Tuesday July 14, 2009
It all seemed so perfect in the beginning. You thought you'd be together forever. Then, slowly, things started to change. This one started turning up late for every practice. This one only wants to play their songs. This one is more interested in socializing than playing. And, well, it's finally dawned on you that this one can't really play that well after all.
If the honeymoon phase ends in your band before you've really done much but play a few local shows, breaking up the band may be as easy as deciding not to play together any more. If the trouble starts when there are tours, record sales and royalties in play, things get a lot more complicated - especially when there is no band contract in place. Add some disappointment and hard feelings into the mix, and untangling your band's empire could become a nightmare.
There are ways to make things go a little more smoothly, however. Check out What Happens If The Band Breaks Up?. If you're dealing with these issues now, you'll find advice on approaching them. If you're not, you'll get some ideas about the issues you and your band should figure out now, before there is any trouble.
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Monday July 13, 2009
With the exception of a short stint at Sam Goody's when I was in the 10th grade, I've always chosen to work with independent music. I have to point this out because I increasingly find myself in the strange position of encouraging indie musicians to think about the ways in which they actually can't do it all themselves. That's not because I don't believe in DIY - I do. It's just that DIY has always been more a case of doing-it-with-a-small-group-of-likeminded-people rather than actually doing it ALL yourself. It's very fashionable right now to suggest that musicians don't need ANYONE to help them reach their audiences. Labels have been sucking them dry for years, goes the thinking, and now the tools are there for musicians to break free from the chains of the industry and strike out on their own. That's true. The tools are there. This is absolutely the right choice for some musicians.
The thing is, it's the right choice except when it's not. A2IM recently shared the statistic that 105,000 albums were released last year, but only 6,000 sold over 1,000 copies (via hypebot). Although a number of factors could be in play there, one of them is certainly that a lot of records were released by people who had no idea what to do with them. I know this is true. I know some of those people. Just because the tools are there doesn't mean everyone knows how to use them. The music industry is a business, and just like any business, to be successful, you need to understand the industry, know your strengths and weaknesses, and know which work to delegate and which to do yourself. If you are serious about making a living as a musician, then you need to be honest with yourself about what you may need help with and how much time you are willing and able to invest in the great amount of work required to really give a release the best shot possible. Consider the following gentle reality checks:
Although the story gets tons of coverage when an artist achieves a major success outside the traditional industry structure, the number of musicians who actually make this happen is very, very small compared to the number of musicians who are trying to make that happen. Ask the millions of musicians promoting online at your social networking site of choice.
It's easy for Trent Reznor to tell you that you don't need any label help. He's Trent Reznor. He's got a fanbase. He's already made lots of money from selling the records he's released through labels.
Drake? Really? I know his song (which I love, and I'm not ashamed to admit it) became HUGE before he had a record deal. He was also working closely with Lil Wayne and had a main role on a tremendously successful and long running Canadian teen show. Unless your name is Zack Morris or A.C. Slater, Drake's case doesn't really apply.
Not all record labels are working on an outdated business model and are run by people who don't know anything about music. Tons of independent labels are run by music lovers who have been doing 50/50 deals and the like with their artists for years. They work hard because they believe in their artists, while taking some of the financial burden off of them and handling the business so the musicians can make new music. It's not all a bad thing. Plus, while some label business models are outdated, the general work they do to release a record is not. Someone still has to do it.
If your work pays off, even if you start out doing it all yourself, you will come to a point where there is just too much for you to do without some help. Success is busy.
Here's the bottom line. You can release your own music and be wildly successful at it. That doesn't mean it's the choice for everyone. Drown out the background noise, evaluate your goals, and determine what you're good at, what you're not good at, and how you can make up for the less that perfect parts. The real freedom in this "new" music industry is not that you don't need any help anymore ever - it's that you have the flexibility to build the team you need and want.
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Weekly Music News
Sunday July 12, 2009
We've already talked about a lot of the big stories this week, but let's take a walk down memory lane, shall we? And ok, there's some new stuff as well. Here we go:
Perez Hilton's record label has become a reality. Sheesh
Radiohead's manager and Nettwerk Music Group start new label. The label is called Polyphonic and will incorporate some "outside the box" strategies for its artists that Radiohead's manager and Nettwerk are so good at dreaming up. You like?
Interesting post from The Lefsetz Letter about the Tunecore and Universal deal. (If you don't remember the details of this story, check out the statement from TuneCore's Jeff Price over on hypebot.) How do you feel about the deal? The jury in my mind is still out. It sounds like TuneCore is preserving flexibility for the musicians that work with them, so no one has to take part in this if they don't want to. On the other hand, when will we get to the point that successful indie music businesses don't have to latch on to some major label to take it to the next level? If we agree that a lot of our problems in the industry have to do with outdated business models at the major level, then I'm not sure how we win by watching the successful "new" music businesses being absorbed into this old structure. I like TuneCore, but I hope this deal doesn't ultimately kill what they have going. Major label distribution can do that.
ASCAP now wants you to get a public performance license to embed a video on your blog. Of course they do. Musicians, think long and hard about how ASCAP preventing people from enthusiastically promoting your music for free helps you. Will the few pennies ASCAP throws your way sufficiently offset the money you could make if you develop a buzz in the blogosphere? See, ASCAP can afford to play it fast and loose like that because they will make money by sheer volume of licenses issued. Can you? Don't YOU want to have control over how your music is used - like, say, letting a blogger embed your video when they talk about you?
United Airlines breaks man's guitar and refuses to replace it. Man writes a song about the incident, posts it on YouTube and gets his sweet, sweet revenge. Ah, the power of music. Check it out.
Last, but certainly not least, the Indie Artist X Project launched this week! Woo! Learn more.
That's it! Got news of your own? Do tell!
Friday July 10, 2009
I'm sure you've seen the ads. Someone promises they can make you a star in three days, seven days, a month, what have you. All you have to do is pay them X amount of dollars for their ebooks/seminar/phone call and they will tell you how. Wow! This is it! Your big break!
Except, not really. The frustrating truth is that no one call tell you exactly how to make it in the music industry. Sometimes even perfectly executed plans that have worked in the past fail to make an impact, while the most fly by night, destined to fail on paper plans can sometimes take someone to big leagues. The only ingredient required across the board is good music. From there, your path to your music industry goals will require creativity, hard work and some trial and error. The road map is not available to download for $49.99.
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