So You Wanna Be A Rockstar?

Vol 4, Issue 5: To Perform, Perchance to Entertain

2011-09-18T19:28:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, my good friend local bluesman Nathan Ouellette and I were having a debate on the way home from a joint gig. While neither of us could pinpoint a solitary definitive cause, essentially at the end of the discussion, we came to the conclusion that in a lot of ways, the “live music scene” is dead. As mentioned last time around, more and more once popular havens for mohawkers and moshers are closing down each day. While I believe this is partly a generational phenomenon (god knows I did everything I could to sneak into punk shows when I was underage, but that trend seems to have lost its appeal among the millenials), I also think it is due to the fact that the "working musician" has lost any sense of “professional” status in contemporary society.

Because of so called “advances” in audio technology, anyone and I mean ANYONE can cut a decent sounding record if given the right producer and enough Autotune, even if said individual(s) lacks in talent altogether. Add to this the “wired” state of the world, social networking sites, and video games like GuitarHero, and essentially you end up with a situation wherein everyone thinks they’re a bloody rockstar.

To make matters worse, I’m not sure if it’s because we’ve become lazy, oversaturated, or too self-obsessed (perhaps a combination of all three?), but generally speaking, audiences and venues alike have developed a preference and higher regard for artists playing covers as opposed to those courageous enough to share with the world pieces of themselves.

*Come on, the fact that a glorified karaoke contest that weighs in more on marketability and looks as opposed to its contestants’ actual compositional ability is responsible for pumping out how many of our recent top selling artists speaks for itself.*

Given the above described current situation, how is one to stand out? More importantly, how is one to develop a following? And no, Twitter and Myspace stats don’t count – I’m talking about real people coming out to real gigs. Well in one simple phrase, you need to perfect the difference between “playing” versus “entertaining”. Perhaps an example would prove illustrative:

Last year, I was lucky enough to score floor tickets to witness one of my favourite childhood bands live in the flesh: No Doubt. While I was totally stoked to see them perform, I was kinda bummed that Paramore was selected to open the show. Now there’s no question that Ms. Williams can most certainly hold a tune, but their music quite simply just doesn’t do it for me. Despite this, that night Paramore earned my seal of approval for managing to match No Doubt in terms of energy, showmanship, and stage presence; something that is no easy feat. On top of this, I was impressed to see that they are a band of genuine musical talent. By that I mean, lipsynching proved unnecessary as they rocked much harder in person than on anything I’ve ever heard recorded by them. Taking into consideration their continued success (and the amount of people who come out to their live gigs regularly), I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this.

If I (or anyone else for that matter) is paying good money to see your act live, then it is YOUR duty to deliver the goods and give em a show worth coming out for again and again. Hitting every note with precision is impressive, but NOT merely enough. If I wanted to listen to the most polished audio example of a given act, I could simply pop in their overproduced album.

Live shows, though it seems some have forgotten in recent years, are supposed to be about an experience – one that allows you to feel intimately connected to the artists you’re witnessing. While a lot of bands rely on special effects and frills in order to turn their “performances” into “experiences”, unless you’re going for a gimmicky kind of deal akin to KISS, most of the time this sort of thing indicates that you’re trying to overcompensate for a genuine LACK of ability. So what do I suggest instead?

As a rock musician, the most important asset you can possess is ATTITUDE. Honest to god, it’s no lie when I tell ya that at times I feel as though half of my job as a performer is to also act as a stand-up comedian. Audiences come out to see bands live who make them feel as though they are, in part, responsible for how the show goes. In other words, it is all about feeding off of each other’s energy. If there are moments where you can directly include them (ie: clap or scream-alongs), capitalize on them and when you’re rehearsing, plan this shit out, in advance!

While being able to successfully pull off your sound live is important (ie: don’t hire a singer who’s tonedeaf or gets trashed before every gig so that you end up playing sloppily. Contrary to popular belief, booze and drugs do NOT make you play better!), it is MORE important, in my view, to be a true entertainer, even if that means you flub up in a minor way here or there. That, my friends, is being a musician. That, my friends, is being a PROFESSIONAL.

What one needs to acknowledge is that irrespective of the above-described less than ideal circumstances musicians are facing right now, the live show medium has always been and likely always will remain the most effective method through which to recruit fans and sell merch…that is, if it’s done effectively. I know I’d rather be told that I rock harder live than on any album I’ve released, how about you? In other words, if you need Autotune to sound “tuneful”, maybe you should consider an alternative vocation.

Vol 4, Issue 4: Going Grassroots

2011-07-02T19:02:00.000-07:00

Last summer, I found hope in the oddest of places. Anyone who knows me is well aware I’m pretty set in my ways musically-speaking and that “the dark arts” have never really struck my fancy. But, there I was at a metal show in the basement of a burnt-out near-condemned hotel, finding myself inspired by the efforts put forth by a trio of headbangers.

Armed with a mere $50 to cover the cost of room rental, a homemade P.A., and close family and friends acting as both the door and soundmen, Presumed Dead successfully managed to not only put together one hell of an event, but also housed one of the most energetic crowds I’ve witnessed to date. Oh, and did I mention this was the band’s DEBUT performance?

This story is important for you to take note of because it highlights the essentiality of taking on a “grassroots” approach when it comes to maintaining a competitive edge in today’s oversaturated industry. Basically, the situation is as follows: with the recent closures of the once popular Embassy, Wick and Salt within our own local scene, not to mention Toronto’s 360 and Big Bop (among many others), simply stated, we are increasingly finding ourselves in a predicament in which we have TOO many bands, and too FEW venues.

The true kicker however is not merely the fact that these venues went under. Rather, it’s the reality that all of the aforementioned establishments once served as homes to up and comers providing them with a chance to showcase their abilities and establish followings. In a nutshell, if it weren’t already difficult to get booked in the first place when you’re just starting out, it’s just become that much harder!

From a booker’s perspective seeing as the goal of running an establishment is to make moula (again this is the music BUSINESS), the result of this is that for the few clubs that still do exist, stipulations in order to get a booking have been upped. Typically this means one of two things (neither of which are encouraging) for bands:

1) you can’t get into the venue as a new band WITHOUT paying a hefty rental fee which may prove to NOT be worth your while at all if there’s NO guarantee you will be able to at least break even through ticket sales

2) if you have NOT previously established a draw within the given touring territory of the venue in question, you will NOT be considered at all; a situation very much akin to the job search dilemma in which you can’t get a job without experience, but you surely cannot obtain any experience without first being given a shot.

While some bands are willing to go to great lengths AND empty out their pockets just to be able to put on their resumes that they rocked certain joints, considering that most musicians are on tight budgets, this isn’t the best attack strategy, in my view.

One rule of business that I learned early on from both of my entrepreneurial parents is that, “(s)he who speaks first loses.” In other words, if you put yourself out there as a band who is so desperate to play anywhere that you’re willing to be mistreated and give into unrealistic expectations just to get a gig, you are nine times out of ten gonna get screwed. Don’t kid yourself. Word gets around. If you even do this once, don’t be surprised if other venues try to pull the same routine with you.

To tie this all back to the opening story I shared, the point is that whether you find yourself playing in your friends’ backyards or renting out small unlikely spaces in order to get up and running, it really doesn’t matter. If people like your act, you’d be surprised at the places they’ll show up to in order to see you live. While these sorts of gig opportunities may not seem as “glamorous” as let’s say rocking out at Call the Office, a music venue which has housed legends, in my experience, you need to be READY and WORTHY as a band to earn such a privilege, and that doesn’t happen overnight.

Oftentimes bands (because of their egos, an issue we addressed last time) over-exaggerate their popularity in order to get booked into exclusive renowned venues, such as CTO. But when these bands don’t deliver the goods (again venues want to make money by bringing acts in), guess what? They end up getting blacklisted from ever playing at an establishment like that again (or at least for a very long time). I think it goes without saying that that is not the sort of list you ever want to find yourself a part of. Lesson of the week then: be creative, but also realistic.

Vol 4, Issue 3: “E” is for the Ego that’s Gotta Go

2011-05-19T19:33:00.000-07:00

While upon initial consideration Tyra Banks sounds ridiculous claiming that “having the right kind of personality” is a large determinant of success in the modelling world, NOT only is she right on the money with this statement, but further, the same can be said in regard to musicians and keeping their egos in check. Case in point: the once highly sought after singer of the insanely popular tune, “Black Velvet”, pissed off one too many people, lost her record deal, and now spends her days as a permanent resident at a psychiatric institute drowning in her woes (NO joke!).

When you’re rich and famous, you’re more than welcome to add bizarre demands to your rider (like Ozzy’s 1000 brown M&Ms), and likely you’ll even get away with trashing one or two hotel rooms, but because this industry is so much about “who you know” over and above what you’ve got to offer, a bad attitude and an unwillingness to “pay your dues” from the get-go won’t get you very far.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m NOT implying that you should bend over and allow yourself to get kicked in the ass repeatedly by shady promoters who clearly are not adding any enhancement to your resume. Instead, what I’m trying to make loud and clear is that you need to at all times be respectful of your fans, the media, industry professionals, and your fellow musicians (this final category is particularly important as you never know whose act may “break”, and by keeping positive alliances with all of the bands you play with, you may just find yourself being offered the opening slot opportunity of a lifetime in the future). Further, you can’t be scared (or too up on your high-horse) to get your hands a little dirty.

One of the things that I come across far too often that drives me awol are classified ads posted by bands looking for gig opportunities as though promoters/bookers have time to scour through pages on Kijiji. Lesson #1 my friends: don’t EVER expect work to find you.

I’ve played everywhere from major festivals to bowling alleys to shopping malls and even once at a chiropractic seminar. As an aspiring rocker, you not only have to be constantly on the look-out for touring and media opportunities (online, posted on bulletin boards in music shops, through word of mouth, in magazines etc.), but further you need to take the initiative to make said opportunities become your reality. Once you’ve established a decent reputation for yourself, yes, gigs will start coming your way, but even still, a serious professional musician never stops working for themselves.

The second thing that I encounter all the time (and this to me is even further indicative of an ego issue) are musician classifieds listed right above one another where ad “A” is seeking the available musician from ad “B”, and had either taken the time to read each other’s ads, they could have connected and solved both of their problems. Again, my point is do NOT expect things to come YOUR way, without putting in a little legwork yourself. Can you imagine what would result if musicians only ever posted ads and never read any? Well, nothing – no gigs would ever occur, and certainly no bands would ever form – think about it.

The most important lesson that I want you to grasp right here and right now is this: the biggest lie the music industry has ever perpetuated onto us artists is the “myth of the overnight success”. Nobody and I mean nobody (even those who do cocaine deals in backrooms or sleep their way to the top) ever makes it without first “earning their stripes.” Please, for the sake of yourself and others, don’t resort to trying to expedite the process by partaking in either of the two aforementioned heinous acts.

Vol 4, Issue 2: Put Up Your Dukes, Let’s Get Down to It!

2011-02-04T18:59:00.000-08:00

Like any aspiring artist, my work has been subjected both to critical review and praise. While I’ve had listeners assert that my lyrics and music espouse “universal truths” inspired by an honest “broken-hearted aesthetic”, I’ve equally been labelled “cliché” and “unoriginal”. Suffice it to say, I came to the conclusion rather quickly that it’s impossible for me (or anyone else who dares to pursue their passions in life) to please everybody.

Let it be known, I’m TOTALLY fine with this - what I’m NOT fine with, however, is the corruption involved in this process, nor the increasingly apparent decline in some sort of “standard.” Allow me to explain:

One of the more memorable moments review-wise I’ve endured in my career, was undoubtedly when I had a “journalist” (and I use that term loosely) employed by a highly regarded Canadian music magazine rip unrelentingly on my former band’s album, only to months later commend us for our “catchy” radio-worthy tracks and “edgy attitude” after being privy to one of our live performances…perhaps she had a short-term memory problem. She got paid either way though, and isn’t that what really matters? Note the sarcasm.

Beyond this, interestingly, I’ve also been educated in regard to my own biography from reading critiques of my work: apparently my “Ode to Tofu” is a sensational hit overseas, my primary musical instrument is the drums, and Alicia Keys is a huge influence of mine.

Out of these experiences I’ve learned two valuable lessons I’d like to impart onto my fellow artistic types:

1) Take ALL reviews with a grain of salt (moreover, with any insult that is hurled in one’s general direction, one should always “consider the source”).

2) DON’T submit material for review consideration. Opt for interviews instead, so at least you’ll have the opportunity to explain your work in your own words.

The aforementioned second piece of advice seemed to be working out for me just fine until I encountered the worse of them: a woman named Lisa Shea, her bevy of voluntary writers, and a website entitled, BellaOnline.

Now in my experience, those “employed” in unpaid positions typically exert less effort and said positions have high turnover rates as a consequence. Considering my experience with the well-paid “journalist” from the highly regarded Canadian publication, I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this.

While I’d rather not even honour Ms. Shea to the extent of providing full lipservice in regard to what unraveled between her/her website and my management, I will state the following:

First off, one wonders why an interview was even conducted (mind you at my management’s long distance expense) if I was going to be so terribly misquoted and misrepresented. Two, I highly recommend to her and her writers a formal review of the term “retraction”; a perusal of the ethics established by the profession of journalism couldn’t hurt either. Three, Ms. Shea could truly benefit from absorbing the full meaning of the expression, “actions speak louder than words”: while it’s all well and good to have the “About” section on your website sing to the highest hillsides of one’s commitment to objectivity and professionalism, when one refuses to remove an article that has PROVEN to contain inaccuracies (both about its subject matter and the greater subject at hand, that being music), continues to maintain SUPPORT for a writer who willingly allowed his significant other to blaspheme the subject of his piece in the public domain, and then finally, when pried, merely REPLACED the piece with another written by herself that one can fairly safely presumed was influenced by the emotion of the whole situation (the disclaimer is most telling) and CONTINUES to contain inaccuracies, it’s hard to take such claims seriously. Finally, working least in her favour, Ms. Shea made short work of relieving her writer of his position, indicating to me that clearly there must be some admission of fault on her end…and yet the review remains. But let’s get to the real topic of today’s discussion:

In this industry, as much as I hate to admit it, you will frequently encounter sketchy situations about which you’re forced to bite your tongue – not because you’re in the wrong in any regard, but because unfortunately, artists, generally speaking, have a lot LESS capital to use to hire attorneys to defend themselves should they be accused of making “slanderous” or “libelous” remarks. Though, as noted by the Canadian Bar Association, one is ONLY liable of being charged for “defamation of character/reputation” (of which slander and libel are subcategories) should their statements prove to be FALSE and deliberately MALICIOUS, when it comes to the music biz (much like any other corporately-structured industry anymore), “money talks.” Further, this entire biz is based on “appearances” and who you know. With this said, you need to know how to “pick your battles” if you wish to be able to pursue your aspirations.

In this case, I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ve worked too damn hard to allow any “random joe” who thinks they can run a website to insult not only me and my work, but further to misrepresent me to such an extent that it could prevent music listeners from potentially giving me a chance.

In conclusion, while the internet has demonstrated itself to be an effective tool for indies in regard to having the potential opportunity to promote one’s material to a worldwide audience (for a nominal cost, too), beyond the whole illegal downloading fiasco, it clearly has many fallacies; scam artist promoters barely scratch the surface. Suffice it to say, I can now state with absolutely certainty that I fully understand exactly what my girlfriend/fellow artist Ash Keenan meant when she said that her reason for refusing to write any further music reviews was because she felt she had become “part of the problem.”

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For those interested, here’s what Ms. Shea missed by failing to conduct the interview as per the initial agreement between her writer and my management:

1) Ms. Shea’s biggest criticism of my work revolves around its lyrical content. In her view, it is cliché and underdeveloped for someone of my experience. I’d like to point out two facts one may wish to mull over when considering the validity of her argument: a) according to her biography, her background is in website/database design. Although she seems to dabble in writing, there was NO mention of her being accredited in English, Literature or Linguistics. I, other hand, minored in all three at an Ivy League university. My favourite writer is Shakespeare, and if I felt so inclined I could whip out some iambic pentameter with the best of them, but I choose NOT to with my lyrics DELIBERATELY.

Why you ask? Well, quite simply, I’m influenced by a similar notion upheld by the 60/70s pop artists when it comes to songwriting; that being to "make my art accessible to all". I intentionally keep things simplistic so that people will understand exactly what I mean. Seeing as my three main objectives as an artist are to provoke thought, be relatable, and inspire others, it wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense to write in a style that could only be appreciated by a select elite class.

Given what I’ve just said (ie: that my usage of simplistic phrasing and imagery is intentional), it’s interesting to note that Ms. Shea still managed to completely misinterpret the meaning behind several of my lyrics.

2) As per Ms. Shea’s interpretation of the following phrase from my single “Mad World” (ie: the world seems like it’s ended…when fathers subjected kids to their abuse), I’d like to clarify here that FIRST OFF this is a direct MISQUOTATION the lyric is actually "Our RELIGION has crushed down upon us when fathers subjected kids to their abuse”.

Contrary to her conclusion that this sentence is a commentary on familial relations, it is rather a discussion of the consequences that arise from certain religions, such as Catholicism, continuing to try and uphold outdated archaic practices in contemporary society (ie: disallowance of women being able to enter the priesthood, the inability of priests to marry…don’t even get me started on abortion or gay rights etc.).

To read the lyric literally without prying into said aforementioned deeper meaning, it simply can be taken as a reference to the countless cases of fathers (aka priests) subjecting children to sexual abuse and the church’s continuous attempts to cover up said scandals.

3) A similar misunderstanding revolves around the following line in the same song ("The world seems like it's ended when whores earn more than an honest day's work") While one could interpret this as a direct reference to the prostitution industry, it’s actually meant to be taken again as SOCIAL commentary on the fact that it is far more difficult to get ahead financially in contemporary society by pursuing one’s career from an honest, moral and virtuous stance – something particularly evident in the music industry.

4) I actually got my start in music when I was four. I’m a classically trained vocalist and I began writing songs when I was seven NOT in 2001 as Ms. Shea has suggested. Though HER was my first professional rock project, I’ve been involved in music in some capacity throughout my entire life.

5) In terms of the whole “homage/rip-off” debate, not only is it listed prominently on my myspace that EVERY single one of my homages on my album is DELIBERATE, but further, one with a truly well-trained musical ear and knowledge of a wide variety of genres would have been able to easily pick up on the fact that there are between one and five homages on EACH track on the album, NOT just on my song, “Don’t”.

Secondly, to compare what I did (ie: attempt to give CREDIT/RECOGNITION to all of my major artistic influences with my debut solo album by RE-CREATING in my own version ASPECTS of their melodies/lyrics) VERSUS trying to blatantly rip off the work of other artists in an attempt to pass it off as my own is simply NOT a valid argument.

My album liner notes contain the names of ALL the artists whose work I drew upon; moreover, I’ve welcomed every single one of those artists to listen to my tracks and have received POSITIVE feedback from THEM DIRECTLY regarding this idea.

6) As for the production quality of my recording, again I’d like to call upon Ms. Shea’s credentials, which to my knowledge, do NOT consist of any background in audio recording technology. Had an interview been completed as promised, I would have been able to explain the intention of making my album come across as organic as possible.

ALL of the tracks were played live (vocals/guitar simultaneously) and the occasional vocal crack, or flubbed note was again INTENTIONALLY left in the mix as in my view, no artist should ever aspire to achieve perfection, but rather something genuinely imperfect that reflects them in their raw inspired emotional state.

7) Finally, the aspect I find most disturbing about this review is the fact that it seems as though Ms. Shea has fairly established views of what specific genres should and should not sound like and should and should not do. If I can’t be creative and challenge myself along with convention through an artform, where the hell can I? I rest my case.

Vol 4, Issue 1: Who’s Really at Fault for Declining Sales, Heightened Piracy & Lower Standards of Music as an Artform?

2011-01-23T19:50:00.000-08:00

Back in 2008, I wrote a kick-off column on this very SAME subject with the same title. At its finale, I largely concluded that the major record labels (and their songwriting teams) who are merely interested in perpetuating the same talentless predictable garble that is more “commodity” than “music” by any standards, are the ones at whom we should be pointing the finger. While I believe that this argument still maintains partial validity today, as much as any Leo hates to face the music (pardon the pun), looking back with glasses less rose-coloured, I believe that my brutal fall-out with my former major label undoubtedly must have been seeping into my subconscious as I was writing that piece (chalk it up to a “down with the man” moment).

Agreed, mainstream music quality and originality has gone by the wayside since the 90s. Agreed, it is ridiculous to expect artists to be able to pump out consistently solid material every six months. Agreed, the market is over-saturated with talentless wannabes who solely rely on their sex appeal and/or controversial images whose producers (and their array of digital manipulation effects) are the true talents for making them sound even half-listenable. Agreed, every band that is played on modern rock radio sounds exactly the same. However, as much as the major labels are at fault for creating this predicament, music consumers AND even some musicians themselves are really doing a shitty job if they ever want even a smidgen of hope of turning things around.

I mean it’s one thing to steal from Lady Gaga who is represented by big money (though mind you, her deal is likely not as sweet as it appears to be, ie: if her album sales don’t reach a certain target, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d have to pay back all of the money her record label loaned her in good faith plus interest), it’s a whole nother to steal from a self-funded independent artist whose career will (no word of a lie) fizzle out if they aren’t even able to break even on their record sales (albums do cost money to record and manufacture not to mention all of the time and emotion an artist invests…but right, that’s not worth anything).

But that’s just it – somehow and somewhere along the lines music consumers convinced themselves that they are justified in taking all the music they want for free and that a “true” artist creates music for the love of it, and therefore should have no expectations to receive any form of compensation (even if it’s just to cover their baseline and never profit).

WORSE, fellow artists and even some musicians themselves have fallen into this mentality, accepting it as A-okay, making them feel justified in calling persons such as me “sell-outs” because I feel that if someone desires my music, their desire signifies that they attribute value to it, and therefore I should be compensated accordingly…it’s NOT like I’m expecting to reel in billions here, no I just want a measly $10 an album for 10 tracks – seems fair to me.

What does it say about the buying public to you if you can have your supposed “biggest fan” approach you, praise you to high heavens, and then admit they “obtained” (read as “stole”) your entire catalog via Limewire (*Note: Limewire, THANK GOD, has been officially court ordered to shut down its operations. Click the link for more information) ? Yeah, it’s happened to me, and I’m sure many other indies.

So here’s the deal: if YOU are serious about being a professional musician, GET serious about approaching this industry from a business perspective. If you give away your compositions and/or your live show for FREE (except in the case of doing non-for-profit work and/or providing promotional materials to industry representatives), DON'T expect people to value what you’re doing. If you steal from fellow artists, don’t be upset if they do the same to you (that’d be being a hypocrite, my friends).

And finally and MOST importantly, if you hope to have sustainability as an artist, know your worth. Unless you were lucky enough to be born into a family whose credit line never ends, not getting paid for all of your efforts gets old real fucking fast.

Vol 3, The Grand Finale: A Few Parting Words & Pieces of Advice

2010-02-07T19:08:00.000-08:00

Well my friends, it has come to that time of year again when we are forced to say goodbye, but unlike previous years, we will NOT be reacquainted come September. After three years of providing you all with advice and insight based on my experiences in the music biz, along, of course, with the occasional rant, I’ve come to the decision that, like so many great artists of the past, it is “better to burn out than fade away.” With that said however, there’s no need to despair, as I promise you that all of my articles will remain accessible (in full) online (right here under your pretty little nose!), and anytime you wish to field questions my way via email, I’ll be more than happy to respond.

In what seems like a short time together, we’ve covered everything from finding the right bandmates, to booking your first gig, to generating press coverage, to music piracy, to album sales certification, to Canada’s grant associations, and even drug use and sexism in the music biz. I’ve done my best to answer all of the questions that I once had when I first began my musical journey as a wide-eyed naïve 15 year old with rockstar aspirations. It only seems appropriate, as I lay my column down to rest, to revisit some of the initial pieces of advice that I offered in “So You Wanna be in a Rock Band?’s” very first issue. I feel these words hold just as much, if not more, truth today than they did when I initially wrote them. So, if you truly wanna be in a rock band, I suggest that you take them to heart.

In the words of one highly respected industry expert with whom I had the pleasure of speaking earlier this year, “the world doesn’t owe you anything, and being a musician is supposed to be hard. If your stuff isn't good enough, or if the public chooses not to like it, there's nothing you can do about it,” (Alan Cross).

1) There is no such thing as an educational program that can ever prepare you for the harsh reality of how the music industry actually functions.

2) You may be the greatest innovator and songwriter since John Lennon, but if you can't sell 10,000 CDs without label support, good luck and God-speed.

3) If you want to be successful on any level in the music biz, the first thing you need to realize is that NO ONE, and I mean no one, will work harder than you on promoting your music and/or band. So, if you don't have much of a work ethic, I suggest you pursue other interests.

4) One of the biggest misconceptions about the music industry is that once you are signed, your work ends. Wrong....it only gets harder, because now you are competing in the big leagues with bands who are not only signed, but have full time publicists and booking agents working around the clock to get their name out there. Oh wait... I'm sure you thought that a label would provide you with a booking agent and publicist once you signed a contract with them right? Wrong again!

5) If you think that being a musician will lead to immediate gratification and financial remuneration, you couldn't be more off, especially if you are an original act. Believe it or not, in general, cover and tribute acts (without representation) are compensated about 10 times that of an original act for a single show.

6) Further on the subject of making money…in order to attain a position of financial and career stability (of course, it can never be entirely stable), musicians often work for 10 - 15 years and then finally, just when they think they've had enough, they break. In other words, there is NO such thing as an “overnight success”.

7) There is always the risk of becoming a one- hit-wonder. Labels, plain and simply, just want to make money, and musicians are a dime-a -dozen. Don't think for a second that they care about your integrity, dignity, or the longevity of your career. If a label can make the most profit off of one single, than that is the route they will take.

8) The word "fair" does not exist in this industry, nor does "honesty." Promises are broken everyday, and as I said before, I cannot stress enough how important it is to realize that the music industry functions as any big business.

9) If you are not marketable, you will not be successful. Music industry execs don't want to take risks with something that may or may not sell. Hence, the reason why you see trends constantly regurgitated, and why next to every band on the radio sounds the same.

And finally… and MOST IMPORTANTLY!!!!

10) Please, if you wanna be in a rock band, do it for the right reasons: a love of music, because you want to inspire others, or so that you can act as a positive rolemodel for future generations.

I wish you all the best of luck in your musical journeys, and remember, music saves lives.

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry is the former frontwoman of Canadian hard rock bands ANTI-HERO & HER, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services for female rock musicians.

Her bands toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest, and achieved label status.

Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, ANTI-HERO's critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase. Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.

Vol 3, Issue 21: The Ins & Outs of Music Videography

2010-01-06T11:27:00.001-08:00

ANTI-HERO: Unpretty (2005)
Video is undoubtedly a powerful medium, and in the view of many entertainment critics, “the ultimate medium of the future”. From a cultural perspective, it The business point of view also points out, that perhaps one of video’s most beneficial attributes, is that it has the ability to evoke emotion, and illustrate complex meaning through imagery and representation.allows audiences to link an artist’s work with his/her image and name. The popularity of even poor quality “home-mades” on sites, such as Youtube, once again reaffirms video’s social significance.

As society becomes ever more encompassed in the “Digital Age”, the growing importance of video promotion, among musicians, cannot be understated. Back when I was still a rambunctious munchkin, video taping devices were known by their full name, camcorders (hard to believe, I know) and a foreign sounding version of the video tape that went by the title of “Beta”, was all the rage.

Things, suffice it to say, have changed considerably since my childhood, and instead of having to rely on film, and the mucky business of hands-on editing, digital methods have made video taping and production accessible and understandable to virtually anyone in the general populus. Accordingly, with this newfound ease of video manipulation came the novel expectation that all musicians should have promo videos as part of their professional portfolio. Lucky for all of you, turning this prospect into a reality has never been easier, or for that matter, cheaper. But just so we’re clear from the get-go, cellphone clips do NOT count, and should not be used, under any circumstances, for marketing your band. Their image quality sucks, their audio is even worst, and if you are looking to make a professional impression, well you lost me at “cellphone video.”

In terms of a starting point when it comes to making promo vids, the following things should be considered:

1) Video Type
Should you go live or traditional music video? Both versions, obviously, have their advantages, and if possible, I say do both. However, if you are restricted, for budgetary reasons, to invest in only one form, your decision should ultimately be based on your band’s career direction.

Whereas live videos have the ability to showcase your band in action, and demonstrate to potential talent buyers why your act should be booked over comparable others, music videos work to expand a band’s fanbase because of their ability to be aired on a variety of programs (both online and via mainstream media). In addition, the release of a music video often accompanies that of an album/single, making it an easy means to generate publicity for your band.

A final version of the promo video that your act may choose to undertake is that of the “on location” (ie: in the studio or on the road) or “behind the scenes” footage reel. Not only can these vids be shot for an extremely inexpensive cost (ie: usually filmed completely with handhelds), but as well, hardcore fans absolutely revel in this kind of up close and personal encounter with their favourite bands, while such videos also allow industry execs to get a taste for your personality and band dynamic. With that said however, generally this last version of the promo video is typically not released unless your band has already established a fairly substantial following.

2) Budget
Although making a flashy million dollar production would surely be quite the experience, I understand that it is not realistic for the vast majority of indie bands. You’ve got to use the resources that you have at your fingertips, and that’s why again, I recommend taking advantage of Fanshawe’s (or your local college's) multi-talented student body.

One of my very first music videos, for an acoustic track off of one of my demos, was shot and edited by a friend of mine who was studying MultiMedia and Design Technology. Not only did I get great promotional material out of this venture, but she was also able to submit the work as a project for one of our classes; hence, it was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

If, for whatever reason, you are unable to find a student who is able and/or willing to assist you in making a vid, never fear as there are a variety of freelance music video makers in and around town that are indie-friendly. Checking postings on boards such as craigslist, or kijiji, and/or resources like overhear.com and mygiglist.com is definitely a good place to start.

Remember that your video’s budget should reflect your opportunities for airplay. As we learned last year, the likelihood of submitting a video to MuchMusic and achieving airplay, without a pre-existing contact, is extremely low. Therefore, your vid’s quality should be geared towards online. With this in mind, I do not recommend spending in excess of a couple thousand dollars. It’s not worth it, and because of internet compression, the extra quality that you paid for will most likely NOT even be noticeable.

It’s also important to keep in mind, that if your video requires extras, the vast majority of people are willing to volunteer.

3) Content
Last, but not least, what should your video (if a traditional music video) be about? As mentioned in my intro, video has the capacity to tell a story, and to relate your musical expression to who you are/what you’re all about as an individual act. I’ve seen far too many generic videos, from indies, strictly constituted of jam sessions in dimly lit warehouses complimented by sporadic zoom-ins and excessive head-banging. For the sake of my own personal sanity, please, do not use this plot (or lack thereof) as your video’s storyline – it’s overdone, out-dated, and does nothing to set your act apart from others. The best (and most memorable) music videos, in my view, relate directly to their song’s lyrical message; they’re emotional, and reflective, and balanced out by the perfect amount of rocking out.

With my band’s debut video, “Unpretty”, our vision was clear from the start. The song, beyond its references to the fashion industry, is essentially about overcoming obstacles, and challenging conformity. To visually promote this ethos, each of the members in my band played out a role in which they reached a breaking point, and literally were confronted with a wall they had to smash. The “breaking through to the other side” was symbolic of one achieving and expressing their genuine identity, without having social limitations imposed upon them. In the video, the plot comes to a climax when I jump on stage, and the song concludes with the crowd screaming for more.

In telling you this story, whether or not our track or accompanying storyline strikes your fancy, is not the point. Rather, I am merely trying to impress upon you the importance of taking risks, and sticking true to who you are as a band. Beyond receiving extensive worldwide airplay, our video has been nominated for numerous creative awards. I can safely say that had we gone the generic “indie rock band” video route, this certainly wouldn’t have been the case.

Vol 3, Issue 20: Touring Riders & Paying Your Dues: But I Don’t Wanna Play Just for Beer

2009-11-14T17:16:00.000-08:00

I’m sure all of you are familiar with the frequently expounded three word expression, “paying your dues”. Though the phrase found its origins in the Industrial Revolution, in reference to the fees one had to pay in order to remain a member of his/her trade union (and therefore receive protections from employer exploitation), in modern times, it is most commonly used to describe the situation in which rookies find themselves, upon entering the job market for the first time. In the industry of music, specifically, it is typically expressed as a piece of advice to aspiring amateurs, from vets and industry professionals alike, who are all too eager to see their names in lights without having done any of the leg-work to get there. As we learned just a few short weeks back, in our discussion with three label reps, although talent and marketability are essential qualities for any band to get noticed, so too is work ethic, and without it, you won’t get very far. It is with this notion, in mind, that I will be writing on this week’s topic; that being, touring riders.

Long before you are in the position to be making any demands from promoters and/or club owners, you have to, as you may have guessed from my intro, “pay your dues”. What exactly this constitutes will vary slightly from band to band dependent upon your territory and/or genre, however, all band start-up stories involve playing countless shows, at dives, to crowds of ten people (if you’re lucky) for which you do not get paid, and are not appreciated. If your home-base is located in a big city such as Toronto, or Los Angeles, because such places are already oversaturated with wannabes and has-beens, this poor treatment is taken to the extreme; something you’ll get a brief taste of, when you tour these metropolises.

For instance, many clubs, in booming cities, actually expect indie bands to rent tour buses, and fill them with their hometown fans in order to bring a crowd to their out-of-town gigs. Further, rather than providing newcomers with opening spots so that they can work on expanding their followings, several major venues expect said bands to rent out their spaces in order to put on their own shows.

It is of my personal opinion, that both of these practises are absolutely ludicrous, as, typically, indies don’t have that kind of money to spare, and neither method will help a band in improving their attendance rates for future shows. However, this just scratches the tip of the iceberg in terms of the kind of b.s. a band must endure in order to establish themselves, and gain respect among industry professionals – all of which must be done, need I remind you, while maintaining a smile on your face! Perhaps a personal story, at this point, will be illuminative.

Aside from having countless promoters rip us off by leaving mid-way through our sets to avoid fronting our bills, not to mention being electrocuted by our microphones each time we attempted to play and sing simultaneously due to improper grounding, when my band ANTI-HERO first emerged on the scene, our rise through the ranks was anything, but easy.

Upon the release of our album Unpretty, we were invited to play out in Northern Ontario (about a 10 hour drive) at what was supposed to be a massive sporting event. As we were promised to play to 10,000 people, we agreed to cover all of our own expenses (which included renting an additional vehicle) because we were under the impression that we’d be able to break even through merch sales. When we arrived however, we were led to the stage which we learned was completely separated from the sporting event, and charged an additional admission price. Not surprisingly, the crowd wasn’t very keen on this; thus our audience ended up consisting of the other bands who were given the same line, and our significant others.

So in telling you all of this, what is the point I’m trying to get at?

Well, as much as it will suck and cause you endless frustration, realistically speaking, it will be AT LEAST a year before you have established yourself and your following, to a point where you can play semi-regular gigs to decent sized crowds. Usually to get to this stage, you will have had to have released an album. For the sake of your own career, DO NOT even think (and I mean it) about creating a touring rider until you’re at this point as it will not be honoured, and may potentially prevent club owners from offering you future shows.

Okay, but once I get there, what should I include in my rider? Because it’s no surprise that most musicians have a penchant for booze, club owners often try to pawn off beer tickets, to bands, in lieu of payment. While this may satisfy the tastes of some, it fails to assist you in profiting from your gigging enterprises. You need to ensure, above and beyond your booze requirements (if any) that your gas expenses, parking costs, and accommodations (if required) first and foremost are covered. Anything extra on top of that is “just gravy”, as they say, and that way, all earnings you obtain from merch sales or cover charges will be straight profit that can assist you in making it to your next destination.

Should I make any other special requests along the lines of Ozzy Osbourne and his bowl of 2000 brown M&Ms? Clearly, this is something that is up to your personal discretion, but keep in mind, your demands will only be met if you’ve got the star power to back ‘em up. Beyond payment concerns, if you are touring to unfamiliar territory, I do strongly suggest that you include in your touring rider that popular local acts are to open your show. Your ability to do promotions in new areas will be limited as you will not be knowledgeable of the scenes, and quite simply, you cannot rely on the clubs, themselves, to make your special appearances known. With this in mind, you may also wish to include in your rider that venues, upon confirmation of booking, are to provide you with lists of their local media for your publicist.

As your career develops more and more and you prove yourself worthy of the rockstar designation, it will result in bigger stages, better sound, more rawkin’ audiences, and, of course, “celebrity treatment”.

With that being said however, I hazard you to remember two things:
1) never forget where you came from and
2) don’t convince yourself, for a second, that it’ll be an easy climb.

You’ll undoubtedly have to deal with a lot (and I mean A LOT) of shit, at first, but don’t let it turn you into a pushover, or cause you to bend your standards, once you’ve attained some bragging rights of your own. Most importantly, you must remember, in the music industry, there are certainly no second chances, and to protect your own career, you most definitely should never concede on territory you’ve already conquered.

Catch Rose Perry appearing as a special guest speaker at this year’s Jack Richardson Music Awards’ Seminar Series this Sat April 4^th! www.jrma.ca for more details. Youtube link available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRwAH8Gx_Qg

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry is the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.

Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase. Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.

Vol 3, Issue 19: EcoArtists, 10 Quick Steps to Make Your Music More Green

2009-09-07T10:53:00.000-07:00

In any profession, with the good comes the bad. While music has the potential to be inspirational, even life-changing in some circumstances, part of what goes along with one’s artistic professionalization is an emphasis on touring (which involves travelling great distances in gas-guzzling vans) and shifting units (ie: the selling of mass manufactured non-biodegradable materials that may or may not end up in the trash). From an environmental perspective, it’s pretty easy to see how neither of these practises are sustainable nor eco-friendly. But, it’s NOT exactly like we can give them up either, if we are intent on making it in this business. So, in the spirit of going green, though I can’t provide you with any definitive way to eradicate these “necessary evils”, below I’ve compiled a list of suggestions from eco-aware artists on how you, as an aspiring rocker, can reduce your own footprint on this great planet we call home. Starting with the most obvious…

1) Go Strictly Digital
Though still being affected by illegal P2P programs like Limewire, legitimate online sales are growing slowly but surely, and industry experts predict that the cd, as a media format, will likely go the way of the cassette, eight-track and so many of its earlier predecessors. So why not get yourself out of the manufacturing game now? You’ll save yourself the unnecessary hassle of trying to shift physical product in a time where retail is open less and less to indie artists, not to mention you’ll cut down expenses enormously. Plus which, there are the trees, whose lives will be spared, to think about as well.

2) Say Yes to Recycled Materials & Green Technology If you are really still set on having a physical product for consumption, there’s no need to despair - more and more companies including: St. Thomas’ Second Records and Toronto’s Indiepool are going green with their manufacturing technology. Offering disc booklets printed on recycled materials with soy-based inks are just the tip of the iceberg. Other companies, primarily in the US, are in the works of revolutionizing their screen printing technology to make it more eco-friendly. There are options out there (though a bit more pricy), you just have to dig a little deeper, but it’s definitely worth it.

3) Paper Press Kits – Make Em a Thing of the Past In congruence with the previous suggestions, go online with your promotions and publicity – it’s easier, more convenient and will save you money (not to mention the world!) in the long run. There are great sites like Sonicbids which can help you design flashy online professional portfolios, but really it’s as easy as simply building a press page right on your official website. If again you really can’t tear yourself away from the hard copy real deal, then use recycled paper, at the very least.

4) Employ Online Media Solicitation Though the dinosaur model of the music industry is admittedly outdated and in desperate need of a massive overhaul, efforts are being made to stay in tune with the issues of our day. One of these winning solutions is a little known (to indie artists) piece of technology called the Digital Media Delivery System (DMDS for short). To summarize quickly – essentially it’s a digital file transfer system that allows artists to send their high quality music and video files to various media broadcasters without having to deal with messy (and expensive) mail outs. While still in its formative years, its popularity among broadcasters is exponentially increasing. I recommend getting on board!

5) Cut Your CarbonThough some bands in Europe have opted to tour entirely by bicycle (no joke), I realize that for you four piece rockers who employ extensive drum-kits and Marshall stacks, clearly this is not an option. While a van, in said situations, is clearly a necessity, there are ways to reduce its harmful emissions. Hardware shops, like Canadian Tire, carry special devices that help improve your vehicle’s mileage, and there’s always the option of using biofuels, if possible. More simply, keeping your tires inflated and carpooling as often as you can are easy solutions that anyone can do.

6) No More MapquestingEvery band at some point in their career will travel to foreign territories for which they require directions. Though by no means would I ever suggest simply winging it, instead of wasting all of the paper and ink that goes into printing countless pages of maps and city street routes, one simple investment can be the answer to all your directional problems: that being, a GPS system. Clearly an investment that one will have to save up for, but a good one nonetheless.

7) For the Ladies & the Emo Boys – Go Mineral & NaturalAs I said only a few weeks ago: image is everything and you’ve got to play the part. Accordingly, having a solid stock of makeup and hairdye (and other hair products) are undoubtedly important for many bands, particularly those of the goth or glam genres. But environment-wise not to mention heath-wise, it doesn’t really make a lot of sense to spend oodles of cash on products that are toxic and synthetic if you looking for longevity in regards to either of the aforementioned points. Lucky for you, mineral cosmetics and natural hairdyes are becoming more commonplace on the market. Go look for yourself!

8) Cool Finds for Cheap Along with the last point, wardrobe is clearly an investment, for any performer, that needs to be taken seriously. While wearing ripped jeans and flannel shirts worked for the grunge rockers, not every genre has created such a staple in terms of fashion. However, it’s important to realize that looking good means being noticed and resultingly, most professional artists have signature styles and unique attire that CANNOT be found at just any Old Navy. One of the best ways to find one-of-a-kind pieces, beyond having a personal fashion designer, is to visit vintage and second hand clothing stores. Not only will you get the best bang for your buck, but you can pretty much guarantee you’ll find at least one very out-there piece on every visit.

9) Purchase More PawnI often feel sorry for the countless guitars hanging in the windows of pawn shops longing for the day when someone will come in and allow them to wail once again. Though society has allotted terms like “used” and “pawned” with pejorative connotations, I can honestly say I've seen some of the most incredible objects hidden away in the corners of these so-called “hock shops”. Though it may take a bit of extra digging, I truly believe it is well worth the effort. The first step, however, is to change perceptions about these sorts of stores and the items they have for sale. Instead of thinking of pawn as someone else’s garbage or attempt to pay off a debt, I prefer to term them simply as “pre-loved”.

And finally…

10) A Charity of Your ChoiceWhen you get to the point at which you have begun to profit with your music sales, nothing demonstrates your appreciation to the public, for your successes, more than donating some of your proceeds to the charity of your choice. There are clearly tons of great eco nonforprofits out there including the WWF. Not only will supporting such agencies help heal the world, it will also be great for your public image and did I mention that you can claim it on your income taxes as a writeoff? Sounds to me like a win-win situation all around!

About the Author:
Rose Cora Perry is the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.

Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase. Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.

Vol 3, Issue 18: Entrepreneurial Artists: Three Canadian Rockers Who’ve Successfully Married Commerce with Craft

2009-07-15T16:42:00.000-07:00

When it comes to art and the assignment of qualities such as “authentic”, “genuine”, “original”, and the like, Romantic ideologies are still largely responsible for informing the public’s sensibilities. There remains a wide-held belief, extending to all creative endeavours, that mainstream success necessitates corporate exploitation, and formulaic expression, while true art is obscure, and can only be produced by the marginalized and tormented. Put more simply, it is still chiefly the case that if one succeeds in this business, both in terms of achieving economic remuneration and popularity among the “unwashed" masses, they will be labelled a “sellout”, and almost invariably, as a result, their once loyal underground following will dissipate.

While this conviction maintains a certain degree of truth value, at least in regards to the increasingly limited realm of major labels, the same cannot be said of the independent sphere. As I hope to demonstrate through the following discussion, moreover dissection of today’s music industry, with three highly successful musician-cum-label owners, art and commerce do not have to be at odds. In fact, in the case of G7 Welcoming Committee Records, the independent label owned and operated by Manitoba-based politically charged punk rockers, Chris Hannah and Jord Samolesk, of Propagandi fame, promoting a subversive anti-capitalist agenda would actually work in one’s favour in terms of getting signed.

As the subject matter of the following discourse primarily revolves around the indie music scene, providing an overview of how each of my interview subjects got started, along with their definitions of what constitutes an indie label seems, to me, an appropriate point at which to begin.

Robert Calder, trumpet player for Vancouver pop band The Salteens, and co-founder of Boompa Records, which includes, Matt Sharp (Weezer), among other notable acts, on its roster, established his label in 2003. Driven by what he characterizes as both ambition and naivety, despite the fact that The Salteens had already successfully acquired label representation for their studio releases, Calder was interested in creating his own company that kept, at its forefront, practises that are sustainable from both a business and artistic point of view. In his own experiences as a professional touring musician, he remembers, all too often, moments, in the heat of business, in which it was forgotten what artists require to be generative.

With this in mind, it’s no surprise, that Calder defines a true indie label as one that is not founded solely on the premise of achieving profits. In fact, he goes so far as to state that if a project is proposed to one of his artists that is highly lucrative, but has the potential to be draining for them, it is this latter factor that will be afforded more weight when it ultimately comes to making the decision. In his own words, “the plight of the struggling artist should be about growth and development, not unmet expectations.”

Though, Tim Potocic, drummer of 90s-inspired Hamilton rock band Tristan Psionic, like Calder, had established a recognizable degree of acclaim within the indie scene, the impetus fuelling the development of his independent label and distributor, Sonic Unyon, was rooted more in necessity than aspiration. Contesting that both he and his bandmates perceived the music biz as a larger entity than it is in actual fact, Potocic, put rather simply, “didn’t really think that [any labels] would be interested in helping [him take his band to the next level].” As a musical group whose mentality very much centred around the D.I.Y. mantra, coupled with the fact that all of Tristan Psionic’s members were schooled in either business, economics, or admin, even though he openly admits that initially they didn’t really know what they were doing, Potocic always had faith that they’d be able to handle whatever came their way; Sonic Unyon’s near-20 year (and counting) stint is certainly a testament that this was true.

Like our next guest, Chris Hannah, Potocic is hesitant to designate a single business model as being definitively “indie”. In his view, what makes Sonic Unyon artist-friendly fundamentally comes down to having a good team, working with like-minded people, and splitting everything (both expenses and profits) 50/50 between his artists and the label. While Potocic strongly believes in giving his performers free reign when it comes to the creative process, he also appreciates the perseverance and drudgery that goes into making a band successful. For that very reason, when it comes to scouting new talent, it’s the acts that demonstrate the strongest work ethics that really grab his attention.

Chris Hannah and Jord Samolesk’s go at the business side of things, frankly, can be chalked up to artistic impulse. While the urge to create, among artists, goes without saying, so too does the appetite for experimentation, and in some cases, the desire for world domination. Identifying with the mid-80s underground zine, metal tape-trading, and punk rock scenes, Chris and Jord were, “encouraged [by and looked up to] the bands who got their hands dirty.” Not only seeing the act of creating their own label as a means through which they could stay productive and engaged in the industry while wearing different hats, but as well as an alternative platform where they could register and promote their complaints about the system, shortly after its launch, G7 became home to a smorgasbord of politically radical bands and speakers. American linguist and political activist, Noam Chomsky, is but one of the controversial figures who releases his material via Hannah and Samolesk’s collective.

While, as mentioned, Hannah does not subscribe to using the term “indie” to denote any organizational scheme within the music industry because, in actuality, “everyone releasing music – in the form of a physical/digital product to the public – is [in some way] dependent upon the infrastructure of the music-industrial-complex,”, he does feel that, “within that framework, organizations can act more or less ‘independently’ if they are not beholden to shareholders and/or if profit is not their prime directive.”

As illustrated by the above responses from all three of my interview subjects, whereas the form the business itself may take remains considerably up for grabs, there seems to be consensus, among indie label founders, that the creation of one’s own label should be conceived of as a labour of love, not a money-making machine. Credence to this fact comes in the form of Potocic’s own struggle for success.

Although Sonic Unyon, today, is cited regularly as one of Canada’s most influential music makers, it wasn’t until Tim was in his seventh fiscal year that he was able to take home his very first paycheck. Calder, similarly, isn’t shy about Boompa’s humble beginnings. Long before he knew they got it right, he recalls numerous failures, poor decisions, hiatuses, and regroupings. But, rather than reflecting on these experiences unfavourably, Calder, like Potocic is able to recognize the wisdom he gained, as a result.

Naturally then, both founders concur that one of the biggest blunders any band can make is to set unrealistic expectations. Contrary to what the media would have you believe, nothing, in this business, happens overnight, and you certainly cannot expect to attain any sense of glory, without first being willing to display your guts. Accordingly, all three of my guests highly recommended that bands maintain other ventures, while pursuing their musical careers. For one thing, cash flow will likely become an issue if you are solely relying on your gigs to front your bills, and secondly, having other goals in life makes you well-rounded. Speaking from his own experiences, Potocic resolves that, “if you have many skills [in life], then you will always land on your feet.”

When it comes to illegal downloading, Calder, Potocic, and Hannah’s views are somewhat more lax than what one might assume of label owners. In Calder’s eyes, “a fan is a fan no matter how they get their music,” and Hannah is quick to point out that for every one person who illegally obtains your tunes, undoubtedly there are five others who get to hear something they would not have otherwise. Moreover, while Potocic accepts the fact that illegal downloading has affected everyone’s business on some level, he strongly contests that, it alone, cannot be blamed for the awful state of the music biz. Rather, he suggests, “people still love music and people still support artists. The traditional model [just] doesn't apply anymore. We are in the middle of more than just a format change – but a change in thinking of the consumer and a shift in consumer spending.” Taking it a step further, Hannah, like myself, cites the industry’s downfall in its foisting of terrible records, upon the public, for far too long: “if labels would stop trying to make money by pawning off garbage, maybe people wouldn’t be so quick to think that [music] didn’t hold any value.”

Despite his attribution of blame however, Hannah remains hopeful. While he agrees illegal downloading, “is not good for [big] businesses that have invested all of their money [into] shiny plastic discs,” he does believe, in all sincerity, that, “it could be good for music.” To this Calder adds that, “true fans support artists in many ways,” and he truly hopes that, “the whole concept of signing bands and throwing crap loads of money at them, to see if they [can] sell a ton of assets in the first week of release, goes the way of the dodo bird.” As made evident through the above discussion, whether or not the corporate structure fails is irrelevant – most indie artists, let alone indie labels, do not align themselves with the traditional music biz’s point of view.

As our three week long examination of what it takes to start your own label comes to a close, I’d like to share with you one final offering of advice. As I’ve attempted to impress on you in this piece, as in others, carving out a career for oneself in the music biz, whether as an artist or label owner, is not for the faint of heart, and it is for this reason that a love of art must supersede all other potential motivating rationales. To leave you with a quote that I feel aptly summarizes the indie label owner’s point of view, in the words of Hannah: “if you believe in the transformative potential of music, [I encourage you to] go for it, [but] if you're looking for anything else, just take the job at your dad's business that he's been offering you. Please.”

Vol 3, Issue 17: Starting up Your Own Label Pt #4: Designing Your Label’s Look & Branding Its Identity

2009-05-19T17:16:00.000-07:00

To appropriate a successful marketing campaign, of Sprite’s, which could have as easily been applied to the record biz as it was to soft drinks, “image is everything”, and if you want your label taken seriously, you need to create an identity for it that speaks to your mission, audience, and potential roster list. Last time, we went over the importance of establishing one’s label infrastructure and maintaining business savvy communications from hereon out. Following along the same lines, this week, we’ll be discussing how to create the “right” image for your business.

You’ll notice that I put right in quotations because it is a qualifying word of a subjective nature meaning that there are a multitude of ways that you can approach your business, and its presentation, but, it will be up to you to uncover what you feel works best for your mandate.

For example, while both labels were born of the 1980s’ D.I.Y. grassroots mentality in order to support independent alternative, rock, and punk bands, Sympathy for the Record Industry, and Epitaph Records present vastly different images to the public and to their potential clientele – a quick look at both of their websites is demonstrative. While Sympathy’s online presence appears amateur, is difficult to navigate, and their official site’s frontpage sarcastically insults the label itself, its founder, as well as any supporters of its artists, Epitaph, maintains a sleek, and flashy appearance comparable to that of any major label. In fact, without knowledge of Epitaph’s founding history (it is the brainchild of Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz), one could easily mistake it for just that. Though Epitaph, undoubtedly, has the upper hand in terms of creating a professional look that would be well-respected in the business side of the music world, Sympathy’s homegrown anti-corporate ethos, evident in its self-presentation, is arguably responsible for attracting and subsequently launching the careers of many notable artists including Hole, The White Stripes, and The New York Dolls.

So which label has it “right”? Well, there really is no single answer. Both Epitaph and Sympathy have been extremely successful, as indies, carving out reputations for discovering hit acts, while maintaining artistic integrity, for all of the bands they sign, at the forefront of their operations.

As stated in my introduction, the choices you make in regards to the marketing of your label are ultimately a personal choice, but regardless of whether you decide to paint yourself as pro or foe, an arsenal of the following tools will assist you on your road to success:

Number One: A Slogan
Why did you form your label? What’s its purpose? What makes your label different from the thousands of others already in existence? - are all questions that you’ll need answers to. The easiest way to synopsize exactly what your company is about is by creating a memorable one-liner in the same fashion as those of the following labels: Sonic Unyon Records claims to “transcend mainstream mediocrity”, while G7 Welcoming Committee Records states proudly that they’ve been, “uncooperative since ‘97”. In order to expand on your label’s history, and mandate, devoting a page on your website detailing a mission statement and/or an about us section is also something worth considering as many bands, when debating to whom they will solicit their material, make their decisions purely on the nature of said things.

Number Two: A Logo
Sometimes as simple as just finding the right combination of font, and colour, your logo doesn’t have to induce psychedelic mind-trips, or have satanic affiliations, but it should be an artistic representation of your company that again, speaks to what you’re about and has memorable qualities. If you’re not skilled in the graphical arts, I highly recommend finding someone who is – even if only a student – to come up with an aesthetically pleasing design for you, as there is nothing worse than a makeshift cut and paste job if you’re trying to market yourself as a professional. Once designed, all promotional materials issued, including press releases, business cards, cds, websites, posters etc. should bear an invariable version of your logo (ie: don’t constantly change its colours) like a badge of honour to demonstrate to your affiliates and fans that your company is consistent in its image, as well as what it offers.

Number Three: Business Cards
Just as I noted last time, in regards to websites, there is nothing that I, as a music journalist, hate more than coming across something in which I’m interested for which there is no appropriate contact information. Similarly, considering that networking is such a crucial component of establishing business relations, and reputation building in the music biz, it is equally aggravating, for industry professionals, to come across bands and/or aspiring label owners who are not adequately stocked with handfuls of business cards at shows, and industry conferences. You need to be prepared for anything in this industry because you never know who you just might meet, and having business cards on you, at all times, is certainly a step in the right direction.

In terms of design, maintaining the same colours and fonts that you use for your website, and logo, on your cards will work to solidify your label’s image. Make sure that you include all necessary contact information (ie: postal address including country, phone, fax, email, website), your slogan, and where applicable, the roster list of the bands you represent and/or a list of your top five acts. Including all of this info is essential as at any given gig, an industry rep could meet upwards of a hundred people trying to get his/her attention, you need to ensure that they’ll remember exactly who you are, and what you’re about, come time for the follow up.

As a side note: A newer trend that I’ve witnessed on the band promotional front is the creation of “postcard” style business cards in which the band is presented in full colour photographic form on the front, while label contact information, and selected quotes about the act are depicted on the reverse side. If done properly, these can be quite eye catching, but it’s important to realize that they are much harder to carry around as they don’t easily fit into pockets, and the last thing that you want to do, with your promotional materials, is to inconvenience the very person to whom you are trying to sell up your business.

One last note on business cards: Please, I beg you, actually spend money on getting these things printed professionally. I know that they can be expensive, both to design, and to print, but trust me it’ll be worth while, and there are lots of services out there willing to give you good deals, if you make the effort to look. You will not fool anyone with cards produced from your at home laser printer or worse, those printed on Kodak photo paper. They look like shit, and make you, in turn, look like shit, and I’m sure that’s not the image you’re going for.

Number Four: Press Kit(s)
Press kits are your means of getting “the good word” out about the bands you represent to venues, bookers, media reps, and other industry professionals. While their look will vary from label to label, standard components, all of which should be tucked neatly into a crisp folder, include: the band’s biography, a “stat” sheet (which lists, in point form, notable accomplishments, and/or awards) an 8 by 10 photo (often black and white, with 1 – 1 ½ inch white framing) that depicts the entire band with their logo overlaid, upcoming tour dates, press quotes (about the band in general, their live performances, or their latest release), a copy of their latest disc, and of course, your label’s business card. Just as your website, business card, and slogan work to “brand” your label, your bands’ press kits should follow suit.

Each one of your bands will, of course, have their own distinctive look, but the packaging (ie: the style of photography, the kind of folders used, the general layout of materials etc.) in which they are presented should work to draw an association back to your label, and ensure continued business dealings, even if one of your bands decides to jump ship. A simple means by which to accomplish this is by including your label’s logo as the header, and contact information as the footer on every page included in the kit. Not only will this establish part of the standard format in which you represent your bands, but it also makes your contact information easily accessible should someone accidentally misplace your business card.

In conclusion to my series on starting your own label, I would like to leave you with a final bit of advice derived from my own experiences. People often get caught up in the excitement of their own ideas, and convince themselves that they have superhuman capabilities. They take on more and more and more, but eventually they reach their breaking point, and had they just set out a sensible plan of attack from the beginning, they never would have found themselves in that situation. Take it from someone who once attempted (successfully, if you don’t count my consequent mental breakdown and physical fatigue) to book all of her own shows, do all of her own publicity, negotiate all of her own business deals, while performing several times a week, working part time, and attending school- you cannot do it all of your own, and even if you can, it will eventually catch up to you. Creating a successful business not only takes time, and perseverance, as well as band of reliable associates willing and able to help you with everything that it entails. Do not underestimate how hard it will be (hundreds of indie labels go defunct every year), and do not overestimate your own abilities. Do your homework, start out slow, and do not rush success. After all, everything that is worth fighting for is always a challenge.

Vol 3, Issue 16: Starting up Your Own Label Pt #3: Getting Your Infrastructure in Order

2009-05-06T13:17:00.001-07:00

Upon making the initial decision to create your own indie label, there will be a ton of subsequent choices you’ll need to make right from the get-go. For instance, do you want your label to represent your act solely, or in the future (once established), do you plan on reaching out to other indie artists and creating a label family of your own? Do you want to cover all of your own services such as booking, and publicity or do you want to make alliances with pre-established firms to whom you will outsource these jobs and establish a commission agreement per booking? Will your label be territory specific, and make arrangements with other indies to cover international waters, or will you claim authority over all jurisdictions? These are just a few examples of the kind of questions that you will need answers to.

As with everything, there will be advantages and disadvantages to each arrangement you consider, but what’s important is knowing your own capabilities, and setting realistic standards. So, with that in mind, even if your eventual aspiration is to create an artist-run family of your own, similar to that of Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records, you need to take it one step at a time (don’t bite off more than you can chew). Aboveall, to ensure that you maintain a strong positive reputation, and don’t burn a lot of bridges along the way, before you decide to take on the responsibility of anyone else’s career, you absolutely, 100%, need to ensure that your own shit is in order.

Selecting a Name
So, at this point, I’m sure you’re wondering, where do I begin? Well, after you’ve established your network, got your funding in order, and have drawn up a working business plan, your first order of action is to start reputation building. You need to first name your label, and then, more importantly, work on establishing your presence. For me, the name of my label was obvious - it came directly from my band’s name, and it represented the fact that if I should ever expand my enterprise to assist other artists with various management and label services, I wanted it to be clear that my goal was to work solely with women in music; hence, HER Records. For some of you, it may not be that cut and dry. But, just like with naming your band, you need to put a lot of thought into what kind of message you want to elicit, and you also need to make certain, ESPECIALLY in this case because you’re establishing an actual registered business, that you are NOT infringing on copyrighted territory. In three words, do your research!

Business Basics
Once you’ve reached consensus on your label’s name, I highly recommend applying for a GST vendor’s permit through Revenue Canada, registering your business through your lawyer and/or accountant, and opening up a business bank account at your local financial institution. Running a band sloppily is one thing, but once you’ve got a working record label, you need to make sure your files, expenses, and profits are in tip top shape for three main reasons:

1) you will have monetary obligations to others, and need to keep record of all transactions in the event of a dispute

2) it is quite possible that your business could get audited and

3) if a major label decides to pick up you or one of your other artists, they will require a record of past sales, and successes for marketing purposes.

Suffice it to say you will start feeling a bit like a baglady every time you insist on getting receipts for each purchase, but you’ll need them to be able to deduce when your business has started to profit (ie: when you will actually be able to pay back loans and/or pay yourself as an employee), and it’ll also come in handy, for tax purposes, to keep track of all of your expenses because if your bills far exceed your income, you will be taxed at a lower rate.

It is also recommended to apply for a low interest credit card as many services you may require in the future (such as reserving hotel rooms in different provinces/states for cross-country tours) can ONLY be done through valid credit card accounts.

Additionally, it will be essential to make sure that you are in good standing with the necessary Canadian artist associations, as well as royalty and sales tracking services that you will require regular use of throughout your endeavours including SOCAN, CMRRA, SAC, AFM, and Soundscan (membership, in most cases, cost money).

Finally, before you are ready to release any albums, it’s a good idea to already have working versions of your online stores in order so that all you’ll have to do is put up the product at your desired time of release, and you won’t face any potential delays with distribution. Literally, everyday the amount of places online where you can sell your music for a nominal fee are expanding, and I recommend making your label and its artists’ releases visible on as many as possible, but if your budget is limited (which I’m sure it is) the online and in store indie friendly distribution services that you’ll definitely want to take advantage of include: Indiepool, CdBaby, Tunecore, Mxyer Ringtones, & Songcast. Creating accounts with Youlicense and Pumpaudio may also be something to consider if you are interested in potentially licensing your tunes for tv, internet, and movie projects in the future.

Working the Rep
At this point forward, any communications from your band to bookers, distributors, photographers etc. should be coming from your record label NOT a member of your band. From my own experience, I’ve found that it’s best to choose a gender neutral name that is fairly unassuming such as Sam, or Vic because, as much as I hate to admit it, the vast majority of bookers, and promoters with whom you’ll be interacting are men, and they’ll naturally assume you’re a guy too; thus leading them to treat you in a more respectful manner. You should give your so called label rep a last name as well (obviously not the same as any of your band members), and you should issue “him” a title such as Head of Promotions or Lead A&R representative depending on the purpose of your communications.

To cut down on costs (long distance bills are a killer), and simply to increase efficiency, I personally recommend doing as much as possible over email/the internet - whether that’s researching potential clubs for tours, setting up appointments, booking gigs, issuing press releases, or paying for services. If you decide to pursue this route, you’ll need to set up a label email address which can easily be accomplished through one of the several different free hosting services, that are at your disposal, including hotmail, yahoo, or gmail. Make sure when you are filling out the details for your email service that you do NOT put your personal name or birthday etc. under the information section because that is something that people can check, and you want to keep everything consistent with the name of your label rep.

Along the same lines, you’ll want to change your answering machine so that it informs callers that they are reaching your label’s headquarters, as some promoters and media outlets still prefer conducting business over the phone. If you want an example of what a professional answering service should sound like, call any reputable business after hours. Generally, it will be laid out as follows:

“You’ve reached ____ Records, home of (list your artist names). None of our agents are currently available to take your call, but if you’d like to leave a message after the tone specifying your reason for calling, the appropriate department would be happy to get back to you at their earliest convenience. If you’d prefer to reach us by email, you can do so at (email address). If you require more information on ____ Records and/or one of our artists, please feel free to visit our official website located at (url).” Thanks.”

For those of you who are perceptive I’m sure you noticed the above message made mention of having an official website for your label. When you first get started, and have yet to establish an extensive roster and/or list of services, a simple Myspace or Facebook business page (if done tastefully) will suffice. Once things start heading down a more professional route, you may want to consider buying your label’s domain name and actually launching a full scale website.

As for what should be included on your website, make sure you’ve got an overview of the label’s inception, the services it provides, its affiliates, its artists (with links to their official sites), and any sponsors it may have accrued. As well, it is absolutely necessary to include visible contact information detailing your full postal address, email, phone, and fax number (where possible) as, from my experiences as a journalist I can tell you that, there is nothing more frustrating then coming across a website on a subject in which you’re really interested which fails to list the appropriate channels to initiate contact.

One final note on communications: If you can get a fax machine and/or scanner, it will be truly advantageous because some items, such as contracts need to be issued and completed within short time periods and/or are of a confidential or delicate nature for which you cannot depend on postal services. Plus which, it’ll greatly reduce the amount of money you spend on mailing, which will likely already be a large expense of yours on account of the fact that, despite services such as Sonicbids, a great deal of venues refuse to consider bands for booking and media outlets refuse to consider acts for coverage, unless they receive hard copies of your press kit.

Vol 3, Issue 15: Starting up Your Own Label Pt #2: It’s All About the Money

2009-04-11T13:29:00.000-07:00

After you’ve assembled your army of professional business alliances (which you should endeavour to continue growing throughout your career), the next step is to get your money in order. With any business, start up capital is an absolute must as there will be many expenses, both planned and unexpected, that will pop up along the way. Considering that, aspiring musicians, rarely come fully endowed with thousands of dollars in inheritance money bestowed upon them by deceased relatives (in other words, we’re usually just barely scrapping by), learning how to budget and save up all of your pennies for rainy days, early on, is definitely a smart move. Under NO circumstances do you want to resort to taking out a loan from a financial institution as there are no guarantees in this industry (ie: though many will travel the path, few will succeed), and the interest rates alone are enough to solicit heart palpitations. Plus which, in all fairness, it’s fairly likely that you haven’t really established that great of a credit record at this point anyhow, so getting approved for a monetary advance from a bank is probably not going to happen. So, where are you gonna get the goods?

Well, whether you’re in a collective, or you’re a solo performer, instead of boozing it up after gigs, I highly recommend reinvesting, at least some, if not all of the money you earn from your appearances, both performance fees and merch sales. If you’re not quite at the level at which you are getting paid for professional gigs, no problem, instead, to get things moving, each of you can contribute a nominal amount (say $10 - $20) into your startup fund on a weekly basis from the salaries you earn at your current menial jobs, and honestly, you’ll be surprised how fast it’ll add up. If you don’t currently have a job, go out and get one, even if just at a fast food joint, you’ll need a steady source of income coming in.

A third option you have is to, as we did, find an investor for your company, but be warned, this is not an easy venture. Just as when you approach a company for a potential sponsorship, you need to have something to offer them in return, and as much as I support your dreams of being a revolutionary rockstar, that sort of pitch doesn’t fly with business people. Investors are interested in one thing, and one thing only: that being, to maximize their returns. Sometimes, they will have a soft spot for helping out artists, however, you will still need to have a professional pitch, a profit-sharing contract worked out, as well as a contingency plan for the worst case scenario. You also need to keep in mind that if you do choose to involve an investor with your company, that it is only fair that after profits have been attained (ie: you are no longer trying to break even on your expenses), they get paid first. Afterall, they were willing to sink funds into your dream when you had nothing, and if it weren’t for them, you wouldn’t have been able to bring your baby to life.

One last note on investors: please, if you take anything away from this piece, let it be this: do NOT, and I truly mean it, do NOT involve family members. As much as they love you now (and I’m sure they do), money changes people, and relationships. Though sex has been said to be the quickest way to ruin a friendship, I’d argue that disputes over money wreak havoc way worst than anything you’ve ever seen.

The final option you have for getting together the necessary start up monies for your business is to apply, through the provincial government, for a young entrepreneur’s business loan (see http://www.cybf.ca/ for more details), however, be aware that if your loan is approved, the government, until you have paid back the loan in full, will have authority as the primary shareholder (ie: they will own a larger percentage of your company). Additionally, similar to a bank loan, you would be expected to pay back the loaned funds, plus an agreed upon interest rate, within three to five years depending on the arrangement.

So I’m sure at this point you’re wondering, well what do I need all of this money for? Though I previously explained that there will be many expenses along the way, I agree, a more specific overview of what these expenses may entail, is necessary. Tune in next week for just that!

Vol 3, Issue 14: Key Steps to Starting Your Own Successful Indie Label Pt #1

2009-03-29T10:52:00.000-07:00

Back in 2003, when I was still a teenager, and when I was convinced that being in an all girl band was a good idea (how we learn as we age), I devised the plan to create my own indie label, HER Records, in order to release our debut album in a more professional manner, in hopes of attaining major label attention. Taking note of the fact that competition in the indie world (well the music industry, in general) is ridiculously steep, I wanted to create a package - something to sell the record labels that would stand out from the rest of the pack. Several years later (but with a different band mind you), after a great deal of learning, growing, and touring, this dream of mine finally became a reality.

But after years of enduring abuse, and a lack of support from our so-called record label, it is clear to me now, more than ever, that self-representation is really where it’s at (and I’m sure you’re aware that I’m not the only artist who states this case). But you learn through experience right? And had it not been for our “getting signed” (and “selling out” as they call it), I wouldn’t be where I am now, and I certainly wouldn’t be able to offer you the insights that I’ve learned.

Taking into account the current climate of what many foresee as the very crumbling of the music industry’s infrastructure, it only makes sense to consider the viability of going indie. At this point in time, because of the widespread accessibility to artist-friendly services, it is more feasible (and cost effective, and beneficial in so many ways - I could go on and on) than it’s ever been in the past. But, before you decide to go out and choose a name, logo design, and a MySpace url for your new cutting edge independent label, if you want to be taken seriously and as a professional, there are a few essential steps that must come first.

Step Number One: Network, network, network
As an indie artist, funds, as we know, are limited, and so it is essential, right from the beginning to establish loyal and mutually beneficial relationships with various providers of services (ie: photographers, publicists, producers, distributors, web site designers, instrument repairmen, entertainment lawyers etc) which you will require at different times in your career. If you are able to learn any of these crafts yourself, all the power to you - it’ll save big time on expenses, and is one last thing that you’ll have to worry about.

Now approaching a high end service provider that typically works for major label artists won’t get you anywhere, BUT that does not necessarily mean that you’ll be forced to sacrifice on quality. There are tons of extremely talented people out there that are working to establish a name for themselves just as you are, and if you can create long-standing alliances with these people, it’ll be one of the best things you’ll have going for you.

For example, when my band ANTI-HERO first got going, we, obviously, didn’t have a lot of cash on hand, but desperately needed professional photos for our website and for promotional purposes. We hooked up with an aspiring photographer (fresh out of Fanshawe’s photography program, in fact) that was willing to work with us for a reasonable price, and to this day, I can honestly say that he produced some of our favourite images of ourselves. After establishing his portfolio by working with bands such as ours, he has gone on to become the head photographer and editorial designer for Loreal.

In this relationship, we each helped each other: he gave us fantastic photos at a low cost, and we helped him build his portfolio and get other jobs through referrals. But taking advantage of the very talented student community at Fanshawe isn’t the only way to work the connections, attending concerts, and talking up established bands, as well as, building a rapport with local venues is also strongly recommended. In fact, if it weren’t for my long standing relationship with Call the Office, we wouldn’t have been offered so many jealousy-inducing opening spots throughout our career, nor would we have been able to shoot our music video, on location, with a full staff at our disposal (free of charge, I might add!).

The most important key to establishing these networks of individuals is 100% sincerity. If they scratch your back, you better make damn sure that you scratch theirs back. It’s all about creating a relationship, much like a romantic one, that serves both partners, and fulfills some sort of need. To put it bluntly: keep the promises that you make, and make absolutely sure that you always (and I mean ALWAYS) thank those who help you, especially when you reach a certain degree of fame. Put in other words, never forgot those who helped you get your start, you never know what those relationships may do for you in the future.

Case in point: to make a long story short, if it weren’t for my befriending of a small indie band when I was 15, I would have never gotten certain touring spots for my later band ANTI-HERO, nor would have I been introduced to our awarding winning producer who in turn hooked us up with the talented man responsible for our mastering. When ANTI-HERO first came out, and had yet to establish a rep and fanbase, it was strictly by “name dropping” our producer that we got our first major gigs.

Vol 3, Issue 13: The Booking Monopoly & Its Consequences for Concert Goers

2009-03-18T11:58:00.000-07:00

As we learned over the past few weeks, the industry’s growing power, in the arena of booking, has major consequences for the indie musician. However, the effects of this latest attempt at monopoly do not just end there. Because booking agencies are able to limit and dictate the kinds of venues at which indie artists can play, as well as the level of bands with whom they can get booked, this also means that, from a crowd perspective, bookers, very much, have a direct role in informing our musical tastes and allowing access to the musical trends that we may or may not chose to consume.

Suffice it to say that this relatively small group of people are, resultantly, able to wield an unsettling amount of power within pop culture itself. Of course, one could rebut that the internet has broken down a great deal of the traditional barriers faced by the indie musician (ie: it’s no longer necessary to tour in order to form a following that spans continents) and in doing so, has allowed fans more autonomy in terms of developing their own music preferences (ie: by providing easy access to the obscure and the underground. It’s important to realize that, at one point, “out there” music could only be found at UK import shops).

However, despite this newfound access to original tunes and innovative acts, fandom, any musician will contest, still remains largely solidified through the concert going experience, and since booking agencies ultimately determine which concerts we are able to attend at convenient locations for reasonable prices, booking agencies are therefore directly involved with either condemning indies to become “flashes in the pan” that are only popular at their hometown venues, or accelerating their careers into super rockstardom. All of this, of course, from a music consumer point of view, greatly affects the concert going experience.

Result #1: Higher Ticket Prices
Money, just as in every other aspect of this industry, plays a huge role. Bookers want to make money, as do the venues at which the acts perform, but touring costs, especially if one’s show consists of elaborate pyrotechnics and multiple stage backdrops, are ridiculously high. How to solve this problem? Charge more for tickets, of course (ie: make the fans pay). But, as we saw with The Police and The Spice Girls’ latest reunion tours, this plan of attack can sometimes backfire. If ticket costs skyrocket, no one can afford to go, nor should anyone be expected to pay hundreds of dollars to see an act perform from the nosebleed section when you could get a better view from your tv set at home.

Result #2: Last Minute Cancellations Due to Poor Ticket Sales
Directly related to point number one, some folks simply cannot afford to pay triple digit figures for concert tickets, and well, some are just too damn smart to pay that much because they know, as well as you and I do, that a good chunk of that money doesn’t even go to the bands themselves. To be perfectly honest (and I’m sure I’m not alone on this), I’d rather see a band perform solidly without all of those bells and whistles that hike up their concert production costs. It’s of my humble opinion that if a band’s got to rely on serious special effects to make their show entertaining and action packed, then they likely aren’t that great at performing in the first place, and that’s not an act that I want to check out live. Technology, for better or for worse, has allowed far too many subpar musicians the ability to put out critically acclaimed music that said musicians cannot even come close to pulling off live.

Result #3 Mismatched Musical Pairings
This phenomenon, as I’m sure you’ve figured out already, relates to how bookers construct their concert bills based on the acts available on their roster and/or that of the label who has hired them to put together the show. As already mentioned, even if you’re a member of a great local act and your biggest influence comes to town to play at the JLC and you know that your music would be incredibly complementary to theirs, there’s little to no likelihood that you’ll be the ones warming up the crowd. Case in point: My Guns’N’Roses concert experience. Considering that London’s a mecca for truly talented hardcore, punk, and metal acts, it’s beyond my comprehension that I had to be subjected to a full 30 minutes of Mix Master Mike prior to seeing Axel in the flesh. But, on a rather sardonic note, it was somewhat amusing to see the poor D.J. get booed off the stage by a bunch of jacked up bikers sporting mullets. Though I’m sure, in a different setting, with a different crowd, the Mix Master could have “rock it like a hurricane”, but just as the above points have illustrated, the bookers really got what they deserved. They may be in the business of making our pop culture, but, as the saying goes, you’ve gotta give the people what they want, and rap at a hard rock concert just ain’t cutting it.

And Finally, Result #4: A Lack of Fresh Faces
Ever wonder why bands like The Stones, Aerosmith, & ACDC haven’t just accepted retirement already? Hey, don’t get me wrong, they are all still going strong, and in my experience, have put on some of the best concerts that I’ve ever had the privilege of attending, but I think, at a certain point in one’s career (well life in general), you gotta know when to quit, especially considering that there’s such an enormous new crop of artists who are dying for their 15 minutes of fame. I know our parents, especially, are thrilled to see their favourite teen idols living out their golden years still up on stage in the same leather pants they wore 20 years ago, but it kinda reminds me of how I felt when I heard about Ontario’s mandatory retirement law being eradicated. If we continue to allow the geezers of r’n’r to entertain audiences until, quite literally, they drop dead, when it finally comes to the time for the next generation to take over, they will be ill-prepared, inexperienced, and unable to live up to the same standard. Personally, I’d rather see a gracious passing of the torch.

As our discussion of booking agencies has revealed, not only are indie musicians victims, but as well, music lovers, in general, are increasingly suffering from the blow. If you, as music consumers, want to continue to be able to have choice and not have your preferences dictated to you, do us all a favour - show your local indie musicians some support, and that my friends, consists of more than just sleeping with them.

Vol 3, Issue 12: How Booking Companies Work to Keep Indie Artists Off the Main Stage

2009-02-27T14:11:00.000-08:00

As established in our discussion last time, the latest tactic that the industry has adopted in order to maintain its hegemony within the biz’s changing climate has its roots in booking practises, and derives its strength, just as previous music business practises have, through the creation of a system based on exclusivity. As much as I, a proud DIY advocate who singlehandedly managed to book two successful North American tours for my own band, hate to admit it, in reality, because of the structure of the industry, truly, there is only so far an indie act can go on their own. In today’s economy of corporate conglomeration, if you’re looking for that super rockstardom, whether your band is composed of ladies or gents, it is inevitable that, without an inside connection, you will eventually collide, face-to-face with the music biz’s “glass ceiling”.

Aside from the enforcement of the “no unsolicited materials” policy which is held by most of the world’s predominant booking agencies, the internal politics of these companies dictate that the support slots for any major bill are to be granted to lesser known acts from the same label and/or booking agency family, therefore disallowing the consideration of any outside indie bands (even if their genre would be more complementary to that of the major act’s and, even if they’ve established a strong local following in the concert area). Likewise, when you see listings of obscure bands of which you’ve never heard on major festival circuits, like that of, The Taste of Chaos concert series, you can bet on pretty good odds that again, they were already somehow associated with the headliners.

If you think that you can supercede the powers that be (aka these booking companies), think again, as unfortunately, a vast majority of the large concert halls responsible for bringing acts like ACDC to crowds of 72,000 are actually directly affiliated, if not owned by the booking companies themselves. LiveNation, for example, after their acquisition of the House of Blues in 2006, is now the proud owner of over 160 venues worldwide.
For the few companies, such as Canada’s Agency Group and SL Feldman & Associates, which are willing to consider reviewing material from an act with whom they have not yet established a business acquaintanceship, this does not mean that getting picked up on their roster is as easy as just sending in a professional press kit (and, well, crossing your fingers).

First off, the fine print on both of their sites explicitly outlines that they will not consider your act unless you’ve already established a substantial following, and have gigged around extensively. What this means in translation is that you likely would have already had to release at least one full length which has consistent sales, received a decent amount of radio, if not video play, and as well been around the block, for at least a few years, before they will even contemplate giving your materials a once over (ie: they don’t want to do the hard work for you).

Secondly, from my own experiences, I’ve noticed that booking agencies tend to shy away from signing punk, metal, and generally hardcore bands which may be deemed offensive because these forms of music tend to be “acquired” tastes, and therefore don’t have as strong of a profit-making potential. (Again, folks, I hate to reiterate, but it’s essential that you realize that everything in this industry ultimately comes down to dollars and cents.)

Thirdly, because although there are lots of companies out there “claiming” to be legit booking agencies, but realistically, there are really only a select few who control about 80% of the marketplace, having your material reviewed will inevitably be a lengthy process, and by that I mean, it may take several months to almost a year just for your package to arrive on the appropriate person’s desk, let alone be assessed. With that in mind, it’s important, that if you do wish to attempt, in the words of Jim Morrison, “to break on through to the other side” (of the glass ceiling, that is), that you specifically address your package to the agent who already works with artists who are comparable to your genre of music.

From all of the aforementioned details, as I’m sure you’ve deduced for yourself, if you thought achieving label representation was difficult, obtaining a booking agent is in a whole nother ball park; the reason being that control over all of the world’s major concert events in is in very few hands, and so, said companies can afford to be extremely picky with whom they chose to represent.

Booking agents typically get a flat fee for each show they book, and receive additional compensation derived from a percentage of ticket sales, and so, they are only going to be interested in working with you if your act is a guaranteed strong investment. Additionally, upon being signed, booking (promotional companies in general), often expect their newly sign artists to sink in funds into areas that they feel are a concern in order to up the band’s market appeal. These investments are expected to be made, irrespective of the fact that bookers offer no guarantee that they will be able to get the act touring opportunities.

With all of that being said, if you’re interesting in trying to reel a booker in, here are a few quick last pieces of advice:

1) Do you homework: Learn about the various companies and see which one best suits your needs in terms of both its booking capabilities as well as the genres it represents

2) Make a direct contact

3) Rather than sending out a press kit and waiting agonizingly for it to be reviewed, I suggest inviting your booker of interest out to an important live performance (cd release party, or a slot at a national conference) so that they can see you in action, and you have a chance to make an in person connection. However, if you are going to go down this route, make sure you are ready (and I mean REALLY ready) because you’ll only get one shot.

Vol 3, Issue 11: The Changing Face of Record Deals: An Inside Look at the Industry’s Emerging Strategy for Maintaining Monopoly

2009-02-03T15:46:00.001-08:00

As alluded to by various comments made on behalf of both myself, and several of this year’s interview subjects including Alan Cross, and Carla DeSantis, the face of the industry, moreover, the face of the record deal is changing. The monopoly that major labels once held because of their exclusive ability to offer artists worldwide distribution, and unmatchable promotional opportunities simply cannot compete in the age of the internet in which artists, because of their newfound accessibility to unlimited online resources and opportunities for networking, are able to become self-sufficient. Put blatantly, what’s the point of signing with a label (which may necessitate giving up a substantial share of your profits, and quite possibly having to sacrifice your artistic integrity) when with the simple click of a mouse, one is able to access both exposure to a worldwide audience and dissemination of one’s products across the globe free of charge, or at the most, for a nominal fee, while maintaining complete songwriting ownership and control over one’s image?

Though some will argue that traditional record labels still provide superior retail distribution attesting that indies are unable to get shelf space without having a) a huge following in the area which will guarantee sales and b) a large promotional budget which will allow them to do store tie-in events, this argument fails to acknowledge that many majors, such as Koch for example, because they can’t afford the risk of taking up shelf space unless the product is guaranteed to move, have actually gone strictly to catalogs for their up and comers. Thus, they are once again unable to provide you with anything you cannot get on your own. And so, as can be expected, the music biz’s business model which has ruled the day since the 1890s, has had to change with the times.

In order to maintain relevance during this state of transition that is rattled with illegal downloading (and hence, fewer profits to be made off of disc sales), label scouts and business professionals alike, needed a new plan not only in order to stay in business, but also to ensure that “the suits” would not lose their position of privilege and power. The plan: to zero in all efforts towards the one domain in the biz within which artists can only go so far on their own; that being, booking, and the secret weapon: a little thing called, “no unsolicited materials” (ie: you cannot submit any promotional materials without prior request or without an inside connection to the firm in question). For those of you who’ve attempted to get on the bill as the opener for a major act such as The Foo Fighters, you’ll be all too familiar with those three heartbreaking words, and all of the bureaucratic b.s. that goes along with them. The leader of the pack in this venture is a little known company (note the sarcasm) that goes by the name of, LiveNation (originally a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, a highly influential U.S. media conglomerate), a brand that any regular concert goer will recognize as gaining increasing omnipresence on just about every advert for any major event. But, before we get into the nitty gritty of what exactly it means to be signed to one of these company’s rosters, such as that of LiveNation’s, a brief overview of how the traditional major label record deal works, is in order.

Generally speaking, traditional deals with major labels allow musicians to strictly focus on being performers (ie: publicity, management, and booking is all taken care of for you), however, these gratuities do not come without a hefty price. Though details vary from contract to contract, artists are conventionally signed for at least a few years in which they are required to release a specified amount of works, and the vast majority of profits (in some instances, upwards of 90%) earned off of all sales relating to their musical compositions are awarded solely to the label. The artist is expected to tour and attend promotional opportunities in order to market their works, and any profits earned from touring (which are, at best, only about 5 - 10% considering the high costs associated with funding transport, stage crew, special effects etc.) as well as any monies earned from the sales of merchandise belong wholly to the artist. Additionally, if licensing opportunities should be presented to the artist, the label’s commission on said negotiations is usually about 15 - 20%.

So up to this point, it may seem as though these deals are somewhat mutually beneficial - there is give and take on both ends of the bargain- however, there’s an all too often undisclosed catch that cannot be understated in terms of its importance: in these deals, if the artists’ musical compositions fail to achieve commercial success, any upfront resources that were granted to the artist in order for him/her to partake in recording, and/or marketing his/her products will be owed back to the label in full!

So how have deals changed due to the infiltration of companies like LiveNation? Well, as previously explained, traditional major labels primarily focused their energies on pushing units (ie: records, cassettes, compact discs) in order to generate profits. Because fewer and fewer music consumers are actually purchasing legitimate copies of musical works, profits in this area have, understandably, greatly subsided. Consequently, deals with companies like LiveNation not only demand a substantial chunk off of sales of musical works (however, in most cases, without the catch of loss of songwriter ownership), but as well, now infringe on territory that used to solely belong to the artist: that being, touring and merchandising because as noted by Fortune Magazine, the majority of earnings achieved (over 75%) by current major artists come strictly from these two domains. However, it’s important to realize that LiveNation’s cash flow margins on tours average a slight “4.3%”, and thus its not surprising that the company is continually seeking to expand its horizons in order to bolster its profit making potential.

In an effort to eliminate the need for record labels and/or just about any other external company that has traditionally been required to properly launch and manage a major artist, in its contracts, LiveNation has sought to gain control not only over its artists’ touring arrangements, and catalogs, but as well its artists’ web presence, publicity, merchandising, and videography. Further, there have been recent talks discussing LiveNation’s involvement in negotiating licensing and publishing deals on behalf of its artists in order to get a cut off of their royalties.

In order to seem as though the deals they are presenting are “fair”, those artists specially selected to be recruited for LiveNation’s roster are often offered obscene amounts of upfront money, like that of Madonna’s 10 year contract estimated at a cool 120 million. Despite all of the signs which indicate LiveNation’s totalitarian aspirations, the company’s President and CEO Michael Rapino, maintains that they merely fulfill the duties of a music promotional company and nothing more.

So what does this mean for the indie musician? Moreover for the music consumer? These are topics that I will tackle in the next few weeks.

Vol 3, Issue 10: Sexism in the Music Biz Conclusion: Working from the Inside Out, Spotlighting Three Female Forces Who’ve Made a Difference

2009-01-27T11:46:00.000-08:00

When life throws opposition in your direction, you can either stand your ground or sulk in a corner, and though expelling angst has its proper time and place, I’m sure you’ll all agree that very little has ever been accomplished, in terms of progress, from the mere shedding of tears.

In choosing to pursue the former resolution, that being to challenge the barricades which are poised before you, there are two distinct methods one can undertake: 1) to bulldoze through the front gates with weapons a-blazing or 2) to unassumingly gain entry through the backdoor and to change things from the inside out. Of these two strategies, though I’m all for putting up a strong front, in the business world, it is the savvy and perceptive individual who is able to recognize that the latter plan of attack will bring into fruition the most desirable results.

Though the “sexism-fighting” contributions of popular artists such as Sarah Mclachlan and Shiragirl with their Lilith Fair and all girls Warped Tour stage respectively, are commendable and have worked to carve out niches for female artists in performance venues, neither endeavour did much in the way of shaking up the industry’s male-dominated infrastructure. At the end of the day, these artists were still left playing within a man’s game. Further, often times, in-your-face efforts, such as these, have perpetuated negative “man-hating” (and lesbian) feminist stereotypes, rather than actually addressing the real issues that feminists fight for: those being; equal access and rights for all, irrespective of race, gender, or any other minority difference. Consequently, over the years, as one can imagine, the fem rocker has garnered what Joan Jett refers to as a bit of a “bad reputation”.

Taking note of their own industry battles as former “rockstars-in-the-making” and learning from efforts such as those aforementioned, three fiery ladies from the US recognized that change needed to work with, not in obstruction of the prevailing music marketplace. Frowning upon cattiness, and instead, encouraging female friendly communities and collaboration, the real forces behind a move towards ending gender discrimination in the music biz are unsung business women: Tish Ciravolo, founder of DaisyRock Guitars, the first ever guitar manufacturer to specialize in creating lightweight and manoeuvrable instruments with female physiology in mind, Carla DeSantis, creator of RockRGrl Magazine, a national music rag strictly devoted to featuring female rockers as its name suggests, and in fact, the very first of its kind, and finally, Madalyn Sklar, the brains behind the online female artist community, GoGirlsMusic, which assists artists in establishing networks, generating exposure, and obtaining performance placements at some of the world’s top annual music conferences. Not only have these three women managed to gain greater respect and recognition for “chicks with picks”, but as well, they have empowered females not to be afraid to pick up an electric and rock it with the best of them. For my final instalment on sexism in the biz, I was lucky enough to catch up with all three of these inspiring women. Below is a compilation of some of our significant points of discussion:

When asked whether they still felt sexism was still a relevant issue facing contemporary female musicians, Tish, Carla, and Madalyn responded in unison with a resounding yes. Though they all agreed that the indie market allows for more freedoms, and acceptance, amongst the majors, the beliefs concerning how to market women artists, in their eyes, have remained relatively unchanged, and the ever increasing global conglomeration of these labels is only making the problem worst.

In Sklar’s view, the male label reps aren’t interested in taking on anyone that is over 21, and unwilling to market herself as a sex kitten. However, she believes, that the labels aren’t exclusively at fault. In fact, Sklar contends that female artists, often just as much as the male reps, buy into the “sex sells” mantra, and consequently, it’s proving more difficult to disrupt than one would have hoped. But, this is not to say that a woman shouldn’t embrace her sexuality and be proud to flaunt it like Madonna. All three ladies, admittedly, purport Ms. Ciccone as being highly influential, and groundbreaking in terms of her business skill and staying power. The difference, as DeSantis points out, “is that you know that Madonna is in charge – she’s not anyone’s puppet.” On that note, all three ladies chimed in that the most important thing for any artist, whether male, female, independent, or major, is to remain true to themselves, stay positive, and to listen to their inner critics.

As for the business side of things in the music biz, Carla and Tish offered their own personal examples as corroboration that sexism is still alive and kicking. When the first issues of RockRGrl were launched, DeSantis explained, that it was automatically assumed that the magazine was aimed at the gay community, and was anti-men. In fact, some female rockers outright refused to be interviewed because they didn’t want this sort of association hanging over their heads. Likewise, when DaisyRock introduced its product line, Ciravolo received a seemingly unending mountain of hate mail that blasted her for having the “ridiculous” idea that girls should have their own instruments. Seven years later (and after a great deal of success I might add), she quips that the very guitar companies that criticized and lauded her for conveying the myth of the pink guitar have now ripped off her ideas…Go figure. But enough of an introduction:

The point behind these stories that I want to emphasis is this: rather than dwelling on the adversity that each of them has had to overcome due to their visionary efforts, Tish, Carla, and Madalyn’s dialogues were full of hope, strength, sincerity, and compassion; skills that are praiseworthy for both rockstars and corporate suits alike.

Though eradicating sexism (and building a female-friendly music community in doing so) is clearly at the forefront of each of their enterprises, Tish, Carla and Madalyn’s efforts expand to encompass helping all independent artists by offering up the knowledge that they’ve acquired from their own experiences. As spokeswomen at several important music festivals, all three women are concerned additionally with the bigger issue at hand: that of the crumbling music industry. But, instead of evaluating the music biz’s current climate of illegal downloading and industry corruption as a downfall, Sklar believes that the “music industry has been headed down the independent, do‑it‑yourself route for sometime now, and [with the changes that are being forced to take place], the playing field is becoming increasingly levelled each day - you don’t [necessarily] need a label to get noticed anymore.” For Sklar, it’s an exciting time to be an indie artist, and though the future of the music industry’s infrastructure is uncertain, both Tish and Carla agree that music will always be around, with or without the bigwigs. To this, DeSantis adds, that essentially the record labels are getting their just desserts: “they pissed off their consumers by demanding that we buy expensive albums that only contain one or two tracks that we actually care about. The labels didn’t work with what the customers wanted and now there’s a karmic debt to be paid.”

As evident by this statement, DeSantis clearly feels that the major labels’ lust for capital has been the most detrimental force in deconstructing the industry. She went on to note that the fact that contracts in which artists are only entitled to a mere 2% of their albums’ takings, yet are required to entirely fund their own touring operations, can exist, acts as further evidence supporting this assertion.

For Ciravolo, the biggest sin ever committed against artists by the corporate music biz falls into related territory: that being, the lack of regard for artistic development and creative growth. In her view, we’ve gotten to a point where musical talent and/or merit are not considered prerequisites to superstardom. It’s become all about pre-packaged marketing ploys meant to play to the lowest common denominator, and generate a quick buck.

However, in saying all of this, DeSantis is quick to reiterate that, “the industry sucks, but it has always sucked, and the key to success is simply to find likeminded, trustworthy individuals, and to build your own community of support.” She was also adamant about explaining that due to the current predicament with which the music industry is entangled, “complaining about how bad things are for women is like trying to save the people on the 4th floor of a building that is on fire. The system is so broken and in flux that it is not necessarily any worse for women than men [in the grand scheme of things]. Everyone is facing a hard time [which can definitively] be routed to bad business practises.”

As some final offerings of advice for the aspiring artist, Sklar encourages to not be afraid to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way, and Ciravolo endorses being proud and confident of your art, however “un-mainstream” it may be.

In closing, it’s interesting to consider that all three of my interview subjects were unable to name just one female in rock history whom they deemed as being the most influential which indicates to me that they are tons of great examples out there, you may just have to dig a little deeper. In my opinion, this makes perfect sense, because if life’s taught me anything, it’s that things that are the most rewarding, fulfilling, and worthwhile never are obtained without a challenge. In relaying the views of these three rather impressive ladies, I hope to leave you with the promising thought of a future in which musicianship is judged purely based on one’s talent, and nothing more. I know that this is a goal these women and others are working towards; and an admirable one at that.

Vol 3, Issue 9: Sexism in Music Pt II: Dissecting Discrimination Toward Women Rockers in Its Many Forms

2009-01-18T17:54:00.000-08:00

As revealed last week, despite serious efforts made by both artists and industry professionals alike, unequal treatment, offensive stereotyping, and degrading presuppositions regarding their musical abilities remain current challenges confronting women who venture into the male-dominated ranks of rock’n’roll. Not only are fem artists faced with a lack of acceptance from many of their male counterparts who are intent on maintaining their exclusive hegemony over hard-hitting musical genres, but as well, record execs, in general, have a fairly singular version of how to market women in rock bands which usually consists of an unruly amount of emphasis placed solely on their sex appeal. While Chad Kruger, frontman of Canada’s Nickelback, can get away with being voted, “The Ugliest Rockstar” by several publications and still achieve album sales in the millions, the same cannot be said for any women rocker of similar calibre.

Some “chickrawkers”, in an effort to battle these issues head-on, advocate playing down their difference in order to achieve admission into the all boys club of rock, while others have taken a stand, embracing their femininity as a source of strength. Both positions, in my opinion, are equally justified, but clearly, as this problem persists, neither offers the complete solution.

To elaborate on why sexism in the music biz seems to have such staying power, I’ve invited fellow rocker, former music critic, and my dear friend with whom I’ve shared the stage many times, Ash Keenan, frontwoman of Toronto’s hardcore punk project Warbride (formerly Bukkake Katholik), to share her thoughts. Here is what she had to say:

Aspect One: Gear & Technical
One of the fastest ways for a female band member to get dismissed as vacuous eye-candy is to not know her gear. And truly, from experience, that know-how doesn’t come as readily to the ladies. Speakers, wattage, Ohms, DI’s, mixers – it feels like a foreign language. When I hear the menfolk talk, it’s as if they went to a secret rock band camp. In fact, I have a theory that this fantasy isn’t far from truth.

Consider this: there aren’t a lot of moms out there with music tech experience but there are a whole lot of dads, and while, girls, as teenagers, are looking to get laid and doing so successfully with older guys, the awkward, sexually-repressed, pizza-faced boys have cloistered themselves in the ‘cool’ parents’ basement where they form bands and talk shop. It’s no wonder that by the time rock boys and rock girls are getting serious about forming and succeeding in a bitchin’ rock outfit that there is a very distinct and divisive difference in technical knowledge. And since it’s both easier and more advantageous to exchange knowledge than to teach it, the dudes continue to talk amongst themselves, unknowingly but effectively ostracizing the dude-ettes. And by that point, why shouldn’t they? It’s obvious they’re not interested in that stuff anyway. A very wise and worldly soundguy I know sums up the male attitude thusly: “teach a woman to fish and she’ll go buy shoes.”

Aspect Two: Composition
Compared to other aspects of the industry, writing is probably the area where men and women are on the most level playing field. However people still associate female songwriters with the more accessible, laid-back, love (or hate) obsessed ‘feminine’ singer/songwriter. A handful of times I have walked in on a conversation where a guy is complimenting one of my band members on his songwriting. When said band member explains that I’m the one he should be complimenting, it’s always been the same weird reaction: the compliment flees the conversation, replaced by a facial expression somewhere between confusion and contempt. It’s so strange. I mean guys, let’s keep in mind that rock ‘n’ roll evolved from the music of slaves, and if, to quote John Lennon, “woman is the slave of the slaves,” shouldn’t women be quite capable of rock composition? Is it that hard to conceive that the fairer sex can express the gravitas of the human condition in the aggressive manner it deserves? Hey, by that logic, aren’t white males the least likely to be able to truly rock? But enough of semantics; let’s move on to the third, and possibly most difficult category.

Aspect Three: Performance
A female performer must be significantly better than a male counterpart to garner the same amount of praise – believe it, it’s true. Like with the other areas discussed, there is an audience assumption that the woman just isn’t gonna cut it. When a guy onstage is impressive it’s par for the course; applause & shouting, some throwing of the goat, a post-gig pat on the back. When a woman kicks ass, there’s a required suspension of disbelief. When people are not willing to do that, well, they just don’t believe it. Often they’ll find any reason to defend their position: “yeah that band is okay, but it’s only getting attention because of the hot chick lead singer (or the like)” is a favourite rock-crowd sound bite. The worst part is that often this petty logic is actually true.
There aren’t enough women in rock bands to get a true percentage, but from what I’ve seen and heard I can formulate with some confidence that the greater the amount of tit-shaking, the lesser the quality of music. Why this is, I can’t really say. It’s as if the endowed band member realized that the band sucks, but if she takes the twins out for a stroll, the audience will still react as if they are decent musically. I know I’m pretty spellbound by the heaving, undulating onstage cleavage. I mean who knows when you might catch some nipple. All hail rock’n’roll becomes hooray for boobies.

If you pit a great song against a nice pair of jugs in a predominantly male audience, put your money on the jugs. It’s not that a woman shouldn’t have the right to dress like a five-dollar crackwhore whenever she pleases, but we’re talking about music here, arguably the greatest thing on earth. When it’s great it requires no distraction and should be treated with the utmost reverence.

The fact that an article on sexism in the music biz ends with a discussion on tits may indicate how far we haven’t come. But all in all I hope, like so many other professions, it is getting better. Even if women still have to press their ear to the door of the boys’ club, maybe one day they’ll have a key that they can pass down to their daughters. Imagine, a mere few decades from now, a rock’n’roll culture where gender is equally represented - a sea of sleazy female tech dudes, a bunch of skirts grab-assing in the dressing room, perhaps even a phenomenon of hot male groupies. Ah, that’s a world I want to be a part of.

To that I say, Ash darling, I couldn’t agree more.

Vol 3, Issue 8: Sexism in the Music Biz Pt I: Call it a Case of Penis Envy?

2009-01-08T13:38:00.001-08:00

It was 1984, hair metal was all the rage, and The Scorpions had just launched their latest album Love at First Sting, and were leading a successful tour across the greater parts of the Western world. Joan Jett, recently parted from her all girl group The Runaways, and generating buzz for her hit single, a cover of The Arrows’ classic, “I Love Rock’n’Roll” was given the support slot for over 20 dates on the European leg. But instead of being met with praise, recognition, and applause for being one of the “founding mothers” of women in rock’n’roll, audiences not only responded to Jett with aversion, moreover, they made sincere attempts to injure her throughout her performances.

Throughout her sets, Joan was subjected to aerial assaults of garbage, and debris including pieces of metal, batteries and virtually anything else that the displeased audiences could find. During one show, the attack reached such heights that shortly after her performance, Joan collapsed and had to seek medical care as she sustained injuries which included two broken ribs that came close to puncturing her lungs. Despite all of this, she never revealed even the slightest moment of weakness, she just kept on rocking through it all, and that is why she is known as the one, and only Queen of Punk Rock.

Though both greater society and the niche of the music biz has made giant leaps in terms of embracing female artists and bestowing upon them the same respect that all musicians deserve since the aforementioned horror story of Jett’s mainstream debut, I wish I could tell you that sexism in the music biz has been eradicated, but the sad truth is that it still exists, but now tends to rear its ugly head in more clever and veiled ways. To demonstrate, I’d like to call upon some of my own personal experiences from just a few years back in 2005 when my band ANTI-HERO made its debut.

Before we had established a reputation for being a legitimate hard hitting female fronted rocking ensemble, almost every time we played a new city, the other acts on the bill and the audience members alike, assumed that myself, and my female counterpart Nic, our bassist, were the tag-along band girlfriends and/or groupies just along for the ride. Moreover, when we got booked on metal or hardcore bills, before we were allowed to even strum a single chord on our guitars, the spectators, particularly the males, would make snide remarks toting us as being a group comparable to the Spice Girls. However, the worst of the offenses committed against us in our early career, undoubtedly goes to a Toronto concert promoter who blatantly told us, prior to our performance, that he only put us on the bill because he thought of female fronted acts as “novelty items”; essentially, to him, women who played guitars were subhuman, just sex objects with no real talent whose sole purpose was to act as objects of male fantasy.

As made apparent from the provided examples, there is still a heavy stigma alive and well towards women in rock, and unfortunately, because of the sort of sexism that female artists often encounter, it discourages many women from pursuing this route therefore making hard rocking chicks a rarity and so, subject to continued discrimination. As Naomi Less, a proud Jewish chick rocker notes, “I have been searching for some time now for seriously talented lead guitarists and bassists who are women - and in NYC [an entertainment capital, no less]. And they are so just hard to find.” But, afterall, the electric guitar is a natural extension of the penis right? Women don’t belong in rock bands, they should limit themselves to what they do best: shaking their asses and tits like Shakira. Well, sorry mates, but if this is the perspective that you’ve got, you need to timewarp back to the ‘50s, because even though fem rockers and riot grrls, like myself, may encounter this b.s., it just makes us even more motivated to prove all of those who’ve prejudged us wrong, and whether you like it or not, female fronted rock is gaining ground all over the globe.

Vol 3, Issue 7: Drugs = Bad for Business, but Good for the Soul?

2008-11-27T12:36:00.000-08:00

Despite the fatal health risks associated with substance abuse (including, but not limited to death!), not to mention the high probability of finding out that you fathered a child years after a forbidden drug-induced affair and that said child has been told that someone else was her daddy since birth because, let’s face it, addicts don’t make good parents (happened to Steven Tyler, could happen to you), as we learned last week, the “marriage” between drugs and rock’n’roll, although obviously a rocky one, has been longstanding. And as for the sex part of the equation? Well, just as alcohol has the wondrous effect of lowering one’s inhibitions (translation: makes you act like a slut), drugs do even more to get your mojo a-kicking. Hence, all of the stories of weird (and often disturbing) hookups that you hear about, like that of David Bowie and Mick Jagger!

Partly because of the fragile nature of most musicians, but mostly on account of how the industry itself is structured, this unfortunate image of the “true rockstar” continues to be perpetuated from generation to generation creating serious consequences (and pressures) for the up and coming musician. It’s quite a rep to live up to, and of course, the media’s glamourization of this lifestyle as being the epitome of “rock’n’roll” doesn’t help either. However, I would be a hypocrite to assert that all of the excesses of our past rock’n’rollers have left us with nothing of value. In fact, some of my favourite artists including Jimi Hendrix, I know with absolute certainty, have been inspired from drug-induced states and/or written in response to having one too many close calls with The Reaper, himself.

As pointed out by fellow musician, and my close personal friend, Jesse Tomes, there is a difference between drug use and drug abuse, and in Tomes’ opinion, the artists who’ve been successful in mastering intake moderation are those who have been able to utilize the effects of narcotics in a positive way through their art. No one can argue that Pink Floyd or the later records of The Beatles (which some purport as their greatest work) would have ever come into fruition without the assistance of certain illegal substances. The Beatles, for that matter, even came right out to say that they “got by with a little help from their friends,” - the same friends with whom, as the song states a stanza later, they got high.

But on the other side of things, despite Tomes’ arguments, I would still suggest that there are far more examples of drugs gone wrong as illustrated by the ever-growing population cited on what’s been called, Music’s Most Infamous Death Club, a list of entertainers who’ve lost their lives at the tender age of only 27 years. Further, even for the recovering addicts who managed to miss the bullet earlier on, it’s not as though they are shining examples of health today. Let’s be honest, Keith Richards looks like a walking zombie ready to keel over at any minute, and as for Ozzy, no one on earth can understand what the hell he is saying except for his devoted wife, Sharon (bless her for putting up with him). Despite the fact that both of these icons of rock used to flaunt their bad boy images (and everything that these personas entailed), during interviews, I’ve heard both of them denounce their past behaviour(s) because of the crippled states that it has left them in today. Unfortunately, irrespective of both Richards’ and Osbourne’s acts of penance, the image of the drugged up rocker still remains “the image of cool, and this has devastating consequences for up and coming artists; just look at what recently happened to The Pink Spiders, a Nashville-based band who many labels saw as “promising” just a few years back; in fact, there was a bidding war to sign them.

Like so many previous surefire bands, they fell victim to excessive drug use, and royally fucked themselves out of ever having a shot at fame. The all too familiar story went as follows: record exec saw young talented act, and decided to make them an offer of upfront cash that they could not refuse. Being young, idealistic, and unaware of the fact that upfront monies are required by contract to be paid back if their record sales failed to impress their label (information they could’ve read in their contract if they weren’t messed up on drugs), the band then went and blew all of their cash on yet more drugs and other equally noxious vices. The record label pressured the act to put out hit after hit (in shorter and shorter timeframes) and the touring schedule was continually added to until it seemed endless. Shows started to get sloppy, and consequently, ticket sales diminished. Soon, the upfront monies started to run out, and incoming profits reached an all-time low. Inter-band turmoil mounted, members need to be replaced, and finally it all came to a screeching halt when the label decided that they no longer wanted to invest in the act, and that all of the previously conferred monies were to be re-imburst immediately or litigation would be pursued. The remaining members tried to regroup and make amends with their previous business contacts, but the label had already moved on. The band members, are now struggling to find any job to pay the bills (usually, most musicians who fall victim to this circumstance have also unfortunately failed to achieve higher than a highschool education), and will likely remain indebt to their label well into their elder years. All songwriting credits are now owned by the label, and any residuals that could’ve been made from licensing are lost.

If that’s not convincing that drugs are bad for business, I don’t know what else would be! Suffice it to say, drug use makes you vulnerable to manipulation, and clearly record labels aren’t too low to take advantage of this weakness (whatever makes for more money right?)

Irrespective of cases such as the one just described, the problem, in Tomes’ view, is not drug use in itself, rather, it is the fact that we rarely hear about the cases of constructive narcotic use; something he blames on the media’s love for sensationalization and scandal. According to Tomes, because the slant is biased in favour of depicting “rockers of rehab”, drug abuse is normalized, and addiction as a lifestyle comes to be seen as a required component to making music for a living.

Tomes believes that the vast majority of the population (clearly, myself excluded) actually participates in drug culture, in one way or another, including our lawyers, our teachers, and the members of society whom we deem as “functional”, but this remains a little known fact because most people, as a result of moderate drug consumption, don’t do anything wrong while “high” on life. Further, Tomes argues that proper drug use, regardless of whether you are a musician or not, can aid in meditation, spiritual growth and enlightenment - practises that I too agree are positive and important in regards to maintaining a balanced psyche.

Regardless, the choice is clearly YOURS. As demonstrated, there are benefits (if done properly), and consequences (if not) to the practise of narcotic consumption in the music industry. Though, as I stated at the beginning, many of my own favourite artists have been serious doers of drugs, I do wonder whether drug-induced art may limit one’s audience. As someone who prides herself on trying to maintain high esteem for all of the artists of the past who’ve revolutionized what we know today as the music industry, I still myself struggling to really “get” psychedelic artists like Pink Floyd, or their musical offspring, Tool. Maybe I should take a trip down to Kansas with Dorothy while grooving to the soothing tunes of the “Dark Side of the Moon” and consuming a little LSD. On second thought, maybe not. After all, I firmly believe, musical genres exist to appeal to everyone, and clearly, not all genres are meant to be “gotten” by everyone equally.

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry is the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.

Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/

Vol 3, Issue 6: The Origins of Sex, Drugs, & Rock’n’Roll

2008-11-17T17:36:00.000-08:00

When we conceptualize the lifestyle of the prototypical rockstar, it is one that is associated with excesses in their many forms: namely exorbitant promiscuity, and copious narcotic consumption. While the pop culture expression, “sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll” didn’t begin to permeate the public consciousness until the 1960s and was further popularized by a ‘77’s single by Ian Dury, this image of the celebrity musician is nothing new.

According to music history buffs, this portrait of the rockstar actually originated in ancient times and is a modern figure of speech derived from the Greek hendiatris (a literary technique in which three words are used to express one idea), “women, wine, and song.” As apparent from its original expression, (which connotes a gender bias in favour of males as the adored performers, and women as the fanatical groupies) sexism within the music industry is nothing new either, but this is a topic we will look more into at a later date.

For the time being, I thought it would be interesting if we attacked the issue of drug culture and musicianship from both sides of the debate. Joined by my good friend, talented lead guitarist, industrial music lover, and extreme sports junkie, Jesse Tomes, in this issue and the next, we will examine the use and abuse of drugs in the music industry and both the benefits and the consequences of this from the artist’s perspective. As an avid anti-drug activist, I will naturally be taking the oppositional stance. But, before we get into the effects of this kind of lifestyle, let’s take a look at why artists and substance abuse have, for so long, gone hand in hand.

As I’ve stated in previous articles, many musicians (not all, but a great majority) first get involved in music as a means to soothe their pain. Whether the sons or daughters of abusive parents, those who’ve struggled with poverty, discrimination, and/or never felt as though they fit in, musicians often come to the table with a great deal of emotional distress, baggage, deep-seated resentment, and bitterness towards the world and anyone who stands in their way, to say the least. While their tortured souls prove beneficial for writing truly inspiring songs, their fragile states leave them in a position in which they are all too easy to take advantage of. In addition to partaking in songwriting as an outlet for their turmoil, before they even get their earliest tastes of fame, musicians are often already participating in semi-regular drug use as an additional form of emotional support and escapism. While smoking the occasional joint will likely not hurt themselves or any of their friends in a major way, their vulnerability as well as the structure of the music industry itself, makes the transition towards harder drugs frighteningly simple to slip into.

For starters, clubowners, irrespective of one’s career juncture, frequently propose alcohol and/or drugs to musicians as the form of payment for a performance, and if they (the clubowners) don’t blatantly try to screw over musicians with this tactic, they will at the least encourage a good snort after a job well done in the pleasure of their company. Not to sound too much like your VIP teacher from grade six, but this is a form of peer pressure that is difficult (but not impossible) to challenge, especially when you are outnumbered by fellow musicians and promoters alike, who embrace this lifestyle. Seeing as networking constitutes an essential part of any successful artist’s life, avoiding these after-show meet and greets could prove detrimental to one’s embarking career. So what’s an artist to do? An old trick that Gene Simmons likes to pull is to drink gingerale at such meetings as its resemblance to beer is rather uncanny, but how he would fake hitting a line of coke, well I don’t think anyone’s figured out a solution to that, as of yet.

Next, because of the incessant touring that is required for any band to establish a decent following, sleep deprivation and poor nutrition become additional battles with which musicians must contend. An easy solution embraced by so many artists of the past comes in the form of amphetamines (aka speed or uppers). Of course, the musicians who begin popping these pills almost always state that it’ll be a temporary thing, just until they are off the road, forgetting that in fact, drugs of this nature do have the potential to become highly addictive, and are known for producing serious withdrawal symptoms. To cope with the same issue in a slightly different manner, other popular drugs of choice are hallucinogens, which allow artists to temporarily escape reality. By no means would I ever support this kind of thing, but in this situation, when you are driving endlessly across the countryside to play a few 45 minute sets which may or may not be worth your while, one’s stress and frustration levels are ridiculously high, and I can appreciate why so many artists feel they have no other choice, but to numb the experience by going on a temporarily vacation (at least, psychologically).

What few people realize is just how unglamourous touring actually is. It is not until you are in the big leagues (and I mean in a seriously major act that’s been around for at least a decade) that you will be provided with the luxury of a tour bus equipped with bunkbeds, a fridge, shower, and a personal driver. For the rest of us lowly indies, it is you and your fellow bandmates splitting up the driving and taking turns spooning each other in the back of your van which will invariably breakdown, and get broken into, at least once on each of your roadtrips.

Finally, and in my opinion the biggest contributor to perpetuating, “sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll” as the norm and the expected behaviour of rockstars, is the media and its convention of glamourizing musicians who participate in this type of lifestyle, and by doing so, making it seem cool to aspire to be just like them some day. While most music rags don’t outwardly promote this kind of conduct as something desirable, the fact that they are more willing to devote page space to stories about drugged up rockers speaks for itself. As the audience of said magazines is largely composed of young, highly impressionable, and idealistic youth, what kind of message does this send?

It makes drugs seem cool, and makes people such as Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue), who was officially pronounced dead for two minutes on Dec 23th, 1987, and then revived by two adrenaline shots to the heart by a Crue-loving paramedic only to return to his house that very same night to ingest more heroin, seem even cooler. In my opinion, considering all of the trials and tribulations that our youth have to deal with today, this is hardly the kind of message that we should be sending them. It shows that the repercussions for substance abuse are trivial, at best, and that playing music and getting high is what will gain them fame, fortune, and of course, in the words of the boys of Crue themselves, “girls, girls, girls.”

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.

Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/

Vol 3, Issue 5: Talking Shop with Alan Cross: An Exploration of Music, Making it, & Canadian Mass Consumption

2008-11-05T07:45:00.000-08:00

When inquiring among music consumers as to why they enjoy particular “popular” tracks, I all too often hear the heart-sinking reply that it’s because they find said tracks “catchy and easy to dance to.” We’ve gotten to a point in music listening in which lyrical content has sunk to such minimal importance that artists such as Katy Perry (aka Katy Hudson) who began as bible-totting “holier than thou” gospel singers, can take on new last names, and start singing about lesbian affairs. Worst yet, despite these blatant hypocrisies, and obvious marketing ploys, no one seems the wiser.

Back in the hippie days however, musicians, such as Bob Dylan, were not merely considered the producers of a consumable art form, but rather the people looked up to them to be their voice, and to address issues, in their lyrics (among other places), that needed addressing.

This apparent debasement of the musical craft has left me contemplating how it is possible that we have come so far technologically, and globally, yet lost so much of the dignity that the music industry once had, in the process? The only person I felt capable of taking on the challenge of responding to this query of mine was music history guru and host of the infamously popular radio show, The Ongoing History of New Music: the one, the only Mr. Alan Cross.

Though our discussion with each other regarding the music industry’s current state of affairs did enjoy a fair amount of bantering and debate (including a dissection of the character, that is, Madonna) as he took the position of the industry and business expert, and I, the one of the lowly indie rocker, out of our, at times, heated discourse, we came to the conclusion that we have at least three convictions in common:

1) there is no easy or quick solution to the current illegal downloading situation

2) the ease of access with which people can obtain music as well as the over-saturation of the music marketplace has led to a devaluing of the art form coupled with superficial music listening, and finally,

3) the Canadian music industry really needs to bone up and acknowledge all of the talent that it has given birth to, otherwise we are going to continue to lose our best acts to the US of A.

On that final point, Cross went so far as to say that Canada has an inferiority complex when it comes to its artistic offerings; hence the reason why so many Canuck acts have to break in foreign markets, before they get recognized in the True North Strong and Free. He feels our national preference for “egalitarian mediocrity” (as opposed to elite excellence) is also the driving force behind industry standardization regimes such as Cancon which force radio djs to spin a certain percentage of Canadian content on a weekly basis in order to honour quota mandates. Such programs, in Alan’s view, prevent Canadian artists from ever being taken seriously on the world stage.

For those of you unfamiliar with the colossal CV that Mr. Cross has managed to amass for himself, before we get too deep into our interview, I feel it’s necessary to provide a brief (and hopefully entertaining) overview of some of the highlights of his life, thus far:

Alan grew up in a small rural Prairie community in which FM radio ceased to exist and one of the few venues that actually sold music, in a consumable form, was a clothing store named Robinson’s, of all places. It was 1974 and The Ramones hadn’t yet formed. The Beatles had fallen out of favour, and Led Zep and The Rolling Stones were far too exotic for someone who was secluded from urban life, and reared in the sticks. Contrary to the alterna-head image with which Cross is now notoriously linked, the first album that Alan ever set his sights on was the work of, perhaps, the industry’s most ultimate diva.

It wasn’t Madonna (she didn’t launch until ‘83), Cher was still doing her thing with Sonny, Celine Dion was, likewise, still ”in the making”, and though Tina Turner would have been a viable option for the prelude to Alan’s remarkable career, the credit goes to a Sir Elton John and a certain dance variety involving crocodiles who like to rock.

From that point onwards (well perhaps, after puberty set in), Cross bounced from radio joe-job to radio joe-job acquiring as much technical, and media know-how as possible, as well as endeavouring to expand his musical horizons to include everything from highly experimental jazz to bands he describes as psychedelic versions of Jesus & The Mary Chain to straight up unapologetic fuzzy alt- grunge rock like that of, whose origins have been credited to, Nirvana. In fact, Nirvana’s very existence marks a rather important juncture in Cross’ career.

As one of the radio djs burdened with the task of delivering the news of Cobain’s tragic end back in 1994, it is clear that this is a band to which Cross will forever remain emotionally attached. Though he is the first to acknowledge that Nirvana were, in actuality, a fluke, and that their success can largely be attributed to the fact that the world was ready for a bunch of “hard rocking cynical anti-stars”, he is also the first to defend the brilliance of Nevermind, and the important lasting effects of Nirvana’s influence.

According to The Edge 102.1's official website, Alan’s flagship show, The Ongoing History of New Music, debuted in February 1993, and since then, has aired more than 600 episodes, all researched, written and produced solely by Alan, himself. The Ongoing History is currently syndicated through almost a dozen stations across Canada, has spun off four books and more than a dozen CD compilations, and currently holds the title as the longest-running music documentary in Canada. Alan has additionally appeared as a guest on various TV and radio shows, written official biographies for a variety of rock bands including The Making of NIN’s Pretty Hate Machine & Downward Spiral, narrated TV shows, documentaries and info-mercials, and written articles for both newspapers and magazines, alike.

In other words, if radio djs were allotted the same degree of celebrity as rockstars, Alan Cross would undeniably be the media world’s James Brown sharing the joint title of the “hardest working man in showbiz”. It’s this astonishing work ethic, and sea of accomplishment, together with his personal ascend from humble roots, that formulates the basis for his perspectives regarding today’s indie musician.

When asked what advice he had to offer to the current independent artist, Alan, unfalteringly, began with “the world doesn’t owe you anything”. Admiring bands such as Oasis, who triumphed despite arising from hidden backdrops of familial abuse, poverty, and alcoholism, Alan believes that being a musician, “is supposed to be hard, and if your stuff isn't good enough, or if the public chooses not to like it, there's nothing you can do about it.” However, in saying that, Cross still maintains an optimistic, if somewhat idealistic, view.

Although for any musician (and media personality like Cross), one’s relationship with the internet is ambivalent at best, Cross acknowledges that the net has provided today’s musicians with a power that none of their predecessors could’ve ever dreamed of experiencing. Without leaving the comfort of one’s home, musicians are now able to record, disseminate, and exploit their art to global proportions. But, there is another side to this coin: because production technology, that is capable of making even the most tone-deaf drowning cat-esque vocalists sound melodic, is so widely available, and because the vast majority of the social networking sites that bands use to campaign themselves are free, the competition is beyond steep. And so, in Alan’s eyes, if you truly want to get the attention of a larger label (which he feels is necessary for success), you need to provide them with a turnkey solution: that being, a product that is pre-packaged and ready to export to the grand stage. The only way to do this (and I can contend) is to work your ass off playing lots of gigs, developing your fan base, and making sure that all of the people who come out to support you are always taken care of so that their loyalty sustains.

Though I think Cross makes a valid point regarding how so many musicians underestimate the work involved in “making it”, I personally believe that he’s missed a central feature to his provided equation for success: as talented and as marketable as your act may be, whether you like it or not, there is still an element of luck involved, and often (more often than they should), connections trump everything.

With his expansive musical knowledge, I’m sure that Cross could list tons of bands that haven’t made it that should have, and equally on the other side of things, tons of bands who did make it who shouldn’t have. But, in his defence, Cross would argue my rebuttal by stating that we require the bubble-gum mainstream artists to appeal to the masses in order to generate new capital that can be invested in underground acts that are really doing something interesting. The problem with this formula however, is exactly the fact that it has become too formulaic, and almost invariably, once a unique indie gets picked up by a label, they are transformed into the hit making machine that began the whole process, therefore never allowing mass consumption of, in my opinion, “good” music. But obviously, this is clearly a matter of tastes, and neither one of us can be more right than the other.

Putting our differences aside for the time being however, I think its important for me to express my high degree of respect for Mr. Cross and to acknowledge, that myself, as well as all of you, my fellow musicians, could learn a great deal from what this man has to offer, and so we ought to respond to his benefactions in the only way that is appropriate in the realm of wireless telegraphy: that being, all ears.

Mimicking the aims of the great musicians of the past who made this industry what it is today, Cross himself is an artist in his own right as it is clear that his mission is both to educate and inspire.

Taking this into consideration, his loyalty to the radio waves makes perfect sense because when people need to know if things are safe, and/or want to keep in touch with the rest of the planet without having to be tied to the computer, it is the FM dial to which they naturally turn.

Though he’s been almost 30 years “in the making”, I think its fair to assert that Alan Cross has most certainly made it. Long gone are his days of broadcasting out of what he terms an “elevator-music” radio station situated between a wheat field and a mental hospital. Cross has worked diligently throughout his career to open up our minds to music that would have otherwise gone unnoticed, he has resurrected lost artists from the past, and embraced new artists of the future, he has sparked debate regarding the music industry, and Canada’s place within it, all while managing to stay true to his homeland roots giving hope to the rest of us that are proud to call this great nation our home.

And with that said, I, on behalf of Alan, have but, one final note that deserves to be said: Alan Cross believes that, “headphones, in public, are a blight on the development of society” further contributing to the modern-day phenomenon of “ego-casting”. According to Cross, “technology now allows us to shut out any material, concept, sound, or sight that we find disagreeable so much to the point that we can cocoon ourselves in a warm bath of just the things that we like, unencumbered by the stuff we don’t.” With this kind of control and impenetrable mindset, he begs the question, how will people ever grow as music fans? This is a question, I will leave all of you to contemplate.

*For more information on Alan Cross, check out the Edge’s official website located at and be sure to catch the debut of his latest buzz-generating endeavour about which he remains tightlipped: ExploreMusic (launching Oct 6th). *

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.

Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/

Vol 3, Issue 4: Writing to Vent, but also Inspire: The Duality of Songwriting for the Public Arena

2008-10-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

Continuing on from last week’s discussion regarding making a difference with your music and associated celebrity, this week, I thought it appropriate to touch on the art of writing songs that hit social/political chords. Though everyone, myself included, has a handful of cheesy love songs that they secretly indulge in, these days, I find myself cringing at the very thought of listening to the radio because it’s so heavily laden, to steal a line from Aerosmith, with, “the same old song and dance.” In other words, the love thing (and the hate thing too) have been done to death, and unless you’ve got the poetic skills that could take on Steven Tyler himself, I suggest that writing about other issues of concern is in your best interest.

After all, as we learned last week, music does have healing power, so instead of being cliche, why not write about something that could sincerely make a difference in a listener’s life? Moreover, if we analyze your potentiality for success strictly from a commercial standpoint, as much as the industry may seem to be about homogeneity, artists who really speak out for issues that they believe in do get recognized, even if sometimes it takes the music industry a while to catch up with their already established cult followings.

From my own personal experiences, I can tell you, with the upmost sincerity, that there is nothing more fulfilling in life than knowing your words, your art, have helped someone get through a tough time. Though in the grand scheme of things, Unpretty, my band’s debut album, may never go platinum, land a spot on the Billboard charts, or likely get listed as one of Rolling Stone’s “must haves”, it fulfilled its purpose when it inspired its first listener, and acted as a healthy outlet for their emotional expression. And so, in my eyes, it was every bit as successful as an album that profits millions.

However, it’s important to recognize that there is no way that I, nor could any other artist, ever write an album composed of socially inspiring and/or politically charged songs without having gone through turmoil themselves and learning from those experiences. As my history of rock’n’roll professor, Mr. Evans, always said, “the best artists are, undoubtedly, the hurting units”.

This anecdote brings me to the point that I want to make about the act of songwriting and its duality: although an artist’s initial inspiration to immortalize their feelings into music comes from a personal place, and is primarily motivated by the act of catharsis, when an artist decides that a piece they have written is going to be distributed to the public domain, no longer can that piece retain that same degree of private intimacy if a) said artist wants his/her music to be relatable (and therefore successful) and b) if said artist wants to be able to take any form of criticism (whether constructive or not).

Now, this is not to say that the songs that one intends to release to the public should be composed of fluff or that massive rewrites of all of your works are in order- quite the contrary really. What I’m merely trying to express is this: yes, you should write about things that have and continue to personally affect you, but, if you want your music to make sense to the rest of the world, you need to do this in such a way so that your lyrics can be related to a bigger picture (not just your own existence), and remain open enough for personal interpretation on behalf of your listeners. Most importantly, I think it is absolutely essential to leave your listeners with something to hope for and strive towards. Bitching about how the world has done you wrong because its various institutions are discriminatory is merely the first step, inspiring people to take their anger, frustration, fear, or sadness and turn it into a positive emotion, one from which they can learn, grow, and take action is what art is supposed to be about.

On the other side of this argument however, I do understand that, as a fellow artist, having someone potentially misinterpret your work, especially if a piece is particularly significant to you, can be very frustrating, if not infuriating, and so I suggest the following: if you write a piece that is sacred to the core of your essential being, do NOT release it - keep it for yourself because once you put it out there, if it becomes a victim of criticism, it won’t simply be your work that they are insulting, but rather a piece of your soul, and that is a harshness from which no one can easily recover.

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.

Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit

http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/

Vol 3, Issue 3: Do Entertainers Have an Obligation to the Public to Address Social & Political Concerns?

2008-10-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

When it comes to issues of personal responsibility and one’s greater impact on their fellow human beings, I’m truly an existentialist at heart. Not to get too philosophical on all of you, but music and philosophy really do have a lot in common when you think about it.

The very first “rockstars”, if you will, were truly the rhapsodes of the ancient times that traversed from polis to polis spouting tales of mythical heroes and their conquests set to the gentle tune of the plucking strings of their lutes. While this depiction is far from that of, say, Axel Rose, at its very root, there is a striking similarity. Just as the rhapsodes were storytellers who were compelled to captivate audiences with their words in hopes of both inspiring them and providing for them a form of escapism, our modern day musician very much has the same power within his grasp. Unfortunately, to a greater extent within today’s industry, the initial aim of the rhapsodes, that of, stimulating contemplation amongst their crowds, has been all too forgotten consequently leaving us subjected to music that rarely has meaning.

To return to my initial statement regarding my personal beliefs about existentialism: for those of you unfamiliar with this philosophy, please allow me to briefly (and yes I mean briefly), summarize: An existentialist is one who believes in the acceptance of personal responsibility for all of his/her actions. He/she contests that one must be thoughtful in all of their choices and behaviours because of the inter-connectivity of all of human nature. The existentialist holds that if one is to partake in a particular action, just by simply committing the act themselves, they are in essence telling the rest of the world that it is okay for everyone else to act in the same manner. Therefore, if one allows themselves to behave towards others in a rude and obscene way, they should not be surprised if others act similarly towards them as their own behaviour has dictated to everyone else that acting in such a way is perfectly acceptable. So, I’m sure you’re wondering now how this relates to music?

Well, it is of my humble opinion that, if one has been granted the amazing opportunity to live in the public limelight and obtain at their convenience all of the luxuries which such a lifestyle affords, then it is absolutely their responsibility to society to embrace this sort of existential perspective for a number of reasons.

For starters, our society is one that values wealth, fame and beauty, and as such, those who possess these qualities also possess a great deal of influence and therefore the power to make a difference. It is not only their direct participation that can contribute to change, but as well by participating in worthy causes or campaigns, they will influence others to do the same.

While I am the first to support any musician (and/or anyone else who is famous) for lending their celebrity towards some social cause, it seems rather contradictory to me if that very same celebrity doesn’t take advantage of the difference they could make simply with their art in itself. When one both produces art that is degrading or promotes violence, and/or discrimination towards any other group, and then the next day donates a whole bunch of their cash to charity, to me, they are sending a very conflicted message. While it is good that they are willing to donate their funds to a worthy cause, if the previous day, they were promoting negative messages through their art, then rather than appearing to be a social benefactor as intended, to me, they appear to be performing a pay off - an attempt to try and cover up the fact that their artistic contributions are questionable, at best. This brings me, of course, to my next point: why do people desire to be rockstars in the first place?

If you’re in it for the sex, money and drugs, please just stop - the world doesn’t need any more Amy Winehouses. If, on the other hand, you are an artist such as myself, who believes in the healing power of music, and who in fact, has been healed by the impact of fellow artists yourself, then please, step forward, we need more of you in this world. It was a sad day indeed when people forgot about the power that music has, and it was an even sadder day when every song on the radio became about sex, drugs, love, hate or all of the above in some sort of sick twisted self-obsessed conjecture.

Though I’m the first to acknowledge that celebrities, whether musicians, actors, or models, are real people just like you and me, and therefore, it’s not surprising when their marriages fall apart, or they get into mischief, I do feel that if you’ve been lucky enough to reach an elevated place within society, then it is absolutely your duty to try and educate the public, and to use your reputation for some good.
So if you’re not in it to make a difference, don’t get into music at all - this world already has enough issues to contend with, we need some better rolemodels, and we need them now.

About the Author:

Vol 3, Issue 2: Musicians with Brains: I Never Knew the Two Could Co-Exist!

2008-09-22T22:53:00.000-07:00

While conducting research for this piece, I stumbled upon a posting in which a blogger adamantly declared that musicians have NO right to speak out for causes they support, and that they should solely stick to music on account of the fact that they have no post-secondary academic training, and therefore are inadequately equipped to contend with such global issues.

While by all means I encourage the expression of individual opinion, I do not condone speaking on subjects about which you have little to no knowledge such as the above described individual has, because in fact, he couldn’t be more off-base.

Not only does this blogger fail to acknowledge that it is more often media personnel cornering musicians into situations in which they are forced to speak out on these types of issues, rather than the musicians making these efforts on their own (perhaps with the exception of someone like Bono), but on top of that, this blogger is clearly unaware of just how many of our talented songwriters are, in fact, schooled in far more than just how to play a 12-string.

From Dexter Holland’s (Offspring’s frontman) Masters in Molecular Biology to Mick Jagger’s degree in business and economics to Huey Lewis’ Ivy League record at Cornell to David Draiman’s (Disturbed’s frontman) triple university major in business admin, poli sci, and philosophy, clearly our rockstars are more intelligent that the average person gives them credit for.

Now, I completely understand musical preferences and one’s right to their own tastes. In fact, these days, there are few bands that are able to generate universal appeal. But, the next time that you even contemplate having an opinion on an artist that goes beyond your sheer sonic partiality for or against their genre, I suggest that you do some background research on that artist so that you do not end up looking like an ass, just as our “friend” above has. All of this buildup, of course, brings me to the issue at hand - that of rockstars with academic credentials.

Though this is not a subject that is often touched upon by most music media, I think it is important to demonstrate that even people who have achieved rockstardom at its pinnacle assessed the extremely low likelihood of their careers being successful, and thus planned accordingly just in case. I know many of you do not want to hear about the importance of having a “plan b”, because I too, was once in your shoes arguing with my parents that no matter what, music was my life, and I was born to rock. However, after actually going through the industry, and experiencing first hand all of the crookedness and the false promises, I gotta tell you - I’m forever indebted to my folks for making me stay in school.

Had I not entered the industry with my strong background in PR, negotiations, and entertainment-related business know-how, there is no way that I would have been able to accomplish the well-respected reputation for being a “professional” that I have. Further, without this training, I indefinitely would have found myself the victim of a lot more entertainment industry scams.

Most importantly though, if being a professional musician is truly the path that you desire to pursue, you need to recognize that fame is transient, and that musical fads come and go. If you want to be able to maintain career longevity, similar to the artists that I have mentioned, you need to know a thing or two about how to stay as a leader in the pack, and procuring a good education is definitely a good start.

Lastly, there’s always the fact to consider that after you’ve had your stint of fame, perhaps you’d like to move onto other ventures - it wouldn’t be the first time. Did you know that, for instance, Craig Ferguson, host of NBC’s Late Late Show was originally the drummer in a Scottish punk band known as “The Bastards from Hell” or that Mike Rowe, now the MC for Discovery’s Dirty Jobs, started out as an opera singer or that there was a time in history in which Henry Rollins actually played music? The point I’m trying to make here is as follows: it is possible, even though I know you likely won’t believe me, that once you’ve worked in the industry, you’ll come to the conclusion that it wasn’t all that it’s cracked up to be, and so a career change will be in order.

Though school will always be there, I’m sure most of you don’t want to end up in your late 40s still living at home with only a highschool diploma in hand waiting for your rockstar dreams to come true. Trust me, I’ve met people like this, and it ain’t a pretty picture!

To summarize, think of it this way: knowledge is a weapon, and the more you have about your craft, and the industry itself, the better able you are to protect yourself. Plus which, from a sheer songwriting perspective, the more worldly and cultured one is, the better his/her songs will be and the greater good he/she can do with his/her influence.

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry is the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.

Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/

Vol 3, Issue 1: Let's Begin with the Facts

2008-09-12T12:25:00.000-07:00

In the modern world, “the musician” is undoubtedly one of, if not the most, disrespected occupation in society. Consumers and clubowners feel no need to pay us well (or at all really), record labels make it their personal mission to exploit and commodify us in every which way they can, technology allows even the most talentless people imaginable (ah hem Paris Hilton) to pawn themselves off as “artists”, there are innumerable scams lurking around every corner just waiting to steal what little resources we have, often the only way we can attain mainstream success is by abandoning our principles and deeply held values, but most brutally, if we are to survive all of these hardships and merit for ourselves just the slightest bit of celebrity, the fans who once respected us as being “underground” and “indie” will degrade our newly found popularity by claiming that we are “sellouts” - that we’ve gone mainstream - failing to appreciate that just like every other professional, we deserve to be paid for our work. But that’s just it about musicians - for some reason, far beyond my comprehension, we’re supposed to be satisfied with offering the world our art - a piece of our very souls (at mighty hefty production costs I might add) -expecting nothing in return, not even the slightest seal of approval.

As if the transience of fame wasn’t enough to contend with, the criticisms with which musicians have to bear are well beyond the realm of “constructive” or “insightful”. Instead, they are laden with downright personal attacks, dehumanizing irreverence, and unfortunately, more often than not are poorly researched and written from a place of sheer ignorance (yet that doesn’t impede their impact on consumer purchases). All of this, of course, brings to mind the question: then why the hell do we do what we do? Simply put, musicians are a breed of their own, one that wider society rarely understands, yet is so quick to judge.

Being a musician is NOT simply a decision - something that can be switched on/off on a whim - it is a calling, a central piece to our identity, something we live with every day, and something we take with us to the grave. And though it may not make sense to the rest of the world, we refuse to go down without a good fight - if only the sides weren’t stacked so unfairly against us, maybe we’d have a chance. But my friends, I hope you’ve been paying attention, because if you have, you’ll have noticed that change is on the horizon as the industry has proven that its current infrastructure is in need of a radical overhaul, if it is to survive. And you know what? This overhaul may prove to be the very remedy that musicians have been seeking for years - a means to take back what rightfully belongs to us: our industry, our music, our art. So then, why the grim introduction?

Well, as you’ll learn over our year together, I’ve never been one for sugarcoating the truth, and in my humble opinion, there are enough music rags out there that gloss over these pertinent details, and instead continue to perpetuate the long-standing myth that artists can be overnight successes. To break it down more simply, I don’t believe in bullshitting, and feel that you, my fellow rockers, and greater society deserves more, and I intend on fulfilling that void in the best way that I know how. But enough with the prelude already, I’m sure you’re wondering who exactly am I and what makes me so credible?

I was once just like you - young, naive, idealistic, living and breathing the rockstar dream to a rather successful plateau I might add. After years of being signed to a major label, touring incessantly, selling out concerts, and being graced with multiple prestigious awards in the indie music community, yet still struggling to make ends meet, it occurred to me, after a fan of my band’s snarkily remarked at us that we should be buying him and all of his friends Jaguars, that the average person, moreover, the average musician doesn’t have a clue as to how the music industry actually works! After my own experiences, I can honestly say that I’m not surprised in the least why so many artists end up embittered and strung out on drugs, because let’s face the facts straight-up: it’s set up for you to fail, and if you are successful, you often lose your soul in the process.

But I’m not here to bitch and moan about all that I think is f--ked up about the industry, rather as an advice and insight columnist, I’m here to not only try to help you avoid making the same mistakes that I did, but as well, I hope to try and inspire change - not just within the music community, but overall, I hope to bring to light the truth about the lives of musicians to anyone who is willing to listen. So if you’ve got a story to share, please do, I’d be honoured to act as your voice - to share the blood, sweat, and tears that you, just as I have, exuded for your craft.

Many philosophers have said, over the years, that the first step to progress is education, and I really think that they are onto something. What I’m about to share with you, over the next few months, will not be found in any textbook, lecture, or popular music magazine. Though I value all that the educational system has to offer, there are some things that only real life experience can teach you. So, consider this your first step towards a real musical educational - if you really wanna be in a rock band, I hope you’re paying attention. And just as I’ve said every year previous, if you have any ideas for topics you’d like me to cover over our year together, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry is the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.

Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.

For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/

Vol 2, Conclusion: Counting Down the Top 20 Sins Committed Against Musicians By the Music Biz

2008-03-10T08:22:00.000-07:00

First off, I’d like to thank all of you for sticking with me for another year. I hope that reading my column proved to be an educational and insightful experience. Although I bitch a great deal about the music industry, there are a lot of amazing people out there working on all aspects of the business to make it more artist-friendly. I urge you to follow your dreams if it’s music that is truly in your heart, I simply hope that my column has been able to provide you with a more realistic perspective in terms of what you will encounter. As you follow your path, and begin to gain success, you’ll learn soon that it’s really a love/hate relationship, and it’s definitely not as glamourous as the media would like you to believe. Irrespective of this, there’s something about rocking out on stage to a sea of thousands of people that is untouchable in terms of the euphoria it produces.

To help you along your journey, I’m happy to announce that I’ll be returning “back in black” to charm you all a third time come September, and “So You Wanna be a Rockstar?” is promised to be bigger, and better than ever.

Last week, courtesy of Henry Rollins, you caught a sneak peak of what is to come with my new monthly featurette interview series, “Hear it From the Pros”. To further help me cater my topic selection to areas about which you’d like to learn and/or if you have suggestions for potential interviewees from whom you’d like to hear, please visit my myspace page (www.myspace.com/soyouwannabeinarockband) and fill out the readership survey. I would love to hear from you!

Without further adieu, to end off the year in an must-read obligatory countdown, I’ve compiled a list of the top 20 sins that the music industry has committed against artists over the years. My intention in doing so is to not only inform you of these atrocities, but as well, hopefully compel you to speak out against them.

In the current climate of the music industry, indie musicians have the ability to take back the power, but this can only be achieved if we unite together, and fight for what we deserve: that is, to be treated as professionals. I once read that the first step to change is through enlightenment. I’ve given you the power, so now let’s see you use it.

In order, based on YOUR ratings, starting with the #1 voted most “sinful of the sins”, here goes:

1) The media’s commitment to focusing more on the personal mishaps of celebrities, rather than remembering them for their artistic contributions

2) Allowing lipsynching and advances in technology to make up for a lack of talent

3) The creation of reality TV karoake contests to discover the next popstars

4) The music biz’s emphasis on marketability over talent

5) The government and music industry’s creation of misleading grant programs that fail to fulfill mandates to provide indie artists with necessary funding

6) The lack of governance over bogus battle of the bands contests and "pay to play" scouting events

7) The music industry’s ongoing attempts to maintain a closed network based on who you know, NOT how talented you are

8) The allowance of our standards to drop so low that cliche love songs, and raps full of profanities which fail to inspire and rather encourage degradation, violence, and discrimination receive airplay

9) The lack of implementation of pay equity scales for touring bands

10) The “successful” separation of music from the people

11) The employment of musically uneducated and ill-researched staff to conduct concert and album reviews

12) The creation of double standards for acceptable sexual expression among male and female artists

13) Radio payola scams

14) The commodification of music

15) The perpetuation of the "overnight success" myth

16) CTRC's refusal to implement legislation regarding illegal downloading

17) Allowing "artists" to illegally sample music

18) New artist campaigns that overmarket their artists so excessively that we end up hearing the same song(s) on the radio upwards of five times per hour

19) The music industry’s belief that they (the labels) can dictate to the public what music is worth listening to by throwing money at it

and finally...

20) The ridiculous amount of legal battles that exist between bands trying to earn a decent buck for their talents, and record labels trying to rape them for everything they’re worth

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry is the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.

Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/

Vol 2, Issue 17: "Hear it From the Pros" Pt 1: Teeing Off, A One on One Discussion with Post Modern Philosopher Henry Rollins

2008-03-03T10:30:00.000-08:00

Though a man of infinite words (and calculated profanities) in the public limelight, in private, as my one-on-one discussion disclosed, Mr. Henry Rollins is unassumingly nonchalant; something I can only attribute to the fact that he clearly prefers to be the one holding the microphone. As an industry veteran notorious for his wild stage antics in both Black Flag & The Rollins Band, his hard hitting and unabashedly honest spoken word performances, his countless written works including several volumes of poetry, fiction, and prose, and most recently, his incredibly entertaining weekly talk show, The Rollins Show, hosted on IFC, it only seemed fitting to begin my new featurette interview series, “Here it from the Pros”, with the man himself. In conjunction with his latest worldwide spoken word tour, “Provoked”, I had the amazing opportunity to interview Mr. Rollins. Here’s what he had to say:

Growing up as a teenager in Washington, DC., Rollins’ musical awakening transpired when a friend of his first lent him a copy of a rare Ramones’ album. Finally finding an outlet for his pent up animosity, and aggression, Henry discovered punk, D.I.Y. ethics, and never looked back. Fast forward several decades later to present day, and I’m sure it’ll come to no one’s surprise that, “Do it Yourself” remains his mantra. As depicted by the numerous accessories including iron-on patches, and stickers worn by his kind: punk is for life, and it will never die.

When asked about his current outlook on the music industry and whether he felt the damage that ensued (and continues to unfold) from all of the illegal downloading could be repaired, Rollins indicated clearly his disconnection from that world. Though a seasoned performer and top selling artist himself, he’s never been one for the big business side of things, and to that he noted, “that even if it [the music industry] fell over tomorrow, most of the bands he checks out would be still be doing their thing. DIY keeps you from some of the dangers of the bigger parts of that mechanism”.

Undisputedly, a supporter of indie rockers, Henry feels that the biggest sin committed against musicians by the industry, was the disconnection between music and the people. In the heydays of the hippie era, prior to the commodification and commercialization of music as nothing more than a product for sale, music used to mean something to the people - it wasn’t merely a form of entertainment, but rather a voice for the generation. Like myself, Henry wonders when art will be restored to this dying form of expression?

Sticking true to his unconventional nature, Henry Rollins is a man who is very difficult to characterize. Perhaps he intentionally safeguards himself from others as a means of self-preservation, or more likely, he enjoys keeping people guessing. Not one to personally advocate the use of labels to describe himself or his friends, though Rollins, himself, purports a rocker identity, he is a striking example of why it is bad to assume.

Contradictory to the sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll lifestyle promoted by all too many rockstars, commendably, Henry Rollins is against substance abuse - just another reason as to why he’s such a great role model. In fact, amidst all of his ongoing endeavours, the only part that he finds truly fulfilling is interacting with his fans. His chronic workaholic nature is something that he chalks up to the fact that he doesn’t ever want to find himself submitting to “the man” and forgetting all that he has to be grateful for.

Though this may come as a surprise to some, as a music listener, Henry doesn’t pigeonhole himself simply to punk. A devoted admirer of the late greats James Brown and Miles Davis, Henry supports any artist so long as he/she is hard-working and his/her music has meaning (I hope you guys are taking notes here). In fact, an artist he advised me to check out was Dax Riggs (http://www.myspace.com/daxriggs ), a dreary blues-rock musician from Louisiana, who seems to combine a more sophisticated version of Kurt Cobain’s emotional angst with Jimi Hendrix & the Experience’s solid blues backbeats infused with a modern take on the British garage band sound. Very strange, but cool - cool enough to reaffirm my belief that there is still good music out there somewhere (Thanks for that Henry! I especially liked the acoustic tracks).

Understandably, someone in his position is indefinitely bombarded with opportunities for exposure, and though this is the kind of lifestyle most of you crave, Henry applies one fast and simple rule to dealing with these offers that I think all of us ought to embrace: not to consider something an opportunity, if it requires you to sacrifice who you are or what you believe in. Rollins proudly admits that IFC has never instructed him to “tone it down”, and if they did, I can state with absolutely certainty that he’d have something to say about it (or better yet, someone’s ass to kick).

Though I know it can be difficult to reject a offer because it may just be “the one to make or break you”, I’ve got to side with Henry’s view on this, because I truly don’t believe in “selling out” just to become the next flavour of the week. As both his and my hard work demonstrate, earning your accolades of success through your own dedication and merit is not only more rewarding, but as well, you will earn respect for “sticking to your guns” in the long haul, from both fans and industry professionals, alike. In his own words, if an opportunity requires you to change who you are, “then it’s not really an opportunity, now is it?” To this he adds that, regrets are not something he feels he can afford.

In the space of the three hours of his performance, Henry compelled a packed house of a widely varying demographic to intense laughter, tears, and serious contemplation. His performance came to its finale with the only possible conclusion: an obligatory standing ovation. If one man has this much of an impact, just think of what we all could actually do. A man of humble roots, but great ambition - someone I admire that I think all of you could learn from.

The most intriguing moments of his lengthy soliloquy revolved around re-tellings of his own “starstruck” moments in which his defiant powerhouse persona crumbled when in the presence of the likes of Iggy Pop, and numerous other childhood idols of his. Though his exterior is lined with layers of thick skin, I appreciated his willingness to expose his vulnerable side; something you rarely see from men, let alone rockstars. Additionally, appealing to my personal sentiments, Rollins offered a seal of approval “shout-out” to feminists and equal rights activists further affirming how much he truly is a man for all people.

To hopefully leave you on a comic note, taking a page from the man himself, if you asked me why I love Henry Rollins, my response would be quite simple: because he’s exactly the kind of asshole that this world needs. Oh yeah, and if he were elected president, aside from kicking Bush’s ass, he says that he’d basically undo everything that has occurred over the past eight years - something for which, he thinks he’d get shot.

To learn more about Henry and his never ending list of accomplishments and the causes that he advocates, check out his official website http://www.henryrollins.com/

From the bottom of my heart, thank you Henry - I needed that.

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry is the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/

Vol 2, Issue 16: Alternative Sources of Revenue Conclusion: Music Journalism

2008-02-25T10:28:00.000-08:00

As a professional touring musician, as one may expect, I have encountered my share of “bad press”. Obviously, I’m so egotistical to believe that I’m immune to criticism. Just like any other musician, I realize that not everyone will believe that I shit gold (so to speak), BUT that’s fine with me, as I understand that these days, very rarely, can bands break generational, and cultural barriers managing to appeal to a highly diverse population. Instead, today’s music industry relies more on “niche” marketing. My bone of contention, however, lies in criticism that has no sense of validation. So when I say “bad press”, I am not merely referring to instances in which reviewers have disliked my material. Rather, I am making reference to journalistic pieces that are ill-researched, ignorant, and downright belittling to artists and/or media exposes that purport the never ending lie of “overnight success” stories; a symptom that seems to be widely affecting the world of music journalism.

My biggest concern relating to these pieces is, of course, their readership. Seeing as musical preference is highly subjective, and journalists are seen as being “experts” in their field, I, as not only a musician, but also as a music consumer, feel I am entitled to more. Between finding out that apparently I’m the drummer in my band (who knew?!) to being told that indie musicians should be grateful for illegal downloading to having the very SAME reviewer on two different occasions give my band completely contradictory critiques regarding our songwriting abilities, I’m beginning to think that, like much of the music industry, music journalism has lost any sense of self-respect and professionalism.

To me, it seems rather obvious that a big part of the problem comes from the fact that music journalists are NOT musicians, have NEVER been musicians, nor is having any musical background a prerequisite to getting hired. It’s one thing to be appointed a position of music journalism for being a decent writer, but knowing your field of so-called expertise, in my opinion, is a must. Additionally, in many cases, the writing isn’t even all that superb. Filled with grammatical mistakes, and a limited vocabulary, the average cd review that a band presently receives rarely even utilizes necessary terms from a musical lexicon. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering, well how did it even get to this point?

A major contributing factor, that will surely come as no surprise, is the internet. A vast majority of online music zines expect their writers to work pro-bono, and as one can imagine, if you’re doing something for free, likely you won’t put as much effort into it. Unfortunately the result for the reader is misinformation.

Traditional print magazines like Rolling Stone, Chart, and Alternative Press do manage to maintain higher standards, but only at the expense of being highly selective in terms of what goes to print. Because the music industry is so oversaturated, and all musicians are vying for attention, traditional high standing magazines generally can only provide exposure to well-established bands leaving a void for indie artists. This void, unfortunately for us, is being filled by anyone who has amateur website designing skills, and “thinks” that they know something about music. In fact, credence to what I’m saying is illustrated best in the example of Metal Sanaz.

Metal Sanaz is an Iranian-born “music journalist”, specializing in the genre of metal, who largely owes her recent success and notoriety to the advent of Myspace. With absolutely NO journalistic training, and her only experience relating to the industry being the fact that she is a “huge fan” (it also helps that she’s hot), she has managed to secure interviews with some of the industry’s biggest names in metal including: Gwar, Dave Navarro, Arch Enemy & Atreyu. I personally have nothing against this woman, nor do I want my comments to be interpreted as jealously or cattiness, but from a music journalism perspective, people like her are contributing to the problem; to say it bluntly, her interview skills are pathetic. For the vast majority of the video clips she has listed on her website, the conversations are dominated by the artists, and her questions lack any sense of thought-provocation or direction. Irrespective of this, her popularity continues to rage on, and in fact, she was recently selected to be a special guest co-host along with Carlos Mencia as part of an Operation Myspace Exclusive concert in Kuwait. I guess one could interpret her success as being due to her ability to bring music back to the people which is commendable, but that, I’ll leave up to you to decide. However, this is not to say that everyone’s getting it wrong. In fact, there are some music journalists out there doing more than their share, but consider this: a great deal of them were musicians themselves in another life, prior to their journalistic endeavours. Among those giving lifeblood back to the music journalism industry are Canada’s own Kevin Young and George Stroumboulopoulos, as well as former frontman of Black Flag, Henry Rollins, with whom I will be speaking in my next issue for an exclusive interview.

So what do I propose as a solution? Like those mentioned as well as myself, I think it’s not only necessary, but I feel its our duty to tell it how it actually is. Continuing with our theme of alternative sources of revenue for musicians, I think music journalism is by far the most rewarding among the other avenues we’ve been discussing. Not only can journalism jobs pay generously, but as well, it is personally fulfilling to know that you are contributing to your industry in such a meaningful way. There are tons of musicians, but few who actually stand to serve as role models and positive examples for others. Just as I have tried to offer you all that I can, both good and bad, based on my experiences and thorough research, in an effort to help you avoid making the same mistakes, I harken you to use your musical knowledge, training, and personal experiences for the better.

The biggest problem in today’s industry is NOT the prevalence of industry-related scams, NOR is it even illegal downloading, the artistic part of music and the business side of the industry have forever been natural nemeses. Rather, the issue that needs the most immediate attention is that of music education. Musicians, just as I once did, enter this industry bright-eyed, naive, and optimistic only to become dishearted and jaded individuals upon failure of commercial success. Being sensitive artists, they take it personally, not realizing that today’s industry is set up for you to fail. The rockstar is dead my dears, I’m sorry to report and the industry will never be as it once was. Success is still possible, but in very different ways, and if we, as experienced players do not pass on our knowledge to the next generations, it will only lead to the further perpetuation of this cycle.

Had I been told from the start the honest truth about what I was getting myself into, who knows, I may have decided long ago that a career change was in order. I’m not saying any of this to depress your dreams, I fully believe that each of you is capable of achieving anything to which you set your minds. I just hope that if music is really what you want, that you know exactly how the biz works. It’s been a long time since talent was the determining factor in the success of bands.

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry is the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/

Vol 2, Issue 15: Alternative Sources of Revenue Pt VI: Session Musicians

2008-02-18T10:27:00.000-08:00

As we learned last week, jingle writing can be a major source of employment for session and freelance musicians, but that barely scratches the surface in terms of what these talented individuals are capable of. Scoring work as guest players on major albums, television and movie soundtrack writing to touring support for popstars and even orchestras, session and freelance musicians are defined as artists for hire that are not committed solely to a steady project. While session musicians, as one may deduce from their title, primarily lend their talents to studio work, freelance players typically perform live with touring acts.

Being a session or freelance musician requires a great deal of performance diversity, and quick learning ability; skills that can only be mastered with age and experience. As a result, you’ll notice that most players in this field are in their elder years, or as they prefer to be called, “seasoned”.

Typical of any aspect of the music biz, connections and networking play a vital role in terms of finding gigs. According to both Kelvin Gumbs and Dale Anne Brendon, becoming session/freelance players was something that they just “fell into”. While Gumbs initially had to pick up the instrumental slack on some tracks he was producing for clients, Brendon found herself bombarded with drumming opportunities after graduating from The University of Western Ontario’s music program, but neither of them had envisioned this as their master plan. However, that doesn’t mean that having the sole ambition to become a freelancer is unfeasible. On the contrary, it would seem that opportunities for these players are plentiful, you just need to know where to look.

Though as mentioned, word of mouth and networking play crucial roles in finding employment, there are also several job boards with musician classified sections that regularly list gig possibilities such as http://www.craigslist.com/, www.kijiji.com , www.overhear.com and www.indbamusic.com . Brendon recommends trying to make a personal connection with each potential employer when you come across a gig that interests you, as from her experience, she has found that simply cold-calling and sending out promotional packages rarely works.

In terms of payment, prices generally vary from player to player depending on their contributions and the type of project. When it comes to recording, on average there is a base fee of approximately $100 - $200 per hour with a minimum of three hours guaranteed employment. On the other hand, touring pay scales begin approximately at a $300 minimum per hour, again with no less than three hours of contracted work. Of course, depending on the length and travelling associated with a tour, this rate may be negotiated. However, regardless of whether a scheduled live performance is a success or failure, freelance musicians maintain their same set rate of pay.

Brendon feels it’s essential for anyone interested in pursuing this avenue to familiarize themselves with the American Federation of Musicians’ (AFM) fee policies. The AFM standardizes pay scales for different player positions within each musical project, and through membership to their organization, one is provided with contracts for each opportunity undertaken, that they will enforce, if necessary. As you’ll recall from previous editions, I’ve referenced the AFM several times in regards to national touring pay scales and policies. For more information on their organization, please visit http://www.afm.org/

In exchange for these set rates of pay, session musicians are not eligible to collect royalties in the future, if a project on which they were featured, takes off. Additionally, it is understood that they do not own their musical contributions from a legal perspective. These principles are agreed upon amongst both parties (employers and musicians) and the tradeoff is considered fair.

A major benefit to this arrangement for session and freelance musicians is that there is no waiting period for payment, nor is their income contingent on the success of the project. According to Gumbs, usually directly after a project is completed, session and freelance musicians are compensated with upfront cash. Though these terms are well understood within the industry, Brendon still urges musicians to establish written contracts for each engagement to ensure that their rights and best interests are always protected, as verbal agreements can be more difficult to prove.

If you’re interested in pursuing this route, Gumbs recommends being aggressive and persistent in terms of self-promotion, and building up one’s network and reputation. Adding to this piece of advice, Brendon suggests that the best way to learn about this avenue is to pry at the brains of experienced fellow musicians who have, as she puts it, “been around the block.”

Though initially scrounging up work may be challenging, once you’ve established a reputation for being reliable, respectful, and professional, employment opportunities will begin to come your way. Above all, one should have fun with this alternative venture as it will allow for the expansion of one’s ability and repertoire.

The biggest tip for freelancers that Brendon emphasized was the importance of knowing one’s employer. Just as you wouldn’t achieve success by applying for an office job in full out gothic attire, you likely wouldn’t be chosen as a freelancer for an orchestra gig if you showed up to the audition covered in piercings. Gauging the needs of one’s employer is as easy as looking at their audience; if you see mohawks in the crowd, tattoos and torn jeans are encouraged, but if the arena is filled by men and women in suits, one may want to rethink the bright pink hair.

For more information on Dale Anne Brendon, please visit her official website located at http://www.daleannebrendon.com/

For more information on Kelvin Gumbs, check out his official page at http://www.kelvingumbs.com/

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry is the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/

Vol 2, Issue 14: Alternative Sources of Revenue Pt V: Jingle Writing

2008-02-11T10:25:00.000-08:00

Continuing on a similar note from last time's discussion of licensing, today we will be uncovering the world of jingle writing. Though this avenue draws many similarities with that of songwriting, it’s important to distinguish between the two for one central reason: the need for resources (both money and expertise). Although virtually anyone with some talent and a guitar in hand can approach a music publisher in order to get their songs accessible to potential purchasers, embarking on a career in jingle writing requires access to some serious dough (at least enough to equip yourself with a professional home recording set-up) and a business plan.

According to Jason Chapman of Boreal Forest Music Productions Ltd, a successful ex-jingle writer and producer of several years, if you’re serious about getting into this area of the biz, he recommends establishing an alliance with at least two other partners including an advertisement professional, and a graphic designer/videographer. That way, he says, you’ll still be able to focus on the area that you love; the music. However, he cautions that this avenue, unlike the other alternative sources of revenue that we’ve been discussing, isn’t one that has the potential to bring about immediate results and additionally, it will ONLY be an effective means of supplementary income if you work/live in a city with a strong advertising sector.

Anyone who has worked within the media or marketing domains knows that building up one’s reputation and establishing loyal clientele requires a substantial amount of time and effort. For that reason, Chapman does NOT recommend this avenue to those who are not fans of networking, as his willingness to meet and greet with new people is one of the primary reasons as to why he was so successful in this field. In fact, his first clients were snagged through cold-calling, and special events hosted by the London Chamber of Commerce. Once his rapport began to grow, referrals played a prominent role in keeping business steady, but equally important was his available portfolio demonstrating his diverse ability to create the perfect jingle for any business. Chapman also strongly recommends having a professional web presence.

So why is having a PR rep and graphics expert as part of your team so essential? With the energy it takes to coordinate the writing, editing, and recording of a jingle including the selection of appropriate session musicians to play on the track, one simply does not have the time to manage all of the necessary paperwork and contracts that a business requires, nor does one want to overexert oneself artistically speaking. Seeing as musicians, at least the majority of whom I’ve dealt with, are not business-minded, it only makes sense to have a salesperson doing your “dirty work”. As for the graphics designer, in Chapman’s experience, creating tv jingle commercial campaigns is the more lucrative end of the business (as opposed to audio only jingles for radio), so it only makes sense to have a design expert on staff if you’re interested in maximizing your potential profits. Additional support to the idea that tv may be a better bet is the fact that, apparently, many radio stations have their own in-house jingle writers. So, when a company calls to inquire about on-air advertising, instead of outsourcing the work to freelancers like Chapman, radio stations are able to maintain a mini-monopoly over this arena, therefore limiting the available opportunities to outsiders.

The best campaign a jingle writer can hope to work on would be one for a national company as fees are set depending upon a client’s ability to pay. While a “mom and pop” store may be charged between $500 to $1000 for a jingle project, a national company could expect to pay between $5000 and $10,000 for a jingle of equivalent quality. While these numbers may seem pricey for an audio/video soundbyte that at the most runs about 60 secs, one needs to take the high overhead expenses and inevitable stress involved with each project, into account.

Each standard contract for a jingle campaign demands 12 different versions to be completed on an average two day turnaround. Each session musician who contributes their talents needs to be remunerated for their services EVEN if their efforts do not make the cut in the final edited version(s), not to mention that each member of your team will be entitled to a share of the fee based on their involvement with the project. To make financial matters more complicated, some session musicians demand upfront payments requiring you to take a major risk in the event that things just don’t seem to jive with that player. To this point, Chapman adds, that finding the right vocalist often proves to be an extremely difficult task. Generally, if campaigns are fairly low budget, those involved will be compensated through “promisary agreements” stating that if their lendings to the project are successful, they will be hired again to work on future campaigns.

In terms of the creative process, Chapman says that undertaking a part-time career in jingle writer will improve one’s songwriting ability as you’ll need to learn how to exercise the most effective aspects of songs (hooks, catchy choruses etc.) into very short time periods. Usually, you’ll be provided with a tempo and genre description (often ambiguous), the company’s motto, and examples of past adverts, but if the company is looking to overhaul their image, you’re essentially given very little to go on. However, listening to the jingles on the radio that are currently being responded to positively, may help generate ideas.

All in all, Chapman feels that jingle writing can be a successful and rewarding endeavour, however he caveats this point by stating that for those who have gotten into the music industry to do something artistic, it can be difficult to have this as an outlet. Additionally, it would seem that today’s commercial campaigns are relying more and more on licensing already popular songs. For more information on jingle writing, he recommends checking out Jeffrey P. Fisher’s book, How to Make Money Scoring Soundtracks & Jingles.

Chapman’s official website is http://www.borealforestmusic.ca/

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry is the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/

Vol 2, Issue 13: Alternative Sources of Revenue Pt IV: Licensing & Songwriting, Indie Vs. Major Representation

2008-02-04T10:23:00.000-08:00

It is possible for musicians, without representation, to both license and write songs for various purchasers, but as Simon Wilcox, a highly successful songwriter for EMI Music Publishing notes, signing a deal with representation helped her enormously. In terms of finding appropriate opportunities for her music, expanding her portfolio, and allowing for collaboration with industry veterans, EMI more than helped her get her foot in the door. With projects including writing for Juliette Lewis, Three Days Grace, and The Trews on her resume, EMI presented Wilcox with breaks she likely wouldn’t have been able to muster on her own. But in saying that, she most certainly credits her perseverance, and hard work as factors in her success. After all, if it wasn’t for her already established impressive songwriting portfolio, she likely wouldn’t have grabbed EMI’s attention.

According to Michael McCarty, Managing Director of EMI Music Publishing Canada and a graduate of Fanshawe’s very own MIA program, EMI only signs about one out of every thousand artists they review (and keep in mind artists are ONLY reviewed if they have been recommended through a previously established connection). However, Steve Thomson of Backstage Productions offers more of an optimistic view with his new talent recruitment protocol.

Unlike the majors, Backstage Productions and other independent music publishers are willing to accept unsolicited material, and even provide funding for the recording of a demo, if they truly believe that the songwriter has got what it takes. Take David Baccha, for example.

Starting out as a controversial radio discjockey in Cleveland, Ohio, Baccha migrated to Toronto to elude government authorities that weren’t too happy with the satirical content of his show (to say the least). Again, through the magic of connections, he was able to hook up with Steve, then the manager for Ronnie Hawkins, who instantly recognized Baccha’s potential and contracted him as a songwriter for his company. Throughout his career, Baccha has had the privilege of undertaking many songwriting endeavours including writing for numerous commercial campaigns, and movie scores. Maintaining his American roots, Baccha also initiated a writing deal with Jimmy Inner, drummer for Lighthouse, and the composer behind the “Dirty Dancing Soundtrack”. Through Inner, he obtained the opportunity to write for pop-band Dejavu, which spawned for Baccha, a series of billboard charting hits.

Despite the fact that both Wilcox and Baccha have carved out successful songwriting careers for themselves, they continue to compose their own original material, and participate in various gigs on the side. According to Wilcox, “a successful song in Canada is worth about four figures on average, five, if you're lucky, but that can vary greatly depending on [the song’s genre] and where it is being played.” In general, it would seem that pop songs, because there are more outlets for distribution, tend to generate higher revenues, and instrumental tracks, especially if intended for synchronization use, are easier to sell.

Although, as Wilcox indicated, a single composition can allot a songwriter a substantial chunk of change, Baccha quickly pointed out that because royalty payments are issued annually, budgeting one’s expenses carefully is absolutely essential. Elaborating on this point, Baccha also explained that songwriting does not earn a writer a consistent paycheck because there is no way to guarantee the success of a given track. In fact, he has personally had tracks that weren’t “discovered” (or profitable) until TEN years after their initial release!

From my own personal experiences with licensing, I can tell you that I have had a moderate amount of success including having ANTI-HERO’s album featured on MTV’s hit tv series, Next, WITHOUT being signed to a music publisher. However, the opportunities with which I’ve been presented are sporadic at best, and are usually “exposure deals” in which there is little or no monetary exchange. In addition to music publishers, there are several licensing agencies whose job it is to solicit the work of independent artists to various music buyers, but after two years of being signed to a handful of these agencies, I’m still waiting for something to come into fruition!However with the growing popularity of sites such as www.youlicense.com , a site designed for independent musicians to solicit their music directly to music purchasers FREE of charge, things may be changing.

Both Backstage Productions and EMI Music Publishing are always on the look out for new emerging talent to feature on various projects, and if you want to be successful in this alternative artist arena, diversity will be your ticket.

For more detailed information on songwriting and licensing, Baccha suggests picking up a copy of Songwriters magazine, an industry publication issued by the Songwriters Association of Canada.

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry is the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/

Vol 2, Issue 12: Alternative Sources of Revenue Pt III: Licensing & Songwriting: An Overview

2008-01-28T02:04:00.000-08:00

It’s wasn’t until "1234" made its debut in Apple’s 2007 advertising campaign for their latest iPod Nano that Leslie Feist, more commonly referred to solely by her surname, became a worldwide phenomenon. Despite the fact that she had been performing in and out of many notable acts since the 70s, had previously toured with the likes of The Ramones, and had released two solo albums previous to her current effort, The Reminder, for Feist, it was a licensing agreement that finally sealed the deal. This kind of a story, according to music industry experts, is not uncommon.

*To view Feist's Apple Ipod commercial, please visit http://youtube.com/watch?v=tkpdJ_0ubXI*

In fact, Steve Thomson of Backstage Productions, a Canadian independent music publisher, informed me that the licensing of a single song, if picked up by the right client, can set a songwriter for life! So why, then, aren’t more musicians taking advantage of this aspect of the industry? Well, it’s NOT as easy to navigate as one may anticipate.

In addition to the fact that one literally needs to apprise themselves of a dictionary’s worth of technical jargon, success in music publishing is highly dependent upon connections, and therefore, tends to be restrictive in many ways. As unsolicited material is generally NOT accepted, making it as a new aspiring songwriter is anything but easy. To make matters worse, resources regarding this area of the industry are limited, and it would seem that, based on my own personal experiences trying to track down songwriters and music publishers alike for interviews, this is no coincidence. However, my persistence finally paid off! Based on my findings, I hope that I will be able to shine some light on this rather contentious employment avenue from both an indie and major perspective. But, before we get started, a review of some key definitions is required.

First and foremost, it’s important to establish the difference between licensing and songwriting:
Licensing is the act of granting permission to a purchaser (which may include: a media/production company, ad agency, cd compilation manufacturer and/or film producer) to feature one of your originally written and recorded compositions in a creative project whereas there is a promise of remuneration for your contribution. Payment may take the form of an upfront flat rate per song or royalty payment depending upon the success of the project. In some situations, the licensing of a song is granted to a purchaser free of charge if there is promise of potential exposure, which may in turn lead to further commercial success for the artist.

Songwriting, on the other hand, again involves the granting of a license of an original composition by an artist, but, the purchaser is free to edit and re-record the work for the project. Songwriting purchasers most often include: established recording artists, media/production companies, and ad agencies.

Either avenue can involve exclusive or non-exclusive agreements, and fees will vary depending upon whether or not you have representation. However, it’s important to note that the practise of selling song ownership has long been out of use. Whether you license material off of your current band’s album, or write songs for fellow artists, as the original songwriter, you will maintain the ownership of all of your song(s), will be credited for all of your contributions, and are able to both release your songs commercially through your own means concurrently with your licensing efforts and/or grant licenses to a variety of companies for a single track unless specified otherwise by an exclusive agreement.

So then what exactly is a music publisher? According to the Canadian government, the primary role of a music publisher is to act on behalf of authors of musical works as an intermediary between the artist and the marketplace. Aside from finding advantageous placements for their songwriters’ compositions, music publishers, whether independent or major, are additionally responsible for negotiating contracts on behalf of their songwriters, and fulfilling all of the necessary paperwork to ensure that their songwriters are receiving compensation in the form of royalties for their efforts.

Within Canada, there are four main types of contracts that outline royalty and ownership splits between the music publisher and its songwriters, but the two most commonly in use are the standard music publishing agreement (50/50 split between the publisher and songwriter), and the co-publishing agreement (songwriter is entitled to 75% of the gross royalties earned). For more information on the kinds of available publishing agreements, please visit:
http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/progs/ac-ca/progs/pda-cpb/pubs/statistical_profile/3_e.cfm

One last area that we need to conquer prior to delving too deep into the realm of licensing and songwriting, concerns royalties (I promise I’ll try to keep it as simple as possible). In Canada, there are three basic forms of royalty payment that are issued: mechanical, synch, and performance fees:

1) Mechanical royalties have been set at the industry standard of 8 cents per song, and are awarded based on commercial sales. This means that the more the project on which your song is featured sells, the more money you will be paid for your contribution, and if you have multiple songs featured on a project, you will collect profits for each track.

2) Synchronization royalties (more commonly known as synch fees) follow more of a play-pay method in which payment is dependent upon how frequently your song is aired in conjunction with a video project. Synch royalties would be awarded to you if one of your songs is used as "theme" or "background" piece for a commercial, movie, news track, video game or DVD. Currently, synch fees are negotiated on an individual basis.

3) Finally, performance royalties are paid directly to original artists for the live performance of their works at various venues including clubs, radio, and tv stations, and internet webcasts.

For the purposes of this article, I will not be discussing where the details of the monetary exchanges in each of case, but if you would like more information regarding royalty payment in Canada, please visit SOCAN’s official website located at http://www.socan.ca/

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry is the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.

Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/

Vol 2, Issue 11: Alternative Sources of Revenue Pt II: Tribute Acts & House Bands

2008-01-21T14:27:00.000-08:00

Last week as part of the kickoff to this month’s exclusive series on alternative sources of revenue for musicians, we explored a "day in the life" of music teachers, and special events performers. Continuing with our theme of potential part-time supplemental music related gigs, we will now venture into the world of tribute acts, and house bands.

Tribute Acts
To get an inside look at the world of tribute acts, I was lucky enough to get a chance to speak with Mike Dimoulas, frontman of Hotel California, the original Eagles tribute band, and his agent Roger LaPointe of The Booking House, "the undisputed leader and supplier of quality tribute acts since 1983"; other notable acts include Shania’s Twin, Practically Hip, HELP!, and Mandonna (an all male tribute to the material girl).

A tribute performer of over 20 years, Mike has seen many original acts come and go, and though he’s an avid writer of his own material (as are many of his fellow bandmates), during our interview, he openly conceded to me that it’s much easier to make it as a tribute artist. To this he added, that even though he is performing compositions written by other greats of the past, Hotel California’s dedicated and supportive following still allows him to experience the glory of being a "rockstar".

Acknowledging an unfulfilled niche in the tribute act arena, Mike conceived of Hotel California back in ‘86. His band’s consistent club gigging and touring of the festival circuit, both in Canada and the US, are a testament that his original inclination was indeed correct; that the guitar solos, inspirational lyrics, and challenging harmonies of The Eagles appeal to all.

According to Mike, there is a relatively small difference between cover bands and tribute acts; the variation being that the latter typically go "all out" in terms of mimicking the moves and the look of the band to whom they are paying tribute. However, being a perfect "look-a-like" is not a prerequisite. So long as the act is well rehearsed, professional, and has a dynamic stage performance, they should go far. Apparently, there are even festivals whose sole purpose is to celebrate tribute performers (who knew?) which would indicate to me that tribute acts get a lot of support from the music industry, and accordingly, have been able to create their own little monopoly.

Typically, Hotel California plays about two to three shows per week with 80% of their concerts taking place in the States, particularly in rural areas. The attraction to tribute acts is distinctly strong in smaller towns because, as Mike points out, most of the major original acts only hit the capital cities along their tour routes. Each standard show consists of several 45 minute sets a night, or for a theatre setting, a one hour set usually suffices. LaPointe also mentioned that performance engagements may be more extensive if the original act is on the road concurrently. Most original acts, who are "tributed", are welcoming towards the extra-exposure that is resultingly propagated.

In terms of payment, the per gig capital that independent original acts generate pales in comparison. With going rates between $1000 to an upwards of $25,000 for the top impersonators per show, along with opportunities for merch sales, the life of a tribute act can be quite lucrative. However, keep in mind, these rates refer to tribute acts who have agents negotiating on their behalf, and each band member is paid on a salary, after the agent has taken his/her cut (generally 15-20%). Self-employed tribute acts and cover bands may be expected to play just as many sets for as little as $80 to $125, the standard gig price imposed by the AFM.

When it comes to getting shows (and representation), the strength in one’s salespitch ultimately comes down to two factors: 1) being an "original" tribute act (pardon the oxymoron) meaning a tribute act of a popular, but not overly copycatted artist (ie: we don’t need any more Cher or Michael Jackson wannabes) and 2) having a professional looking performance video. Similarly to original independent artists, tribute bands need to build up their reputations, and over time, booking shows generally becomes easier once they’ve created the necessary "buzz". Developing one’s connections and looking for opportunities that will generate exposure is essential.

Obtaining agency representation is as easy as sending in photos, audio clips, and/or a live video. Again, if you’ve got "the goods" to back up your press pack, a live audition and in-person meeting will likely be co-ordinated, and shortly thereafter, you’ll be shimmy-ing your way up to the rock-n-roll impersonators hall of fame. However, prior to taking on your "alter-ego", LaPointe suggests checking out the current trends to ensure that your tribute act idea is in-line with what is popular.

The Booking House is presently seeking Hannah Montana’s doppelganger. Think you’ve got what it takes? Submit a performance video and find out! For more information on Hotel California and/or The Booking house, please check out http://www.bookinghouse.com/

House Bands
Congruent to the lives of those in tribute acts are house band performers. Though house performers may be afforded more leniency when it comes to playing their own material in conjunction with their cover sets, they typically maintain a permanent residence at a specified local venue or circulate regularly amongst two to three venues in their hometown, hence the name.

Some of London, Ontario's community house performers include Alison Brown, Village Blues Band, and Reverend Freddie & The Distillers.

According to Greg Simpson, local religion teacher, part-time musician, and accomplished producer, if one is interested in actively pursuing part-time opportunities as a house performer, the best way to get one’s foot in the door is to start participating in open-mic events such as those hosted weekly at venues such as Scott’s Corner, Rockwater’s, and The London Music Club. If you are able grab the attention of the crowd and impress the club owner with your ability, it may just lead to your permanent placement.

In fact, the exceedingly talented local singer-songwriter Samantha Hooey can credit her participation in several open-mic gigs to the jumpstart of her own in-town recognition, which includes two back-to-back nominations for "Best Singer-Songwriter" at the London Music Awards, 2006 - 2007.

Undoubtedly, the key to the success of house bands is diversity. With repertoires of literally hundreds of different songs and styles, professional house bands are able to entertain built-in crowds with a different show(s) every week. It is important, should you choose to pursue this avenue, to ensure that you are a competent player who is able to learn and memorize a wide variety of songs, often on limited notice or by the request of fans.

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry is the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.

Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/

Vol 2, Issue 10: Alternative Sources of Revenue Pt I: Music Instruction & Party Performance

2008-01-14T14:27:00.000-08:00

Although in these past few weeks, I’ve demonstrated many of the horrors that take place in the music industry through my examination of popular scams, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. For every rip off artist out there, there is also an opportunity upon which aspiring professional musicians can capitalize.

Many moons ago, musicians, well any artists really, were able to generate profits from solely performing and marketing their original material, but unfortunately, a lot has changed, and even some of the top grossing artists of our day are so far in debt to their record labels that they are struggling to make ends meet. But, this doesn’t mean that success isn’t possible, it just means that in today’s day and age, we, as musicians, cannot afford to wait for our big break. Instead, if music is truly in your soul, I suggest that you rock til your heart’s content, but in order to satisfy creditors, treat your craft as more of a part-time gig while pursuing other more stable employment.

Now, don’t get your panties in a bunch yet... I’m not suggesting that you pack up your guitar, and go work for corporate America. Quite the contrary, actually. Rather, I recommend that you take full advantage of all of the unconventional musician jobs out there. From licensing one’s music to teaching private lessons to playing in a cover band on the side, there are a multitude of avenues that artists can pursue on a part-time basis in order to supplement their income. Simply put, you can have your cake and eat it too.

And if your moonlighting in one of these alternative musician positions becomes successful, well then, you’ve created an even bigger springboard off of which you can launch your personal material. Think of all the possibilities. To give you a sense of all of the exciting off-beat musician oriented jobs out there, I’ve been conducting interviews with fellow artists who have dabbled in each one of these fields and were willing to share their experiences with you. Listen up, you may just learn a way to utilize your talent that had never occurred to you before, that is...until now.

Teaching Music
Teaching can be a personally enriching and rewarding experience, but the benefits do not just stop there. Scheduling is flexible, it can be quite financially lucrative (average going rate is between $25-$40 per hourly lesson), and you will rarely fall short of finding employment opportunities whether you’re working as a freelancer or as an employee of a music academy.

There are students of all age ranges who want to pick up a new instrument, and unlike other teaching positions, being a music teacher does not necessarily require having formal credentials (though it will help). Often, playing experience, professionalism, and customer service abilities are all that you need. As a bonus, usually the preferred music lesson nights fall on days of the week that don’t produce large turnouts at venues, so it will not interfere with your original act’s touring schedule.

Developing lesson plans is generally fairly simple with the vast amount of resources including theory books, and websites at your disposal. Additionally, by catering your lessons to fit the needs of each student, you may in turn diversify your repertoire, and improve your playing ability. A major advantage to becoming a music teacher is that, unlike several of the other alternative sources of revenue that I will be discussing, it does NOT require a great deal of start-up capital.

Jesse Tomes, a London Ontario based freelance guitar instructor says that getting your first student is as easy as asking around your friends and acquaintances to see if they know of anyone looking to learn your instrument(s) of expertise. If that doesn’t generate any results, there are several discussions boards and/or social networking sites such as the Facebook "marketplace" section in which individuals post want ads for teachers and as well, you can post your own ads (free of charge I might add) advertising your services.

But, if you just don’t have enough time to squeeze in looking for students, as mentioned, getting hired by a music academy is possible as well. Though music academies take a percentage of their teachers’ earnings (varies, between 10-20%), remember, in this scenario, the students will come to you, and thus, there will be less leg work in terms of promoting one’s services.

Some of the more notable music academies in London, Ontario include: The Royal Conservatory of Music, Walters Music School, Noteworthy School of Music, & Yahama Music School.

Special Events Performance
Believe it or not, in the current music marketplace, Adam Sandler’s character in The Wedding Singer , would have had a pretty sweet gig because when it comes to spending money on entertainment for special events, celebrators don’t seem to believe there is such a thing as being too lavish. There have been several occasions throughout the career of my band, ANTI-HERO, in which we’ve been approached to play everything from bar mitzvahs to fashion shows to wedding receptions to birthday parties, and every time there’s always been a tempting sum of money offered in our direction.

Though typically these types of events employ cover acts or DJs, if you’ve worked rigorously at developing a die-hard fanbase, a reputation for being a solid live act, and having a strong online presence, you may just find yourself at the other end of one of these offers. But, as mentioned in a previous edition, I always advise bands not to become immediately swayed by the offer of cold-hard cash, and to inquire about all of the pertinent details relating to the gig (just as though it were any normal show) prior to accepting the invitation, because there is a common overseas party entertainment request scam that has been circulating online for the past year or so.

Although it would be impossible to depend on special event performance offerings as a stable auxiliary income unless your band became a working tribute act or got signed to a party planner talent agency, playing one or two of these shows every few months can set you for quite some time. With usual payments starting at $500 with professional lighting, sound, and stage equipment provided, a band is able to make a killing with very little effort exerted on their behalf.

There are NO promotional concerns as these are private "invite-only" parties, drinks and food may be complementary, and often, to include in goodies bags given out to their attendees, celebrators will purchase mass amounts of your merchandise in advance, leaving you with nothing but straight profit. There is one slight downside for the pure-blooded original act however, often adding cover songs to your setlist is required. Though it’s a small price to pay for the exposure, and financial rewards, some bands are adamant about maintaining their reputation as original songwriters. Additionally, unlike a standard gig, you may be required to play up to three sets in a given night with breaks filled in by a DJ and I can tell you from personal experience, this process can be exhausting, especially when good old granny has had one two many drinks and will not get off the dancefloor, even though it’s pushing 4 am.

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry is the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.

Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/

Reader Input Survey

2008-01-10T19:54:00.000-08:00

Please help me improve my column! Follow the link from the heading to the Reader input survey - it will only take a few minutes. Your insight is truly appreciated :)

Thanx
Rose Cora Perry
Creator of, "So You Wanna be a Rockstar?"

Vol 2, Issue 9: Music Industry Scams, Pt II: Getting Screwed in Places You`d Least Expect!

2008-01-07T14:26:00.000-08:00

Considering the phenomenal number of cons in existence, it’s no wonder that you often hear stories about musicians who have been eaten up and spat out by the industry. Irrespective of efforts made on the behalf of industry professionals “in the know” to educate up and comers, artists continue to make easy prey and likely targets for those callous enough to want to feed off of those who truly cannot afford to lose what scarce resources they possess. I say with regret that these problems do not appear to be going away, but rather increasing in number, and the only advice that I can truly offer relating to this matter is to become uber-skeptical, and meticulous when reviewing terms for any opportunity that appears to offer “a chance to make your dreams come true” (This ain’t DisneyWorld kids!) Continuing on from last week’s rant regarding the numerous ways in which musicians are being swindled, here’s an overview of some of the latest emerging scam artist tactics that are even more cleverly disguised that those previously discussed:

The Media & Marketing Hustle
Getting exposure is an absolute must for any rising band, but paying for press (which is always pricey) is counter-productive considering that most media outlets will offer you reviews, interviews, and more for FREE, so long as you have your act together, and a good story to tell. But, for some reason, this seems to be a little known fact. I’m not quite sure who proposed the rather absurd idea that an indie band could only get coverage if they either a) hired a licensed publicist or b) paid news outlets directly, but suffice it to say that it couldn’t be any further from the truth.

I single-handedly managed to obtain feature interviews, cd reviews, and even magazine covers for my band ANTI-HERO without a spat of media training for over three years, and I never paid a cent. News outlets were happy, even excited to provide us with coverage because it gave them something topical that was “underground” and edgy which in turn encouraged readership.

The thing about this scam that I find most discerning is if you are paying a given press outlet to provide you with coverage, how can that outlet maintain an objective stance and if they do not, then essentially, you are paying people to be your fans?! I’d prefer the truth, be it good or bad, but perhaps that’s just me.

Another mutation of this scam usually rears its ugly head through social networking sites like Myspace in which “marketing” companies contact artists offering exciting new ways in which they can increase their webpage visits, plays, and fan requests. Aside from the obvious fact that an artist could perform all of these functions independently with a bit of elbow grease, this is a scam (and a rather scary one at that) for a few reasons. First off, these companies demand payment by credit card, and access to your profile (including your email address, password, and pertinent information), so essentially you’ve just provided them with a means for identity theft. However, if their service legitimately does check out, and isn’t just a means to steal your likeness, I still don’t have good news. At best, these services work as 24 hour spammers sending out mass emails to random strangers who may or may not be interested in your music. Although your plays and visits may increase as a result, you’ll likely piss off more people in the process because let’s face it, everyone HATES being spammed.

And finally, the last variation of the “media” hustle comes in the form of radio or zine requests for free cds. This is a particular tricky one to detect, even to the trained eye, because it plays on the very fact that many warranted radio stations and/or zines commonly request bands to provide complimentary copies of their albums for airplay or cd reviews respectively. So how do you tell the difference? Well, this one requires a bit of detective work.

Although bands commonly become “tickled pink” at the notion that a radio station wants to spin their disc or a zine wants to provide them with free exposure, I cannot emphasis enough that it is absolutely essential to check out some background info on ANY media outlet prior to sending them anything for free. Firstly, you need to ensure that this so-called media outlet actually exists, because commonly in this instance, you are just receiving an email from some guy in the basement of an apartment who's managed to create quite a nice cd collection for himself by duping bands. Check for a website (and no Angelfire accounts do NOT count), call letters (if a radio station) and any business information you can find. Make sure that the name of the person who actually sent the message is listed on all of the company’s promotional materials including their site because it’s also possible that the media outlet in fact is real, but the person emailing you is using a company’s name illegitimately.

Secondly, although this may seem like a no-brainer, check and see which genres and similar bands have been offered airplay/coverage by the outlet in the past, if you recognize none of the acts and/or your act does not seem to fit into the “sound” they are promoting, it’s likely a waste of cash (you’d be surprised how fast postal bills can add up). Aside from squandering your dough on unnecessary mailing fees, your cd may actually end up becoming pirated on a mass scale to unguaranteed internet sites. I’m sure some of you are thinking, well that’s not that bad – it’s still relatively cheap exposure? Perhaps, but consider this, what if they decide (which they likely will) NOT to credit you as an artist, anyone could lay claim to your music, and because it’s being transferred on the “internet blackmarket”, your claim is just as worthless as anyone else’s.

If your name is not attached to what you do (and you’re in it for commercial success), you won’t be attaining much fame, now will you? As a side note, a great way to mitigate unwanted high cost bills relating to sending out press materials is to create an online secret press page (more on this in a later edition).

Warning Signs: Beware of any media outlet or marketing company requesting your material or offering their promotional services if they possesses any of the following characteristics:
1) They request an upfront fee for coverage, and/or even potential consideration for coverage
2) You’ve never heard of past clientele or artists receiving airplay/writeups.
3) Your music does not fit into their genre of focus
4) Any credit card information, account identities and passwords are required for them to work on your behalf.
5) They have no website, corporate information, or company letterhead.
6) They are located at an international location at which you’ve never received any previous promotion
7) The request for materials or offering of services appears to look like a form letter with no direct address to a specified recipient.

Overseas Album Distribution Offers
If you’ve decided to go it alone like many indie bands these days, this opportunity will likely come a-knocking at your door. Because greater cd distribution (in theory) means greater potential for exposure and profit margin, receiving a retail distribution offering from an overseas company seems like an offer you cannot refuse. These scams typically involve the request of a bulk number of discs (sold at a wholesale discounted rate) in exchange for upfront cash. These overseas retailers offer visibility in their small chain of stores, and guarantee sales. Unlike authentic independent retailers who usually take the albums of unsigned acts on consignment, this deal is extra tempting because it has the allure of offering upfront money.

At this point, I hope you’re starting to see the pattern – any kind of business deal (especially in the music industry) in which there is an offering of upfront money should make you run screaming (well, maybe not screaming, but run) in the opposite direction. Regardless of how talented and amazing your act may be, no business (that is worth working with) will ever offer you upfront cash without enforcing some sort of collateral so that the onus for sales/partnership is equally on you.

Embracing the best elements (note the sarcasm) of fellow ploys, this alteration on the 419 scam is not only a money laundering endeavour, but also because no contractual agreement is devised in these offers, your cds (at least some cheap copies) will likely end up again being sold on the streets. Additionally troublesome is the fact that if no sale terms are agreed upon, this retailer could, in theory, charge as much or as little for your disc in his/her shop(s) without entitling you to any royalty share of the sales. By the time you’ve realized that the cheque issued to you was either fraudulent or part of a money laundering scheme, you’ve already sent off your cds, and there is no way you’ll be getting them back. The cash provided to you is completely worthless, and you’ve just lost a whole bunch of inventory that was expensive to manufacture in the first place.

Warning Signs: To avoid finding yourself in this sticky situation, ensure that you
1) NEVER give anyone your music without a contract outlining the terms of sale, length of sale terms, commissions to be paid, and obligations of the involved parties.
2) If payment is to be provided upfront for your goods, request a certified cheque or certified money order (this means that the money physically has to be in the merchant’s account at the time the cheque/money order was processed) and do NOT send any of your product until the cheque/money order has been approved by your financial institution (I recommend waiting at least 1-2 weeks).

Seeking New Talent

Believe it or not, despite all of the scams I’ve outlined, the entertainment biz actually has a number of agencies including The Better Business Bureau, AMIS, and AFM working to protect the needs and rights of talent by legitimizing business ethics and standards that all registered professional entertainment companies are required to adhere to. Irrespective of these agencies “fighting the good fight” on our behalves, entertainment biz scammers, especially bogus record labels and booking agents, continue to prosper by placing calls for new talent in what appear to be legitimate means of advertising like well-respected local newspapers, or industry websites. If you pursue one of these listings further, without offering very detailed information about your act, the record label or booking agency will immediately be intrigued by your band, and want to engage in business negotiations. Usually, no audition is required, and representation can start immediately…well, after a hefty cash deposit which is justified as signifying your commitment to your band.

The company in this situation is able to get off the hook of offering any financial support for your band because remember YOU came to them, meaning that you need them more than they need you and also, because this is a simple money grab, these so-called record labels are not desperate, if you are not willing to hand over the moula, someone else will (they’ll tell you that you obviously aren’t very serious about pursuing your career, and to contact them if you change their mind).

I urge you to especially beware of any overseas booking agencies wanting to initiate a European tour for your band in which all they require to demonstrate your commitment, again is a “little” cash, and of course copies of your passports (sound familiar?)

This scam works on the myth that record deals = salvation, and from my rather dissatisfying experiences with them, I can tell you for a fact that this is anything, BUT the truth.

Warning Signs: To avoid becoming another artist wallowing in debt from this mistake, here are a few things you should know about REAL record deals
1) There will NEVER be an expectation on behalf of the artist to pay upfront money for representation (except in the slight case in which you need to get new cds pressed depicting the label’s logo). If any money exchange is to be had, the record label should be paying YOU!
2) Contracts, paperwork, all of that legal mumbo-jumbo that you hate is a MUST. Get their promises and responsibilities outlined in writing and get it all legally reviewed.
3) Record labels do NOT advertise or openly seek new talent through this means as it would welcome far too many amateurs. If there is a label that you are sincerely interested in (again, please do your research first before contacting anyone), their website will likely have information regarding their demo submission policies. FOLLOW these policies. Sending unsolicited material to companies who do not accept it, will only wind up with your unopened package arriving back in your hands (even if your envelope is really exciting!)
4) Record labels, booking agents, managers etc work on a commission basis wherein if you do not get paid, neither do they. Standard going rate is between 10 – 20% of your sales + payment.
5) Any decent record label, booking agent, or manager prior to signing any act will require an IN-PERSON AUDITION + business meeting (lawyers present) to ensure that you are able to deliver on-stage (they don’t want to put their name behind a band that doesn’t have their shit together), and to make certain that you are all on the same page.

If you happen to find yourself in a situation in which you are randomly approached by a label outside of one of these ads, to smoke out any potential rats, make sure you ask the following questions:
1) Do you have a website?
2) How long have you been in business?
3) Do you have client references?
4) How many people do you represent?
5) What types of opportunities do you offer? What are your commission rates?
6) Are you registered with the Better Business Bureau or any other consumer protection agencies?

*On the other side of things, if you happen to fall victim to one of these shady dealings, (hopefully not after reading this article), both the Artists’ Legal Advice Services (416-367-2527) & Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Business Services (1-800-889-9768) can offer you advice, and even pro-bono court representation to right the wrongs committed against you.*

The Party Favour
Much to my chagrin, I recently discovered that this was in fact a scam through an online forum while doing research for this piece. Admittedly, another one, for which I was almost taken, “the party favour” offers your band what seems, at first, a simple request on the behalf of a devout fan.

Initiating his/her correspondence with abundant flattery, the party favour scammer begins by requesting the services of your act as paid special guest performers at an upcoming large catered affair for his/her significant other as you are their all-time favourite band. So far, so good, but wait, they’re from the UK and you’re stuck here in London, Ontario – you think to yourself, they must have made a mistake. Continuing with correspondence, you offer clarification on your location to ensure that they know you are not, in fact, from London, England.

The scammer responds by stating that (s)he is indeed aware of your international location, but not to worry, (s)he will make all of the necessary arrangements for your (and your equipment’s) safe arrival and departure, accommodations and food will be provided, and you will be sent a cash advance to cover your expenses upon confirmation. Wow, sounds like a pretty sweet deal? You get to travel to another country, free of charge, just to play a quick set at a fan’s birthday bash. I hope you’re thinking at this point that there must be a catch, because there most certainly is.

Not to imply that your band may not be worth all of this trouble, but we’re talking a pretty good chunk of change here, and I’d have to wonder, if the party planner is as wealthy as (s)he appears to be, why wouldn’t (s)he just hire a professional DJ or entertainment troupe from his/her district or for that matter take his/her spouse out to a major concert event and get backstage passes? I know, I know, you’re their FAVOURITE act, but if that’s so, then why is this the FIRST time you’ve ever been contacted by this person – they have no record of previously buying merchandise from you, nor have you ever played or promoted your act in their area. It’s possible that they discovered you online, but to say that you are their favourite act without ever having seen you perform previously, seems a little strange to me – what if, for that matter, you’re a really shitty live act (let’s face it, producers do a lot more than they are given credit for) or worse yet, as there is no previously established relationship, couldn’t you pretty much just take the money from the cash advance and run? Granted people are generally more trustworthy than they should be, but when it comes to cash, I doubt someone would be stupid enough to invest that much money without some sort of guarantee.

So what’s the catch? Well 1) if they are making all of the travel arrangements, they will require copies of all of your band members’ IDs (I hope the identity theft lightbulb just went off in your head) 2) The cash advance that you will be sent will mysteriously be made out for more than your agreed upon fee and the party planner will insist to make it your duty to cash the credit note at your bank (you just gave him your account information unknowingly), and to reimburse the over-drafted amount to another previously unmentioned individual who is taking part in the party preparations (you just completed a money laundering transaction for the party planner, good for you!)

Aside from the fact that you could end up being indicted for participating in a federal offense, you also just gave away your identity. At this point, the party scammer could create a series of fake IDs based on your details and continue to commit criminal acts, or if you really get off the hook, (s)he could proclaim your death! Oh, what fun!

Warning Signs: To avoid ending up crying at someone else’s party, I suggest you avoid any party favour invites that resemble the following:
1) The party planner is from a far-off location and remarkably, all of your expenses are being offered to be paid for upfront.
2) You nor have any of your band mates previously been contacted by this individual. Most devout fans that want you to make special appearances at their personal engagements will speak to you quite regularly, and establish a relationship with your band as a loyal fan.
3) You cannot book any of your own travel arrangements
4) The promised bank note or cheque arrives made out to you in excess of the agreed upon fee for your services. IMMEDIATELY, return this money and do not try to cash it. In the best case scenario of this scam, the bank note is fraudulent and the money doesn’t actually exist. Because it takes banks about a week to process international money orders and because you are already an established regular banker, you will be granted the sum before the pending transaction has been authorized based on your credit. About a week later, the bank will notice that the credit note was denied, and in that case, you will not only be responsible for repaying back all of the money + a fee for the “bounced” transaction, additionally, you’ll have a lot of explaining to do to the local authorities as to why a fraudulent bank note was in your possession.

The Fan Swag Grab
I’m especially fond of this particular tactic (more sarcasm) in which a supposed young child makes a request on behalf of their dying and/or disabled parent for either a free copy of your act’s album or complimentary merchandise because it is the only thing that will apparently ease their parent’s aliment. Don’t get me wrong, I value my band’s fans a great deal, and go to great efforts to ensure that they are happy and satisfied with our products, but at the same time, if I honoured every request for free merchandise, I’d be so far indebt that my band would NO longer be able to produce any new swag, thereby defeating the purpose of having merch at all.

Merch, for bands, is our lifeblood – aside from its obvious promotional value, the profits generated from it are used to provide bands with essentials that they cannot afford to lose including food, travel, and recording money. If bands give everything away for free, they can, as it were, no longer exist.

As I do not feel it is fair to treat one fan more favourably than another (not to mention this will likely result in your act LOSING fans), in this instance, I really must promote an “all or none” mentality.

Regarding the kid, and his/her sick parent - After almost falling for this ploy in which I decided, prior to sending anything, to check out the customs laws pertaining to the destination territory, I discovered that the request (in my case for t-shirts) was actually an illegal dealing in which, if I were to send the merchandise, I could end up implicated in a crime! Now I know this seems a little far fetched, but I advise you, if you ever receive a request for free merch from a supposed fan to research the mailing/custom laws regarding the territory to which they expect you to send the package (this information can easily be obtained through your national post office's website).

If, as it was in my case, the destination address has a long list of items that are NOT legally allowed to be imported into the country through personal mail such as cds, and t-shirts, I would hope at this point the little red flag in your head has come out to slap you in the face.

On the plus side of things, the rationale as to why these importing/exporting laws were developed in the first place was to diminish the amount of illegally mass-produced products being sold on the blackmarket. Remember, all it takes is one copy of your album, and/or t-shirt in their possession to use as a “model”, and then these con artists have the ability to produce as many blackmarket copies as they want depriving you of any potential profits.

The success of this scam is dependent upon the fact that most of us (at least those of us with half a heart) will feel pathos for this child and his/her ill parent, and so, without question, we will send our products for free. I get that – hell – I almost fell for it too! But I urge you to be wary when it comes to peculiar requests such as these, as the likelihood of them being sincere is unfortunately not in your favour.

Warning Signs: If you receive an urgent request for free merchandise from a so-called “loyal” fan, your suspicious should become aroused if you notice any of the following details:
1) You’ve never directly met this person and/or played or received promotion in their territory (How would they have heard of you?)
2) If the letter is not directed personally to either your band’s name, management company, and/or name of your band leader (It’s likely a mass emailed form letter)
3) If the letter contains a sympathy provoking story that explains your merchandise is somehow essential to the success of their “dying” and/or “sick” relative
4) Most obviously, the very fact that a so-called loyal fan is not willing to pay for your merchandise should be a cause of your immediate concern. Would you ever demand free merchandise from one of your favourite artists? I know I wouldn’t – I’m proud to support them!

One Final Note on Scam-Related Incidences
Although the following anecdote outlines a situation which would not be considered a scam, it is still something to which I would like to draw your attention. Most bands, like my own, scour the internet looking for hundreds of various websites on which we can create bandpages and hopefully gain new fans. Usually these websites have terms of service agreements which you are required to read prior to initiating membership. Because these terms of service tend to be lengthy and composed of unintelligible legal jargon, the whole reading process is generally skipped, as we assume there is nothing these websites can really do with any of our personal information or band-related materials. WRONG!

Upon initiation of these memberships, you are legally bound to these terms of service, regardless of whether you’ve read them or not, and unfortunately I am ashamed to disclose a situation in which this came back to bite me in the ass.

Seeing as I have literally signed my band up on hundreds of sites without having any problems in the past, I assumed stupidly that all of these terms of service agreements must be pretty standard and nothing harmful towards my band could occur as the result of any acceptance of membership. Well, early last year, it came to my attention that one of these websites (which is associated with a well-known Canadian newspaper) used my band’s likeness in a large promotional print ad campaign in order to promote their services, WITHOUT our permission and WITHOUT crediting us as the artist depicted or our photographer.

Now yes, this could be considered free promotion, but because our band name was not even listed in the caption, I’m sure many people got the impression that it was just a bought stock photo illustrating a fictional band. We got absolutely nothing out of this ad, while the company had much to gain.

After bringing this matter to the attention of the editor of the website (and newspaper), I was informed that the website’s terms of service agreement detailed that the music and/or likeness of any artist members could be used at the sole discretion of the company for any promotional purposes, at any time, without crediting the original source. I continued to pursue this matter as far as I could, but because I signed the user agreement, it was assumed that I read it, and any resulting consequences that arose due to my lack of reading were my fault entirely. Evidently, there was nothing I could do about it, and this was a situation in which I sadly had to admit defeat - just a little “food for thought” for the next time you sign up on a site like Garageband or Mp3.com.

In conclusion, I hope I have not dampened your spirits too much by relaying the music industry’s unprecedented number of scams, but on the other hand, I hope that I’ve gotten your attention, and have demonstrated just how dirty this business can be. I cannot stress it enough – this is not a place for little fish as you are greatly outnumbered by sharks.

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry is the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.

Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/