This post was inspired by a conversation I had with a younger musician over myspace and watching The Great World of Sound this past weekend. The basic thesis is, if someone in the music business tells you it takes money to make money, they’re trying to take your money and make it their money.
In The Great World of Sound, the two main characters are traveling salesmen for a Boiler Room style sham record company. Their basic grift is getting new musicians to invest 30 / 70 on a recording contract. Its an enticing offer if you’re a musician who already plans to spend that money on home recording, and the main characters are pretty good at selling it. Every time a musician in the movie agreed to the contract I would almost literally yell “No! Why?! Stop!” and then remember that some people don’t know any better.
There are dozens if not hundreds of books, websites and courses based around learning to “make it” in the music business. No one reads these books of course because its decidedly uncool to be seen reading a book about making money off music. The only way people wind up with one of those is if a well meaning parent embarassingly forces it upon them. The alternative these days is to get the basics from a professional or experienced amateur by asking them directly online – assuming they’re willing to answer.
A younger musician wrote to me on myspace just days after I watched GWoS, in response to an advertisement for a show I’m playing in California this month. She wanted to know how I booked the show and whether or not I was getting paid. I thought she was presumptuous to assume I’d answer, but she was nice about it so we wound up exchanging 5 or 6 messages where I ran down some of the basics I’d learned about booking yourself as a musician and making sure you get paid.
Over the course of conversation it became clear that she’d fallen under the delusion that is almost always put upon young musicians, the delusion that it takes money to make money in music. This couldn’t be further from the truth, especially in the current state of communications. The only cost you should be worrying about is keeping your instruments in good condition and maybe burning some CD-Rs. Everything else should be built upon the success of your last venture.
- Play an unpaid local show and record it.
- Use that recording to book another local show where you sell the recording.
- Include your contact information in the CD.
- Make friends, make fans, make contacts.
- Repeat until someone asks you to play in another city.
- Get paid for it.
- … and so on until you run out of energy or ideas.
Don’t fall into the trap of paying for your own dream when you can’t afford it. Whether its racking up credit card debt while traveling to another city for an unpaid and poorly attended gig, or being sold on a 30 / 70 contract for a record label – just don’t do it.
I love these points!
It seems the thing that’s changed about music publishing is the Barrier.
Fifty years ago, if a person wanted to have their music recorded in a form they could pass out at shows or give to their friends, or just listen to in their own home, they would need to 1) purchase a block of recording time in a recording studio, which at that time was at least $10,000 and then 2) physically press vinyl records, and THIS is the thing that the Record Industry literally had a monopoly on.
Now, an artist’s options start at the price of a computer (to do digital-only distribution) and they can have a CD fully published and distributed for only the up-front costs of manufacturing.
Oasis
Disc Makers
How about one-stop digital licensing that an artist can build and control themselves?
http://www.theorchard.com/
What does this mean for the record industry? A lack of the physical need for large-scale record companies.
HOWEVER, there is one very important thing which an “industry” provides for the individual “artist”. If you are an artist, you know how to make music, but maybe you don’t know how to strategize your public relations, design an album cover, or build a web page.
My personal answer to this? As a strategist, designer, video director and website contractor, i have had a symbiotic relationship with a number of musicians that i really love, for whom, over the years I’ve done either free or inexpensively priced album covers, music video, web site or social media consultation (as I know you do, Doug).
So… I believe the best investment we can make is time & energy, making contact with people one-on-one. Find out what industries people are in, and look for people who are at the same level (aspiring) in their field as you are in yours. If you have an amazing song, and find a video director who would love to simply have a song and a personality worthy of their amazingness, you’re in luck! They may be as happy to have your song in their video as you are to have their talent presenting you and your song. A budding social media strategist (a bright ambitious communications major with a passion for innovation?) can give you gems in minutes of consultation at a time.
Compile everyone’s opinions and make your own decisions. Basically I couldn’t agree more with Doug’s point – there will always be people lining up to charge you money, but in this area, the best things you can do for yourself are now free in our fantastic modern world, and we should never be afraid to just go and do it 100% ourselves. If anything, do it the free way for a while first and then, with some hindsight, decide what else might be worth paying for.