Pete T. is Music Talks’ “secret” contributing writer. He has asked me to keep his identity private because he works for a major music industry company. He has agreed to write for Music Talks because he has an inside day to day look and experience of the major music industries.
Future articles from Pete will provide info on what steps you can take to better understand the mindset of the mainstream industry, but even more on how you can take the alternative, “DIY,” route.
He will not be able to provide names of the companies and artists that he is referring to, as it could put his job at risk.
I have set up an email address for anyone who may want to ask Pete questions.
David
When do you deserve to call yourself a musician?
Not so long ago, I received a message from a singer-songwriter/poet, who had recently re-located to Los Angeles from the south. He must have written to me because he learned somehow that I work for a music company. He literally pleaded to me to let him come to the office and play his songs, because “all his life he has wanted to be a musician.” He told me what major artists he sounds like. He mentioned getting a few opportunities in the past – like going on a couple of tours opening for national acts, and getting some song placements in major ad campaigns and films. But — to use his words – “nothing” had been happening to his career in recent years.
I will not disclose the artist’s name, what company I work for, or in what capacity I work there. Before I go on, I need to say that the opinions and observations I’m expressing in this article are completely my own, and do not necessarily represent my company or its employees. But I hope my observations of how major music businesses work can help artists understand the value in creating their own careers and work opportunities. This artist’s plea to let some outside source legitimize him as a musician really got to me. Now I know many artists from time to time, including myself, who get fed up with all the hard, never-ending work trying to make a living as an artist. You just wish that you were one of those “lucky few” to land a recording or publishing deal. So that you finally could get some help with all that labor and just be an Artist. Let me just say that the hard work doesn’t stop if you happen to get signed – it intensifies greatly and takes on a different shape.
In spite of all the educational sources about the music business that exist today, many artists still struggle with this reality clash between their highly idealistic and romanticized views of music, and the music business’s views of what success is. And this gap frustrates so many artists, instead of pushing them to take their destiny and careers into their own, self-empowering hands. This mental “stuckness” makes so many artists despair and give up on their vision of making music their living. All because they 1) don’t understand how the major music business operates and 2) are reluctant to explore today’s alternative ways of creating income through their music because it takes a lot of work, and 3) you need to develop a bit of a business mind to accomplish this, just like any other entrepreneur.
First, you should know that there are very talented artists who work day jobs at major music companies. Artists who have great artistic integrity. Who have received awards for their songs and critical acclaim for their albums. Who go on tours on weekends, or on their vacation time. The A&R staff at these companies might even really like their music, and have great respect for their art. Yet, they haven’t signed these artists. That could be for various reasons. But the main one is that A&R people – especially those who work for major multi-national corporations – have to consider what SELLS.
If you look at the top-selling acts on today’s Billboard charts, you’ll find most of them being in R&B, hip hop and the very commercial types of country music, and then you also have the Disney Channel stars, some American Idol contestants, and a few bands in the modern rock vein like Paramore. If you aren’t that type of artist, it’s a waste of energy getting into that game. Occasionally, you’ll find acts like the Dave Matthews Band, Susan Tedeschi, or the Derek Trucks Band. These artists have built their fan base through years of relentless touring, not through radio hits or song placements. They tend to stay on the charts for only a couple of weeks at the most. Their income comes from touring, touring merchandise, and from selling recordings of their live shows. The resourcefulness of the jam band scene actually impressed Billboard Magazine so much that they created a special feature on it in their August 22, 2009 issue. You should check it out.
Somebody in the business once described the A&R position as “a very high pressure sales job.” A&R people get fired all the time – it’s not a career where you can lean back on past successes. If you don’t keep signing selling acts, they’ll just recruit someone new, who hopefully can do a better job. If you’re a new artist who recently got signed and your A&R person gets the boot, this could potentially mean that you lost your main champion and spokesperson to push other people in the company to work for you and your album. And you get stuck in limbo hell. So many elements need to fall into place and people get synchronized in order for an artist to even get heard through these channels. You can have the greatest album – if your team isn’t pushing it, nobody will know. The great thing today is that there are channels where you can do it yourself and get the ball rolling.
Every major label today is trying to figure out a new business model, because the old one doesn’t work anymore, and record sales are way down. The top selling artists of today sell half as many records as their counterparts of the 90’s did. If you check out a SoundScan report and see how little it takes in record sales to make the Billboard album charts in certain quarters, you’d be surprised. It’s maybe 2000 albums or less. For an unsigned independent artist, it’s great to sell 2000 albums in a week. For a major music operation, that’s nothing.
When you listen to new releases by major companies, you can get annoyed and wonder why so many songs and artists sound like carbon copies of another top-selling act. But the people who have the power to sign artists can’t just go after what they personally like – they have to listen for what SELLS. This is not a secret. Clive Davis has openly said that he has two pairs of ears when he listens to music. Some A&R people listen to completely different record collections in their office vs. their home.
The artist who I mentioned in the beginning of this article, had recently moved to LA. With that being said, he needs to build a new audience in his new home base. If he still insists on trying to get signed, the major companies’ A&R assistants are the ones who usually go to shows. The higher-ups usually are a little older and might have families and kids, so they may not go out every night, but rely on the assistants to continually check out what’s new out there. If you build a dedicated audience by gigging and keep working on getting songs placed in films or ads, these people will find out about you. Because it doesn’t only take ears to know what sells, it takes eyes.
But at that point, you might be doing so well selling albums, bringing people to your shows and getting placements that you don’t need their help. In fact, being signed to a major company might even slow down your momentum if you’re not on their priority list, or have to wait until the next quarter or next year to release your album, because they have to put all their attention on other artists who sell more
With this being said, I hope my advice and observations aren’t discouraging, but that they instead help you see the great opportunity in taking the alternate and probably more successful routes that actually are available to artists today. The career of the musician will always involve hard work and hustling. But it’s really exciting to be an entrepreneur, creating your own work and income. A lot of people don’t have the courage to do that, and go through their lives never realizing their potential. Life isn’t about going through the motions. As an artist, you have the chance to make something more out of your time here. Don’t waste it on trying to find somebody or something outside of yourself to rescue you. Or to let you know that you are a musician.
Pete T. is Music Talks’ “secret” contributing writer. He has asked me to keep his identity private because he works for a major music industry company. He has agreed to write for Music Talks because he has an inside day to day look and experience of the major music industries.
