Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with musicindustry

Hope I keep playing before I get old...

Slarty Bartfast — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 22:27:14 -0800

Looking for general advice about finding my band gigs at small local venues. I've been playing music publicly for most of my life, but have never had to cold call a club. It was either a friend's band asked us to play or someone threw a house party or we personally knew the booker. As life moves on and gets busier and people have children, I have less time for going out and socializing and working the network. Opportunities for playing are evaporating.

Some people might call this "getting old" but I think my current band isn't bad and I would like to keep it going but we're losing some momentum. I think regular gigging would help.

We have about 2 hours of original material, a few covers, six reasonable demo recordings, we have a band page and are on Facebook. We have about a dozen gigs under our belt at various dive bars. We typically draw about 30 of our friends to our shows.

We would like to play music venues and bars within the city limits of a major urban center with a vibrant music scene. I don't want to look like a doofus newbie when I approach the booking people for these places. Do we really need a press kit? Glossy photos? Bio? Our own website or a burned CD to hand off? Business card? Or is it just enough to say: here's our band name, check out our facebook page.

I'm prepared for rejection and having to hustle a bit, but I don't want to come off like some uptight asshole who thinks he's the next Bono.

Was Matthew Sweet's Girlfriend Album Nearly Thrown Out By the Record Company?

AgentRocket — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:34:28 -0800

Is it true that Matthew Sweet's Girlfriend album was rescued from the trash and/or "discovered" by a record label administrative assistant? I love Matthew Sweet and his Girlfriend album has since the first time I listened to it been on my top 5 all time records.

A friend and I were recently discussing the record and its sheer brilliance and he said "did you know that it almost didn't get released?" And he went on to tell a too-good-to-be-true story about how Matthew Sweet had recorded this record and sent it in, almost fully formed, to the label. But whoever was evaluating it just kind of dismissed it and put the tape on the pile to get junked. But by pure chance an administrative assistant took it from the pile, popped it in at her desk, and loved it. She listened to it all the time, and one day a label executive walking by stopped to listen for a minute and said "hey that's great stuff." The record was thus "rediscovered" by the label, polished up, and released. The rest is history.

I doubt that this story is true, but it was so specific and wonderful that I hope it is. And I wouldn't put it past a record company to miss on a record like that. But Google doesn't turn up much of anything about the genesis of the record.

Does anyone know of an account of how Girlfriend was recorded, reviewed/received by the label, and released?

Who are your favorite pop songwriters that don't perform their own songs?

Lutoslawski — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:27:39 -0800

Who are the greatest behind-the-scenes songwriters/producers? Give me your favorites! Ideally, I'm looking for two things:

1) Just a list of the great pop/r&b/etc. songwriters and producers - people who write and produce songs that other artists record and perform. I want the people who you'd only find if you took the time to look at the credits in the liner notes of Top 40 type songs, and ideally I'd like the really good ones. I know of some of the really big ones - Diane Warren as a songwriter, Nigel Godrich or Quincy Jones as producers. Who are the others?

2) Is there a way I can, without just researching and buying all the songs separately, listen to compiled playlists of 'songs by x' that are not one lesser-known artist doing a retrospective but actually include the original recordings of the songs? I.e. a Diane Warren playlist that had Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Madonna, Beyonce, Areosmith, etc. I'd like to get a sense of the writing styles of good songwriters across the disparity of the differences in performers who record them. What would be the best way to do this? Do any of the internet radio stations do this?

Thanks AskMe!

Rock & Roll Reading List

unsub — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 09:14:33 -0800

What is it really like to be in a band? Please recommend reading material! I am looking for books or blogs which capture the actual experience of being in a band. These could be nonfiction or fiction (or even documentary films), so long as they are authentic and detailed - the more jargon and minutiae the better. I am less interested in stories about wild rock star parties and more interested in things like: What is it like to write songs collaboratively and record them in a studio? How are disagreements resolved? What is it like to be on tour for months at a time? What is it like to be an opening act performing for a tiny, uninterested audience? What would the typical business arrangements be when a (non-superstar) group books a show at a venue? What are interactions with fans like? (Obviously everyone's experience is different - I am not expecting The One Answer to any of those questions.)

I am most interested in the indie rock scene, but am happy to read about musicians in other genres if they have some similarity. Thanks very much!

Blacklist for Radio DJs?

dunkadunc — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 08:58:38 -0800

Music Industry question: Is there such a thing as a "Do-Not-Send-Download Links-or-Free-CDs" blacklist for radio DJs? Many Details Within. My dad has a show at a local radio station. The music director at said station doesn't really have the time to solicit the kinds of music my dad is interested in playing on his show, so he's had to write to record companies himself, saying that he's a DJ at ($radio station) and asking whether they have any music they'd like him to play. For what it's worth, he mainly plays stuff from small European labels and he's always been very straight-up about who he is, including the radio station's address as well as his own, etc.

Anyway! He writes one small label in England and asks for music to play on his show. Except that it turns out to not be a small label, but a division of a very large one. That record label gets in contact with the music director at the radio station, going "Are you aware one of your DJs is pretending to be the music director to get free CDs?". Dad gets a phone call, everything gets straightened out, the station people realize he wasn't pretending to be music director. All good, right?

Ah! But now, when he tries to solicit material for his show, he's been having a very hard time getting any responses, even getting links for downloads he can burn and play himself. The question now is, is there a music industry blacklist that lists people who are somehow suspected of some hanky-panky and are Not To Be Sent Music?

Does 50K a verse pay for anything beyond bandwidth?

kittyprecious — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 07:02:59 -0800

I'm in my early 30s and somehow I have completely lost the pop zeitgeist. Is there something on the web that explains how the U.S. music industry (especially with respect to hip hop, and even more especially re Nicki Minaj) works nowadays? So I'm making an attempt to reconnect with pop culture after having my radio dial pretty much permanently affixed to NPR for the past couple of years. The other day I was reading the AV Club's This Was Pop and I discovered that (a) somehow Kanye West has already released three singles for an album that hasn't come out yet and (b) by extension one of his collaborators, Nicki Minaj (whom I've only vaguely heard about through more plugged-in people) somehow already has seven singles in the Billboard Top 200 and her debut album is just now coming out. According to the Billboard website, she's already had 32 songs released in various formats, which is just...a lot.

I think I understand mixtapes--they're basically entire promotional albums with less production than a standard release--but I'm kind of curious about the economics of it all. After all the hullabaloo about file-sharing a few years ago, it looks like the response now is for some artists just to flood the market with material to get attention. But how does anyone make money? Is it just digital downloads, concerts, merchandise? Am I missing something?

Should a band go to SXSW at all costs?

terrortubby — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 15:09:22 -0800

Band is invited to play SXSW, it's a pricey proposition from England. Should they go? If so how do they make the most of it? Their record label will not stump the cash but is happy for them to go. They are on the fence because of the expense. Should they beg and borrow the money to go? How would they get the most out of it for their long-term career?

How to go from a little girl with a guitar to a professional?

lhude sing cuccu — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:17:31 -0800

No one tells you how to be a musician in high school. What should I be doing? I feel like playing open mics and blindly sending out demos isn't the right way to do it. I can't even play at bars because I'm under 21. Any advice? So, I am only 18 but you don't stay 18 forever. David Bowie was releasing records with Decca when he was 17, and this haunts me every day. (David Bowie is kind of my template...the only part that's working so far is starting out solo and acoustic.)
I moved to Chicago when I was 17 because I wanted to get out of my town (Roanoke, VA) and network and become a musician. I ended up just making a long list of venues I could theoretically play at...when I'm 21 and with a backing band! I ended up doing nothing in Chicago, really. I met someone who started his own record label but nothing materialised, and I started kind of bands with a few people...but that never works out.

I grew up teaching myself about the music industry with outdated books from the library, and when I realised you can't just send a cassette and a picture to major labels to solve all your problems, my world just crashed. I can't keep up wih technology fast enough to know which path is the professional one, and which leads to being some hack in my room posting my songs online to an audience of 5.

So, it's just me, a little girl with a guitar, who aspires to be someone important. I've decided to put aside all my anxieties ("I get sick too often to tour!" "I need stable relationships too much!") and just try it, or hate myself forever. I've moved back from Chicago, and I plan to start getting credits in theatre, education, and/or French, but I don't know what I'd do with that degree. Then I want to move to Portland, OR (I've already started that venue list) and play open mics, any all-ages venues...alone, with my electric guitar and maybe a tape player...and ask around for a manager/agent.
This seems wrong. I've got a lo-tech website, and I could record a real demo if I wanted. But it all seems pointless and not right.

Any advice from musicians or other creative-types on what I should be doing? I know I'd need a "real" job, but the only other thing I want to do long-term would be working in theatre, but everyone knows that's just as bad a business. I have these ridiculous ideas on how to incorporate theatre into my music shows that don't exist yet, but I can't really do much, just me and my guitar, to really set me apart. I also like, and want to write, the kind of music no one else is really into but old men (who I don't really feel so good about working with, frankly). So I'm sort of just assuming the only way I will find anyone wanting to play with me is by just playing places and hanging out afterwards. I'm not really naturally extroverted either, so I'm not a big networker. But I have no idea how to start on that, either. ("Hey, stranger, do you know anyone who can help me with publicity?") I could put up my own 11x17 posters to my own little low-key solo performances and hope for the best, but that just seems sad.

I work best with concrete lists, and the world of music is anything but concrete, so anything resembling a list would be marvellous!

Pop idle

hnnrs — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 05:57:55 -0800

Apologies in advance, this is a question about the X-Factor For the non-Brits amongst you, the X-Factor is the UK equivalent of American Idol (AFAIK). Last Saturday saw the final episode of the show, which was the first one I'd watched of this series (honest!).

In the final, there were three, um, finallists. The winner gets their song released and a proper recording contract and a life of fame (probably). The final is apparently live, and the public get to vote for the winner. And the winner gets their CD single released in the shops on the Monday after the show's been broadcast.

The CD single is said to be a guaranteed UK Christmas number one, selling at least a million copies.

So, there are 35 hours between the winner being revealed on Saturday evening and one million copies of the CD hitting the shops on Monday morning. Is it possible to manufacture and distribute one million CDs in that time period? Or do they manufacture three million CDs and only distribute the winners?

Apologies for the banality of the question, it's just puzzling me quite a bit. And I've tried searching the net for an answer, to no avail.

Getting into the music management industry without experience.

junesix — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 20:40:11 -0800

My friend is interested in getting into the music management industry without experience. She's talked with a professional artist who's suggested A&R would probably fit her skills/interests. Questions are 1) what's the best route for a 26-year old to get into this field, 2) what should she know before attempting to break into music management, 3) are there resources out there she can read and explore, and 4) are there other great indie labels out there in the vein of Barsuk and Subpop that would hire someone without formal education/experience?

Do you have experience jobseeking in the UK Music Industry?

snailer — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 11:02:56 -0800

please help me help my girlfriend get a job in the UK music industry my lovely girlfriend has left me and gone to london to try get a job in the music industry. she has a BTEC Merit diploma in music management and also ran a non-profit royalty collection agency for 2 years, as well as other band promotion type stuff.

i wonder are there any fellow mefites who have experience in this area? she isn't going into this for the "star-struck / celebrity" aspect of it, rather a serious job that pays well (£28k+), with career advancement

any info on recruitment agencies specialising in this area is welcome. bonus points (6!) for any closet record label bigshots lurking here, willing to give out jobs!

many thanks snail

Where can I find the most comprehensive attacks on RIAA/DRM/Music Industry

Lockeownzj00 — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 18:42:41 -0800

What are the most frank, telling criticisms of issues like RIAA/DRM/Music Industry that you've read before? It can be 'heard' before too. All I'm looking for is essays, books, websites...I read about the issue all the time, and can say I know a fair bit about it, but I really need to concretely acquaint myself with it. Most accurate, most fact-checkable, most well-written treatises, really.

Though I doubt it will get answered as often in the replies (my follow-ups never seem to), I ask the same question about the War in Iraq and the Bush Administration--same idea; been reading critiques and such since it all started, but I want a really good...symposium I suppose.

PS: Though I know a few, websites for news and updates would be useful as well.

sorry, we have detected you live in another licensing area

funambulist — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 14:47:05 -0800

I'd like to understand more about how music licensing works (especially for online music downloads, which seems particularly maddening), how it relates to traditional pre-internet music licensing, and if there's any chance the system may change in the near future. The question popped up after reading this other question, but I'd wanted to ask this for a while.

I have read some articles related to the issues for licensing music worldwide through downloads systems, but there is a lot I still don't know and don't get, so I'd appreciate any explanations or pointers to resources, articles, and such. Please bear with me as I am largely ignorant on the matter, I only know each country has its own copyright/licensing authority, beside its own taxes on music sales and such.

What I don't understand is exactly why you can order a CD (or vynil or any other format) from any country regardless of where you reside (whether or not you'll have to pay import duties and taxes), but you can't for instance access Rhapsody from outside the US, or download certain albums or tracks from a subscription service like Emusic, or buy music from the US iTunes Music store if you're not in the US, or from the UK store if you're in the US, and so on - and you can't even buy from, say, the French store if you're not in France, even if you're still in the EU. It doesn't seem to make much sense from a customer point of view.

I do know it has to do with that fact the licensing is on a national basis, but then why is that not a problem for music on physical media? Or is it, in some way I'm not aware of?

Also, is there any indication of plans to merge different national licensing systems at global level? Commercial interests? Legal obstacles? Practical feasibility?

Basically anything you can tell me on the topic, I'd be very interested. Thanks in advance.

Why are CD/DVD releases always on Tuesday?

clgregor — Tue, 07 Jun 2005 08:57:58 -0800

They're talking today about "Super CD Tuesday" on MSNBC...Why are CD/DVD releases always on Tuesday?

How much does it cost to release an album that's already been recorded?

nebulawindphone — Thu, 17 Mar 2005 20:43:10 -0800

How much does it cost to release an album that's already been recorded? The question occurred to me thanks to the recent kerfuffle over Fiona Apple's album. If people are willing to buy it, why aren't they selling it? Is there a minimum number of copies they'd need to sell to break even? (Or will low sales figures end up making them look bad? Or what?)

Demo Tape Policies

soundofsuburbia — Thu, 02 Sep 2004 04:03:12 -0800

Have you come across any funny demo policies lately? [more inside] I'm thinking of policies along the lines of those used by Rhino:

Does Rhino Accept Demos?
Rhino is a reissue label. If you want us to release your CD, follow these
easy steps: 1. Make a demo.
2. Get that demo heard by a new-artist-focused record company.
3. Record a really good, chart-topping album for a company that has, or will
have, a good relationship with Rhino.
4. Sell lots of copies and grow your fan base.
5. Release more albums (optional).
6. Have your record go out of print (generally an automatic function of
time).
7. Sit back and watch your songs appear on award-winning Rhino compilations
and maybe even have your albums reissued by us!

And VHF:

Q: Do you accept demo tapes?
A: Sure, but before you send it, you should understand our demo audition process (this is all totally serious). First, your package is examined at the post office while I'm standing over the trash can - this is to weed out punk rock stuff (probably not you, since you're reading this and will know we're not a harDCore label). Demos which make it out of the post office are transferred to our DEMO STAGING AREA (the back sear of my car). Demos in the staging area typically age for 3-4 weeks until either a) a hideous traffic jam on the way to work inspires me to root around to see what's back there or b) they roll off the back seat and under the passenger seat, where our trusty Honda's lousy alignment will cause them to creep forward over a period of weeks. In the case of b), these demos are usually lost until stepped on by a passenger, who may throw it in the deck. Sometimes this person is VVGG, and he doesn't like anything. After I listen to your demo, I put it on the front seat, intending to take it into the office and dash off an email to you. Sometimes packages in the note-to-be-emailed stash slip thru this weird gap in between the seat base and seat back and end up on the floor, where they are usually banished to the fate described in b) above. Finally your demo enters the hallowed sancutary of my crappy office in Clarendon, where in approximately 10% of cases I will actually get around to drafting a polite email to you. You should know that in spite of your efforts, we have not done any (0, none, zero) releases as the result of unsolicited demos. Some of your demos are really good, but it's just not that kind of label. It's nothing personal.