Recently I came across an article called "7 Things a Record Deal Teaches You About the Music Industry'. The article goes over a record deal that was given to a young musician, and went over how many issues he had along the way.
Just to sidetrack a little, my focus of this blog is not to just copy and paste someone else's material, but to add to it, and provide my own feedback to the scenarios.
So let's start! #7 - Labels Hunt for Unique Voices
What do we mean here? You are sitting in a room with a bunch of people talking, let's say a crowded restaurant. Out of nowhere you hear someone talking and pick right up on what they are saying. Why? They're unique, something in their voice triggered you to focus. Whether it's articulation, delivery, or that slight rasp they have in their voice from baby colic. They got your attention. The same thing goes in the music business. Record labels don't want some girl that can perform like Ke$ha, they have it already. They want someone unique, and someone who stands out to them.
So let's say you are you, and a company contacts you and slaps a check in your hand like our good pal Spose from the article. What happens next?
#6 - They Have Minions for You
How does one impress the impressionable? Pampering. Whether you're trying to land that new job at your work, or in this case you want a young artist to sign the contract. They mush up to you like a hormone crazed teen in high school trying to get the cute blonde to take him out. Not just the big studios have them, even the little ones do, but the studio runners are people who go out and get anything that is needed for the recording sessions whether it be beer, food, a cable, or drugs (if you are into that sort of thing). The runner sometimes is that kid that just likes to hang out at the studio, or even just the guy they have duplicating CDs for 4$ an hour.
Also - There is another classification of minion. Do you know that many pop artists rarely write their own music? A lot of people write a song that you hear on the radio, and most of the time the songs are never written by the artists. Some people are hired as up and coming artists, but then get turned down later and maybe placed as a studio musician or a lyricist to help new artists write their records. Don't believe me? The article mentions Bruno Mars, you know this guy, right? Superbowl? Halftime? You get the point. Well this guy WAS a minion, for about ten years he was a writer for OTHER artists until he finally got his break. They would have Bruno record his vocals for a placeholder then find a 'better' artist to replace them.
#5 - The Labels Convince Naive Kids They're Rock Stars
The record labels like to fatten you up. Feed your ego and make you feel like you are the best thing since The Beatles to walk this earth. Why do they do it? They need your ink. They need your soul to reap of all of it's innocence to sell records to make money for them. THEM. Just like the article, they had fluffed him up with flying him in a jet to NYC immediately, but then later sent him some papers that "YOU HAVE TO SIGN IMMEDIATELY". Why would you do this?
The reason being they are forcing a document in your face. You don't have an entertainment lawyer, you don't really have real world experience yet, and you're going to sign a document that you know about two words within it. Those two words are your name. The only language that is universal is the other thing you recognize in the papers, those $$$$$ symbols that make your eyes flip open like Yosemite Sam.
#4 - They are Casting a Role
The record label is the director now. They are casting you to play the lead role, but what you don't know is you're filming the extended version of The Lord of the Rings and most of it isn't hitting theaters. Artists record upwards to 25 songs per album, but only put maybe 10-12 on the actual press. Why? Maybe it didn't jive with the flow of the record, or maybe it didn't please the producer. The main thing is, you are placing your heart and soul into tracks that some guy that did nothing but listened to it goes "Nah, won't sell" Where is the music? Where is the emotion that was poured into songs like Janis Joplin's song "Mercedes Benz"? It's gone. You are the puppet and the industry is the puppeteer.
#3 - You Write Songs by Committee
How about this scenario to resonate with you. You order a pizza. Only one. This pizza needs to feed 12 people and only one slice per person. All twelve people need to decide what they want on this pizza. This is how a committee writing works, a bunch of people deciding what the song is about, what it will sound like, and how it will be sang. The deciding factor is, the producer has the Dominos app open and he's going to have the last say if ham ends up on your pizza. You don't write your music anymore, it's there for you, please enjoy the shirt we sent you.
#2 - It's a Ridiculous Numbers Game
The label doesn't just want one single out of you. They want the second single as well, and if they think they have that second single picked out, guess what? You're doing revisions until you're blue in the face until they're happy with it. Just like the article he had done 60 revisions of his second single. There's a high chance you won't even find that second single. Is it luck of the draw? Or are the cards already stacked in the dealers favor?
#1 - There Is a Blessing for One-Hit Wonders in 2014
2014 and the latter years bring great fortune to one hit wonders. The basement musician can list their songs on iTunes for a small fee and make some cash that they would NEVER see in the record industry. The industry says piracy and internet downloads are destroying music. Are they? Or are they sprouting a new breed of musicians that don't have 1,000,000$ to make a record? This is where I come in. I support the basement artist. I support the kid that works two jobs to feed his family and just wants to put out a demo for his close friends and family. I am the angel in the world of devils.
Shawn Myers
570 Productions
