Currently viewing the tag: "Artist Development"

On the road again and again and again

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Going on the road with artists to do regional promotion tours used to be so much fun….occasionally you might get the less than inspiring rock n roller, but at least it made you aware that that was the last time you were taking them anywhere ! In their desperation for ‘promotion, any promotion’ some product managers would tell you anything……..by the way, product managers are the people at the record companies who, for better or worse ‘manage the product’ notably the artists and their releases….what to do with them and how to do it.They each have several acts and they look after the day to day marketing, press , promotion etc of those acts and liasing with all the different departments at HQ. They are subjected to the wrath of irate managers and as soon as they get any shit they get on the phone and bark at someone else……usually us, the promo people. It’s a kind of product manager therapy but it didn’t take long for us to become immunized!

If an artist manager thought they didn’t see enough activity from the record company, and it’s their job to make sure something does happen for the act they represent then they would bark and scream at varying levels to usually the product manager. At the highest level a very influential manager may call the President directly to complain and they in turn might just sack the culprit so they could get on with the rest of their day…..anything that required the least amount of sorting out usually involved sacking someone.

If a release was struggling at getting any national interest ie national radio play or network TV then it was assumed that regional activity would happen….never did quite work that one out. We would get ‘the call’ not asking, consulting or seeking advice ..we would just be told we needed to put a regional promo tour together. It didn’t matter if the record was badly received they just needed to show the manager something was happening. In turn I’d get on the phone call some radio stations tell them what was required and make it happen, irrespective of whether I thought it made any sense or would have any effect on the record………and we wonder how record companies pissed it all away.

I had made a lot of good friends in regional radio and TV so it was always good to see them anyway and after the work was done we’d go out and have some fun. Pleasurable yes, productive from a professional standpoint, not always. Naturally when you had a new artist like Massive Attack, Neneh Cherry, Natalie Imbruglia, U2 who had killer debut singles you were only too happy to take them out on a promo tour, but those decisions should always be left to those that know, who’s job it was to identify what was the best way to promote the act they had entrusted in you. Common sense really, why would you employ anyone if you didn’t think they had the ideas and could do the job?

 

Being an artist

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It’s tough out there being an artist, don’t let anyone tell you anything to the contrary. Nevertheless if you’re a true artist and by that I mean someone who is true to themselves you have to do some searching. And you have to do some serious searching, it’s not a one off task, you need to be constantly searching, looking to see where you are today and more significantly where you are going tomorrow. Tomorrow never comes to those who embrace yesterday. The reason it needs to be a constant, as John Lennon so rightly said is ‘Life gets in the  way.’ All sorts of obstacles and setbacks will present themselves along the way and searching and finding out who you are and where you are makes you more able to adapt and change. Be the innovator not the procrastinator.

I love artists, I never was one but sometimes I think I understand them better than they understand themselves. Giving people advice is one thing but it becomes increasingly frustrating when people approach you with a ‘What do I do now?’ If you have no idea what to do how can you expect to achieve anything? Would you get in a car, slam your foot down on the accelerator pedal, glance across hoping someone is there and ask, ‘What do I do now?’ Personally I’d have the same answer to both. Steer!

Artists need to ask themselves from the very start, what is it I want out of this? If you honestly believe you want to make a living from it then map out some sort of plan. Set yourself goals, realistic ones that aren’t, ‘I am the next American Idol.’ If you’re one of those convinced it will happen because you’re passionate then join the rest of the line for a lottery ticket. No one ever finds anyone who hasn’t discovered themselves. Direction for an artist nowadays is more important than ever. If you’re the one in a million who gets a record deal  you still won’t have someone guiding you like they did when I worked in the music industry. Artist development is a long term task. It doesn’t happen today because it takes time and time is something record companies don’t have. If someone was to give you that they wouldn’t have a job because the person over their shoulder is looking for  a return and long term doesn’t matter. Short term keeps them in a job.

 

Do I need a manager?

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Artist management, it’s a question you need to ask yourself at the very start of your career. The thought of having a manager can be exciting because you feel that you’re moving in the right direction, finally someone working alongside you to get things done. You might be right but you might be horribly wrong. The days are gone of the drummer’s brother managing a band, the nice guy who didn’t play anything but had always longed  ’to be in the music business.’ Before you appoint a manager ask yourself the question, ‘Do I really need a manager?’ What you may find is that while you’d like a manager you don’t actually NEED one.

Ask yourself, ‘What do I want to achieve from this?’ Are you after a deal or do you need someone to do all the things that you don’t want to do? The manager has their job but you still have yours. You are your own artist development manager within your own infrastructure. It’s your job to define what role you want the manager to play alongside what it is you do for yourself.

If you’re at the stage where you can do it all then leave well alone, you don’t need a manager. If however, you’re generating a buzz and at the stage where there could be interest from the record industry then maybe you do need a manager. If you don’t have one you’ll at least need a lawyer. Record companies need someone to deal with and it’s unlikely to be you. It can be some of the best money you’ll ever spend. Protect yourself from the horror of having your career taken away from you before you’ve begun. If you have and they see you’re vulnerable, you’ll get eaten alive.

Then comes the finding of the manager. Good managers are like a jewel in the crown. You’ll rarely find a great artist without a great manager. It can be the basis for where all future relationships are born, the ultimate collaboration. We’ll look at the role of the manager later but for now you have to make the same decision as you hope you’d hope you make with your life partner. Is this the one? The chances are you might get divorced from manager and you’ll be left holding the baby, your band. Do everything in your power to make the right choice. While you’ll be driven by instinct and intuition strive for more. Do some research and convince yourself they are the right person for the job. You’ll need to get on with them because you’ll rarely be apart from them, take time to get to know them. You will need to identify they have those basic human ingredients such as honesty and trust. Being a nice guy is never enough. Ask yourself, ‘Can they do the job?’

I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t a good manager, there were the things that I did brilliantly but I didn’t enjoy the taking care of business. And today there’s much more of that you need to do. I wanted to be creative but the business stuff got in the way. Organizational skills are of the essence and being business savvy so that even if you don’t handle that side of things you make the right decisions when it comes to accountants and lawyers. The power to delegate is what makes the difference, knowing if something can be done better and quicker by someone else. So many of the people around you might be looking for personal gain, what’s in it for them? It’ll destroy you, chose your manager wisely.

Creating an artist

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Creating an artist was the very essence of the music industry, the one thing that made it great. And with great artists came long careers, their music would stand the test of time and enrich people’s lives. Th great artists of yesteryear  would also  influence the up and coming artists of tomorrow, they longed to have success and be recognized for their work  and the one thing that has allowed it to become a shadow off it’s former self is that that no longer applies. Real artists have careers and during any career you build a body of work, you create a legacy and that legacy is something you can sell, indefinitely and sell to the next generation of people keen to discover music. Over the years the artist benefited from a music industry swelling with a backroom of talent. It was the creative infrastructure of the music industry and what I like to call ‘The Engine Room.’ It’s where collaborations were born and where the road used to begin.

When you signed to a record company it was the beginning, it meant the start of a relationship. And the better the relationship the greater the chance of success. You see success was something everyone used to share and it was an industry that drove people to succeed. The pleasure was shared with everyone because everyone played an equal part. Today with a rapidly diminishing return I don’t think it’s a unity, it’s a jungle mentality. Eat or be eaten, artist against the record company. They want a piece of every part of the pie.

Many of the things that worked so well in the past seem to be lacking today. Yet so many of these things are quite simple when you think about it. Everyone is scared of losing their jobs and even the artists nowadays are scared of being dropped. Why should that be any different though? It’s supposed to be a risk business, it’s supposed to be about taking chances and pushing out that little bit further. We lost our mavericks and we lost our risk takers. We lost our innovators and we lost our way. We are not creating anything anyone is going to remember. And before I hear you say Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift or Kelly Clarkson, Beyonce, Justin or even Jay Z. They’ll be here next year but I doubt they’ll be here next decade.

The relationships were everywhere, the artist with their manager, the manager with the label, the label with the publisher. Then the producer and the A and R manager and it went on. The only thing that may have changed as we face up to the demise of the ‘pop star’ is that the fan has a closer relationship with the artist. Or they should have if both parties are reaching out like they should.  Today artists should be connecting with their audience, a bit like John Mayer until he has his sudden whacko swings towards lunacy and he over communicates to the detriment of others and damages something he worked so hard at creating.