I am Sarah Saturday. I am a 26-year-old girl with a decade of experience in music, starting back in 1996 when I joined my first band. From that day forward, I was in love with this industry and everything that I thought it stood for.

But the further I got into the industry, the more I realized that my values were old fashioned as far as today’s music business executives were concerned. Long gone were the days of artists getting recognition for talent and drive. Now, it seemed artists appeared out of thin air, with full-length albums already recorded at high quality studios, perfectly disheveled hair and clothes, and some story about how they had risen out of the oppression of something somewhere to get to where they were – which was famous, out of nowhere.

I started hearing stories of bands being signed without ever playing a show outside their hometown, or even finding their own rhythm section. I was meeting bands on the road who boasted of their recent record deals that had been secured by their rich father’s friend out in LA -- bands who had no idea how to book a tour, order merchandise, promote a show, run a website, manufacture a CD, or even talk to a fan.

All of it had a huge impact on me. Here I was, working so hard to achieve these goals of mine, while all around me bands were forming, getting signed, and touring the world in the time it took me to book one show. What was I missing? What secret formula was I not using? Was it just me, or was there something odd about the way it all happened for these bands?

In 2004, I made the life-altering decision to leave my band to pursue the business side of the industry, when I was offered a job working for the founder of the Warped Tour, Kevin Lyman. Now, two years later, I have learned so much that I feel like a completely different person, and that girl who used to sit up late at night booking tours, promoting on messageboards, making flyers, and wondering how to unlock the mystery of “making it” in the music industry is a distant memory.

A lot has changed since then, but one thing that has grown stronger over time is the philosophy I developed for existing in the music industry. I call it the “Earn It Yourself” philosophy. And that’s why I made this website.

What is SarahSaturday.com all about?

It's about hardworking and independent bands, labels, and individuals getting the recognition they deserve, and the extra push they need to keep the momentum going--from a girl who knows what it means to ride around the country in a van with no air conditioning, no radio, no money and no food, just to play shows to half empty rooms and love every minute of it; who knows how great it feels to release that first album all by yourself; who knows what it means to stay up until dawn putting together press kits and sending out booking emails into the void, waiting for that rare reply saying, "Yes, you can play the show."

I started this website in 2004 because I saw too many bands and people getting far in the music industry purely on politics, money, and hype -- when they shouldn't have even been given a second glance.

My most invaluable lessons have come from what I have taught myself through watching and learning, trial and error, and my desire to be the best at everything I do. At 26, I can now start a band, write a song, perform on stage, book a tour, publish a zine, put out a record, run a website, engineer a recording session, put on a show, get a distribution deal, secure an instrument endorsement, write a bio, order merchandise, manage a band, market an album, promote a tour, and run a record label with full confidence.

With this site, I intend to:

• Introduce my philosophy for being in this business, called "E.I.Y." or "Earn It Yourself"
• Assist bands who want to earn their success, by posting helpful links, offering advice, reviewing albums, featuring their music, and more
• Inspire a whole new generation of underground bands, labels, and individuals to take the music industry into their own hands, and succeed at it

I believe that one should not only have talent and drive, but reason, logic, and a philosophy behind everything that one does to get ahead. Without these things, one's desire to achieve is devoid of meaning and value—and therefore, he himself is empty.

May you always earn what you work for!

Love,

Sarah Saturday
sarah@sarahsaturday.com
818.508.9500