The Business Of Music

[Der Nister]

Whom ever said the music business was for lazy people looking to get out of doing work must have been smoking crack.

That said - I've been working on my own music for sometime now and have learned a lot and also have had a lot of work on my hands.

I've recently been accepted as a member with BMI ( Broadcast Music Inc.) and submitted five songs that are now in the BMI catalog. Also, I am starting up my own publishing company which will be affiliated through BMI - no east feat lemme tell ya.

All in all I am proud of my accomplishments with my music and am glad to have learned all that I have learned since I started this whole thing.

Well, I just felt like sharing for those that would be interested.

Edited by Moi because my spelling sucks when I'm tired.

[Fierce Critter]

You should be proud of yourself. Kudos.

I mentioned in my response to the "musical background" thread how hard I tried to get a serious project going in the 90's.

There is NO lack of talent out there. But damned if I could find anyone who understood the work behind a real, working band and the willingness to do more than noodle around on a guitar once a week.

It sucks when you work SO hard at something, you can no longer enjoy the "play" in "playing in a band." :(

That's the major reason I quit music altogether around 1997. I sometimes attribute it to having met Jon in '98 and getting all involved in my relationship with him. But in truth, that's only part of it. I just got tired of all work, no play.

Glad you can find a happy balance.

[CatsEyeOfTheWiccan]

Kudos..for you I know it isn't indie.

-CatsEye

[Der Nister]

You should be proud of yourself. Kudos.

I mentioned in my response to the "musical background" thread how hard I tried to get a serious project going in the 90's.

There is NO lack of talent out there. But damned if I could find anyone who understood the work behind a real, working band and the willingness to do more than noodle around on a guitar once a week.

It sucks when you work SO hard at something, you can no longer enjoy the "play" in "playing in a band." :(

That's the major reason I quit music altogether around 1997. I sometimes attribute it to having met Jon in '98 and getting all involved in my relationship with him. But in truth, that's only part of it. I just got tired of all work, no play.

Glad you can find a happy balance.

Thanks FC =)

I totally understand your feelings on walking away from the music scene because I did the same thing for a while and for the same reasons too. It seemed to me that there are too many "musicians" in this state that are more into playing covers at local dives (or you could call them bars) and not interested in being serious and doing original music. I still can't find people that want to do more than covers so I've decided to continue on my own.

I think I've gotten farther doing it all by myself than I would with others.

Kudos..for you I know it isn't indie.

-CatsEye

Thanks CEOTW.

[Steven]

Its alot of work. covers are fine for fun (I play in a cover band) but eventually everyone should take a pass at creating their own thing.....

[Der Nister]

Its alot of work. covers are fine for fun (I play in a cover band) but eventually everyone should take a pass at creating their own thing.....

I won't knock anyone for wanting to do covers because that's how most musicians start and that's fine if that's what others want to do with their free time. For me, I'd like writing my own songs be they good or bad or indifferent is beside the point.

The thing that irks me most are people that say they are serious about making it in music but their idea of success is playing the same club weekend after weekend in the same city - that isn't my thing. (/rant)

Anyway - I guess I have to much passion as a writer to play other band's songs full time.

[Daniel]

The music business is difficult for an upstart. The most difficult element is penetrating the market. Interestingly, where the internet helps as a tool, it also makes it more difficult with the over saturation of other upstarts. Once you build a sufficient network and have a process for propagating your new releases, the success starts to trickle in.

Personally, I think it is better to leave the business side of things to the people not making the music. Too much time with the business makes the art suffer some, and too much time focused on the art makes the business suffer. Still, depending on your end goals, it can work out. Particularly if you have a sound business model.

[Steven]

I won't knock anyone for wanting to do covers because that's how most musicians start and that's fine if that's what others want to do with their free time. For me, I'd like writing my own songs be they good or bad or indifferent is beside the point.

The thing that irks me most are people that say they are serious about making it in music but their idea of success is playing the same club weekend after weekend in the same city - that isn't my thing. (/rant)

Anyway - I guess I have to much passion as a writer to play other band's songs full time.

well, I actually have two bands that I'm in for different purposes:

Power Source (cover band) is a band that recruited me out of a few years of retirement when I moved here from LA. Thats a party band situation where we do everything from Zepplin to old school Alice Cooper to Tom Jones to Audioslave to Velvet Revolver to whatever. I do enjoy playing in that band and no we'll never change your life but we just may rock you and thats a good things sometimes.

Medicine Wheel is MY band, the one I formed with some local players from the scene who have been around and done albums and tours and crap, so that we could meld our talents and write original songs. That band is for me. I had missed doing original music.

In Los Angeles the only bands I was ever in were original bands, and so consequently I do know what its like to record an album of my own (twice) and hear my band and my voice on the radio (two different bands) and even see live coverage on TV but whatever, there are lots of musicians with those stories. To be honest I was never satisfied with the collective effort of those situations and the ebst stuff we had never made it to tape which frustrated me greatly. Actually the best band I've ever been in was an all acoustic trio, with two guitar players that had been very big in the LA Metal underground before it got turned into a lipsticked sunset strip thing...we threw everythign away and decided to rechristen ourselves and jsut wrote songs that we loved.

I never played a cover song till I got to Detroit. I've realzied that it was/is good experience though, to pay some dues that way, it rounds you out and gives you a wider expressive pallet, I did not realize that till I got in Power Source and had to learn all these different singers vibes and styles and then still try to retain the "me" part of it.

[Der Nister]

The music business is difficult for an upstart. The most difficult element is penetrating the market. Interestingly, where the internet helps as a tool, it also makes it more difficult with the over saturation of other upstarts. Once you build a sufficient network and have a process for propagating your new releases, the success starts to trickle in.

Personally, I think it is better to leave the business side of things to the people not making the music. Too much time with the business makes the art suffer some, and too much time focused on the art makes the business suffer. Still, depending on your end goals, it can work out. Particularly if you have a sound business model.

To reply to the first part (regarding the over saturation) - one thing the internet has done is made people like yourself more aware pf just how many bands are out there. One thing it hasn't done is make more bands.

There have always been tens of thousands of bands in any given era (going back to the Beatles and the British invasion).

I remember a flood of bands in the wake of Metallica gaining underground success. I still have a dozen tapes with countless bands no one remembers.

Anyway - I don't feel that part has changed, its just that we are more aware of who's out there.

The second part well........you make a good point on both sides but sometimes an artist or band has to do it themselves for a while until things pick up to where they only have to work on the music. I'm doing the business and music myself right now because I want to/have to but it has its rewards.

I never played a cover song till I got to Detroit. I've realzied that it was/is good experience though, to pay some dues that way, it rounds you out and gives you a wider expressive pallet, I did not realize that till I got in Power Source and had to learn all these different singers vibes and styles and then still try to retain the "me" part of it.

See - the music scene in Michigan has always been different from the scene in LA. IMO - there are too many cover bands in Detroit but again I say - it's fine for others but since I did that for many years I no longer find it to be fun but rather a chore. I enjoy just writing my own music and would only play covers with friends in private. It could be fun but right now for me.......naw.

[CatsEyeOfTheWiccan]

I understand every musican is a starving musican..that is why my company I offer such fair prices and yet dosen't make my company hurt either. Maybe that is why has lasted for almost 5 years.

-CatsEye

[Steven]

See - the music scene in Michigan has always been different from the scene in LA. IMO - there are too many cover bands in Detroit but again I say - it's fine for others but since I did that for many years I no longer find it to be fun but rather a chore. I enjoy just writing my own music and would only play covers with friends in private. It could be fun but right now for me.......naw.

oh your totally right about that one Bro, its a completely different vibe and approach. I prefer Detroit for many reasons. ALot of your bigger clubs (all dives) were pay to play - I hated that, you had to give your ass away just to get (hopefully) an audience.

LA become the melting pot of all these people from nowherseville Indiana who came there to make it - and their music sounded exactly like that , in fact everybodys music sounded exactly like that except for G&R when they were still young and strung out. It was the clone wars out there, great players, plenty of talent, but rarely did you hear anything real.

the first time I saw a band in Detroit was at some littel rock bar 20 years ago. A cover band playing "Hot child in the city". Firs thing i thought was that you'd never hear that in LA. But the next thign I saw was that these cats were playing with soul. You have that here in Detroit for some reason - you just do. Anybody with some chops can get up onstage and just let it rip, but that bores the shit out of me.

[Troy Spiral (13)]

Never heard that take on it before. Any part of the entertainment industry as a business is very competitive (read hard work) Fortunately(or unfortunately depending on perspective) there's a lot of glory associated with it.

[Der Nister]

It's a long hard road out of hell for sure.