Jaded Artists
Within the last ten years of corporate buyouts and mergers within the music industry, dozens of artists have been displaced. Many of them without the proper education in the form of 'artist development' which existed in the Motown days. Urban artists in particular often times hadn't the slightest clue as to how to survive and keep their name and craft alive without the shelter and protection of their record label. Now thrust into a community of internet sales and independent labels outnumbering the majors, many of them are like disgruntled employees or freed slaves without the fortitude and ingenuity to make good on their 'label promoted' name.
What are the 'emancipated' to do with their freedom? Are we to join in their complaints & gripes against the industry (radio, press, label execs., etc)?
6 Comments:
Some of the emancipated do not consider themselves to be free. They think of themselves as laid off. Its the difference between survivor and victim.
The emancipated need to get together and build. In this age of technology, iPod, podcasting, streaming media etc there are many outlets for independent artists.
I am not an artist, but I know if you spend your time griping, your craft will loose in the end. Folks do not want to hear your griping.
It would be great if independent artists could work together and teach each other more. Some type of cooperative organization where people could teach and barter skills.
The hard part will still be how to deal with the media/radio. Independent artists do not have the leverage that the labels have, and at the end of the day, you need that exposure to sell CDs. Indedpendent artists need independent media.
"Independent artists do not have the leverage that the labels have, and at the end of the day, you need that exposure to sell CDs. Indedpendent artists need independent media."
I agree with the previous comment. I am an artist and hope to release our debut project in the summer of 2006. With no management, but instead, just my partner...we, as many, will to what is necessary to get the exposure we can, via the tools we have. Griping is counterproductive to the goals u set....
peace,
F!
http://members.blackplanet.com/a6p
promotion is the biggest hurdle...how do the little guys get heard w/o the big dollas?
we DO have to team together & make indie radio stations that play indie artists POPULAR. we have to have indie magazines & charts that we can get on without paying for them.
let the majors have Billboard, R&R, Soundscan...we know how corrupt they are and how controlled by the PM's, Indie Promoters, & Majors that pay them.
We need our own and we need to make them fun, exciting, edgy, and more creative than theirs...shouldnt be so hard, right?
As an independent artist (member of ZWEi, co-owner of BolaMarge Ent.) AND an exec in the "mainstream music industry" as well, i have a fairly good understanding of both sides of this coin...the indie scene is extremely exciting 2 me & given the aforementioned technological advances of late, should be equally exciting 2 the rest of us! ESPECIALLY the recently "emancipated" artists (thank the LORD for the digital era!)... but truth be told: it aint nothin' new...the very best of indie Urban scene ends up being the mainstream monster that the next generation will rebel against (Def Jam, anyone?)...it's capitalism at its best...when resources are low, creativity tends 2 run high & i'm excited 2 be a part of the next movement while studying the majors from the inside...as far as promotion goes, the key is 2 truly know where you as an indie artist CAN legitimately get mainstream exposure & max it out, but tread lightly b/c one misinformed move'll keep you on the outside looking in, dig? it's just like Monopoly: a simple game on the surface, but the house rules can make or break you...gotta go back 2 work...B.E.Z.
I started this in hopes that artists will look for the friggin doughnut, and not the hole. If you want something to complain about, believe me it's going to be there. But if your focus is to get things done or things changed, you've got to expect the obstacles and get creative with getting around them. Best believe there are plenty of others out there that feel u or feel the way you do, you mission is to find them, get in front of them and give them what only YOU can-yourSELF. -your mission, should you choose to accept it.
Great discussion. I agree with you all,especially Kutimack's enthusiastic outlook on the infinite possibilities available to independent artists. There are quite a few disgruntled major label artists that despise the fact that they have a recording deal. However, I attribute their frustration to simply not managing expectations and understanding the business before signing on the dotted line. We know numerous artists who received bad deals. It is easy to get caught up in the world wind of being courted by a label. But the fact is labels are merely banks. Does it really take $100,000 to make an album? Of course, not. But when you are paying producers $80,000 or more a song, to me this is mismangement of funds for an artist and it sets them up for failure and all out war with their labels because the labels have to recoup the costs of making the album. But if they managed costs better, it wouldn't be so hard for an artist. Thus allowing them to enjoy a more fruitful career. This is why we have so many independents...obviously something is wrong. Who came up with the model, we'll spend a small fortune on our franchise artist in hopes of generating enough revenue to pay for releasing other artists on the label. Insane... For one, I am glad the exploitive nature and culture of the record industry has been exposed. I am glad upcoming artists now have an opportunity to define and shape their own careers through non-traditional means such as the Internet. The record industry realizes the hay day of "status quo" has come and gone. Labels are scrambling for their survival. So much so, Warner music is experimenting with a new model for breaking artists. See the article below from the Washington Post. Interesting...
The making of a rock star isn't what it once was.
A new recording label is signing artists who will release songs primarily online, instead of in retail stores, and whose fans might listen to them on the Internet, instead of on commercial radio.
The recording label, Warner Music Group Corp.'s Cordless Recordings, is trying to use the Internet to produce and distribute music in ways that circumvent the usual channels, essentially redefining how an artist can make it big. Groups will release their work in three-song "clusters" -- mini-albums of a sort -- that will be sold at online music stores like iTunes and Rhapsody, and then manufactured in compact disc form only if the audience is large enough to make it financially viable.
The man leading the cutting edge of technology for the new label is a septuagenarian old-school rock guy, Jac Holzman.
"Physical product has its place in the world," but using the Internet is a faster and cheaper way of searching for and validating talent, said Holzman, a longtime proponent of independent music who made it big by signing the Doors on the Elektra music label in 1966. Making, marketing and distributing a new artist's CD is a half-million-dollar gamble, whereas the same money can fund the release of seven to 10 artists on the Internet, he said.
"That doesn't mean we're lowering our standards," he said. It just means Holzman and the president of the new label, Jason Fiber, can cast a broader net. Cordless announced its launch yesterday with six bands found through scouts, searching the Internet and referrals from other divisions of Warner Music. The label is hiring an intern whose job as "online ferret" will include trolling the Internet and blog sites for musical prospects, Holzman said.
The digital medium is creating a resurgence in small-time, independent publishing. Not only are big labels and giant Internet companies allowing people to publish things like blogs, videos, and other self-made content online, some are trying to use the medium to scout for new talent.
Lycos Inc., a subsidiary of Daum Communications Corp., runs a search engine, but is trying to recast itself as an online publishing house that helps both obscure and established artists put their works online.
In December, Lycos plans to start an online digital music label, said Alfred Tolle, chief executive of Lycos. "We want to position Lycos in this area of music, news, entertainment," and by using its existing audience of 25 million users it has a built-in audience for marketing and distributing home-grown music, he said.
The goal of Cordless Recordings, Fiber said, is to identify more gems out of the "cacophony." Ideally, it will not only give more aspiring artists a shot at stardom, it will help create communities of fans, and help the music industry evolve into new formats, he said.
Last month, Warner Bros. Records Inc. took a technological step away from the popular CD format when it released an album by independent rock band the Sun that was sold online, on vinyl record and on DVD, but not on CD.
While the mechanisms for finding and promoting artists are evolving, Holzman argued that the fundamental experience of becoming a rock star isn't so different from the days of Jim Morrison and the Doors. After all, he said, "every artist that's a big artist today started small and simple," he said. "We are just trying to get them before the feeding frenzy begins."
© 2005 The Washington Post Company
One last thing, though it may sound a little idealistic, I believe the key to leverage for independent artist is to go where the majors won't...go to places they have overlooked. I have a motto that I live by....sowing leads to increase. In otherwords, helping others helps provide leverage for each individual trying to make a career in this business of music...help each other. We take for granted that most people know how to make an album. Not so. There are folks out there with great material, but they are relying on the traditional means of being discovered...hoping that they will be discovered. I agree with sunshine, some type of cooperative organization to teach others and a place to barter skills. In my spirit life I believe there is enough for all. If there is anyone out there that needs assistance in how to get an album produced, pressed and distributed...I'm happy to provide my knowledge and experiences. Feel free to email me at faiththrulove@hotmail.com.
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