Rebecca Rienks is the music supervisor at E! Entertainment. A lifelong music fan, Rebecca interned at a variety of companies and venues while she was attending  Thornton School of Music at USC, including Interscope Records, Capitol Records and The Roxy. After graduation, she got a position as the assistant to the president of the music department at Lionsgate Films, where she worked on many film and television projects, such as the Leonard Cohen documentary I’m Your Man, Crash, The Devil’s Rejects and the first Saw film. She then helped launch an independent boutique music supervision firm called Creative Control, where she was the senior creative director for five and a half years. She has been at E! since 2011.

I talked to Rebecca about her responsibilities and experiences as a music supervisor at a major cable network and how artists can prepare their music to pitch to film and television. She also shared some critical advice for musicians that want to get their music heard by the gatekeepers at film studios and television networks.

Musician Coaching:

Thanks so much for taking some time to chat, Rebecca. How did you get started in the music business?

RR:

I graduated from the Thornton School of Music at USC. I was in the music business program there for about two and a half years as a transfer student. During my time there, I took a lot of different jobs and internships so I would have a lot of great experience and be in a good position getting out of school. I interned at places like Interscope and Capitol in the A&R department. I also worked in the club office and in ticketing at The Roxy.

Then, when I graduated, one of my professors hooked me up with the executive at Lionsgate Films. I interviewed to be the assistant to the president of the music department there and got the job. I was there for about two and a half years, and I worked on a lot of great projects, like the Leonard Cohen documentary I’m Your Man, Crash and the accompanying Oscar® campaign. I also worked on Rob Zombie’s The Devil’s Rejects, the first Saw movie, a bunch of indie films and a lot of television shows. It was a time when that studio was much smaller. It is still independent these days, but it was at a different level during that time. There were only three people in the entire music department running everything.

That was a great job to have as a launching pad out of school. But it wasn’t as if I had aimed to go into film music. This was around 2004, and music supervision wasn’t the kind of thing that everybody talks about like they do now. It was essentially just a job that, when I got out of school, I took to really well. I had a really great rapport with the head of the department. When he finally decided he wanted to leave and move onto other things  after having been at Trimark, Artisan and Lionsgate for over a decade, I ended up leaving and going with him. We launched a company together called Creative Control.

We continued to work together under the independent supervision banner of Creative Control for the better part of five or so years. Only in the last year have I moved over to doing more TV.I am now the music executive/music supervisor for E! Entertainment. I oversee music concerns for the entire channel. The way we divvy things up on the cable end of the spectrum is that each person oversees basically an entire channel. So, I oversee all music concerns for E!, including promos for E! itself and the Style Network. I also handle music publishing concerns for several of our cable channels. And I oversee our work with Ryan Seacrest Productions and the team that does all our red carpet events for the Oscars, Emmys, BAFTAs, Grammys and everything else.

Musician Coaching:

And does that also involve talent wrangling?

RR:

Yes and no. Essentially, we liaise with the live events team and the talent department to coordinate all the music you hear on our red carpet specials, including live music and any interstitial music that needs to be licensed or scored. It’s music supervision, but there is a talent aspect if we need to coordinate with an artist to do something live on the red carpet. It’s essentially a 360-degree job of music concerns as it relates to the E! channel.

Musician Coaching:

You mentioned you work with two different types of music. Could you estimate which percentage flowing through your hands is music that is specifically written for something on the network, and which percentage is licensed?

RR:

It really just depends on the program and the timeline. I come out of the sensibility of, “If we have this very specific need we have to fulfill, why not hire someone to create an asset for us that we can A&R from the ground up, so we get exactly what we want?” Otherwise, we have to search high and low for something that is possibly putting a square peg in a round hole. So, again, it really just depends.

There are instances where it makes sense for us to license whatever the hot pop track is now, or music from some kind of heat-seeking band that deserves coverage on a network like ours that is obviously focused on pop culture. Then there are times we need something to fit the sound and the style and the vibe, but we can’t afford Nicki Minaj or Katy Perry. So, we get somebody to come in  and create what we need.

I’d actually say it’s pretty much 50/50, because I do also help people find and secure composers for our shows, for theme song opportunities and promo music we need created. But obviously as a pop culture channel, we do a lot of licensing of pop music and Billboard-friendly music.

Musician Coaching:

I want to talk to you about licensing, because that’s obviously an incredibly important topic among aspiring musicians. But first, I’m assuming you work repeatedly with a lot of the same firms – those composition houses, etc. that create music for you regularly.

RR:

I wouldn’t say we go back to any one well in particular. Personally, I don’t often engage composition houses to do that sort of thing, because they are just entities with staff composers that turn stuff out all the time. While there is obviously a place for that, and I would never say I don’t use that kind of material or wouldn’t work with entities of that nature, I just prefer to work on an “artist” level. My background involved being in the music school and knowing a lot of people who were composers, musicians and in bands. So, I prefer to turn to the people that I know are accomplished musicians in a band, composers I went to school with that were in the composition department, or some great DJ I know that can do electronic music but is a DJ in Las Vegas. I prefer to turn to people on a personal level, rather than turn to companies that do this type of music as their specialty. And that’s a personal choice.

Musician Coaching:

That’s great to know. Most of my experience with music supervisors is with the advertising side. I know those guys go back to music houses quite often.

RR:

Yes. I would imagine that’s a majority of those kinds of companies’ business.

Musician Coaching:

Yes. Overwhelmingly so. And that music is also overwhelmingly instrumental.

Let’s talk about the best way of getting your attention. I always tell people that it’s a very difficult thing for an artist with one, two, three or even ten albums to call up a music supervisor. My joke is always, “Hang on. I have to put you on hold, because I have Sony on the other line, and they have all of Western music.”

You’ve come up in the music business and have been at this for a while. If the roles were reversed, and you were a musician or a composer, how would you get through to people like you?

RR:

Like you said, it’s very tough. And it’s even more difficult when you’re an indie and are selling yourself. That’s why I personally think to gain traction, the best thing to do is to use an established pitch house to work your material. Because, those are the companies and people that are going to have an ongoing rapport with people like me, who will be looking for a great aggregator source that can funnel things, because I can depend on their sound and quality level. There are a bunch of pitch houses I turn to on a regular basis that represent indie labels, one-off individual artists. They all have their own process for how they vet and take on new clients.

That in and of itself is hard enough, because obviously companies like that have a huge roster of things they’re working. And there’s a lot to dig through with companies like Bank Robber, Terrorbird, Zync – I could go on and on.

Musician Coaching:

Would you deem the ones you just named reputable?

RR:

Yes. For sure. It’s hard enough to gain the ear of someone in my shoes even going through those kinds of channels. But it’s much harder as an indie artist repping yourself and trying to make inroads. Because even if somebody like me has the best of intentions of seeking out and working with indie artists and keeping that door open, I’m still just constantly being inundated with material. And even with the best of intentions, I could never chip away at it all.

Musician Coaching:

I was an A&R guy. You often feel like you’re sitting behind a desk where dreams go to die. That’s why I am no longer in A&R, because I couldn’t stand that my job was to destroy people’s dreams.

RR:

And I know how that feels. That’s what I always try not to do. I’m very much a music fan. I come out of the indie world and grew up with friends in bands. I know how hard it is to tread that path. I have the best of intentions. Unfortunately, you can only “Paula Abdul” things so much. I try to be encouraging and present a positive picture for indie artists, while still giving them the honest nuts and bolts. But at the end of the day it’s a hard road.

Musician Coaching:

It’s very important that artists put things into perspective. And you want to be cordial and nice as a gatekeeper. But sometimes that can make people think they have an “in” with you. So, you want to be nice, but you can’t be too nice. It’s a strange thing, and it’s a hard thing to communicate that to people who are asking, “Well, isn’t your job to be nice?”

RR:

And as an artist, you’re one out of hundreds. Even if I have the best of intentions to listen, it’s physically impossible to listen to everything. I try and be encouraging with a huge, huge, huge dose of realism.

Musician Coaching:

And people are going to continue to try. And they should. So, what do you look for in regards to the presentation? Are there “do”s and “don’t”s when it comes to the make-up of the solicitation email, the packaging, etc.?

RR:

The biggest turnoff is somebody who doesn’t have their own business and affairs in order. If you can’t be learned about the fundamentals of how to license your material to a supervisor, there are plenty of people who will not give you the time of day. It is not my job to teach you how to handle the business of your art. So, if I get something from somebody and talk to them, then realize they don’t understand anything about the concept of the ownership issues surrounding what they created – their own music publishing, whether or not they have co-writers, whether or not they’ve figured out their splits, all those nuts and bolts – unless I feel that I’ve found lightning in a bottle with an artist, I’m not compelled to go through the process of shepherding someone through the film and TV world. At the end of the day, everybody needs to be educated about how to manage their own art, even if they’re not trying to make inroads in the film and TV world. You need to understand the basics of how to exploit your music for your own betterment.

If you want to talk about specifics of presentation, so many of them are logical to me. Think about if you were on the flip side of the equation and were the person that was being inundated with music. The sheer volume of music that is coming into you via email with digital links and downloads, etc. – “Download this. Stream this. Click on this blog.” – is astounding. If you were in that boat, what would be the things that would make it difficult or undesirable for you to check something  out? I’ve realized more and more that people don’t necessarily think about it that way.

If I’m going to get things digitally, I prefer the music to be sent to me via streaming links with the option to download. If I do find something interesting and go the extra mile to download it, I end up looking later in my downloads folder and have 300 things in zip files I haven’t even unzipped yet that I’m, in theory going to go through. Even with the best intentions, it’s a lot to chip away at. But if someone sends me a streaming link, I’m more inclined to click through, listen to it really fast, then maybe download one-off songs or a folder here and there that I think meets my needs. I’d rather not have to download a bunch of stuff that I think might not be right for me.

Musician Coaching:

When somebody comes to you – and this could be even a Terrorbird or a Bank Robber – does having a reference to other stuff you’ve placed help? It would demonstrate that people have done their homework. But is it helpful when someone says, “I see that you used this in such and such a way, and that made me think you would be the person to talk to”? Does it help if they acknowledge they know the type of material you place?

RR:

Yeah. It obviously shows someone has done their due diligence to understand what is, in theory, right for me and the channel. E! has a very specific sound and style. And we’re actually in a period where we’re trying to expand that and open it up to a wider spectrum of sound than the spectrum we’re known for. But really, we have a very ingrained sense of what our channel is and what it’s about. So, when I encounter people that send me something that’s wildly off base from the kind of programming we do and the kind of audience we have, for better or worse, it reflects on how well they really know what I’m doing. If you haven’t done your homework to sell yourself, why would I go the extra mile to wade through the 10 tracks you sent me to find one potential track that might be right?

So, to answer your question, yes, letting me know you understand the type of material I place definitely shows you’ve gone the extra mile. We all work on lots of different things, of course. But sending something that is wildly off target and saying, “This would be perfect for you” is the fast road to “file 13” – the waste basket. Because, you clearly are spamming people.

Musician Coaching:

Do you have any parting words of advice for artists?

RR:

If you’re an indie artist looking to approach film and television, I would say, first and foremost, know your business. Be educated. That’s helpful to me and to you. No one is going to look out for you more than you. So, before you even bother to try to engage with anybody on a business level, you should know your own business.

In terms of generalities of presentation, etc., we get such a cross section of material sent to us. You could dig around anywhere and find a ton of tips and tricks. And the thing that drives one person crazy could be someone else’s preferred method of reaching out. Everybody has their own little nuances of how they like to be pitched to, for lack of a better term.

That being said, there are some basic things to think about. Track listings are important. Make sure that if you’re sending someone a CD, the track titles are there. Meta data is hugely important. If I load your CD and the tracks come up as tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and there’s no artist information or contact information or album title, it’s going to have to be the next best thing for me to bother to input meta data into iTunes so I can save it. If I pop something in the CD player and it comes up with no meta data these days, I usually just toss it. And it’s an oversight that somebody is not doing their general homework.

If you’re going to submit a CD without artwork – which is fine, because there are demos and things of that nature – still include a paper track listing on the CD case. A lot of people write their information on the CD itself, which is fine. But maybe I want to make note of a track and I can’t, because the track titles are on the CD that is in the player.

Musician Coaching:

And by the sound of it, all these things happen quite frequently.

RR:

Yes. They’re rules of thumb for a reason.

There really are a ton of tips and tricks. Another one:  If you’re going to email someone a cold email, don’t send MP3s. All you’re doing is clogging my inbox. If I don’t know you and have never made contact with you before, I may or may not even open a file that you send me, because you are a complete stranger, and you may be spamming me with a virus.

If you’re going to email someone cold and suggest someone listen to your material, don’t send five-albums worth. Send your three or four top songs and let someone get acquainted with the kinds of songs you have, then reach out to you to get your last five albums. Don’t inundate somebody right off the bat if you’re trying to make an initial impression.

There are a thousand ways to go about this process. And like I said, everyone has their own way of doing things and filtering through material. It’s really interesting to see how unprofessionally some people present themselves. And I know they obviously don’t mean to do that. But you only get one opportunity to make a first impression. And when you’re competing with a bunch of other first impressions, it’s very easy for the person you’re contacting to just move on.

To learn more about Rebecca Rienks and the work she does, visit her professional website or follow her on Twitter.

This past week, the evolution of the music industry was highlighted as Village People singer/songwriter Victor Willis won a copyright battle and NARM discussed its intentions to implement better systems for tracking and analyzing sales and consumer behaviors within the music industry. Also,  top music attorney Ken Hertz spoke about why artists need to shift their focus away from the traditional record deal.

Victor Willis and Termination Rights

Former lead singer of the Village People Victor Willis became one of the first songwriters to take the rights to his music back from music publishers who had held it for 35 years this past week, when California judge Barry T. Moskowitz dismissed a suit filed by two song publishing companies, according to Billboard and The New York Times. The publishers – Can’t Stop Productions and Scorpio Music – had disputed him when he exercised the “termination rights” copyright law provision to regain control over “YMCA,” stating that he had “no right, title or interest” in their copyright. The termination rights provision allows recording artists and songwriters to take back and administer their work themselves 35 years after the song was written.

Willis wrote the lyrics to “YMCA.” and co-wrote and recorded 32 other songs with the Village People. The publishing companies laid forth one of the arguments that has been predicted by experts who have been speculating about how publishing companies will react now that many legendary 1970s artists, like Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel will be soon able to take back the rights to some of their most popular and profitable songs, arguing that Willis had just created “works for hire” while an employee of the company that managed the group. The other part of their argument was that since he was a co-writer, he could not reclaim his share of the song until the other copyright holders weighed in and agreed on the issue.

Judge Moskowitz disagreed and wrote, “The purpose of the act was to ‘safeguard authors against unremunerative transfers’ and address ‘the unequal bargaining position of authors, resulting in pat from the impossibility of determining a work’s value until it has been exploited.” He asserted that if the publishing companies’ interpretation of the law were correct, “it would be more difficult to terminate an individual grant than it would be to make it in the first place.”

“Termination rights” was added to copyright law in 1978.Therefore, many 1970s recording artists and songwriters can start to regain ownership of work they signed over early on in their careers in 2013. Recordings that have, over the years, sold millions of copies and have made millions of dollars for publishers and the four major record companies will soon be eligible to be taken back.

Despite Willis’ big win, the attorney for the plaintiff expressed confidence that while Willis regained the rights to one of his songs, it does not mean a “big victory,” as it does not dictate he will gain control of the many others he wrote. He added, “We predict that when such a determination is made there will be little change from the current status that exists today … The case, in short, is far from over.”

Willis is an interesting first example of a songwriter successfully using the termination rights provision, because the Village People did not come together naturally, rather were put together by producers and managers, with each member being given a very specific role. Willis’ lawyer said, “This is the first case that’s interpreting the statute that deals with termination rights … The significance of the ruling is that one author who gives a grant to a publishing company has the right to recapture the copyright interest he created 35 years ago regardless of what other co-authors do or don’t do, and that author gets back that which he created regardless of the income stream he agreed to over 35 years ago.”

In a written statement, Willis commented, “I’m extremely pleased with the court’s determination … And I look forward to controlling my copyright interests in 2013, as the law provides.”

How NARM Will Finally Integrate Big Data

At this year’s NARM conference earlier this week, attendees noted the increased use of “big data” terms, such as “key performance indicators” (KPI)and “regression analysis.” As Billboard reported, after years of relying on SoundScan sales numbers, the music industry now seems ready to embrace the huge amount of data that is available to them thanks to the Digital Age in order to work more efficiently and create products that will make consumers happy and satisfy the creative and monetary needs of artists and music companies.

Data in the past decade has moved beyond just CD sales and radio listening behavior. NPD Group can now track consumer purchases of concert tickets, artist merchandise, sponsored products, “listens” attached to music collections and Internet radio and users’ activity on social media sites. On May 8, Russ Crupnick of NPD gave a demonstration that even showed how Neil Young fans most like to experience their music – by listening to music they purchased and not getting the music through streaming sites – as well as which non-music products they most frequently buy. And while Nielsen tracks consumer purchases and media consumption, cutting-edge companies like Radian6 and Wiredset can track data being exchanged over social media.

However, while there is a lot of data available, experts like Ethan Kaplan, founder of Live Nation Labs and VP of product development at LiveNation.com stated that those tracking data have to be wary of data informed by “narrow experiences.” Facebook likes or music purchases wrapped up in digital rights management can produce biased data. For example, a terrible user experience might not be reflected in the data it produces. Kaplan stated that to counteract this phenomenon and others like it, ratio-based metrics like daily average users vs. monthly average users, average revenue per user and groups of users over time provide solid insight.  

The music industry has long been reluctant to adopt new methods of data tracking and analysis, an overwhelming task in the face of completely rebuilding systems that have been around for decades. Therefore experts predict there will be “growing pains” as new systems take hold. Working with the data will require training within organizations and the development of new skill sets. Those at record labels, music publishers, promoters, agents and artist management companies will have to brush up on math and be comfortable with simple statistical analysis, or else they will come up with faulty conclusions which could ultimately negatively affect sales and profitability.   

Also, getting solid partners who can actually put the data to use will be critical. Colin Willis of Next Big Sound, a company that teamed up with Sony Music to create data tools that improved reporting processes said the music business is in the early stages of adopting new strategies and have not yet started to turn big data into actual practical intelligence:  “It’s about really having the right tools around data.”

Attorney Ken Hertz, on the Artist Reality

Top music lawyer Ken Hertz (will.i.am, Will Smith and Britney Spears) was also making waves at the NARM conference on May 9 when he spoke frankly on an artist branding panel about the fallacy of traditional models of  success within the industry. He talked about the harsh near impossibility of getting a profitable record deal and why musicians need to get realistic about their career goals.

He said, “I think the reality is the following:  99.9-some odd percent of every kid in the world that wants to have a recording career won’t have one, won’t even meet someone like the people on this panel. And of the people that do meet someone and really get a shot, some fraction of a percent will have any chance of having a career.”

Hertz went onto describe the process of having a successful career as an artist as “like winning the lottery,” stating that only 95% of the people that put out records do not make a living from that.

However, his harsh tone changed – though only for a moment – when some audience members expressed discouragement and frustration:  “We all know the truth. You don’t have a chance of succeeding unless you believe in yourself. So, you have to have unbridled confidence even to have a chance to succeed. And nevertheless, when you do the math, the reality is you won’t … The fact is that the people on this panel don’t play the lottery for a living. We work for the lottery. And the reason that people play the lottery is because it’s easier to understand the prize than to understand the odds.”  

Despite his negativity, Hertz did deliver some practical advice for artists trying to brand themselves in a way that will get them noticed by important gatekeepers:  “The pitch has to include the story. You have got to gift wrap this pitch for the people you are doing this for because they have a choice. She only has so many hours to listen to this stuff, I only have so many hours in a day to listen to stuff.  In order for me to listen to something that you have, vs. what you have, I have to decide that it’s worth the time …So, my suggestion is if you’ve got a good social media story to tell, then that’s the story you should be telling. If you’ve got an artist with a voice that’s unlike any other, then play the music. Or, go out and find the money to produce a video that can have a viral success so that people will stumble onto it.”

He added that as the Internet grows and bands and artists get savvier about leveraging it, the game is getting harder to play. Artists need to do more to distinguish themselves and build their brand:  “Half-a-million hits is not a big number anymore. It’s an impressive number because it means half-a-million times, somebody clicked on it. But it is not a big number, and the tide is rising, and it’s much harder to rise above the din. And the din is getting larger all the time.”

Jason Reeves is an ASCAP award-winning singer/songwriter who, aside from successfully building a career as a DIY artist has also proven that collaboration can be incredibly powerful for artists that want to find new ways to reach fans and get their music heard. Reeves has co-written many songs, including the Billboard chart-topping “Bubbly” and “I Never Told You,” with the Grammy-award-winning  Colbie Caillat. He also wrote “The Show” with Australian pop artist Lenka and most recently worked with A Rocket To The Moon and Hot Chelle Rae. Like many other artists, Reeves threw himself into music early, picking up piano at five, then drums and guitar in his teens. He cites his major influences as Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin and James Taylor. In late 2004/early 2005, Jason was contacted by producer Mikal Blue who had heard his self-created work on CD Baby and invited Reeves to record in his L.A. studio. It was there that Blue connected him to Caillat, and a career-altering partnership was born. Reeves self-released four albums and an EP before signing to Warner Bros. Records in 2008 and returned to the DIY world in 2011 with his album The Lovesick. His next album, Songs are Silent Films will be released next month.

I recently got to talk to Jason about co-writing, the process of building up a national touring base and the importance of staying focused on your vision as an artist if you want to have a successful, long-lasting career in music.

Musician Coaching:

Thanks so much for taking the time to talk, Jason. Tell me how you got started as a musician/singer/songwriter.

JR:

When I was living in Iowa, I had just graduated from high school. I had started writing songs and putting out records on my own at the end of high school. And when I went to college right away, as most people do, I had no idea why I was going or what I was doing. All I was doing was writing music and not going to class. So, I dropped out in order to not waste my time or my parents’ money.

I decided I was just going to go for it, which led me to California, which turned a lot of things on for me and opened a lot of doors. For example, I met Mikal Blue and Colbie Caillat. They were my first two friends when I first came out here. And everything has come from that. But the whole time, I’ve just been trying to write as much music as I can and see where it takes me.

Musician Coaching:

Correct me if I’m wrong: At the time, you were 19 or 20 and moving out to California on your own. How did you go about networking to even find artists of that caliber? How did that come about?

JR:

Honestly, Mikal Blue, the producer, is the reason I came out there. He invited me to come record with him. At the time, I’d only ever recorded in little basement studios in the country in Iowa – nothing that resembled a real studio. And I’d never really been to the West Coast. So, I was really excited. And Colbie had just had her first guitar lesson and had just written her first song when I met her. Neither of us had ever co-written a song before. All of a sudden, we met, started writing songs, and it turned into what it did. We didn’t expect that, and it wasn’t our goal. That’s really how crazy it’s been.

Ever since that happened, I’ve just been able to write with other people. And it’s been amazing. I know I’ve been very lucky.

Musician Coaching:

You said you were putting out your own records. How did Blue come across you? Iowa is not exactly a music business hot spot, unless it’s changed since the last time I’ve been there.

JR:

Not at all. He found it on CD Baby. I still actually use them. But this was before I knew what MySpace, Facebook and all those things were. CD Baby was really the only place I knew to put my music, and that was where he found it. It’s crazy how the Internet has been changing everything.

Musician Coaching:

For sure. Tell me about what the process of co-writing has been like for you. I know most artists I work with are initially a bit hesitant. They find it a bit awkward and feel like songwriting is a fairly personal thing to share with someone they don’t know that well. I’m assuming you and Colbie weren’t that tight when you initially started writing songs together. Was it an easy process for you, or was it something you had to work to get comfortable with?

JR:

It’s something you have to learn, for sure. But the more you do it and figure out how it works, the better you get at it. I think being comfortable is one of the most important things, because what you said about people not liking to do it because it feels strange initially or too intimate is true. If you’re not comfortable enough to share exactly how you feel or what you think with someone, you’re not going to get the best song. That’s why I, for the most part, write with people I’m already really good friends with and work well with. That makes the process fun and easy.

Musician Coaching:

It sounds like your career was something that you built initially based on your success as a co-writer.

JR:

That’s definitely what has brought a lot of attention to my own music. I’ve been touring a lot for the past three or four years. I did do a lot of promotion with my songs, so it’s a balance between the two. It’s about half co-writing and half putting out my own music.

Musician Coaching:

You were signed to a major label and have also put out records on your own. Tell me a little bit about that process.

JR:

I was on Warner Bros. Records until last year. Before I was on the label, I put out about an album a year. But the important part for me was that, when I was doing it myself, I could put out music whenever I wanted to. Warner was good to me, and I liked being on the label. But in all honesty, I didn’t get very much done. In fact, it kind of slowed me down. So, the fact that I’m not on the label anymore just means I can actually put out the music I have that’s just sitting around. Because, I write so many songs, it’s hard to even keep up with myself. That’s why I’ve been really excited to be able to have people who are willing to help me do this. It’s amazing. I have a feeling a lot of work is going to get done just in these next couple months by a few people than it did the whole time I was on that label.

Musician Coaching:

I first came up in the Atlantic Records system. And I would watch what I called “The Shiny Shirt” phenomenon happen over and over again. What would happen was, after Hootie & the Blowfish, Atlantic seemed to be mining the Southeast region for the next Hootie. They signed all these bands from the Carolinas and Tennessee and Florida.  These bands would be doing all this local promotional, getting on local radio, then putting together regional touring.

Then, the label would come in and say, “This is all great. Quit your jobs. We’re just getting this release together.” And these musicians tended to all stop, say, “Cool, we’re rock stars now” and wait. They would be waiting on the photographer for the photo shoot, for the mastering engineer who was going to spend $20,000 of the band’s money to make the record sound marginally better, or for the publicist to show up and say, “Singer? We’re going to get you into the gym, have you lose a little weight. Bass player? Cut your hair, because you’ll really be cute when we have this whole makeover/reveal thing together.” The guitarist would wear leather pants instead of jeans, and everyone would get shiny shirts as opposed to flannel. That was almost all I saw really change. Then, they would throw it at radio, and it would mostly miss.

JR:

That’s an amazing description.

Musician Coaching:

That was just my experience. But, you’re in the vast majority of people I know that have had a major label experience where they saw their name with a major label imprint next to it, and it just didn’t quite deliver the way they expected it to.

JR:

Yes. It was frustrating.

Musician Coaching:

Let’s get down to some nuts and bolts. I think a lot of people have the tendency to say, “Okay, I’m going to leave my hometown, and then what?” How did you go about building a national touring base?

JR:

It started around the time I put out my album The Magnificent Adventures of Heartache, which was in 2007. It was in about 2008 that I decided I needed to tour. I got two guys I met in L.A. – a bass player and a drummer – and we just rehearsed and did a residency at Hotel Café for a month. After that, we just started touring as much as we could. Eventually, they got really long. One of the tours we had was 37 shows in a row. It was more than circling the U.S. once. It was totally amazing, but crazy. It goes up and down, depending on the day and is really hard to predict how things will go. But the more you play cities, the more people come back to see you. And you just hope you can keep their attention.

Musician Coaching:

Obviously you regularly get feedback on which songs work and which don’t. Other than just playing well, is there anything else you’ve learned about how to keep people’s attention?

JR:

I think for somebody that’s touring the way I do, it really comes down to the songs and if they connect to people. At my level, it’s not necessarily mainstream media that’s promoting my music, so people aren’t finding out about me that way. They’re hearing about me through word of mouth and Internet. I’m sure that’s how most music is. But at the end of the day, it’s about a song connecting to the person that’s listening to it enough that they want to tell their friends and come to the shows. Other than that, I think it’s a mystery. My main goal is to write the best songs I can.

Musician Coaching:

It’s something that a lot of musicians lose, for sure. I notice you’re active with Instagram and Facebook. What online marketing strategies have worked the best for you?

JR:

It’s so crazy how much is happening with all that and how it just keeps changing and getting more intricate. I can’t even keep up with it, honestly. There are too many for me. So, I try to just utilize a few the best I can. I just got Instagram, because until recently, I didn’t have an iPhone. I just kept holding out and telling myself I didn’t need one. I didn’t realize how amazing they actually are, even though it scares me terribly to own one. But with Twitter, Facebook and everything else, there are so many different tools now.

The fact that you can connect immediately to people anywhere in the world is very wild and futuristic. And it’s happening right now. Obviously, the whole music industry and everything about music today has been changed by it. So, I’m still learning just like everyone else is what all these things mean.

Musician Coaching:

If you had to give yourself advice as you were releasing records in high school, based on what you have now experienced, what would you tell yourself about what to expect, what to avoid, or what to prioritize?

JR:

I would say, you have to be more patient than you can even imagine. Also, it needs to be about the music the whole time. That’s still one of my main goals, and I think it’s what being a songwriter should be about. I think it’s about trying to keep everything you do as real and as honest as you can make it.

Musician Coaching:

Do you feel like you ever lost sight of that along the way?

JR:

I don’t think I did. It’s just something that I have to keep working on. There are so many things pulling people away from the music and being honest, at all times. And if you are somebody that wants to stay true to the vision of what you want to represent, you have to stand strong on certain things and not give in.

To learn more about Jason Reeves and his music, you can visit him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter. His album Songs Are Silent Films will release in June 2012.

The opportunities for musicians that go fully “DIY” was explored this week as they weighed in on the benefits of fan funding sites, and indie record label head Daniel Glass discussed why artists are misunderstanding the concept and missing out on the full benefits of success. Also, Philadelphia-area classical musicians and other professionals within that space discussed how the classical music landscape is changing – but also staying the same – for artists and record labels.

Fan Funding: Practical Support for Unattached Artists

Many artists are ditching the idea that music executives are the key to ultimate success and turning to their fans for support, according to an article published in The Guardian last week. Up-and-coming musicians like Miss Stylie and Esco Williams and the band The Libertines have all begun to rely on crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Pledge Music to help them fund recording and touring projects, get their music out there and grow their fan base and build viable careers.

Liverpool-based hip hop/house artist Miss Stylie (aka, Jade Jackson) – winner of the Mercury Music Prize – recently appealed to her fans through the crowdfunding site PledgeMusic to raise funds to get her album produced. She stated that today, artists need to prove themselves as self-reliant master marketers and really establish their personal brand in order to get noticed by gatekeepers within the music business:  “People think it’s easy to put out an album but it ain’t like that no more … This industry can be cruel, it can run  you over. These days you have to create your own platform before anyone will even look at you.”

With digital transforming the music market, even artists like Public Enemy (who have used Sellaband) and the Libertines are using crowdfunding to get help from fans to move forward with their creative endeavors. Since 2009, PledgeMusichas gone from launching two new artist campaigns per week, to two campaigns daily. Managing director Malcolm Dunbar attributed this directly to the decline in popularity of CDs and CD retailers:  “CD sales are falling … so creating your own buzz is much more necessary than it was.” And he added that fans could have the sole power to build successful careers for many musicians, so they need to focus on making them – instead of music executives – happy:  “Selling direct to fans will be an integral part of the industry. Fans are an artist’s lifeblood so it is increasingly necessary to engage with them and give real value for money.”

Liverpool-based music writer and owner of the Getintothis blog, Peter Guy said that direct-to-fan business models are all part of the new grassroots movement that continues to develop as digital music transforms the way artists make money from their art:  “That DIY spirit has just become the norm … Artists and the people in the music game don’t have to rely on that old record label infrastructure; people are just coming together, working collaboratively and doing it for themselves.”

Esco Williams, another Liverpool-based artist, who has been compared to Marvin Gaye  recently made a video using fan funds and just hit his £5,000 target, which will allow him to record his debut album. He said that aside from providing him with the necessary money to complete his important projects, crowdfunding – which, he said, includes creating a buzz at his live gigs and building personal relationships with fans through Twitter and Facebook – has imbued him with the confidence he needed to blaze his own trail:  “We’re doing everything in-house; whatever we do and whatever we make is for us, we don’t have to sell out. With a big label, you are not a priority unless you are Beyoncé.”

Because many artists are going their own way, major record labels, like Universal are starting to rely on shows like The Voice to feed them new talent. And musicians that want to achieve stardom are having to create totally new routes, according to Jon Webster, chief executive of the Music Managers Forum:  “Above my desk is a sign which says, ‘There are no rules anymore.’” Despite a growing “pioneer” spirit, some continue to be reluctant to use fan-funded sites to sell some of the more non-traditional experiences to fans, such as the opportunity to have dinner or go bowling with bands.

However, Miss Stylie’s manager, Andy Ng asserted, “In this day and age, fans are the taste-makers. In the past, you signed with a label because they had distribution, radio pluggers, press team, but that whole system is breaking down now. It’s a democracy, not a dictatoriship …”

“If DIY is Killing You …” You Might not be Doing it Right

Daniel Glass, founder of the indie label Glassnotes Records spoke at Musexpo last Monday about how many artists are taking the term “DIY” too literally and forgetting that the most responsible business strategy for musicians is to give themselves a chance to focus on honing their craft and creating music. Digital Music News highlighted Glass’ belief that in order to be successful, they need to stop thinking of DIY as a “romanticized, religious idea” and instead surround themselves with a hired team of competent professionals who can prevent the DIY process from breaking the bank, distracting them and even demoralizing them.

Glass said, “I think it’s very difficult to do things without a team. I would hate to have an artist or a manager [think], ‘oh that’s easy, I can do this myself, I can just do the site, do the work, get my records loaded in and everything goes well,’ or ‘I can just sign the artist and go to a distributor and it ends there.”

He added that DIY does not mean what artists have come to believe it means – that they do not have to depend on someone or tell them what to do with their music. Instead, it means “the autonomy of the decision-making on the taste within [an artist’s] operation … I still think that either you’re putting together a loosely or tightly knit team of professionals to perform functions and rent them out or use consultants.”

As an example, The Civil Wars recently won two Grammys. The outside perception was that they did it entirely themselves. While this is true, they also put together a strong team of song pluggers, publicists, distribution people, etc. to support them and spent a lot of money to pull themselves up.

Glass’ most passionately-delivered message for artists was that, at the root of everything is the music, so they need to find a way to focus on that and avoid getting distracted by the other tasks:  “My advice to people is not to be too DIY … you should focus on the essence of why you got there. And most of us feel that it’s the music, and repertoire, so if you get bogged down in distribution issues, and payment issues, and sub-contracting issues, I think that’s when you kill your business, and kill your spirit.”

The State of the Classical Music Industry

In major classical music hubs like Philadelphia, classical musicians and industry experts have been examining the effects the digital shift has had on their piece of the recording industry, according to an article published Thursday on Philly.com. Despite many reports that classical music labels are dying or already deceased, a closer look at sales tells a different story and points to the possibility that classical music is simply – like other types of music – growing new legs as the industry changes.

Recordings including the late, great Philadelphia Orchestra music director Eugene Ormandy has enjoyed a resurgence recently in digital stores like rural-France-based Pristine Classical. And Pristine’s Founder Andrew Rose said that Arturo Toscanini – another deceased conductor – also continues to sell “spectacularly.”

Despite the potential for sales, more money can be lost than made by musicians and artists on these recordings. Donald Nally, founder of the new-music choir the Crossing admitted, “One does not record for residual income.” Still, classical musicians are still clamoring to record and spend hundreds of hours on recording after working to raise anywhere from $18,000,to $100,000 to create masters of high enough quality to send to record labels to be distributed as physical and digital product.

Why do they keep at it? Artists see it as invaluable marketing to help them get more live performing opportunities. Flutist Mimi Stillman recently spent $20,000 to put together a two-CD set called Odyssey of 11 new flute works by Gerald Levinson and Mason Bates. For her money, she scored a May 18 radio concert on the coveted Soundcheck radio show on WNYC-FM.  Stillman also noted that part of the allure of recordings is the joy of being a memorable part of the very long-standing, prestigious tradition within the classical music world of highlighting new composers who will one day become part of the canon:  “When you’re responsible for the creation of new work … you want to launch the pieces so they can enter the canon and have others play them.”

And for long-standing classical music organizations, recording keeps them relevant by building awareness of their presence and keeping funding in place. The Bach Choir of Bethlehem recently re-released its St. John Passion on the Analekta label. Recordings like this help the organization promote its biggest performance of the year, held in May by having something fresh to give to radio stations.

In terms of major recording contracts with labels like Deutsche Grammophon, Sony and RCA, they still exist, and help showcase the talents of music school graduates like those coming out of the prestigious Curtis Institute that might be the next big virtuosos. However, the Digital Age has also breathed new life into nichier releases, because the recording and distribution processes are less expensive than they were in previous decades.

In terms of funding for albums, creative business models have emerged in classical music just as they have been developing in other music markets. Classical music recording guru Ward Marston of Swarthmore, known for putting together lush box sets on his Marston label has found a way to make discs for as little as 40-cents apiece and can thus focus his funds on well-designed,eye-catching booklets. He used to propose projects on his website and wait for interest to grow before moving ahead with a 1,000-set run. Now, foundations have started to come forward because of his focus on recordings of historically-important composers like Chopin. And because of foundation grants and other gifts that help offset the cost of recording and distribution, many classical music labels are able to give more royalties to the musicians.

Classical artists, like artists in other genres are also using crowd funding sites like Kickstarter to raise money. Brooklyn-based composer Missy Mazzoli used Kickstarter to fund a recording of her opera Song From the Uproar. She raised $7,698 from 103 supporters in just 10 days.

Many classical musicians agree they will continue to record because the recording process is a critical part of honing their craft. It requires them to stay disciplined and stay technically proficient. Stillman admitted she still pays for the best sound engineers possible because the quality of the recording is more important in the classical world than it is in any other market.

Shele Sondheim is an accomplished producer, songwriter and guitarist and the president/CEO of CSM Words and Music, a Los Angeles-based music production and publishing company focused on the development of competitive materials and artists in  pop, R&B, rock and dance music, worldwide. Shele got his start in the music business as a guitarist playing in bands throughout junior high and high school. He eventually found his way to Berklee School of Music, where he co-founded Berklee’s flagship jazz fusion band Catharsis. After graduating with honors with a degree in guitar performance and jazz composition, he moved to Las Vegas where he became an in-demand guitarist working with cabaret superstars like Lola Falana, Wayne Newton, Paul Anka and Flip Wilson. Soon, he began producing corporate music events with the Las Vegas Convention Trade Bureau while performing nightly in mainroom orchestras and producing TV and radio music spots. He also appeared on HBO and Showtime concert specials with major artists and in arena concerts with Catharsis alongside Spyro Gyra. Shele toured worldwide juggling multiple roles of music director, guitarist, writer/producer and arranger. As a session musician in L.A., he worked with artists like Natalie Cole and Little Richard on commercial jingles, TV and film dates. He trained at competitive studios on both coasts to fine-tune his skills as a lyricist, songwriter, vocal arranger and music producer working in the digital landscape and is the originator of the electronic dance music (edm) remix brand westcoasteuro. He recently wrote the hit song “Donne Le Moi” for the record of the EMI-affiliated project started by Phil Collins called The Little Dreams Band. Through CSM Words and Music, he is also collaborating with Collins, Brian Ferry and Lara Fabian on the upcoming single, which he wrote and produced, from emerging artist Lica de Guzman and working with brothers 2 Kuel from Belize of Georgia, who have been building a name for themselves across Eastern Europe.

I had the opportunity to talk to Shele about his incredibly diverse experiences during his more than 30 years in the industry and how they have helped him evolve. He also shared some valuable tips for aspiring artists, producers and music industry professionals hoping to build successful and personally-rewarding careers in music.

Musician Coaching:

Thanks so much for taking some time to talk to me, Shele. Tell me a bit about how you got started in the music industry.

SS:

It all started on guitar. I was playing guitar and had a band throughout junior high school and high school. I liked to emulate my heroes:  Carlos Santana; George Benson; John McLaughlin; Jimi Hendrix – all the great guitar players. I enjoyed  playing guitar and the camaraderie of a band. In those days, it was very peaceful for me. We’d be in the garage or at somebody’s party on a  Friday night playing.

Guitar came into my life in that way. And I was very lucky because I gained some early teachers and mentors that really helped to shape my views about music. One was Jorge Strunz of Strunz & Farah. Another was Les McCann, a famous jazz musician. One was John Handy at San Francisco State. I had the fortune to have a lesson with Mike Bloomfield of the original Electric Flag.

There were a lot of other fantastic guitarists/teachers that came into my life. And those experiences really got me quite connected to the guitar. I didn’t really aspire to be the Van Halen or the ultimate shredder guy. I just loved guitar. I particularly loved funk music, like Herbie Hancock and that Bay Area sound.

Musician Coaching:

Well, and Sly and the Family Stone is my absolute favorite.

SS:

And, I grew up on that music. I lived a lot of places and moved a lot because of my family’s dynamic. My father was in the television business, so we had a chance to move a lot. I lived on the East Coast, West Coast, in the Bay Area and in the Pacific Northwest. And I also had a lot of musical influences. My brother was a huge influence on me. He turned me onto the whole CTI Jazz and George Benson and Herbie Hancock. I got into that stuff very early.

Eventually, I went to San Francisco State, which was fantastic for me. I got to have John Handy as my teacher and mentor. I played in a lot of funk bands and knew the Tower of Power guys. Cold Blood played at my high school. I traveled in that circle. But the problem was that I really didn’t know music theory. And I was very apparent and evident to anybody who did – other musicians or teachers. I could jam, but I had no idea what I was doing.

It was John Handy who suggested I go to Berklee College of Music. He talked to my parents. I was failing miserably at San Francisco State University and just wasn’t happy there. We’d go study classical music, and then I’d go back to my dorm room and put on Weather Report. There was a real disconnect.

The summer of ’76 changed it all. I went to Boston as a California kid. And I went to my first couple classes. It was James Taylor analyzing his lyrics, and Tower of Power analyzing their horn chart. And then, we got to work with Chicago. And I knew I had found home. I got into that school and locked myself  up for five years.

Musician Coaching:

Wow. So, how did you wind up making a living after Berklee, and at what point did you get into production?

SS:

Berklee was really transformational for me. I’ve always done things a little bit differently. “Success in my own way” has been my mantra, which is a more mature way of saying what I was back then, which was a “rebel with a cause.”

So, at Berklee I had a jazz fusion band that incorporated vocals called Catharsis, which had a Gino Fanelli or Santana kind of vibe. It became Berklee’s flagship band. We played at the Village Gate in New York and Patrick Rains who was then handling Al Jarreau was our manager. We represented Berklee on television and at all the city events and on radio. We became the “big thing” at Berklee and were the first band that ever played on the Berklee Performance Center stage. We sold it out at 1226 seats, which is kind of a proud memory of mine.

I was really deeply into jazz fusion. And come graduation time, I thought, “Where do I go?” I didn’t know about having a jazz fusion career so to speak. So, my mom lived in Vegas, where it was warm. And I had a constant cold/flu from  September, to May for five years living in Boston and freezing. I would go see my mom sometimes on the break, it was always warm, and there were showgirls and casinos. I thought, “I’m moving to Vegas.”

The day I graduated, I got into a one-way truck that the lead singer of my band and I rented, and we drove out to Vegas. I started my career in music. Part of that career was about unlearning a lot of the things I’d learned at Berklee. Because, Las Vegas was not a sophisticated jazz fusion place. It was a cabaret show place, where you play the same five songs over and over again. It depends on which star you’re playing with or which lounge gig you get. Work started for me as a guitar guy for hire in Las Vegas.

I really struggled for the first year or year and a half I was in Vegas, but then I got a break, which means I created a break through all the work, sitting in and hustling, making friendships, networking and doing what I’d known I needed to do in the music business since junior high school.

A friend helped me, and I got in with a wonderful performer named Lola Falana. She worked with people like Sammy Davis, Jr. and Wayne Newton and was named First Lady of Las Vegas. I toured all around the world with Lola, first as her guitar player. Then I worked my way up to being her music director. That door opened up a tremendous amount of doors working with people like Roy Clark, Flip Wilson and Paul Anka. And I was doing all kinds of corporate gigs and what we called showcase gigs. I had things like “A Night at the Dunes” and “A Night at the Maxim.” I became the constant on-call guitar guy and got to travel around the world, which was really an incredible period of my life.

Musician Coaching:

Sounds like it. Obviously, you knew theory, because you went to Berklee and studied it and you had a love for your instrument, so you spent quality time with it and honed your craft. But from a business standpoint, what were some of the things you did as a guitar player, that other people weren’t doing, that got you a gig with Lola Falana?

SS:

I think we can call it inspiration/desperation. I think I did more than most, because I really wanted a job. It was a very confusing time for me in my life, because I was so well trained, had my equipment constantly by the door and a tuxedo rented; I was ready to go, but I had no fortune in my life. I couldn’t even get a bad graveyard shift country/western duo gig. So, I did everything. I sat in at the Musicians’ Union. I started at the top of the Strip, and worked my way all the way down. I went into every club, lounge and got to know the musicians. I made really good friends (who are still some of my best friends today). I constantly stayed on it. I called, worked, sat in and did whatever I possible could to put myself out there and never gave up.

For me, those were the specific strategies. It was basically the “never give up” approach. Philosophically at that time, I also needed some extra spiritual power. So, I got into Buddhism and started chanting. And I linked that spiritual program with my professional goals. I decided I would chant and take action, based on those solid prayers to actually show proof in my life, which was at the time sorely lacking, much to my parents’ discontent. They said, “Hey, I just paid all this for Berklee, and you can’t even get a job.” It was a tough one. So, when I finally broke through, I felt a rainfall of benefit and victory.

But, you know the career. It’s the music business, and once you get into it, the rollercoaster starts. Sometimes, you’re really working and making money, and you’re booked back to back. Other times, you have nothing.

Musician Coaching:

That’s very true.

SS:

The real crossroads came when, as I was succeeding at this, I wasn’t happy. I had conquered the call of being one of the top-three guitar guys in Vegas, was making money, and everything was amazing in that way. But I wasn’t happy, because I was always a writer. I wrote all the music in Catharsis, even though it was jazz fusion/instrumental. The whole explosion of U2, Police, Echo and the Bunnymen and Berlin all happened, and here I was playing “I Love the Nightlife” and “New York, New York” in another lounge band or with a celebrity. And I came to a big fork in the road and decided I just couldn’t do it anymore.

I decided to go back to Los Angeles, where I was raised and become a songwriter. That was a really big turning point in my life, to have that kind of courage to leave it all behind and go to a place to find another area that I could excel in.

Musician Coaching:

And what was that reinvention like? It must’ve been about taking a few steps back, and a few steps forward.

SS:

Absolutely. And when I came into L.A., my natural default was “guitar guy.” I got fortunate and started doing sessions around L.A., casuals, Bar Mitzvahs and club gigs. And I managed to start working with Natalie Cole, Little Richard and Billy Preston. I became a guitar guy again, but it was far more competitive than it had been in Vegas. There were great guys here, and I knew I wasn’t going to be the guy that had the cart with 30 AXes and all that. I could read, I could play, but I was not going to be someone like Tommy Tedesco or Joe DiBlasi – people who were really controlling the session work.

Also, the truth in my heart was that I didn’t want to be that guy. I wanted to be on the other side of the glass – the producer and the writer side – not sitting there as a session musician. If I was going to do that, I might as well just go back to Las Vegas where it’s an easier community, I was kind of famous and made really good money. So, I knew at that time I had to stop thinking about doing things like going on the road with people like The Pointer Sisters or Diana Ross. I just didn’t want to do that work anymore.

My tradeoff was that I knew I had to get a job to fund my demo habit and fund the development of my songwriting classes. I joined every group in Los Angeles, like the Songwriters’ Guild, etc. And I went to all the classes and networking events, doing my demos. And I got a job driving a limousine and started to build a business in the transportation industry. And this was a real left turn for me, because I was working outside of music to make money to fund my music career, which really consisted of just doing demos. I did that for almost a decade.

Musician Coaching:

Wow. I didn’t know that about you.

SS:

I appreciate being able to share that side of it, because there’s a message in there. It’s one that I was reminded of by Johnny K, a Grammy® Award-winning producer who came into Columbia College in Chicago last year when I did my residency there. As I interviewed Johnny, we talked about this part of your career as a musician – when you work outside of music. And he talked about his job at restaurants, and how he got some of his first gigs through working in those restaurants.

The point is, I knew a lot of musicians and a lot of studios. So, it was very normal for me to be able to call all the cool musicians to do my demos. And my songs got better, though it took a while. My first songs were seven-minute, lava-lamp/Jethro Tull jams on a minor, and I’d say, “That’s perfect for Whitney Houston.”

I got better when I started to really study the songwriters, like Diane Warren, Glen Ballard and Babyface. I just really dug into learn about writing songs.

Musician Coaching:

It’s a funny thing:  A lot of musicians are of the opinion that songwriting is not something you practice or can learn. A lot of people have this notion that it’s an inborn thing, which clearly by your story proves that is not the case, at least for you.

SS:

And that’s a good point. I practice yoga now. And as the yoga teachers will say, “It’s your practice on your mat … not what someone is doing next to you. It’s not a ‘one size fits all’ practice.” And that’s so true, because you’re all at different levels of being able to stretch and do the moves. Everybody has their way of doing this.

When I had Les McCann as a close friend and teacher, I knew that he was not of the “schooled” approach. Whereas John Handy as a teacher was a hard bop, reading saxophone man. That was why he really pushed me into a music college – to learn the craft of music.

Everybody in the songwriting world has their own way. But I had no other way to learn it except the way that I handled my guitar work at Berklee, which was, “Dig in and study.” And I started to discover that all the clues were on the table. I studied all these great writers and listened to a lot of cool songs throughout the ‘90s, like Teddy Riley writing New Jack Swing, and Rodney Jerkins before he was so massive. I listened to the material produced by all these teams, and the more I studied, the more I realized what a “Three Minute Picasso” means, with the hooks and the verses and the keys and the lyrics. I really took it seriously.

Musician Coaching:

Could you distill some of the pieces of advice that you think were the most valuable to you that you learned from all the classes and seminars you attended and all the studying you did? What moments changed you the most?

SS:

One of my major “a-ha” moments was MIDI. When that came along, the whole concept of music changed. My orientation around doing music had been five or six guys in a room:  a bassist; guitar player; drummer; keyboard player; sax player. That’s how you did music. Then came the whole idea of electronic music production and the ability to have things like Band in a Box.

Because that was one of the biggest moments for me, and I ended up going back to school at the Grove School of Music here in L.A., which doesn’t exist anymore. I took a four-year class in one year:  electronic music production. I met guys who were brilliant at sequencing. Back then, it was Q-Bass on the Atari and some of the very early programs before what is now Pro Tools HD where you can make a barking dog sound like Whitney Houston. You can basically make anything sound like anything these days. And I like that freedom. But it wasn’t that when it first started.

When I went back to school, I started to try to understand how to harness the power of electronic music production. I tried to understand Band in the Box and having two guys in front of a computer be the whole band. That really changed my concept of writing songs as well, because the teams and pros I got to see out there doing it and getting serious cuts were just two guys doing this incredible music with a singer. I knew that was going to be the future of how I would travel as a songwriter. And I knew my skills as a guitar player and my developing skills as a lyricist and vocal producer would be valuable in this electronic music world.

My route was to find collaborators – people who were really good at the technical side, at mixing, mastering, computer, MIDI, programming. I buddied up with them as writer/producer friends, and that’s when it started for me.

Musician Coaching:

I think of you as a producer. Was that the point at which you became more of a producer than just a songwriter?

SS:

Absolutely. For me, at that point, the production and the writing were seamless and the same thing. We could produce the same song with different vibes, different beats and in different genres. Because of the technology that was available to us, we could do it in so many different ways. That’s when I truly began to believe that production and songwriting were the same animal.

Again, I was faced with the difficulty of wanting to turn this into a career and monetize these skills. Nobody was buying my songs. I wasn’t becoming a famous songwriter or getting cuts on big records or any records at all. No publishers were investing in me. I wondered, “What do I do?”

So, I reinvented what my own game was. How many times can you hear, “No” on Sunset Boulevard? I started to look at the entire world as my playing field. I thought, “There has to be a Christina Aguilera, a Nickelback and a Leeann Rimes in The Netherlands, Belgium, Korea and Sweden. I’m going to go find them and convince them to hire me to write and produce songs for them.” That was when I first started traveling internationally – in 2000. And I got a client, which changed everything for me. And, one became three, three became six, six became 12.

I can now state that in the last 12 years, I’ve established my reputation and name with a substantial international clientele of artists, companies, investors and people who come to me to write and produce songs for them and help them build their career identity through the production of my original music. It’s a very proud thing to be able to share.

Now with American Idol, The Voice and the plethora of obvious talent  around the world, we see that in every country there are artists that are seeking professional development opportunities. Not everyone gets to be the American Idol winner, because they only choose one. But what about the 400,000 who tried out? Certainly within that group, there is a pool of serious artists that want to have careers and great material. And they need someone like me. I’ve made it my business to go out into the world and find them.

Musician Coaching:

For those wanting to be successful musicians, producers or songwriters, what very practical, simple advice would you give, if you had to give a bullet-point list of five things to do?

SS:

I think there are one or two or three things to do and not to do that I can put simply. When I worked at Columbia College as their master producer and artist in residence, I got in front of several thousands of young people. I did this last year, the year before, and I was hired again this upcoming year. It’s been this really wonderful and prestigious opportunity. Aside from me, it’s been people like Mike Stern, Benny Goldman, Paula Cole, Kevin Eubanks. It’s really a neat thing. My particular programming is very unique. I’m combining four different areas:  recording; the music department;  the music business management people and their record label. So, we’re doing the master classes, sessions, songwriting and performance. It’s a really comprehensive 10-day program that everyone’s been thrilled with.

When I’m in front of those young people talking about my experience, and this same question will be asked, I will say that the three things on the to-do list are, #1, “It’s a lifelong campaign.” It’s a never-give-up campaign. You constantly have to be at this. The people who are serious and are winning at whatever they are doing are at it full on. If music is to be a hobby, or something to enjoy in the church or in your family or in the community, that’s a great place to leave your music. Be a veterinarian or a brain surgeon – something else. But if the goal is to have a  professional career in the music industry, it requires that you must be 100% full on.

Now, for #2:  What 100% full on means is, “Create success in your own lane.” That means not everybody will be famous. Not everybody will be a celebrity or win a Grammy®. That’s not the point, truthfully. The point is that for you to have a career in  music means that you have to be great at what you do and create your own niche and your own sound. For a musician, that means create your own sound and network that sound where that sound fits. If you’re a monster funk guitar player, you should know all the Princes and the R. Kellys in the world. There’s no need to take that funk sound to Toby Keith or Vince Gill, because that’s not their thing. If you’re a singer, are you going to be an artist, a session singer, a voice over, a touring singer? You have to create success in your own lane and then really pursue that lane.

I think #3, if anything, is, “Be very, very flexible and moldable enough to enjoy life’s process.” As I told you, I had jobs outside of the music industry, and they were very rewarding. I made money, I made a new set of contacts and developed a new set of business skills that translate into my core career as a music entrepreneur.

Musician Coaching:

And what should people who want to find success in the music industry not do?

SS:

As we are all artists and aspiring entrepreneurs, #1 is, “Don’t compare yourself to other people.” It’s degrading and ridiculous to compare what you’re doing to what somebody else has or hasn’t. So, put no energy whatsoever into comparing your worth to the worth of somebody bigger, or the worth of someone who is struggling. Base your worth on yourself each day, in front of the mirror, God, whoever. Account for yourself to yourself each day.

And #2 is, “Don’t underestimate the importance of building relationships.” You hear this, and it sounds very over used. But what I am specifically talking about is networking and building a reputation, a name, a brand and credentials that come to people’s minds when your name is mentioned. I’m hoping – and I’m very determined and dedicated – that at this time in my life, when my name is being mentioned, it is being mentioned with a certain level of competitive product, a level of communication, availability and accessibility, and a certain responsibility to other people. The gap for slander and negativity has been closed through my own hard efforts to build my brand.

That goes with #3, which is, “Don’t be that miserable, negative, slanderous person.” Because, it attracts nothing except more misery. This is a punching-bag business, like many are. If you have two Quiznos sandwich shops on opposite corners, they’re punching each other out. Business can be about that, but there is a way to do it so you’re always choosing the high road. That doesn’t mean not being tough and strict, or not negotiating hard and getting things done. But there’s a way to do it and still foster the humanism and the heart in it. I think everybody responds to that in every country. Everybody understands sincerity.

To learn more about Shele Sondheim and the work he does globally, visit the CSM Words and Music website.

This past week marked technological breakthroughs as Record Store Day 2012 revealed some innovative new tools to help small business owners, music fans and artists seamlessly combine digital and physical products. And indie bands gained a major supporter as crowdfunding site RocketHub partnered with eMusic to help increase dollars and awareness. Also, Forbes revealed a new book by music manager Tom Gates about how travel can help artists and music industry professionals make sense of the music industry and better manage their careers.

Record Store Day 2012, Tradition, New Tools and Better Business

This year’s Record Store Day was more exciting than ever for artists, small record store owners and others in the industry, as they were poised to celebrate a 1.3 percent rise in 2011 record sales – the first sales increase since the early 2000s. This five-year-old initiative was designed to build support for small music businesses and reinvigorate the spirit of “record store culture” (which has suffered in recent years thanks to a shift to digital) and was originally started by Michael Kurtz, head of the Music Monitor Network, a coalition of indie record stores that provides resources and brainstorms about how small business owners in the space can continue to compete with major music retailers.

An article posted on the CNBC site last week detailed Record Store Day’s small beginnings and some exciting, big new tools that have sprung forth from it in the past half decade and now benefit indie record stores, music fans and artists of all sizes. Five years ago, Kurtz talked to labels and his friends to gauge their interest in a day-long celebration of the unique culture of record stores as well as art and music. His first response came from Sir Paul McCartney, who had recently performed at an Amoeba Music shop in California, which he said had reignited a passion for small record stores. Many other artists reached out, and the first Record Store Day took off with the support of 300 stores in April, 2008.

This year’s day involved the participation of 1,700 independent stores worldwide and a huge number of special edition releases. Aside from re-building awareness about the value of small record shop owners, Record Store Day has also breathed new life into the vinyl record market. Stats from Nielsen Soundscan reveal that in 2006, only 1.4 million records were sold. But in Sepember, 2007, as Kurtz and his Record Store Day co-founders met to try to figure out how to get people to love buying music again, they decided to combine the uniqueness of vinyl with the special atmosphere of people’s local record stores. Record sales grew 89 percent in 2008 and continued upward with a 33-percent rise in 2009. As a testament to Kurtz’s initiatives, 67 percent of vinyl sales last year were sold through the independent stores supported by Kurtz’s annual event.

According to Kurtz, even artists continue to recognize the distinctiveness of vinyl:  “Vinyl is not massive in the grand scheme of album sales and downloads – it will never be that – but it’s very real … When we were first making these Record Store Day releases, in conversations with artists so many were adamant about not pressing the exclusive releases on CDs. All the artists said they wanted vinyl.”

Record Store Day has also been teaching small business owners more about how to market to their customers and build their companies. This year, there were 300 in-store performances, a slew of one-day-only sales and special releases that brought out music fans in droves. The Flaming Lips released 10,000 copies of a new record in collaboration a wide range of artists, from Ke$ha, to Bon Iver. Each copy of this album sold was different, offering a special message inscribed at the end of the record.

But while vinyl has grown, its growth still pales in comparison to the rise of digital sales, which take up 50.3 percent of the market. And many music fans live in areas without local small retailers. As a response to this reality, this year Kurtz and his cohorts announced “Third Option,” a widget designed to blend the physical and digital sales worlds. The first step was the release of an iPhone app that let people find all the stores and specials within their area. Then, “Third Option” – a link placed on band websites, record store websites, band pages, etc. – was revealed.

The Third Option button says, “Buy Local,” and when users click on it, they are automatically taken to the site of the small, independent store closest to them. Then, they have the option of either buying the music at the store, buying it online from the store and having it shipped to them or buying it digitally, with the proceeds going to the small retailer. This button has already been implemented by many artists, including Bruce Springsteen. Thousands more are expected to follow suit, which Kurtz hopes will make this widget as visible on websites as links to iTunes and Amazon.

Kurtz also stressed that Record Store Day and Third Option can both help support not just local businesses but entire communities:  “John Kunz, who runs Waterloo Records [in Austin, Texas], showed us this study on how purchasing locally effects the local community, and [it] found that when you purchase something locally, a larger percentage of the tax dollars stay in the community, meaning schools don’t have to close, potholes get fixed, and so on … We feel passionately that it’s better if the money stays in the community so that it can remain healthy.”

RocketHub + eMusic = More Powerful Crowdfunding

On Friday, the crowdfunding site for creatives, RocketHub announced its new partnership with eMusic and the eMusic Selects program, which has provided a launch pad for emerging indie artists since 2008 and offers marketing, publicity and editorial support to help them navigate the industry. The expanded eMusic Selects program will bring more support to indie bands trying to raise money to support their creative endeavors, with “matching funds” for select campaigns.

The RocketHub-eMusic partnership will kick off with the Iranian post-punk band The Yellow Dogs – the 25^th indie band to be featured by eMusic. RocketHub offers a wide range of tools that help artists raise funds and get their music and message out there. Thanks to the new partnership, fans can now directly support The Yellow Dogs and other artists that are signed to eMusic Selects and have their dollars go even farther, because eMusic has signed onto be the first partner brand to match all funds raised through this project.

The Yellow Dogs’ album Upper Class Complexity can be purchased through eMusic for a limited time. The band is made up of friends from Iran’s new punk scene, who met at a park called “ghorbaghe,” where musicians, skaters and street artists would meet to explore their art – illegal in Iran. After gaining popularity in its home area, the band now resides in Brooklyn. A video detailing the band’s story can be found here.

The Yellow Dogs crowdfunding campaign – a push to raise funds for the band’s first-ever World Tour – started on April 27. Fans that want to support the band can visit their RocketHub page.

(Also check out Rick’s interview with RocketHub CEO and co-founder Brian Meece here.)

Wayward:  Fetching Tales from a Year on the Road

A recently-released book by manager and music industry jack of all trades Tom Gates (Christina Perri, Good Old War) about what his experiences on the road, traveling the world by himself taught him about life and even the business provides some helpful lessons for those looking to follow their passions and build solid careers. According to a review in Forbes, the book combines memoir with practical advice for navigating the ever-changing music business climate.

Like many others in the industry, Gates had a love of music before he started managing musicians or working for labels:  “I used to spend every penny I had on records and read liner notes, and I had a subscription to Billboard magazine when I was 12 … It was when I went to college and I went to my college radio station and I realized, ‘is this a f****** job?!’” Since graduating from Central Connecticut State University in 1992, he has worked for everyone from Roadrunner Records, Arista and the Nettwerk Music Group, playing every role from promoter, to A&R professional to band manager (a role he has played since 2000).

In 2008, Gates began to feel trapped living and working long hours in New York City, and explored ways he could add his lifelong desire for more travel to the table. A few bands he was managing went through huge changes, with one breaking up and another putting emphasis on a studio album. He saw his opportunity to take a break and in January of 2009, decided to step out on a year-long, worldwide travel adventure.

Wayward:  Fetching Tales from a Year on the Road is Gates’ book about his experience, released on eBook in March and immediately jumping to the top of the best seller list on the iTunes’ bookstore.

The book details everything from watching Obama’s inauguration in a bar in Argentina, to watching a dubbed version of the new Star Trek film in France, to eating dog in Vietnam, to working with Patti Smith in New York. While on the road, he managed to stay connected to art and music, writing for Matador – an independent travel site – and posting pieces on his personal blog. One of the book’s chapters, originally a blog post entitled “On Drowning,” was written up by AbsolutePunk in February 2009 and detailed the breakup of one of his former client’s – the band, The Format – as it coincided with events that were happening on his travel journey.

And as Gates was traveling, the bands he had been managing were moving forward. Brand New – his main client when he first left – released the fourth album, Daisy in 2009 and managed to reach #6 on the Billboard 200. And The Format members had separated but started their own projects. In fact, one of the band’s main songwriters, Sam Means became a graphic designer and worked with Gates to make the cover of Wayward.

After returning to the U.S., Gates moved to L.A. and jumped right back into music, becoming part of the team at Bill Silva Entertainment. And he has learned from his experiences that a career in music is perfect for an avid traveler, and that traveling can actually lend new perspective to artists that can help keep them motivated to push their careers forward:  “The great thing about managing bands is that you can go to these places while managing that band … Before I went on the trip, I could end up letting the music business completely and totally overwhelm me some days, and now it doesn’t … When the water runs out in the well in Laos and you’re on an island, it’s a problem … When an artist misses a flight …it’s a different kind of problem.”