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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | Ralph Alfonso <ralph@nettwerk.com> |
| Subject | can $5000 buy you happiness? |
| Date | Wed, 19 Feb 2003 13:02:24 -0800 |
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>Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 16:14:26 -0500
>From: Mike Nicholson <mnick@nc.rr.com>
>To: audities@smoe.org
>Subject: Re: Here's the Low Down on Owsley
>Message-ID: <0ecd32512211223FE5@mail5.nc.rr.com>
>
>Oh crimony!
>
>Gimme a frickin' break.
>
>I find it totally silly that people can't make records for under five
>figures. When I hear about what labels spend on high profile acts it
>makes me sick to my stomach.
>
>Gimme $5000 and a good band and I can make you a frickin' GREAT master
>with Mitch Easter or Wes Lachot, no less.
>
>Get real, go indy. Enjoy your life.
>
>M
>
wow! THAT much??? :)
Actually, if you took that $5000 to Canada you'd actually have about
$7700 Canadian dollars... an interesting
option for the adventurous, especially if you're close to the border.
lots of great small studios up
here willing to cut deals. A $60 an hour studio up here is actually
almost half in US dollars.
Toss in a co-write with a Canadian musician & you can qualify for
Canadian content and potential
Canadian radio play (only if the song's any good and college play only).
If you're a solo act, the savings are even better as any session cats
are paid in Canadian dollars or
you hook up with a cool Canadian band. Hotels, everything is about
40% off (think of the used record store feeding frenzy).
The big label situation is good and bad. Good if you have a real
manager (ie: track record/other acts) and are a real musician with a
real band that is working and can be sent anywhere/anytime (free
radio station shows, etc).
The level of debt is tremendous as advances may come in from
management (still owed even if you part ways) and the label (usually
forgiven if you get dropped). A hit record or continuos road work is
needed to get over that hump.
Not good if you're a basement guy that hardly plays live. Even Brian
Wilson had to log the road miles. Not good if you're a part-time
musician. The major label window of opportunity is very brief...
you're either out the gate running or the next guy behind you is.
There's a lot of stuff the "cool" A&R guy wining and dining you has
no clue about himself (as he was in the mail room last week). When it
all comes together, it's quite the process to see this giant
international machine propel your life into outer space... however,
once you've been at the major label trough, it is really hard to
shake some of that attitude away. I call it "70s syndrome" as a lot
of 70s guys from major bands have it.
Sometimes, the comfort/stress level is best with a smaller label or
your own label. You can grow as required and
can hang in for a longer haul. It's a tougher go, but you are in a
better negotiating position should a great opportunity come along
(major label distribution, for example). I've worked at indie labels,
major labels, management... I can tell you, it's so much better when
you run your own show and acts on your label actually WANT
to be with you. As a musician, i know that because I'm not at it
100%, my success will be slower, but until that big bag of money
falls on my head... the day job funds it all :)
I just realized I may have rambled around, but basically you can do
great stuff for CHEAP. All those great 60s hits were mostly 4-track &
banged out in a three hour session (A side, B-side and maybe another
track). It's all a bit more complicated (I didn't even talk about
indie promotion that the big labels have to hire), but the major
label deal can actually be bad for you if you're not prepared and
have the infra-structure for it.
Ralph
Dig that crazy Bongo Beat!
Visit my web site
Http://www.bongobeat.com
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