HERE ARE SOME FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE MUSIC BUSINESS
"Great singers aren't specially gifted from birth. They have not been born physically different than anyone else.
There are a few common ways that artists get paid for doing their work:
Performance: The artist gets paid by someone to have access (perhaps exclusive access, in the case of physical art like sculpture) to the art whose content the artist has chosen.
Patronage: Someone provides money to meet the artist's needs without restriction on the content of the work they create.
Commission: The artist does specific work using their skills at the request of another in return for payment.
Nobody in Dollar Driven Business Land cares how many hours you spend practicing, who your inspirations are, or how brilliantly you compose songs. All that stuff is a big zero in Dollar Driven Business Land. Everyone in Dollar Driven Business Land evaluates things by a single measuring stick (you guessed it): the dollar. If something is going to bring in dollars, they will do it. If it's going to take dollars away, they won't do it. Example: Suppose your band wants to play a certain club. The club manager needs to fill his club every night with people who will pay admission and buy drinks. Is your band going to pull in 50, 100, or 200 fans to help him achieve this? If yes, then the manager will make good money and he can afford to pay you some of it. If no, then the manager is not going to make money and he will not pay you to play.
10 Essential Tips for Making a Living with Your Music by Christopher Knab - Fourfront Media & Music - Posted Jan. 2004
Top 10 Lists are a favorite hobby of our society. It’s a fun way to keep up the illusion of the simplicity of things in a complex world. So...why not a Top Ten List on the subject of Making a Living from Your Music? The following list highlights 10 habits you should develop if you want to make a living some day, just from your music. Remember that there are a million ways to get to any intended destination. From my observations over the years, this list of professional habits are shared my most successful musicians who truly have what it takes to succeed in this totally unpredictable business of music.
1. Find ways to get ordinary people who love music, to love your music.
We live in a time when everybody and their sister can and does make their own music. That doesn’t mean however that your music has what it takes for record labels to invest their money and time developing, promoting, and marketing that music. Try your music out on music fans like you solicit opinions from A&R Rep. These talent scouts of the music business are always following tips they hear from their street connections. But remember, your music must truly stand out in some significant, original, dynamic, and creative way. 95% of the independently produced CDs out there contain regurgitated ideas that were ripped off from some other more gifted musicians. Prove to the industry that ordinary music fans in your city love your music. You can find this out by giving away sample CDs of your music on the street, (with contact information included of course.) or putting songs on the many internet websites that allow people to download new music. If people love something they let other people know about it. So, you can find out quickly if your music has what it takes to please the public by bringing your music to the people.
2. Play live often and don’t worry ( at first) about getting paid for every gig.
You can always tell the difference between a musician who is in it for the money, and a musician who is in it for the music. The dedicated musician can’t not play music every chance they get. Money-focused musicians whine about the fact that they can’t get club gigs that pay anything. If you really think that you can make your living solely as a musician in the first three to four years of your career, you are headed for a breakdown and disappointment. Think about it...almost every legendary, gifted musician who has made a mark on our culture has been a musician who struggled long and hard at their craft, and...Never gave up. Eat determination for breakfast! Go out there and play on the streets if you have to, play at schools, fairs, festivals, do benefits to help other people and organizations. Offer your services to non- profits, charities, church groups, and any other companies or organizations you can think of. Hang out at clubs, look for jamming possibilities, or start your own jam sessions. Look around your city or town, and you will see many places and venues where musicians can play. As you establish yourself and more and more people show up at your shows, the paid gigs will increase. Remember... play live, and then after you play live, play live again, that’s what musicians are supposed to do.
3. Know your instrument inside-out.
One of the curious developments of the late 1970’s was the huge increase in garage bands, punk bands, rappers, and ‘do-it yourselfers’, who just picked up an instrument, or started to sing with some friends, and 6 months later recorded a record and began to play live. Some great music, and new directions in music, came out of that situation. But now, 30 odd years later, the novelty of hearing amateurish thrashings has gotten a bit dull.
Prior to late 70’s, more often than not, the music that is our heritage was made by musicians who, from the time they took up their instrument, worshipped at the feet of some master bluesman, jazz player, folk legend, songwriter, or whatever. The habit of these inspired musicians was an appetite for perfection. A need to be not just ‘good enough’, but GREAT.
Why settle for less. Whatever developing stage you are at, go beyond it, re-commit yourself to your instrument or voice. Take lessons, or better yet, sit yourself down at your CD player and choose a favorite guitar player’s record, and listen closely to what they are playing. Then re-play it, and re-play it again. Challenge yourself to go beyond your limitations. Who knows, maybe you will fall into some new territory, wherein you will find yourself, your ‘sound’, and increase your chance to stand out from all the mediocrity that is your competition.
Believe it or not, record labels love to hear innovative, accessible new sounds. Actually in their heart of hearts, that is what they are really hoping to hear on every new demo tape, and from every new act they go see at a live venue. You see...in the business of music, when we hear something new, original, and accessible to people, we can then invest in you with more security, believing that if we put our ‘label brand’ on you, with our talents of promotion and marketing coming to the front, then we ‘have something’, and your music becomes our music, and we work together to broaden you audience appeal. It’s kind of like a partnership ...something about ‘Art and Commerce’...they can work together you know?!
4. Protect your investment...register your songs for proper copyright protection.
I never cease to be amazed how few artists are willing to spend $30 to register their songs with the Copyright office. By the way, these folks are often the same folks who complain about not getting paid to perform their unknown music. All I know is that when an inventor comes up with some new product that they think will appeal to a certain type of customer, the first thing they do is file for a patent on their invention. The same reaction to protecting songs should be there for any serious songwriter. If you really intend to work hard and develop your career as a musician who writes your own songs, don’t wait too long to take care of this simple, but essential task.
If you really believe in your unique and original music then take the time to learn the basics of copyright protection. From the Internet to the library, there a number of easy ways to learn what it takes to file for copyright protection. Do it now! Go to www.BMI.com or www.ASCAP.com and follow their links on Copyright registration information.
5. Design and write your promotional materials so they stand out.
The topic of designing and writing effective promotional materials; bios, fact sheets, cover letters, quote sheets etc. is a lengthy one to say the least. As far as some tips that can help musicians promote their careers, and contribute to their getting any deal offers, is to make the promo materials as compelling, and informative as possible. Take the time to inventory any accomplishments, positive reviews, training and awards, past sales, and live appearance highlights; and organize them into professional written bios etc. Having done that, time also needs to be taken to research who to send the materials to, and to ask each potential recipient what type of information they would like to have sent to them. No ‘generic’ kits should ever be sent out to any gatekeepers in the music business.
6. Know the labels and music publishers you hope to be signed to.
If you were applying for a job with a certain company of corporation, wouldn’t you take some time to ask questions about their stability as a business, their reputation in the industry, and the executive’s background and experience? The same is true when shopping for a record deal. Some musicians get so excited when a certain label approaches them with a recording contract, or a publishing company offers to sign them. Being approached for a deal is a compliment and recognition by a label or publisher that a musician’s music is attractive to them. But, to rush ahead without taking the time to learn a few things about them is foolish indeed. How have they done with your particular genre of music? What specific ‘points’ are they offering you? Who runs the label or publishing company? What is their reputation in the music business? How do you like them as people? These and other questions can be crucial in making an unemotional decision about an arrangement that could make or break your career.
7. Have your own ‘Entertainment Law Attorney’ to represent you.
The business of getting signed to any deal in the music business has always had, has now, and will always have, the involvement of entertainment law attorneys. No jokes will be inserted here, because any relationship between a musician, a record label, a publisher, a merchandiser etc. will come down to two attorneys hashing out the contract for the musician and the respective companies. It should be pointed out here that when all is said in done with the ‘courting’ process, the musician is never present during the actual negotiations. The musician’s attorney and the music company’s attorney meet, talk over the phone, and fax their offers and counter-offers amongst themselves. This fact serves to remind you that choosing a reputable, ethical, well respected attorney with lots of deal making experience within the music industry is an absolute necessity for any serious musician who wishes to fight the good fight in the legal arena.
8. Choose a well-connected and respected personal manager.
Self-management is always a valid option in the developing stages of establishing your career as a musician. Much can be learned by taking on the jobs of securing gigs, getting some publicity, planning tours, dealing with personal issues that arise within the band, and schmoozing with A&R Reps and various other label and publishing personnel. However, there comes a time, usually when the daily tasks of doing the business of being a band takes up too much time, and it is at this time that the services of a good manager can be very useful. I have always felt that if any musician or band has worked hard to establish their career, and achieved a modicum of success, they will have a better chance to ‘attract’ the services of a professional, well-connected and respected manager.
Managers who do this job for a living can only take on clients that generate income. Making money as a personal manager is no easy task, and many upcoming artists forget that if any moneys are to be generated from their music, it can takes years for the flow of that income to be reliably there. So, as a band develops self-management, or gets help from intern/student manager-wannabees, can help pave the road for professional management.
Over the years I have heard several horror stories about ‘managers’ that approach upcoming acts and say that for X amount of dollars, they can do such and such for the artist. No... this is not the way legit personal managers work. Well-connected and respected personal managers get paid a negotiated fee for their services (get it in writing) for any and all business transactions they are responsible for (15%-25%) over a particular contract period. No musicians should ever pay a fee to a so-called ‘manager’ who will not do any work UNLESS they are paid up front. Film-Flam men and women still abound in this business... be forewarned.
One of the most important jobs of a manager is to secure recording and publishing contracts for their clients; this is why it is so essential to choose well connected and well respected managers. The music business is a ‘relationship’ business. Who know who, and who can get to know who, and who did what successfully for who is what this management game is all about. Choose carefully those people who will be representing you in any business dealings.
9. Don’t take advice from anyone unless you know that they know what they are talking about.
At the beginning of this article I stated that there are a million ways to do something, and that these 10 tips were just my comments from years of dealing with the business itself and musicians. Everybody has their own list of Do’s and Don’ts and the only real value they have is that they present you with ‘opinions’ about what to do to get established as a musician.
To be quite candid, the best rules in the music business comes from the experience of building your own career; learning from your own interactions with the gatekeepers at labels, the media, management, and booking companies as to what is right or wrong for you. For every Do or Don’t there is an exception to a so-called ‘rule’. As I reflect on the advice I sought out and listened to over the years, the most valid tips came from people who walked the walk, and talked the talk. If you feel that the source you have contacted knows what they are talking about, and has had first hand experience doing what you want to learn about, that is the only feedback that might stand up over time. Choose carefully.
10. Musician...Educate Thyself!
If you want a record deal, learn what a record deal is, and learn something about the business of music.Naïve or mis-informed musicians are a menace to themselves. Enough already! Over the decades there have been countless stories of musicians who were ripped off by their record labels and music publishing companies. Why? Exploitation was the name of the game for a long time. Keeping musicians in the dark was standard business practice. However, the past has passed, and today any musician who signs a record contract (and learns later what he or she signed) have only themselves to blame. Even 20 years ago, it wasn’t that easy to gain access to the inner workings of the music business. (There are more letters in the word business than in the word music.)
Not so today.
There are dozens of outstanding books available on every conceivable topic related to the business of music. They can be found in bookstores, libraries, and through the Internet. In addition, there are many schools that now offer 2- 4 year programs on the business of music. Seminars and workshops are available on a year round basis in most major American cities. Consultants, Attorneys, and Business Organizations are all around and so it is only myth, superstition, stubbornness, and immaturity that stand in the way of any musician making a commitment to educating themselves about the business that exists to exploit their music.
I cannot stress how important I feel this issue is. I am here to tell musicians, one and all, that you have been told many things about music that you did believe. “Spend money on quality instruments and equipment”... you have done that. “Spend time and money on practicing and rehearsing”, you have done that, for the most part (see comments above).
“Spend time and money finding the best recording studio, producer and engineer you can”...you have done that. “Spend time and money learning all you can about the business of music”...well, no one told you to do that did they?!
It has been said about education that we don’t know anything until someone tells us. If that is true, the fault in ‘not telling’ musicians that they MUST spend some time and money on educating themselves on music business issues is the fault of the businessmen and women who kept their clients uninformed. (Ignorance IS bliss as far as the old guard of music executives are concerned). But, KNOWLEDGE IS BLISS should be the byword for the musician of the new millennium. Please...spend some time and money educating yourselves about the music business, a few hours now, can protect your future forever!
A GUIDE TO MAKING A LIVING AS A MUSICIAN
The music business is not unlike any other business. If you don't understand how it works, you can get blindsided. For upcoming artists and musicians, and their representatives, who are often just as unaware, I felt that it was about time that someone provides them with some hard truths--and a road map to traverse the dark corners of this competitive industry. On the theory that information plus truth equals power, hopefully, my book will result in new artists receiving a fairer share in the profits generated by their music.
Shocking Music Industry Truth:
Record labels do not care what your music sounds like. They only care how many CDs you can potentially sell. Period, that's it, end of story.
This is Dollar Driven Business Land, people. It's not a good thing, it's not bad thing, it just is. If you want to make money in music, acknowledge it and move forward accordingly.
Tradition tells you that the only way to realistically make good money is through the tried-and-true, nine-to-five grind--doing something you're not particularly thrilled with.
It doesn't have to be that way for you. Why not make good money at something that excites you, at something that holds your interest? If your desire is strong enough, if you educate yourself and come up with a game plan--and implement that plan!--you can do anything you want.
How do you come up with that game plan? Leave that to us. That is exactly why we compiled our Ultimate Guide to Making a Living as a Musician so that talented people can arm themselves with the knowledge they need to break into the music business.
HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR MUSIC
KNOW YOUR OWN STRENGTHS
One of the top ten questions I get asked by newcomers to the industry is, "How do I get heard in the music business?"
Before I can answer that, I have to know exactly what they want to be "heard." When I ask them about their goals -- whether they want to be songwriters or recording artists -- the most common response is, "Both."
Listen to the Truth
The unfortunate truth of the matter is that, while many of thenewcomers I counsel may be gifted as songwriters or as singers, very, very few are equally blessed with both talents. While one ability may come rather naturally, the other often needs significant honing. The problem is, not everyone wants to hear the truth. Some great singers (who are average songwriters) can make the really average songs they've written shine through the sheer power of their vocal ability. They make the phrase "I love you" sound so good that you almost believe they invented it. In equal numbers come the great songwriters (who are average singers) who have been told by family, friends, lovers, and late-night adoring coffeehouse/honky-tonk buffoons that, despite the fact that their tempo, pitch and teeth are bad, they have star quality. And no matter how badly they sing, their songs are still strong enough to survive a mediocre vocal performance and sound like hits. (This is the only reason karaokemanufacturers are not hunted for sport!)
Check your Ego at the Door
The bottom line is: lose your ego. It's called "absenting of self." The person most likely to come between you and your career goal is you. Don't make the best of your talent a donkey for the least of your talent. Get some unbiased feedback from industry pros (available through a variety of NSAI programs), and if you are indeed weaker in one area, focus on your strength.If you're a great singer -- but an average writer -- don't be upset if someone loves your voice but wants you to sing someone else's songs. Go find those great songs while you learn to become a better writer. By the same token, if you're a great songwriter -- but an average singer -- don't be upset if someone wants to record your songs but passes on you as an artist. Remember, this is called the music "business," and the business end of our industry knows that the majority of the G.A.P. (Great American Public) just wants to hear great records. They don't lie awake nights wondering who wrote and/or sang the songs they like on the radio.
Be Smart
If you have a sneaking suspicion that the preceding law even remotely applies to you, then do yourself this favor: picture the music industry as a large building with an entrance for singers on one side, and an entrance for songwriters on the other. Maybe you can't go through both doors at the same time, but you can concentrate on getting inside through the door that opens the most easily for you. Who knows? Once you're inside, you can end up just about anywhere.
Check your Checklist:
Have you kept your pronouns consistent? If it's "she" in the verse, it should not be "you" in the chorus (unless you left "she" for "you").
Have you varied your rhyme scheme from the verse to the chorus to subtly alert the listeners that something (the hook) is coming their way?
- Is there a significant change in the melody from the verse to the chorus?
- Do the opening couple of lines of the first verse set the stage for the story that follows?
- Is the hook in the right place? With rare exceptions, the title/hook is placed at the end of the chorus, not somewhere in the verse or the backyard.
- Is the language you use to tell your story contemporary, i.e. would you hear it in normal day-to-day conversation?
MORE TIPS
1. Make sure you've told the whole story.
A song should have a beginning, a middle and an end. For an example -- you did that, I did this, and now we're doing that and (INSERT YOUR HOOK HERE.)
A hook is the main idea of a song, and usually, but not always, is the song's title. Your job as the songwriter is to lead the listeners step by step through the story and deliver them to the hook -- totally involved and completely satisfied. Remember that songs generally are either a dialogue between two people or a narrative simply told. After you've written your song, look at it all. If you wouldn't have said it naturally to a lover, friend or enemy the way it's written, then it probably should be rewritten. Poems make very boring songs.
2. When you're stuck, try another angle.
For those of you locked in what professional writers know as "second verse hell," I will pass on a tip that a wily old writer told me some years ago. If you've completed your first verse and chorus, and there seems to be nowhere else to go because you've said everything you wanted to say, make the first verse your second verse and write a new verse (to explain how you got to the second verse). This tip works often enough to make it one of the most valuable tips ever given to me.
3. Know when to quit.
Finally, never overwrite. After you've told your story, hit your hook and get out. Too much will always be too much.
No comments:
Post a Comment