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The fantasy of being a star is easier than working to be a star.
"The fantasy of being a star is easier than working to be a
star."
All our life all we
ever hear and see are successful musicians. The radio blasts "the hits" out in
various formats, TV highlights the "superstars" of the past and present, the
newspapers and music magazines feature "stars" on the cover of their
publications, the mainstream clubs and concert halls proclaim the "headliners"
who are coming to town, and the record stores feature sales and displays of the currently
"most popular" recording artists. Granted, many of the aforementioned businesses
also give credence to "up and coming new talent", meaning they invest in already
somewhat successful musicians who have a recording contract (an accomplishment of some
note). They really have to support these up and coming artists because the music industry
relies on a constant flow of new product to feed the insatiable appetite of the public for
entertainment.
This constant exposure
to success has an effect on musicians who are trying to make a living. They get
"stars in their eyes", and see no reason why they can’t be a star too, it
seems so easy ya’ know...turn on the radio and music blasts out 24 hours a day, and
everywhere you look, musicians are making music, and presumably getting paid for it. So
what happens next? In many cases a musician puts together a band, starts to play some
gigs, maybe makes a demo tape, or even records their own CD. Rejection becomes a natural
part of their life. They can’t get their music on the radio, the clubs they want to
get booked in turn them down, the demo tape shopping routine fails to generate any
interest from the labels. Why the disappointment is enough to make a grown man cry.
It is my experience
that when frustration about getting a career moving reaches a certain level, many
musicians turn subtly to fantasizing about becoming a star. It is a lot safer you know. In
any kind of fantasy world we create for ourselves, the only thing that happens is what we
want to have happen. Reality has nothing to do with fantasies. Bitterness sets in too.
" I could have been a contender-itis" begins to infect the psyche. Psychologists
have a term they use that is appropriate for the fantasy-bound musician.
‘Grandiose’ is a word they bandy about to describe opinions one has about
oneself that are inflated over the true image of what one actually is. So, our frustrated
and bitter musician takes up a defense against his/her all-to-slow rise to fame and simply
settles in for the ‘if-only’ fantasy. They begin to feel unappreciated, and
besides it was too much work sending out all those tapes anyway, and the clubs don’t
have a clue what they are missing by not booking them. And those A&R Reps, what do
they know anyway? " I am a great undiscovered artist."
"My
girlfriend/boyfriend told me that just yesterday, and my plans are just waiting for the
right opportunity to come along, then I will have my moment in the sun". My
advise...forget the moment in the sun. Forget the fantasies. Don’t listen to voices
of frustration that make excuses for good old fashioned, in the trenches, hard-ass work. I
have seen it time and again. Any talented musician who is dedicated to their music and to
playing their instrument can’t NOT play music.
Grab that reality, and
you will end your fantasies about being a star, and just get down to the business of being
a dedicated, practicing musician. That’s the secret of it all. Just PLAY YOUR MUSIC.
The public, your fanbase, will tell you whether or not there is merit to your music. If
people keep coming to your shows, free or otherwise, and the industry keeps saying no to
you perhaps that is a sign of your uniqueness.
The music industry
gatekeepers don’t know it all, often they are the LAST to know what the public may be
enjoying away from the mainstream sounds that are out there. Let me say this about the
music industry gatekeepers. They are for the most part a very insecure bunch. Whether they
are A&R Reps, music directors at radio, or even reviewers and writers for the
mainstream press...they just want to keep their job. To do that, choosing outrageously
different sounding music would not be too wise.
You may be thinking
that luck plays a role in all this...it does of course. When 500 new CDs come out every
week in this country alone, it is impossible for more than a small percentage of those
releases to be commercially successful. There isn't enough time in the day to listen to
all the stuff that is released. Couple that with the fact that MOST purchasers of popular
music are what is known as Late Adopters, people who are not like you or me, but have a
passing interest in music...these folks take to any NEW sound slowly, and prefer what
Early Adopters call 'sellout' music, which in their opinion is mainstream fluff.
As I said in another
recent column, just make your own 'unique' music. If you trace the history of any popular
music genre, there are nothing but trendsetters, pioneers, and unique characters who were
the first to breakthrough with some new sound. It may take years for some of these
innovators to be taken seriously, some of them even die before the world recognizes their
talents...but nevertheless individuals with a VISION of their own have slowly changed the
nature of what we listen to as a culture. If you or any up and coming artist attempt to
adopt your music to a current trend, you do have a chance of making it, for the reasons
that there is an aspect of the business that tries to capitalize on a new trend or idea
that someone else innovated, but it is a very risky thing to try and change one's music to
fit the current marketplace. Start thinking like that and you will be in yet another
‘fantasy world’. Get a grip!
My only purpose in
stressing your own uniqueness is this. If you truly have a vision and sound that you feel
is your very own special brand of music...that (to any REAL dedicated label or industry
gatekeeper) is what they are really looking for in their heart of hearts. If THEY hear
your uniqueness, and feel like taking a financial risk in getting involved with you, they
may offer you a recording contract at that point only.
So many artists these
days are sticking to their guns, making and releasing their unique sound (Ani DeFranco,
Loreena McKennitt) among many, and when you commit to that kind of vision, and your
audience base grows, and your fanbase expands...it is my experience that the industry
people will rotate toward you. They are crazy, but not crazy enough to ignore a sound that
their gut tells them might work in the marketplace. When they commit to you, they put
their label ‘brand’ on you, and become partners with you in making what was your
dream, a reality. Lets take an example of what I am talking about. Right now there is a
boom in Swing Bands like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Brian Setzer et al. The industry just got
hip to it last year with the Squirrel Nut Zippers, and so now you have a rash of signings
of other copycat bands, some of which won the lottery (so to speak) got signed and are
having their moment in the sun. But Setzer, BBVD have been making this type of swing rock
for 8 to 12 years...paving the way for this 'new' sound.
Do what you love, the
best payment of all, perhaps the most FANTASTIC sensation of all is...satisfaction. It
will always follow a grounded-in- reality dedication to developing your career. Stop
dreaming and wake up to the reality that you are a musician, and real musicians never stop
playing their music, no matter how frustrating that road may be. One other thought...being
a star?...if you thought struggling to make it was rough, try imagining what the day to
day reality behind maintaining star status is all about. That could be the subject of yet
another column someday.
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