This column addresses the 7th issue involved with the ‘10 Reasons Why Musicians Fail’ .
This
column addresses the 7th issue involved with the ‘10 Reasons Why Musicians Fail’
.
“The
belief that someone will come along and discover you.”
Perspective.
Interesting word that. I begin many of my classes on the business of music with a mention
of that word. It has to do with how a particular aspect of this crazy business can be
looked at. If we apply that word to the subject at hand we can learn a lot about the wrong
thinking that so many musicians apply to their budding careers.
So, look at it this
way: A musician is a creative soul, and out of that solitude comes a work of potential
merit. But from an industry person’s perspective, you are not the only person
creating music in this sorry world. There are a million ‘wanna-bees’ out there,
and as far as we are concerned, in the beginning and maybe for a good long while, you have
to make every effort to get and keep our attention. Writing and performing songs is not
all that unusual an occurrence. If you want somebody to make you a star, do many things to
increase your opportunities for success.
Right off, I should
make it clear that the music industry is an industry built on relationships. Who you know
matters, and who the person you know matters even more. “No man is an island”
rings very true in the entertainment world. But....everyone starts out alone, and at this
point in music business history it is up to the independent musician to make the first
excursions away from their island. As you begin to venture out into the stream of
relationships with other musicians, club owners, lawyers, managers, label A&R Reps,
Music Directors at radio stations, Publicists, Buyers at distributors and stores, On line
contacts made on the internet...you slowly evolve into the world of connected
relationships. But never forget that along your way, you may lose as well as make your
friendships and business alliances.
Waiting around to be
discovered is the purgatory of the unimaginative soul.
I am always on the
alert for the ‘discover me’ musician. I can sense them coming a mile away. Here
are some symptoms of these lost individuals.
- When they send out
their outdated cassette demo tapes, there is no contact information on the J card or the
tape label.
- After sending their
precious music to a potential gatekeeper, we never hear from them again because the
concept of doing a professional follow-up call never enters their self centered minds.
- They think so much of
their music that they scribble in some unreadable scratchings on a hand written note
something about having a bunch of “great songs” and want you to play them on the
radio, or “get them a deal”.
- They have been
recording songs for several years now but have never performed in front of an audience
because they are waiting for a label to come along and sign them so they can “go out
on tour as soon as possible”.
- They honestly believe
that all they need is to meet that ‘special someone’ be it, label rep, manager,
or whatever, and they can sit back and ride the limo to heaven-on-earth.
No clue do these
unfortunate ‘discover me’ addicts have.
So, how did this all
come to pass. Why are so many musicians and bands waiting in some self imposed twilight
zone?
I blame it on Tin Pan
Alley. Yup, since the late 1890’s the income to be derived from published songs has
been controlled (for all practical purposes) by a coterie of powerful songwriters,
publishers, and later...record companies that have pretty much created the history of the
great American songbook. In order for that system to flourish a certain psychological
stance had to be taken. What these influential men had to do is create a dependence on
their services and connections by aspiring songwriters and would-be stars. Whether it was
access to the vaudeville stages, the budding recording industry, or the eventual reliance
on the wonder of radio broadcasting...if you wanted ‘to make it’ you had to find
a way to get to these guys, because “Come on kid...I can make you a star!” was
their pitch. Hence, waiting to be discovered became the name of the game for the sheep
hearted.
Granted this formula
was applied to the broadest definition of the term ‘popular music’, but it
certainly has been a significant factor as well in the more organic music that is the
jazz, blues, R&B, and rock n’ roll history, as that music came to reap larger and
larger profits for the more and more powerful industry honchos.
But here we are at the
beginning of a new millennium, and twenty plus years past the birth of the indie
revolution (the DIY movement) of the late 1970’s, and I still encounter hundreds of
wanna-bees descending on such music conferences as the CMJ Marathon,
SXSW, NXNW. etc. etc.
and there they are...an army of ‘discover me’ drones passing out those infamous
contact-less demo tapes, and playing the stupid lottery game of “discover me,
I’m really good”. Then they go home, only to resurface at some other expensive
conference to try once again to make that one really important contact.
Let’s put an end
to this foolishness, what d' ya say?!
What do I end up
talking about in almost every installment on this series of articles on ‘Why
Musicians Fail”? It seems to me its the same basic message over and over again.
Stop dreaming, wake up
musicians one and all, and greet the real dawn! Build your own career, THEN the
gatekeepers will come, maybe. And, if they do come after you have something substantial to
show them; i.e. a fan following of some realistic kind, a number of CDs sold, some modicum
of press recognition...then you can actually decide (having learned the business as you
grew your career) that the almighty deal you wanted so much was a bunch of gigantic
hurdles that you had to financially climb in order to claim some lousy $1 to1.25 per unit
sold, AFTER you recouped all the advances that came from attracting the deal you knew
nothing about, but HAD to have.
Now, having hopefully
smashed your dreams and popped your balloons about the realities of living in pipedream
heaven, let me remind you of what I said at the beginning of this tirade.
You do need
connections. You do need people to help you with your career. You just don’t need
them the way you have been thinking that you need them. The entertainment industry is
truly built on relationships, and the best relationships are ones that are nurtured over
the years and have been built on mutual trust and admiration for the gifts we all have.
As a non-musician, I
can honestly speak not only for myself but for dozens of my peers on the following
observation. Because of the music we admired we came to discover our talents and skills.
We, the music business professionals of the world, found our place in this musical world
by listening to and being inspired by the great music of decades past and present. We can
be your partner in music, if it all goes well. You need us, but we need you too...big
time.
You are not the only
one who has a dream of being successful, of making money with your music. We too want a
long career doing what we love to do, and should our paths meet, and should the chemistry
work between us, we may have our chance for success through you. All we ask in this
competitive age we live in is that you do more than just write some songs and try to get
our attention with them.
Build relationships
based on a working knowledge of the business you are entering, and cultivate a respect for
the business that has given you the music that inspired you. The best relationships are
those that honor the gifts and talents of the creative person AND the business person.
When that type of relationship is sought after, and established....then and then only can
we say that someone ‘made’ someone a star.
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