I
have just signed my 4th record deal in 10 years. An independent company
called Trippin' In Rhythm Records who run their label through V2 records
in order to get major (Virgin Records) distribution and marketing clout.
In an age where I'm literally watching record labels go under by the
week, I am actually quite surprised I landed a new deal at all to be
honest. I am watching contemporaries of mine set up their own record
labels, some successfully, others not, and I was all set to do the same
and set up shop as plan B if I couldn't get this new album signed. Running
a label is a huge commitment and frankly I don't know how I could do
it the way I would want to without seeking funding and going into partnership
with three other experts. Selling a few copies of my latest album on
the internet is not my style....
So why did I manage to get signed again? Well I have thought about this
and I've come up with a few answers, not to toot my own horn but to
try to explain to you what might be necessary in order for YOU to get
to where you are trying to get to.
For years I have heard from successful people that "the planets
must be aligned!". Well, this might be another way of saying
"Good luck!" In order for the planets to be aligned, our lives
must therefore be completely out of our control, yes? Our success must
be in the lap of the Gods. Well, I have never been one to sit and wait
for the grass to grow around my feet, there is simply too much to do.
And I never wanted to believe that success would happen arbitrarily.
I've never ever just waited for the phone to ring. So I have always
believed that if I am to be successful dammit, it is up to me
to align the planets! And I have never adopted this principle more so
than leading up to my latest project.
I decided in January 2005 that I would spend the whole year recording
a new album and doing everything I had to, in order to get my ducks
in a row so the new album could be released. I planned on a 1st quarter
2006 release. I spoke to labels throughout the year and explained to
them that, were they to take on this new record, it was of paramount
importance to me that the record be released 1st quarter 2006. Why?
because if you release a record at any other time of the year as far
as I am concerned, it can be disasterous. Firstly, if a record goes
to radio Jan/Feb let's say, you have the whole year to promote it, and
the industry is excited to get going again after the holiday. What is
more, whatever radio action you get, you can parlay into concert performances.
In my genre, all of the big music festivals happen in the summer, so
a 1st quarter release can gear you up perfectly to jump on these shows.
Furthermore, radio takes a painfully long time to react now where a
new single can take 6 months to get any chart action, so releasing a
record later in the year doesn't make sense for promotional purposes.
And releasing records later in the year will put you in massive competition
with major label artists, and fighting for shelf space at record stores
is not pretty! There is simply less competition at the beginning of
the year. It makes sense.
So after shopping around, I finally ended up with two labels fairly
keen and agreeing to my release schedule. Trippin' In Thythm came through
where the other label ended up being just a lot of hot air. So why did
the one label come through? I mean after all, I was being somewhat demanding!
A number of reasons...
At the beginning of last year I spent several months experimenting with
new music. Kind of dissapeared up my own ass if you will. Very proud
of my self indulgence, I whisked this music off to labels. "All
very well Chris but give us something we can market!" was the
grim reply. Disheartened, I spent some time thinking about what I should
do. After some thought I decided to personally hire Paul Brown, the
most successful jazz record producer currently working, who I happen
to know quite well. I said "Paul, I need a hit song!"
So he dug deep into his treasure chest and after a couple of weeks we
came up with something really strong for radio. That and his name on
the production was enough to get one or two heads turning and I was
back on the radar again. This was an extremely expensive investment
on my part but clearly it was the right move. I had aligned a planet...
Package tours are all the rage now in the music biz, certainly in the
urban/soul jazz format. Rather than wait for a management company to
call me up and offer me a slot on a package tour I decided to put one
together. So I contacted a few folks and pitched a tour together featuring
a very well known R&B diva (can't mention her name just yet - negotiations
still underway) and more heads turned. When I put this idea to the record
labels, they thought it was an amazing idea. I had aligned another planet...
Now I'm thinking, "It's about time I had a new manager!"
I called up a friend who I have known for a while and put the idea to
him, telling him about the potential tour, record label and radio single.
"Great let's do it!" he said. Why this particular manager?
Because not only is he completely connected but he is also a concert
promoter and even though he can go to an established agent and pitch
this tour, out of the box he can set up 10 shows on his own. One more
planet aligned....
And once everyone involved got wind of what was going on, they all cemented
themselves
in the machine further. They are
all now on board because the planets are aligned. Because I aligned
them.
Now, this scenario may be much larger (or smaller) than the game you
are presently in, but it doesn't matter. You do what you can with what
you've got. In simple terms. Put a plan together. Positive things will
result out of positive action and before you know it you are one step
of the ladder further up than you were before. I didn't always have
the connections I now have but I always managed to make things happen
out of thin air because I set little goals and would not stop until
they all came to fruition.
Now, I should also mention on a realistic note, that even though I have
put my plan into action, have my machine around me, everything could
go horribly wrong. Radio could be unresponsive, promoters could balk
at my package tour idea, my record could stiff at retail. Yes it could
all go horribly wrong. But I have lessened the odds of disaster by aligning
my little planets. Should I have chosen not to plan, not to organize
ahead of time, I probably wouldn't have a deal, a single, a finished
record or any buzz about my project right now. It's pretty much a given
that the project would have failed.
I'm not in the business of failing...are you?
1/28/06
