on whether this is right for you. Then if you meet those requirements and are ready to apply, please send us a message with a link or file to listen to you, along with a photograph and a short text about you and why you feel a development programme would be beneficial to you.
We will then review this and get back to you either with a decision that your application is not successful (with reasons why) or inviting you for a video call to interview you and answer any questions you have.
Following the video call, you will be contacted again with a decision.
Should you be successful and offered a place, you will be sent a contract to sign and you make the first payment. Your programme then begins! If you are successful but there aren’t any places currently available, you will be offered a place on the waiting list and contacted as soon as a place becomes available.
Because we don’t work on ‘term times’ and programmes can start and finish in any given month, we should be able to give you an estimate as to when your place will become available.
Can I cancel part way through if I change my plans?
We completely understand your worries because we get asked this question a lot.
Committing to such a long period of time can be daunting and worries about whether you will always be able to afford the monthly payments, what would happen if you got signed part way through or other concerns can create pre-signing nerves.
The development programmes are a fixed cost and the ability to pay monthly is to help you. Like a mobile phone contract (or any other fixed length contract) you cannot cancel part way through, save for your 14 day cancellation period at the start of the contract, so it’s important to decide if this is right for you before starting out.
To help you be more confident in your decision, almost all our artists go on to work with us on another contract after their initial programme!
Most of those had the same worries that you have right now – and it goes to show that as long as you meet the criteria for the programme and really want this career, there is no reason other than financial (which you have to decide for yourself) that you should want to change your mind about it, because we are a long established, award-winning and very caring development company who truly have our artists’ best interests at heart whether you’re 13 or 43 – but don’t take our word for it – look at our artist journey video
review testimonials on the site and on Google and decide for yourself.
How old do you have to be to take a programme?
You must be 13 years old as a minimum. There is no upper age limit.
Can I do songs by themselves?
Yes absolutely. You don’t need to be on a development programme to work with us. From single song agreements to doing a photoshoot – everything can be purchased separately (and added on to any programme too).
Do I have to come to Leeds for every lesson?
No, we often conduct lessons by video call to save our artists having to travel.
The only type of lesson that genuinely is better to have in person is singing.
Am I too old for all this?
The music industry has changed. No longer is it about young, ‘fit the mould’, gorgeous pop stars. Anyone, of any age can find a fanbase who are into their music and furthermore there are other opportunities to earn in music, such as songs for TV, Film and Adverts (also known as sync music) in which more mature voices can have great success, as it just depends on the scenes and music required.
Therefore, do not give up your dreams simply because of your age. We welcome older applicants.
Is there a place for me in the music industry?
When we get asked this question, we like to turn it around and ask “Can you find music that you like to listen to on streaming platforms?” (Usually the answer here is ‘yes’) “When you do find music that you like, do you care about the personal attributes of the singer?” (age, height, sex, sexuality, religion, how they look etc) usually the answer here is ‘no’….
The music industry is not just about the narrow Top-40 style of music – and even that is what you are aiming for, it is ever-changing in what is ultimately popular. Just look at the rise in rap music into the charts which would have been unheard of 10 years ago.
You should be yourself, create your own style of music and find the fanbase that loves it. Not everyone likes every style of music or every artist but there will be people in this connected world we live in, who will become your fanbase and so therefore the answer to this question is, yes there is definitely a place for you in the music industry.
With all the packages, how many days a week do you have to dedicate to it?
This is a good question and there is no easy answer to it.
Each programme requires two hours a month for your lesson times. You will also have approximately 3-4 hours per song in recording time and 1.5hrs each cover video recording time (so multiply that over whichever programme you are thinking of joining).
You will also need extra time for songwriting (if you want to write your own songs) and any further work set in the lessons for practise, research etc.
You will then need to dedicate as much time as you can to social media to build your fanbase.
We are on hand all the time to answer questions by WhatsApp and the phone pretty much never stops, so we know our artists are regularly spending time planning and preparing.
Because of the above, it is extremely easy to fit these programmes into your own lifestyle. Some people who have full time jobs and children of their own come once a month and do the other work of an evening when children are in bed. Others who have more spare time pack in the Elite Programme over a year and are always working on things.
There is no right or wrong way to go about it but, in our experience, the more time you have to dedicate to social media, the more successful you will be overall.
I don’t know if I have enough time to commit to it.
It is extremely easy to fit these programmes into your own lifestyle. Some singers who have full time jobs and children of their own come once a month and do the programme work of an evening when children are in bed. Others who have more spare time pack in the Elite Programme over a year and are always working on things.
Each programme requires two hours a month for your lesson times. You will also have approximately 3-4 hours per song in recording time and 1.5hrs each cover video recording time (so multiply that over whichever programme you are thinking of joining).
You will also need extra time for songwriting (if you want to write your own songs) and any further work set in the lessons for practise, research etc.
You will then need to dedicate as much time as you can to social media to build your fanbase.
We are on hand all the time to answer questions by WhatsApp and the phone pretty much never stops, so we know our artists are regularly spending time planning and preparing.
There is no right or wrong way to go about it but, in our experience, the more time you have to dedicate to social media, the more successful you will be overall.
Could I accelerate my programme (upgrade) later or does it have to be dependent on the contract I sign?
While you cannot downgrade your contract, you can upgrade part way through. New costings will be worked out with you and a new contract singed to replace the current one.
How do I know if you’ll be the right producers for me and my music?
Finding the right producer for your music is really important. If you were to hire three different producers to work on the same song idea, all three productions will come out sounding completely different!
However, finding a producer is not just about making sure that they can make your music sound great – it is also about making sure that they can make you feel comfortable in the studio, so that you give your best performance. That’s why at 360 it’s great that Matthew (who will be working on your vocal coaching) is also the chief engineer/producer because he knows your voice inside and out and can bring out the magic while you are recording in the studio.
We have over 10 years of experience in producing different genres, but if you want a test run before committing to a full programme you can take us up on a single song agreement!
What if I want to incorporate different instruments/cultures into my music?
Please do! We love mixing up cultures and sounds into modern music. It’s what makes music unique and special and allows you to really be yourself and bring your background into your sound. We have done this in many different ways before. We have masses of virtual instruments that cover a lot of different instrument sounds and we also have a vast array of session musicians all over the world who we can call upon to play on your music.
Will I earn money back from it?
It is highly unlikely that you will earn any significant money back from the music you are making whilst on the programme. The reason for that is because you are at the stage of building a fanbase -and so streaming numbers will not be as large as when your career has taken off.
Think of it like an apprenticeship. Whilst taking one, you earn little but gain a lot in the development of your career, but once you’ve got through that stage, your earnings increase dramatically.
You can see the general streaming payouts on this calculator
The ways in which you can earn money during the programme are from streams, paid gigs, sync music pay-outs (music on TV which can pay thousands per song) sponsorship, record company advances etc. All of that can come to those artists who are successful, but don’t join a development programme thinking that this instantly brings fortunes in, because that just isn’t how the music industry works.
What if I’m not as good as your other artists?
In order to get onto a development programme you have to pass an audition process. We only take on a small number of artists at a time to our development programmes. First you should ensure that you have watched the video on whether this is right for you. Then if you meet those requirements and are ready to apply, please send us a message with a link or file to listen to you, along with a photograph and a short text about you and why you feel a development programme would be beneficial to you.
We will then review this and get back to you either with a decision that your application is not successful (with reasons why) or inviting you for a video call to interview you and answer any questions you have.
Following the video call, you will be contacted again with a decision.
Should you be successful and offered a place, you will be sent a contract to sign and you make the first payment. Your programme then begins! If you are successful but there aren’t any places currently available, you will be offered a place on the waiting list and contacted as soon as a place becomes available.
Because we don’t work on ‘term times’ and programmes can start and finish in any given month, we should be able to give you an estimate as to when your place will become available.
If you don’t meet the criteria yet, we can work with you on a pre-programme basis to improve your skill until you are at a stage where a development programme would work for you. It’s our job to make sure that you ARE as good as our other artists and while there will always be ways you can compare yourself better or worse to other people (like everything in life) we work towards making you unique in yourself so that there is a fanbase out there for your music and your persona as an artist.
I’m not very confident.
Believe it or not, many famous artists would describe themselves as being not very confident. That’s one of the reasons why a lot of artists choose a stage name – because then they can go out on stage or into the world as somebody else, almost like acting. It can really help to calm nerves if you have that ability not to see it as you stood on the stage, but your artist persona instead.
We have had artists on our programme who have suffered with severe anxiety, even a fear of being outside before and yet we have seen all of them through a development programme and built their confidence to the point where they are releasing music, singing on stage and appearing in cover videos.
We’ve had parents tell us that the programme has changed their son’s/daughter’s life and made them a much more confident person.
We won’t hold your lack of confidence against you. We will embrace it and help you to overcome it.
I am already working with someone for free.
That’s great and if that’s the case you might not need a development programme at all. You can watch this video to see what a development programme is like and decide if it is worth your investment.
Do I need artist development?
The question of whether you need artist development is an entirely individual thing. To help you decide, it’s often a good idea to compare yourself to an aspiring Olympic athlete. What stages do you think an athlete has to go through to reach the top of their game?
First of all, they would need training. They need to learn how to master their chosen sport. They would need a great fitness and diet regime. They would need tons of practise. They would need to show up and bring their A-game every time until they reached the pinnacle of their career and finally won an Olympic medal. We can all imagine how much work is involved to make such a person.
So now consider the same for a singer who wants to become famous. When you ask yourself ‘Do I need artist development?’ You are firstly considering the training that you are going to need. You will need to learn and hone your skills until you become incredible, not just at singing but at managing and growing a fanbase, performing on stage, recording in the studio and more.
Secondly this question covers the fact that you need to have radio-ready songs recorded to promote yourself to the industry and have fans who will follow you. This is usually included in artist development packages. But more than just recording; an artist development programme will teach you how to write your own songs or lyrics and help you use what you’ve written in the best way so that you are releasing music that is uniquely you!
You need artist development if you are not yet at that top Music-Olympic level but also if you just want one place to go to in order to develop fully. It is so hard (and costly) to hire everyone needed separately – singing teachers, personal stylist, makeup artist, photographer, industry coaches, producers, recording studios, engineers, songwriters..the list is large and with an artist development programme you can work with all of those professionals in one place. If that is what you need to reach the next step in your career then an artist development programme could be for you.
