An old acquaintance of mine worked for years in the entertainment business, including a long career as a producer for Motown, and now gives seminars to aspiring musicians. We recently visited him for a few hours and he let me record his comments about “breaking into the music business” for an article. Here it is!
This will save you the seminar fee of $299, although I’ll have to break your “lecture” into about ten parts or so. However, just his introduction to the subject is fascinating and blows many old stereotypes and public perceptions out of the water. Here’s my friend, who will remain anonymous, had to say:
“About 90% of the aspiring artists I meet at gigs, seminars, and conferences have a childhood dream of landing a major-label record deal. On the many Internet sites for independent and/or unsigned artists, the the vast majority of those artists say their goal is a ‘major label deal’.
“I don’t understand why anyone would want to have a record deal of any kind with a major label, or any kind of label, for that matter. Deals give full control to the record company, and any so-called signing bonus or advance is really a bad loan, very few artists or bands will make it this way, the rest start their (usually short) careers in a weak position, owing money to record companies.
“That approach is becoming ancient history to those in the know. Educate yourself to ‘work smarter’ and your chances will improve dramatically. That being said, there are a few things every aspiring artist should know.
“Label deals just don’t pay. Sure, you might get an advance against sales so you can fund your project, sometimes as much as half a million dollars, a million or more. But only the myopic would consider this a ‘good deal. ‘”. .’
“You see, this way you’re starting from a position of weakness. You start off owing the record company money and become just another property on their balance sheet. All rights to your music will be tied to this deal, so no you can get out of your “record deal” to make licensing deals for internet, foreign markets, TV/films or anything else.You’re locked into a deal for at least three years.
“Who owns you? Think about that. All the options, all the decisions, and all the money will be handled by the label. That includes all the ancillary merchandising that adds a lot to the bottom line of a successful artist, like endorsements, ads, t-shirts. and anything with your name on it or your band’s name on it. Someone else will decide what your single will be. Someone else will decide what videos you make. Your vote may count for nothing in this deal.
“At the same time, there are things that labels have never been good at, and that’s part of the current weakness of the recording industry. Nobody really knows what’s going to be a hit, otherwise every record would sell a million. In fact , the bigger the label, the less they really know how to work a record on the street, how to work with their fan base, or what to do with a fresh new sound.
“It’s simply not true anymore, if it ever was, that a major label deal will improve your career. As the layoffs of the past few months continue to take their toll on the music business, labels have also been working hard to reduce expenses. as responsibilities, to the artists, in addition to establishing special ‘outsourcing’ agreements.
“Outsourcing deals are often just a way for record labels to set up new businesses, with new revenue streams, for their families and friends to run. This is just another ruse to extract more money from artists, since that record labels start to outsource retail, distribution, Internet downloads and everything else.”
Wow, that’s a lot of inside information to digest. It seems like the best of times and the worst of times, all at the same time, for musicians, singers, and performers. But in all times of economic ups and downs, those who work the hardest, and the smartest, will always come out on top. Never give up, but remember to get the lowdown on how things work before you jump in!