Take It From Brian Wilson...'Getting Around' Isn't All It's Cracked Up To Be

The world of music industry licensing contracts is convoluted and murky one where nothing is what it seems…much like the Island of Dr. Moreau. Things that may intuitively seem like good ideas like signing a non-exclusive licensing agreement of combining the bodies of a human and tiger may not be the career and/or evolutionary breakthrough you’re looking for. Unfortunately, that’s as far as I can take that particular analogy since my knowledge of the story is limited to the distant memory of movie trailers and the Halloween spoof done by The Simpsons.

But as with every decision in a musicians career path, and contracts in general, you need to do your homework and whatever you’re planning, give it a second, third and fourth thought. A non-exclusive deal might sound either good or too good to be true, depending on how cynical you are. The truth is that neither of those assessments are entirely accurate. It’s not exactly ‘too good to be true’ because there’s no glaring deception involved. It just has a number of downsides that the person offering the contract may not disclose. The deal can be ‘good’ if you’re desperate and willing to take anything, but implied perks like retaining the rights to your music aren’t exactly perks because the standard exclusive contract will let you do that anyway. The downside you’ve been waiting for is that the general availability of your music drives down its copyright value and makes it harder to sign if you’re offered a more lucrative exclusive deal.  

The history of the music industry is full of horror stories about musicians losing the rights to their music and being cheated out of royalties, usually due to a combination of unchecked enthusiasm and sinister plots carried out by money-grubbing executives. Nothing can be done about the latter because those guys are still around, but you can make smarter decision than those who came before you and think it over before putting your figurative cat’s head in your figurative dog’s body. For a thorough explanation of the differences between these types of agreements, click the link below: 

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Good Advice For People Who Love Bad Advice

Anyone out there with the self-awareness of a fish or greater knows how easy it is to be your own worst enemy. Creative types know this as much as anyone. Most understand the competitiveness of any given art field and that there is no public demand for mediocre painter or bands (except in the cynical/realistic sense). But rather than use this foreknowledge to further our cause, we sometimes let it sink us into a constant, slow motion panic. We put too much thought into the wrong aspects, not enough thought into the right ones, and sometimes overlook crucial components of our would-be careers entirely. The unfortunate fact is that the only way to be successful in the music industry is to the hard work and the right work. Do give yourself a career path check-up, click the link below:

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Writing a 'Song Sung NEW'

If you’re a longtime music fan who just somewhat recently realized your dream of created, you may have wondered, what it takes to write a good song. The bedrock of a good song is the composition, or ‘songwriting’ to be less pretentious about it. It’s easy to forget, but for centuries, the only way to hear a song on demand was by owning the sheet music and playing it your self. When you think about it this way, it’s clear just how important the songwriting process as. And just like anything else in life that’s important, it’s usually a struggle.

One of the keys to composing a song you’ll be proud of is to really think it through. This includes putting yourself in the right frame of mind before hand by taking a walk for example. It might also include figuring out the structure beforehand, but this may not be for everyone, all the time. Perhaps most importantly, don’t give up on your ideas too easily. Play around with them for a while, try different melodies, try synonyms, different rhyme schemes. You never know what could come out of it. This is true unless you find yourself writing about a girl named “Peggy Sue” or opening with something like “How many roads must a man walk down…”. In those cases you want to give up as fast as possible. Especially  you’re prone to writing about blackbirds or a day that came very slightly earlier on your time line (…yesterday, for example). Paul McCartney’s lawyers are everywhere.

Other good tips are to ask other songwriters you know for advice. If you don’t know any or maybe you’re too embarrassed, just listen closely to your favorite songs and try to identify what you really like about them. If nothing seems to be working at all, try writing in a completely different style from what your used to/aspire to. You may just be a proverbial ‘ugly duckling’ trying to write Jim Morrison songs in a Bruce Springsteen world. The bottom line is: try everything, try often. To read more, click the link below. 

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'All The Young Dudes' Can Be Hard To Please

Just about any new place you go to work, school or just live, people are going to tell you that it was better before you got there. Not because of anything you did to ruin it, but simply because nostalgia is an arguably fixed part of the human condition. The same pattern that applies to geography also applies to time. More specifically, generations. The generation that is coming into their own now (‘Pluralists’, as they’ve ben dubbed) is one the oddest yet. Of course the same thing has been said about every single generation that preceded them probably stretching back to the beginning of language, or at least birthdays. But this time I SWEAR it’s the truth. These little mysteries wrapped in enigmas are just now getting their first part time job and driver’s licenses and hence, are finally able to go to concert without their parents. Like ‘em or not, you’re going to have to find away to appeal to these almost-people, which won’t be easy since they won’t be able to drink (legally) for another five years or so. Not only that, they don't seem to much of a sense of community so getting them interested in their local music scene and your unsigned band is like offering cat food to a tiger. They won't even notice the five ounce tin and before you can even get the darn thing open, you'll be left for dead. To get an idea of how you might go about roping these young whipper snapper in, click the link below: 

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You’re ‘Pledging Your Time’, But Will They?

At some point or another, most bands have to go through some personnel changes. Maybe you lost a member, maybe you’re just adding one, or maybe you’re planning to ‘lose’ a member. In any case, the search to fill that slot can be stressful, or at least unpredictable. So don’t just go with the first person you meet with a drum kit or a sweet amp. Put a lot of thought into it and make your choice carefully. There are a number of questions everyone should ask prospective new bands in order to ensure the best chances for a good match. If blind dates don’t even work so sitcom actors, how can you expect the same principal to work for your band?

The most obvious question is when can you practice. If everyone is going to have to bend over backwards to meet up at the last minute once or twice a month, you’re not going to get anywhere. One of the less obvious questions is whether or not the new prospect has song writing aspirations. If they do and you’re band writes songs together, this can be a plus. If the songwriter/songwriters prefer to work autonomously or just don’t care for the input of others, it can end in disaster. Not every Ringo Starr wants a George Harrison writing songs for them. To read more, click the link below:  

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Being an Alligator in a World of 'Crocodile Rock'

This may already be obvious to most of you, but the music industry does not follow the most intuitive business structure. The most cynical way to put it is that there is no apparent relationship between talent and monetary success. Those of us who are old enough to remember when MTV was about music or when the radio was still a driving force in popular culture, know this very well. What money there is to be made in music follows the trends and those with the money to offer, are only interested in what’s most likely to return on their investment as quickly as possible. This is a major factor in what stands in the way between being an amateur musician and a rock star. And yes, it’s frustrating. It’s as if you were homeless, someone gave you a dollar and then asked where you work. The reality is that you’re probably not going to find gainful employment between your cardboard box and the liquor store. It’s unfair. It’s bad for the industry. It’s bad for the general listening public. But it’s also a firm reality.

There is no solution to this. However if you read between the lines of the writing on the wall, it does offer a choice. You can keep yourself open minded, work on your versatility and just be ready to change with times in order to give yourself the best chances at fame and fortune. The other way to go is to just play the music you love and hope that enough people like it that you’ll be able to pay your rent. The silver lining here is that it’s not just musicians who are frustrated with mainstream music. There are huge subcultures devoted to one or more ‘fringe’ genres (i.e., punk, folk, garage rock, etc.) and the best news of all is that they presumably have just as much money to spend as anyone else. In fact they’re probably willing to spend a little more because nothing beats that feeling of sticking it to the man. To relish in realities of the music industry, good and bad, click the link below.   

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