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Chris' monthly
music marketing column, Indie
2000!
Unoriginal Music
May 1999
by Christopher
Knab
This month’s column
addresses the 9th issue involved with the ‘10 Reasons Why Musicians Fail’ that
I originally listed in my August ‘98 column.
So, the topic for this
month’s column is:
“Unoriginal
music that lacks inspired ideas.”
If you have ever
attended a music business conference and walked into a Demo Listening Session you may have
encountered a situation not unlike this scenario.
A panel of A&R
Reps from major and independent labels sit around and listen to 30 seconds or less of a
demo tape or CD that has been submitted for their evaluation. The first song is played,
and after about 10 seconds the Reps are holding their hands over their ears, or waving for
the sound technician to turn off the bloody music. Another song is cued up, and after
maybe 20 seconds the music is stopped and the Reps are muttering amongst themselves.
“That really sucks”, “ I’ve heard it all before”, “That
sounds like an 80’s band”, or “Please, Nine Inch Nails already did
that”.
These and other rude
but honest comments are the natural order of things at such conferences. And in the
privacy of their own offices, homes, and cars more crude and rude comments are made about
your music.
Remember this. Just
because you can record your own music, doesn’t mean it is interesting! What may sound
‘good’ to your ears, may be just crap to the gatekeepers who are paid handsomely
for their ability to evaluate, critique, and SIGN new talent to their record labels and
publishing companies. When any label puts up the money to record and market any artist,
guess what?...they want to get that money back and make a profit. It is really that
simple. Record labels and music publishers are looking for music that will make money for
them, and for you.
Your music must
inspire their business creativity. They must be able to hear your music in the context of
the marketplace they are familiar with. Any good promotion or marketing minded person will
tell you that when they hear music that turns them on, they begin to think of marketing
strategies and tactics to help get that music noticed.
When I am inspired by
a demo tape or CD that has been sent to me, I find myself thinking thoughts like;
“Oh, this would be perfect for such and such radio station.” or, “I have to
play this for that music reviewer at my local music magazine”, or “What a cool
song, why don’t we do this contest around the title of that song”. Music that
compells that kind of response to the listener is truly ‘inspired’ music for
music business professionals. Your music must EXCITE the music business gatekeeper. When
that happens, the wheels of the music business begin to turn.
When asked what they
are looking for, A&R Reps often respond with comments like “We don’t know
what we are looking for, but we’ll recognize it when we hear it.” What we can
read into their comment is that your music must truly stand out in some significant,
original, dynamic, and creative way. 95% of the demo tapes out there contain, regurgitated
ideas that were ripped off from some other more gifted musicians. Challenge yourself!
Talent scouts in this business hear hundreds of ‘wanna-bees’ every week.
What is it about your
music that makes it stand out from all the rest of what music buyers in the mid late
90’s has been complaining about as “indistinguishable groups who all sound
alike”?
Since the late
70’s the cost of making a recording has gone down with each passing year, and with
each passing year more and more wannabee’s have been inflicting their unoriginal
music on an industry that has grown more and more cynical and jaded about finding new
music. Let’s face it, there is never going to be an end to entry level bands and
artists trying to get their music to the ears of an industry they know little about, but
expect so much from.
For starters, WHAT the
A&R Reps are really looking for, but rarely find, is what was once described by a Rep
at a music conference as “What the fuck was that music!”. Now there is a real
clue to what your job as an up and coming musician really is. Your job is to create GREAT
music, not just Good music, but GREAT music. The music marketplace doesn’t need more
‘Good ‘ music, it needs truly GREAT music, because
GREAT music is a lot
easier to get people excited about, and to market. . MUNDANE might be a good name for a
band, but keep it to yourself!
And who will decide if
your music is great? Employees of record labels and music publishers whose job it is to
try and find some truly original and truly outstanding music, and you know what...that is
very hard to find, very very hard to find. So hard in fact that if you want to know the
truth of it, if a Rep finds 3 truly great artists in a lifetime of listening to new music,
and they have the ability to sign them to their company, and then deal with the
bureaucratic business of trying to get your company to commit to developing that artist,
they will probably be recognized as one of the great A&R people of all time if and
when that act actually becomes successful.
So, you may be
thinking, if such a high standard is required for getting signed why is there so much crap
being released these days? Good question, and the answer is...the Reps have had to lower
their standards because there isn’t all that much GREAT talent out there, but there
is huge competition for trying to find ‘the next big thing’, and I can assure
you that there is a sense of ‘desporation’ amongst the highly pressured reps to
keep their jobs, and discover something that might make millions of dollars for their
company.
But even with a lower
standard of originality being accepted these days there are still many considerations that
take precedence when potentially commercial music is being evaluated...like:
- Songwriting skills:
Writing a song that many people may like is not an easy task. Do you really know what the
basic components of songwriting are all about? If not, challenge yourself to learn the art
of songwriting.
- Vocal Abilities: A
dynamic, even charismatic, individualized style of singing that is uniquely your own is as
close to a ‘brand’ as a musician can get. Are the vocal stylings of your singer
up to that definition?
- Musicianship: I already
addressed this essential ingredient in depth in my last column “Being a master
musician”. Basically, any music business professional can tell instantly if the
musicianship in your group is ready for prime time. Amatuerism is not acceptable.
- Originality: Back to
this again. It is a delicate subject to discuss, but basically what the labels and
publishers are looking for is really just ONE thing about your music that makes it stand
out. This invisible but very apparent ingredient has to do with not sounding too much like
what is already out there, but also not so dramatically different that it alienates the
listener either. It could be a band ‘sound’, a vocalist’s style, a mix of
instrumentation, or simply an ‘attitude’ that can be heard in your music that is
truly unique.
Lastly, let me give
you a one last tip about making GREAT music. Study the history of popular music.
That’s it. If you have been brought up on listening to commercial radio, or watching
MTV as your main diet of music, you have missed out on the really GREAT
music that is our
national heritage. Dive in to it. Get immersed in the history of rock, rap, R&B, Soul,
Jazz, Folk, Blues, Country, and anything and everything that is out there waiting for you
to listen. If that incredible adventure in listening doesn’t inspire you...nothing
will.
There is a world of
music out there waiting for you to hear yourself in. Listen to it. Absorb it. Make it your
own.
See ya!
Christopher Knab
Christopher
Knab, Music Business Consultant
for Effective Product Development / Promotion / Publicity / Performance
FourFront Media & Music http://www.4frontmusic.com
3825 34th Ave. W. , No. 7
Seattle, WA 98199
206/282-6116
knab@knab.com
Copyright
© 1999 FourFront Media & Music
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