The process of breaking new artists hasn’t changed in a few decades but now with a new “”e-era” the old models are no longer working, radio isn’t the primary way to break those artists and the majors are in serious trouble with the new game for exposing new music shifting away from those old monoliths to the high speed world of the internet.
All young talent needs focusing and directing and unfortunately that function used to be provided by the majors. Sadly with layoffs and cutbacks at the big four music groups, the “artist development” function was the first thing go and today it is all but a dim memory.
But that was how Hollywood built stars, stars that endured from decade to decade. I have spent my life developing and launching new careers with new artists from Janet Jackson, Byran Adams to Joe Jackson and have been fortunate to work with some of the worlds greatest talent from Duran,Duran, to Cat Stevens to Tori Amos. Although styles of music change, the “method” and approach to developing a new artist has not and today I adhere to the same methods that I used successfully at A&M Records as Vice-President/A&R.
But the process of developing great talent required experimentation and shifting of variables to get the formula correct. Labels might have had to invest in two to three albums before they got it right but today they can’t afford to do it that way any longer.
Today’s new artists do have the option of developing themselves without a label and by slowly building a foundation of fans and friends on the web, they can take more time and trials to figure out their own blueprint for success.
But beware…there are 10 common mistakes I have seen new artists make over and over again. If you’re trying to make it today in music either on your own or with an eye on the majors, you should try and avoid these common errors at all costs. Hopefully this will save you a lot of time and heartache, greatly increase your chances and set you on a powerful path to success.
THE TEN MOST COMMON MISTAKES A NEW ARTIST MAKES
1) THEY DON’T KNOW WHO THEY ARE AND WHO THE AUDIENCE IS THAT THEY ARE TRYING TO REACH. If you don’t know who you are, nobody else will. Don’t make the mistake of being all over the board with your direction, style and songs. If you do, you will only confuse people. Do you know who your target audience is? Do you know their age group? Are they primarily male or female? What artists do they listen to and support? What image should you project to reach this audience both visually and sonically?
2) THEY MISS THEIR “ONLY” CHANCE TO MAKE A GREAT “FIRST IMPRESSION”. Like it or not you only get one chance to make a first impression so the one you do make has got it make it count! Don’t be impulsive of releasing you’re recording, sending it in for evaluation or posting it on the social sites before it is ready. Remember, if it doesn’t accomplish what you hoped for, you might blow the opportunity to get a second listen or even consideration the next time. Now this doesn’t mean that you procrastinate and never commit to make a decision and move forward. But it does mean try out your songs and direction in a small way before you go “live” to the world.
3) THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO “PULL IT OFF” LIVE. You need to play out live as much as possible – but only when you are truly ready to do so. I can’t stress enough that with the advent of digital “bedroom” recording, it’s possible to create tracks with a quality that can take you months to re-create live. If you are a band make sure you are rehearsed, that have you image down pat, and that you achieve as much control over your live sound as is possible. If you are a singer-songwriter you must be able to pull it off live with just you and your instrument. The chances of hiring sidemen and taking them on the road in the beginning are slim and very expensive. Nothing will hurt you more than to create excitement in your recordings and then fall on your face in front of expectant fans. You must realize that in this electronic age, news spreads like wildfire and you may fool your fans in the short run, but eventually, the chat rooms will either be filled with your praises or will be up in arms trashing you. Once you are satisfied that you are getting the point across, building a credible fan base, and have positive unbiased feedback as to what songs are becoming the most popular, then and only then are you ready to record them.
4) THEY BELIEVE THEIR OWN PRESS. I can’t tell you the number of times I have been in preproduction with a band or artist who was trying to make a case for a totally unacceptable song to be included on a CD because their aunt, uncle or next door neighbor thought it was a hit. I know it sounds like a contradiction but after you begin receiving feedback and start to recognize a pattern in what’s working and what isn’t, be especially careful not to make critical decisions based only on comments from adoring friends and family. Undoubtedly they are biased and will have a vested stake in your success. They usually will not make the best sounding board for your considerations.
5) THEY TRY TO LAUNCH WITH TOO MANY SONGS. You should never give away too much of your material at one time. In the beginning, you will be doing extremely well if you perfect three or four songs. Always lead with your best material but make sure that your direction is cohesive. That is to say don’t mix a country song with a dance track. Also you should balance the dynamics –maybe an “up” cut, “mid cut”, “ballad” or “unplugged” track to show the artistic ability of your singer(s). Remember, never pick songs on the basis that your guitar player loves his solo or the drummer can’t believe his cool fill before the 2nd chorus. Keep in mind that each time you play your set in front of an audience your songs will always evolve so give them plenty of time to “ripen” before you record them.
6) THEY TRY TO BE COOL AND WRITE OBSCURE LYRICS OR WANDER TOO FAR AWAY FROM ACCEPTED SONG STRUCTURE. It used to be very hip to write lyrics that people had to try and figure out by debating them amongst each other but unless you are a “druggie” band or writer re-incarnated from the 70’s, it is much better to write you songs in the first person and try as much as possible to pack them with emotion and experiences others have felt and can relate to as well. Again, don’t think it’s cool to wait forever to get to the chorus or try a one-minute intro or guitar solo. Study pop structure and learn it first before you break the rules. You’ll be a better writer and your songs will have much stronger dynamics. I address this issue in detail in my series “The Anatomy Of A Production”/www.musicproshollywood.com
7) THEY JUMP IN TO SELF-RECORDING THEIR MUSIC WITHOUT ANY RECORDING EXPERIENCE. Obviously, the best option if you can afford it is to use a professional or at least an experienced recording engineer to record and mix your music. This may not be possible and today it is so tempting to make tracks on computers and bang them into a sequencer or hard drive system, put on a vocal, do a quick mix and call it a master. Although technology has come a long way to make this achievable, in order for your recordings to be competitive against the big artists that do have the great sounding tracks, you must learn the art of audio presentation. Even if you are a garage band, you need to sound competitive to the most successful ones. The best way to accomplish this is to attend classes but if this is logistically or financially impossible, then at least listen to some of the recordings of groups or artists that are finding success with the audience you are trying to reach. Get to know your speakers by listening to these records on them more than a few times and then after you’ve finished your mixes and mastered them, try to match the levels and play them against those records for comparison.
THEY RELEASE VIDEOS OF THEMSELVES BEFORE THEY ARE READY. Again, because the net offers such easy and quick access to social sites such as Revver, Myspace, Youtube etc., you may be tempted to start posting videos of rehearsals and performances before they are ready to be seen. Although it is very important to have your stream of content appear on the web, you must make certain that what you are putting up is doing you justice. You may be too familiar with your music therefore not so critical of the sound. You will know the musical parts but if others can’t hear them in the mix or your vocal can’t be understood then you’ve wasted an opportunity. Remember, every time you post something or send it to someone you are inviting yourself to be judged.
9) THEY ARE TOO ANXIOUS TO SIGN “ANY” CONTRACT. It is almost 100% guaranteed that if you sign an agreement too early with a local manager, agent or your bass player’s father, you will pay dearly for it later when you need to get out of it in order to sign with real professionals who have the experience, contacts and leverage to make it happen for you. This is not to say that someone with little experience cannot work hard and get you to the top, but to make it as a world-class artist, it will happen faster with a professional team behind you.
10) THEY ARE IN A HURRY TO SIGN WITH A MAJOR. The decision to submit your material to a major is a tempting one and the tendency of many artists is to care more about chasing and getting the “deal” than the financial ramifications of what the deal means in the future after they’ve signed it. You must consult with an expert, preferably an experienced music attorney in order to really understand the financial aspects of the agreement you are signing. Most artists don’t realize the facts until too late, after their first royalty statement. The longer you wait the more leverage you may have when you do talk to a label. It’s all about reducing risk for the executives who sign you. They have very little margin for error so if you can provide evidence that you have a large number of fans in your fan base, and maybe even purchased downloads, the better bargaining power you will have. The truth is today, however, that the majors are losing ground every week and as a result, they have also been forced to cut staff in critical areas of promotion, publicity and marketing. Further, in order to make ends meet, they have been put in a position to need to offer 360 deals which really means that in order to generate greater revenue streams, they are seeking to share in the earnings your music publishing, merchandising, and touring AS WELL as your record earnings. The financial discussion about what the impact of this to you really means is far too much to tackle here but my point is that it very well may be more profitable for you to do it yourself, keep all of your rights, sell less units but make a far greater profit. True they may dangle a carrot in front of you and offer a generous advance but remember, today the money is really in live performance. So my advice is to be careful not to sign away those rights to soon. You are committing to the label at their option for up to seven future albums not to mention that you may have spent a few years building your library of songs which if they don’t bring them home, could be subject to “re-recording” restrictions and you lose the right to record them again for many years in the future. You always have the option to sell yourself later. Be smart and polish your “diamond” first, it might be priceless!
