New artists seem to emerge with major label deals and hot new
records all the time, leaving a struggling artist to wonder why.
They listen to these new artists and meticulously compare – to
the limit that their own ego will allow – this new sound vs.
their own. “Why them, not me?” they’re left to wonder, “Why did
they get signed to a major label deal and not I?”
When I was asked to speak at the Indie Music Forum in New
York City a few years ago, I asked the crowd a simple question,
“What is the number one job of the A & R director?” The
answers were varied, but correct in regard to the “functions”
of an A & R director. But the “function” of the A & R
director was not my question, I explained. My question was “What
is the number one job of the A & R director?”
After a minute of silence, I explained. “The A & R
director’s number one job is to “ remain the A & R
director or advance upward.” Suddenly, they were confronted with
the possibility that success was something more than just
perfecting their craft and having the right person hear it. Dick
Graebel once told me over dinner, “Playing offense may have its
glory, but it’s defense that wins the game.” He began his own
career with the slogan, “One Man, One Truck and a Dream,” and
went on to build the 6th largest moving & storage company in
America. How is trucking related to music?
They’re both business: pure and simple.
It seems harsh, but business – even the music business --
is a game of survival of the fittest, and to succeed you have to
have a strategy to compete. Nowadays, the CEO of a music
corporation is just as likely (than not) to have previously been
running a large widget factory.
It’s not only how many records you can sell that matter,
but also how much those sales cost to achieve. That, in part, is
why you see big name artists dropped after only selling 250,000
copies of their last album. Therefore,
the number one job of the CEO is the same as the director of A
& R: protect the job. This
doesn’t mean that young executives who love the music first
don’t exist. But it does mean that somewhere along the path they
will more than likely need the approval of someone who doesn’t,
and/or might have to put their job on the line to champion your
record. So you have to give them the tools to help you.
To get that elusive deal is a combination of knowing when the
timing is right, and having a strategy when that time arrives:
luck has little to do with it. Think of yourself as a product, and
the record company as a prospective client. Product, packaging and
marketing are the keys for closing the deal. When Beatrice Foods
wants to launch a new juice line, typically they don’t develop a
new one. They find a company that fits the profile and they buy
it. The same formula
holds true for many labels: they look for finished product that
they can then package and market as their own.
It is far easier for a music executive to take an interest in
you if they can visualize the end product, and have others
validate that interest: executives don’t often like to parachute
alone. Therefore, it always helps if there is a “buzz” of
excitement around you and/or your music. You can create your own
buzz through a simple series of building blocks:
Ø
Get out and test your music with live audiences. If you
can’t gain their interest how will you gain a labels?
Ø
If you are performing regularly, collect email addresses from
everyone who comes to your show who would like to be in the loop
of your career. Create a newsletter to that subscriber list,
telling them not only about upcoming gigs, but also about your
career, how it is developing. If they are interested in you as
well as your music, they are more likely to help spread the word
about how great you are, ultimately becoming part of your
grassroots promotion team. Stimulate feedback from them through
questionnaires and letters.
Ø
Once you have a tight show and are drawing an enthusiastic
crowd, start inviting the press, and industry executives to see
you perform. Get people talking!
Ø
Network and find reporters that like your work. Publicity is
a pyramid: lots of little stories that build one on top of the
other until together they tell a big story.
Create a series of little stories that are news worthy, and
in time all those little continuous stories will attract larger
media outlets. Get into print!
Once you have established yourself as something new and
fresh, and have attracted a loyal following, it is time to make
the sale. Create a package (for targeted label executives)
containing a press kit (all those press clippings, letters from
fans), a good 8 x 10 photo, bio with contact info, and a demo
(produced as a finished record if possible).
Again, research is key. DON’T send a package to “A
& R Director.” Find
out “who” the A & R director is, or the name of a lower
level person who has some influence and can get you to the right
executive. Do the homework to learn what labels handle your type
of sound. Investigate the various labels track record and
financial condition. Sometimes a label with good financial
resources that hasn’t had a hit in a while is ripe for a new
discovery, while a label at the height of success is too busy
catering to their existing stable of stars.
(You don’t want to get signed and yet never have the
record released.) Ask around to learn who the new up and comer
executives are, those with fire in their belly who haven’t yet
realized that they need to protect their job, and perhaps, you can
help each other.
Another approach that might not require as much preparation
is to secure the efforts of a credible producer to make the sale
for you. Having discovered a young singers voice, a producer will
sometimes package that singer into a recording artist, which they
then pitch to the labels on the strength of those recordings and
their own name recognition (think Eminem).
Producers are more likely to work with a new recording
artist based solely on that artist’s raw talent than would a
music executive. However, there are only a handful of producers
that have that level of clout. So it should be no surprise that
they are inundated with requests. But again, know your
marketplace, and in this case, the producer.
What type of music is the producer known for, what labels
is the producer affiliated with, what type of artists is he/her
interested in working with? Where
can you have the best chances of a one on one introduction? In
other words, find the right fit, and a have a strategy to
implement it.
If you get the opportunity to pitch yourself to a producer,
that pitch should include; a photo, a 3-song CD -- stripped of fancy musical arrangements, thereby
highlighting your voice, not the production. Producers have their
own imagination, allow them to use it.
There are no hardened rules in the music business, so don’t
be afraid to be creative. It might be a simple as being in the
right place at the right time. No, that’s not luck, its
homework. Being in the right place at the right time requires
knowing where the right place is. Of course the best way to get a
deal might be to become successful (as an independently
distributed artist) enough that you don’t need a deal.
Remember, record deals are like bank loans, and they are
easiest to obtain when you don’t need one. But, that’s for
another article altogether. e
Copyright 2005 – Brie Austin – All Right Reserved
