Get signed!
CourseMusic BusinessBeginner
Part ofMusic Business

Get signed!

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Duration2h 16m
Modules16
LevelBeginner
LanguageEnglish

Lesson Plan (2h 16m)

About this course

This course is brought to you by Tileyard Education.

Charlie Rapino has spent decades writing and producing pop records, from work with Take That, Kylie and Primal Scream to the Rapino Brothers' global hit "Rhythm of the Night" with Corona. In this conversational course he sits down to explain how those records came together and what it actually takes to build a career that lasts.

Across four chapters he covers building a story and package around your artistry, his approach to writing pop hits and the role of "slogans" and lyrics, real case studies from the Rapino Brothers years, and how to work with A&R and record labels without falling into the usual traps. It is a few hours inside the head of someone who has done it repeatedly, with honest advice on the work behind the talent.

Who it's for

  • Emerging artists shaping their sound and story
  • Self-taught producers curious about the commercial side
  • Returning musicians wanting an honest industry perspective

What you'll learn

  • Frame your artistry as a clear package
  • Spot what makes a pop song connect
  • Navigate labels, A&R and common career pitfalls

What you'll need

  • An open mind and a notebook
  • A few hours to watch and reflect
  • Some early ideas about your own artist identity

Meet the Guru

Charlie Rapino

Charlie Rapino

Charlie started in the music industry as a freshly minted lawyer, promoting gigs by bringing the likes of Iggy Pop and Patti Smith to a radical Italian university crowd.

After working at the notorious Record Plant NYC and soaking up the house scene, he formed the Rapino Brothers with Marco Sabiu, moved to London in 1990 and never looked back. There they took the decade by storm, producing and recording records. After their first hit with Kym Mazelle's Love Me The Right Way, they masterminded Take That's first hit and produced, mixed and fixed many major pop acts during the 1990s, from Kylie to Primal Scream.

In 1997, Charlie was the "on air" producer for BBC's "Get Your Act Together", followed by "Full Frontal" on Channel 4. From 1999 to 2004 he was A&R Director for Sony Music International.

His energy never lets up. Over the years he has divided his time between management consultancy for Ennio Morricone, consultancy for Rolling Stone magazine, soundtrack work and production consultancy for movies and games (including fixing Iggy Pop to do the voice-overs on the Driver 3 video game), and signing and managing acts through his joint venture label with Sony, Stud Records.

In Get signed!, Charlie pulls back the curtain on decades of production and A&R experience to show you exactly what labels listen for, how to shape and present your act, and what it really takes to get noticed and land a deal.

Published with

Tileyard Education

Tileyard Education sits inside Tileyard, the world's largest professional music community at London's Kings Cross. Alongside 200+ resident music businesses and 160 private recording studios, it delivers postgraduate, short-course and bespoke programmes in music production, songwriting and music business — taught by working industry practitioners.
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