Adele’s “Skyfall” theme already has over 37 million views on YouTube. Wow! It just shows that for the biggest stars, the music industry is doing just fine, and that music is still an incredibly important part of the pop culture sauce.

But the music business is incredibly fractured, and the whole structure has changed dramatically over the past 15 years. The road to success can take many different forms, and Adele is just one example as she got a recording contract offer after a friend posted her demo on Myspace. So of course the Internet is an important ingredient for every young band or artist. Then we have the music competitions like “American Idol” and “The Voice” that can get unbelievable exposure for young artists.

But few people can get on those programs, so if you want to work as a performer in the music business, you have to be willing to work at promotion. Fortunately, most young people have a good grasp on things like the Internet and social media, which can be incredible tools. But the smart ones are also using the old, time-tested tools of doing shows and then promoting them on the ground with flyers and brochures. For these types of things, you may not need custom printing as simple flyers can work to get the word out. But, image is everything in the entertainment business, and investing in some glossy and slick posters and handouts can do wonders, and these are now more affordable with options like cheap printing brochures at UPrinting or other options online. But you have to do all this together. Before a show, make sure to have videos posted on YouTube. Promote the show through Twitters, Facebook and other social media. Have your team use Twitter and Facebook the day of the show. Then, make sure to post cool photos and videos after the show. If you put the work in, you’ll see the results!