So you still wanna be a star?
Part 2
Whatever genre of music you’re in, you need to define your definition
of success. If your definition is ‘being a rich and famous superstar’,
then, well ‘good luck’... but if your definition is ‘being a creative
artist doing what you want to do in life by sharing your music with
those who will listen’, then you should succeed. And if you’ve got the
bottle to stick to your own sound and style, your own beliefs of how
your music should sound, then you’ve even more chance of success in the
long term.
But be warned - flying in the face of convention, of what is current,
is always difficult. But trends fade and die - original talent and
music does not!
If you’ve recorded an album yourself then get independent feedback,
both musical and technical. Friends and family will always say your
music is “great” (and hey, that’s fine, you need that support). But,
the person who tells you everything you do is great may be good for
your ego, but they’re of no practical use at all! The harsh reality is
that you need good constructive criticism from independent sources who
know what they’re talking about. Okay, easier said than done, but there
are publications like “Sound on Sound”, for example, who provide demo
reviews.
Another tip is seek out your local recording studio and pay for a
studio engineers time (or better still the studio owner if you can),
just to listen to your recording. Pick their brains and ask their
advice on all aspects of your recording. I did this myself and it was
invaluable. You’ve got to make sure you can relate to the studio
engineer and that they can relate to what you’re doing. But at the end
of the day, you’re paying them just to listen and to give you the
benefit of their experience. Believe me, many studios will be glad to
do this when they realize you’re serious about accepting constructive
criticism and you’re willing to pay the going studio rate for it. But I
reiterate, ensure you find someone who has experience and some empathy
with the music you’re doing.
The reason that this is so important is because often, when starting
out doing a first album you wont have the knowledge or equipment to
make it sound anything more than a demo. Unfortunately, so many
aspiring musicians get so close to their “creation” that they fail to
hear that the music isn’t as good as they think it is, particularly on
the technical side!
It’s always good to remember that there are probably tens of thousands
of people around the world (maybe millions, who knows?!) doing the same
thing you are. There’s no shortage of home studios turning out music
and no shortage of organizations, particularly on the Internet, telling
you how to “Make it Big”.
So, the trick is to stand out as being ‘different from the rest’ while
achieving a standard that is ‘professional’. How do I define
professional? Where someone has taken the time and effort to take the
recording beyond a home demo. Okay, I know that may seem a little
opaque, but the truth is that it’s difficult to define, you just
“know”.
Music is very subjective - we all hear different things in it, indeed,
we all need different things from music to make it acceptable to us,
whether as a composer or a listener. There are great musicians who are
technically amazing playing various instruments but record music that
is devoid of soul or passion and restricted by self imposed musical
constraints. Conversely there are musicians with little or no training
who can blow your mind with fabulous and inventive music because they
are not constrained by formal musical training. It’s also worth
pointing out that being a competent musician doesn’t make for a
competent composer of music! And even a competent composer can’t
necessarily imbue the composition with that special ingredient that
make people sit up and take notice.
It’s also true to say that a good musician/composer is not necessarily
a good studio engineer! This is a fact that in my opinion, is often
overlooked. Too many composers think that because they have access to
an all singing, all dancing workstation and/or computer, they can turn
out a great recording. More often than not, nothing is further from the
truth. Composing is a talent, and engineering an album is another, very
different talent. Mastering an album is yet another, very different
talent. I’m not suggesting an individual cannot do all these things
well. Of course they can, with years of experience, and even then, with
input from other sources.
Too many times I’ve sat listening to a demo where the composer is
convinced that the music and the recording is “great” when in fact it
isn’t. The recording and use of sounds is cheesy and naff, but the
composer can’t hear it because they haven’t “stepped outside the box”,
as I would say. They haven’t stood back from the music and really
listened to the recording and compared like for like against
professional recordings of the genre.
It’s a hard lesson to learn, to be self critical of your own creations
and sometimes to realize that your creation is actually far from
perfect and that sometimes, the best place for the creation is in the
bin and that you need to start again on another idea. But this is
probably one of the most important lessons to be learned on the musical
journey.
It also important to consider this one unpalatable fact. Your album may
be great. It may have nice songs, be well recorded etc. etc. but it
simply may not be good enough to be anything more than an inde album
that sells a few hundred copies. That’s Life!
It’s a simple fact that record companies will listen to the first 20
seconds of a demo and then switch it off and consign the demo to the
bin if it doesn’t make an instant impression.
That’s not just A/R men either. Some years ago, a major label had so
many demos that its A/R department couldn’t handle them all so it gave
piles of demos to everyone, even the cleaners to sift through. Everyone
ended up doing the same thing - if the CD didn’t make an instant
impression, then it was “on to the next”.
Sure, that may seem unfair, but if you’re the record label exec
trawling thru thousands of demos, how would you do it? Again, I run a
small inde label, so I know what it’s like.
I’m not suggesting you record your demo to send to a big label. I’m
relating the story to hammer home the point that with so many people
making music, all thinking theirs is “the best album ever”, that you
have to be realistic - you probably have more chance of winning the UK
lottery and the Euro lottery in the same week than getting a record
deal!
But that shouldn’t stop you!! Your demo should be well recorded and
recorded well enough that you could press it and sell it yourself. In
this day and age, that’s probably the best way forward. Sure, still
send copy to record labels, but also remember that record labels will
be looking for a lot, lot more than just the music. They’ll be looking
for experience, an image, a malleable artist and lots more besides for
today’s music industry.
Your music should have an identity that stands out from the rest and it
should have an emotional presence. Achieving this is very, very
difficult and in truth, it cannot be taught or learned. I truly believe
music either has that magic ingredient to make the listeners hair stand
on end, to perk people interest, or it doesn’t. And that comes from the
musician - not the production, the engineering, the mastering the
record label or anywhere else - it is the defining essence of the
artist.
So, what am I trying to tell you here? Well, to summarize, embark on
the road of being a musician with passion and belief but accept that
the chance of major success thru a record deal is virtually impossible.
Understand that you must listen with open ears to what you do and learn
to be critical of your music. Make constructive criticism your closest
ally through people whose opinion you value and trust. And however hard
you think it’s going to be to have any measure of success, realize that
it will be even harder!
