I have a lot of conversations with musicians who want to take their career from amateur to professional. Some want to be famous; some just want to be able to make a living from their music. Either way, it’s not easy, but it doesn’t have to be as complicated as you might think!
Back in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, it was all about getting a record deal and the advance that came with that. Now, a record company won’t even look at you unless you’ve already sold thousands of albums and can pack clubs around your region. Getting a deal is tough. Getting a great deal is tougher still! I know a local reggae artist who has a major label record deal. It works like this. They’ve agreed that the record company will promote his song as soon as he produces a “hit”. Basically, they’ve got him tied up just in case he ever does produce a hit, then they’ll capture the profits from that song. I’m not sure how they got him to sign that contract. Probably with a small advance, which is really just a loan against future profits. These are the kinds of things happening in the music industry right now. It used to be the case that a record company would see you, believe in your potential, sign you, give you an advance and get to work for you. Unfortunately in this day and age, you can’t realistically expect that to happen.
So what are artists supposed to do?
Today, artists are expected to produce their own records, garner their own fan base, book their own tours and promote their albums and shows. It might sound overwhelming but it is actually a good thing! Record companies hire people who are very good at what they do to make the music happen. It costs a lot of money. It’s a very expensive loan against the band’s future profits. However you can hire professionals to work for you too. It’s not rocket science.
As an independent band or artist don’t be afraid to spend money on yourselves. Sure, there are some conmen out there. But you should be able to tell the difference between a conman and an industry professional very easily. If they do what they say they are going to do, if they show up on time, if they answer your calls and are straightforward with you, then they are most likely legitimate. However even David Geffen can’t guarantee that you will be successful. Most of that is up to you. But try to put together a team that can help take your career to the next level. Good people cost money and usually are not willing to take a percentage of future profits. Don’t be afraid to pay them. They are what you want to be someday: professionals in the music business.
I am a studio proprietor. Every once in a while, I get a phone call that goes like this.
Me: “Hello, this is Taylor Sound Studios”
Caller: “Yo, my name is Slice and Dice – I’m going to be the biggest star you ever saw! You need to hear my rap right now. You ready? … [followed by some decent rapping]… ” Yo, what d’you think? Tight right? I promise I’ll make tons of money for you if you just give me a shot. Just help me record my album and I’ll give you 50% of the profits”.
It’s an example of a very naive, very young artist. I have to explain that it doesn’t work like that. But we all live in a certain amount of naiveté. It would be nice to think that a producer should always be willing to take profits on the back end and have time to give us free consultation and advice. Unfortunately they won’t and they don’t. A booking agent doesn’t owe us a response if we send them a media kit. The reality is, we all need to eat. People in the production and promotion realm (music producers, promoters, publicists, agents, managers) aren’t in the business of judging your music. They are in the business of making money. So if your music is good, don’t be afraid to spend money making it. If you have a project you believe in, get a budget, develop a game plan and implement your strategy. Hire some good people to make it fly or get really good at doing it yourself. Make it your life’s mission and it might just pay off.
Note to Bob – I would take this next paragraph out altogether – it doesn’t add much value and the blog is getting too long! However I’ve edited it slightly in case it’s an important story to your client and he wants to leave it in.
The following is an example of a good start that was stopped midstream. Two mothers and their 4 daughter were singers. They had a few songs. One of them was very catchy so they decided to work on that one. They hired me to produce it and I hired someone who could produce their vocals and write and perform their music (a fairly well known local R&B producer). I had my engineer record, mix and pitch correct their vocals. They paid me half the money up front – that’s something I normally wouldn’t do, usually I collect all the money up front. Anyway, we did the recording session and the producer finished the music track in a separate session. Then the engineer needed another session to do the pitch correction and work on the mix. I played the song for one of the mothers over the phone and she was speechless. The song was great – it could have been a hit. There was only one problem. The mothers had been talking to other people, so called “industry experts,” who told them I charged too much for their song. So, they got cold feet. One of them called me and asked for their money back. “I can’t do that,” I explained to her, “I still have to pay the music producer and the engineer.” In fact I had every right to sue her for the balance – not that I would, I hate dealing with lawyers and courtrooms! The point of the story is that she had almost purchased a potential hit song . The producer, the engineer, the mothers and I all agreed on that. But she was too afraid to spend money on it. If someone can help you make a potential hit song and give it to you with no strings attached, isn’t that worth something? . If someone can help make you famous in the local region, wouldn’t you be willing to pay for that? If the answer is yes, don’t be afraid to hire and pay professionals. There is no other way to make it in the music business. Don’t listen to people that don’t know what they’re doing. And remember, as always you get what you pay for.
Based on my experience, I would like to lay out this example of a good strategy for recording and releasing an independent album:
First, record your album. You should be able to find a studio that will charge between $25 and $75 per hour (that’s if you don’t need help producing and writing songs). It might take 100 hours to record a full-length album, so let’s say that’s about $5000. Of course, you can do it cheaper if you have your own gear and you know what you’re doing, but $5000 is a fairly frugal budget for a full-length album. You’ll want to master the record, so that’s another $500-$1000 and another $1000 to manufacture. So now, we’re up to $7000. Maybe, you have gotten to this point before and thought that the spending was over. Phew! Sorry not quite – unless you want to watch those CDs sit on your shelf for 5 years.
You’ll also need some help promoting and selling your CDs. This is where a publicist can help you. A publicist will design a promotional campaign and give you a price, most likely based on an hourly rate for their time ($30-$100/hour). They can help you design a press release and get the word out about your band. If you have a show, they can help get an article in your local papers. They can solicit reviews in magazines and blogs and help you post on Face book and Twitter. Finally they can help you with your timing. And the music business is all about timing. Your press release has to be on the editor’s desk at a certain date before the publishing deadline or it has no chance of even being read. You have to know who to talk to, and when to call. Publicists, critics and writers have their own little community. They are always scratching each other’s backs. Ever notice that the City Pages’ (or any other city rag) “best bands” are always friends of the writers? Hmmm…
At the same time you hire a publicist you also need to hire a booking agent. This is a little tricky because a lot of booking agent’s rosters are filled with bands that can already draw crowds and make money. They don’t have time to “break” a new band. So, you can either pay them to “break” you, hire an un-established booking agent who has more time, or you can do it yourself. Some established booking agents will book you for an up front fee. You might have to pay them $1000 against future percentages. An agent will take between 10 and 20 percent, sometimes more. We live in an age where you’re lucky to walk out of a gig with $50. Give it to your soundman and your booking agent. The goal is to increase your revenue over time. With a publicist and a booking agent working for you, and if you’re good, it can happen.
Record albums, book shows, publicize the CD and the shows, sell your CDs at the shows and repeat. This is the formula. Again, if you’re good, over time you will see your fan base increase. Once you have a fan base, it all starts to make sense because you are paying professionals out of a revenue stream, not out of your pocket. At that point, you truly appreciate their value.
There are many other positions that support musicians. There are managers, agents, tour managers, promoters, lawyers, road crew and radio promoters. All of these positions will be filled as the need arises. Having a booking agent and a publicist is a streamlined, modern way to run a band or artist. It is the bare minimum, but, it may also be all you ever need to release your album and make it big in the music biz!
