If you feel lost in a world of changing technologies and changing plans in the music industry, and you feel you need some guidance, do not hesitate to contact us here at Artist Development Network. Whether it is answering your questions about what to expect from record labels, what your demo should sound like, or even song critiques, we are here for you. Don’t get swept away in the changing world, step up and be a landmark!

http://mashable.com/2009/12/25/music-industry-predictions-2010/

It seems today’s music programming for FM radio is entirely different. All it takes is a day or two of careful listening to see that the simple objective of radio programming is: don’t touch that dial. Corporate-based radio doesn’t really want anything all that great or over the top. This explains, by the way, precisely why alternative isn’t alternative anymore, and, why “Sounds like…” syndrome rules the airwaves.

Most of us are not privy to what goes on behind the scenes of big corporate entities. But it would seem that they hold tight to tradition, as do their counterparts: the recording companies. Artists complain and gripe about how things ought to change. But do nothing. Why? Well, for those of you who are regular churchgoers, you can get a first hand view of imbedded tradition every Sunday, and how brutal a fight you’re in for if you’d like to shake up the status quo. You won’t have to go far to hear stuff like “that’s the way we’ve always done it” or “that’s our tradition, and we’re stickin’ with it.” Oh, yes, the semi-comatose pastor is probably preaching out to a sea of blue hair from the pulpit. The board of directors probably has an average age of 55+. The church is, no doubt, in a huge decline. The kids don’t want to come anymore and there are fewer young families every year. This church will be up for lease in the future. It’s only a matter of…time.

Seems like the bigger the entity, the slower the change. Thankfully, we live in a capitalist democracy (sort of) where the ultimate acid test is the bottom line. Radio stations, churches, magazines, newspapers and the like are all experiencing the financial reprimands of boring the crap out of people for years now. A few embrace change and actually survive. But most do not and will not, and I am beginning to see, first hand, exactly how well the expression “Real change happens one funeral at a time” applies in today’s world.

As artists, we have a responsibility to feed others and ourselves. It’s about money and art. The line separating the two can be a little fuzzy and in constant motion. But the difference between a number five hit on the top 40 charts and a number one hit is usually originality. The number one hit most often employs ideas that are unique, fresh and new.

Now, I would never suggest to you that you go the starving artist route and recreate the wheel. I would, however, strongly advise you to learn the rules, and then break them often. When you can do this successfully, you really have the makings of a music career. Getting above the media smog and the noise requires a lot more than a pretty face and a nice song. You’ve got to have a #1 attitude and something unique to back it up. This means doing it in a fresh new way with conviction and enough momentum to bulldoze straight through the traditionalists.

Those that can pull this off will thrive. I don’t know what the magic formula is for you, but there has to be a bit of tradition and a bit of new. Introduce new ideas gradually. Taking your time and testing ideas out in front of live audiences along the way is the realist’s key to success. You don’t want to spend an entire year writing left field songs and rehearsing a band only to find out a year later that your audience won’t embrace it. You want to pepper new ideas in the familiar landscape and keep adding to it until you either cross the line successfully, or drop off the edge. If the worst happens and you find yourself free falling, it was only a performance or two and you can backtrack to where you know the line is. Also, along the way, you’ll build a reputation as a very creative person. Artists that are known to be genuinely creative can cross lines without too much damage to their careers.

And once you’ve come up with something that is truly unique, you’ll find a lot more cars in the parking lots where you play. Everybody is hungry for something that is traditional and unique and fresh.

Go forth with gusto, dear young’ns.

Contact David Harper at:

musicbydavid@gmail.com

As it turns out, the music that was once organic and full of truth has now been boxed up and shipped out as a commodity that is publicly traded day in and day out on Wall Street. You read that correctly, all the major labels today are now public corporations that are only concerned with pleasing their shareholders. If their artists have a bad quarter where they aren’t profitable, then chances are that they will find someone else who is.

What does it mean when money lovers replace music lovers at the top of the chain? It means that artists aren’t given the chance to DEVELOP. Once upon a time, if a label thought you had real potential but it would take a few years before you truly blossomed, they would give you a development deal on their dollar. This would provide you with the opportunity to grow as an artist under their supervision and eventually come to realize those chart-topping dreams the label saw in you from the very beginning. Today, if you aren’t at the top of your game in every category, and you don’t have “hit” potential, then you can’t realistically have success as a major label artist.

Before you continue with your inflated dreams of hitting it big as an average performer, singer, and songwriter, make sure you take the time to develop yourself as an artist so you can be profitable and successful in the music industry. That doesn’t mean you have to try to fit the mold that these labels build. Be your own unique self and put your own spin on the music you make. It is important, however, to be aware of the changing playing field that we are all stepping on. I am confident that authenticity and originality will win in the end, but having these business skills is crucial to your future career. It pays to have the heart of a poet and the mind of a suit.

The topic of the lecture that day was behavior. Actually, the more precise topic was the behavior of woodpeckers –government funded, of course. LOL (insert comedic drum riff here). Anyway, Dr. No-Chin (professor) had stumbled upon the details of the woodpecker study, and like me, he found it quite interesting.

The story goes as follows: Top scientists had apparently fabricated a telephone pole from steel that looked, smelled and probably felt like real wood (at least at the surface). These “top” scientists temporarily erected several of these massive mirages in wooded areas where wildlife flourished to study the effects of synthetic but familiar props within the habitat. The story of the woodpeckers, and their determination to keep drilling holes in these steel poles is what has stuck with me all these years.

According to the good professor, the woodpeckers never gave up! Those cute little critters would pound away at these steel monstrosities until they literally bashed their little brains and beaks in. It was kind of sad, really, now that I think about the net result of their efforts. But what has kept this story alive in my mind over the years is that at no point did these genetically-hardwired creatures ever stop to evaluate their progress, their health, if it was working, or…the fact that they were dying. Hmm. See where we’re going with this?

I think aspiring songwriters and singer/songwriters have more in common with those little woodpeckers than we’d like to admit. Not all of us, of course. A small percentage of us have excellent self-management skills, a great work ethic, and ultimately we see our careers skyrocketing. But by and large, the other 90% of us tend to bang away at the same, no-win situations, and then wonder why nothing changes.

I see this puzzling reality all too often at Artist Development Network, where I work. Singer/songwriters come to us for…well, developing. Duh. It’s a very different type of business. I honestly have days where I feel much more like a psychiatrist than a staff writer and A&R guy. Yes, the average day for me is anything but average. I deal with sensitive, artistic personalities that have been around the block long enough to realize that things aren’t going to happen for them without professional help. They usually have above average intelligence. They are usually pretty, handsome, well-funded, great singers; but all have one thing in common: most have been trying the same things for years without success.

And let me tell you, changing behavior is a very difficult thing to do. Creative people, as I’m learning, are quite habitual. Just changing the way a particular line is sung can take hours in the recording studio. It’s very hard to re-learn things.

I have discovered, for instance, that simply changing hairstyles is pretty much a life-altering event for most men. You want to see how weird things can really get here? Sit in my office and watch what happens when a guy is told that perhaps his hair needs some attention, and that we’ve booked an appointment with a stylist. I’m pretty good with words, but what follows is usually not something I can adequately describe. Yes, the average male can dig in faster than a gopher in the path of a John Deer when hair is involved. The same thing goes for stage clothing and image. Most guys don’t easily get the fact that those jeans that Keith Urban wears for his album covers—the ones that cost about $100 per hole—are quite a bit more stylin’ than the Levi’s he plans on wearing to his next photo shoot.

The fact is, becoming a star means a lot of things. Suddenly, everybody’s nitpicking and detail-oriented. And there’s a good reason for this, too. Opportunities are not endless. Careers have expiration dates. You can’t blow it. Artists need to present themselves at their best, right out of the gate. Fans become fans when obvious and not-so-obvious conditions are met. The smallest details, the right clothes, the right hair, the right expressions, etc can add up to huge success or failure. We can’t possibly see this stuff objectively, for ourselves. We are, after all, the owners of our own bubbles.

So experts are called in, and Artist Development Network is basically a team of purported experts. It’s a tricky thing to do too. We’re on thin ice when it comes to image and intangible concerns. But we actually do know what works for our artists. And it’s not a “one size fits all” deal, either. I can honestly tell you that I would have signed Joe Cocker if he had been in my office 30 years ago looking for a label deal. I would not have tried to fix his hair, or that “I just got out of my wheelchair” dancing style he has. It all suits him and works as his own, unique artist package. But we also know when things don’t work. Cathy Lemmon (Artist Development Network Owner) has a finely tuned antenna for this sort of thing. She handles the bulk of the image-related duties here. She formulates an itinerary for positive image changes in the blink of an eye, sizing up singer/songwriters with a single glance.

So we concentrate on these things. They’re important. Weight, song selection, outfit choice, makeup, camera technique, stage patter, image…they’re all very important to your future. The whole package has to work. And if you weren’t blessed with a face that belongs on the cover of Cosmopolitan or GQ magazine, you can at least make whatever improvements are possible. Take a little lesson from Dolly Parton’s words in the movie Steel Magnolias, a classic. Dolly, a hairdresser who ran her own beauty shop in a small town, looked at her new apprentice (played by Darryl Hannah) and said: “Now remember sweetie…there’s no such thing as natural beauty.”

Back to the woodpecker thing: Don’t be one. You must have a working compass of your own, some direction. But you definitely need to stop doing things that don’t work if you’d like to see success. That alone is a great start if you aspire to be signed with a major label someday or have a hit song in the top 10 as a writer. After you’ve stopped doing things that don’t work, after you’ve cleared that hurdle, you can begin fine tuning and tweaking the little details.

I call that progress. Change is good.

Contact David Harper at:

musicbydavid@gmail.com

If you desire a career as a singer, I can save you years of wasted effort and get you on the right track to success. Having a concrete path and expert advise will get you where you need to go. You have the talent. I have the wisdom and the knowledge you’ll need to get started properly, taking the right steps in the right order.

Candidly, it’s too easy to get sidetracked with things that don’t matter in our business. Let me help you get your career into focus and assist you in realizing your dreams.

In my e-book you’ll learn the following:

· A little history of the record business, and why things have changed.
· Why it’s critical to start performing and find your fan base now.
· What gigs are out there, and what to expect from them.
· How to make money and handle your career as your business.
· How to start a band one piece at a time, in the right order, step by step.
· The honest 411 about working with musicians on stage and in the studio.
· The three (3) essential ingredients for studio success.
· The truth about MySpace and wanna-be virtual “stars”.
· The importance of hit songs, and how to co-write radio ready songs with help.
· The importance of getting your recordings done professionally—the first time.
· Why vocal coaching is so important to stage and studio.
· How important image is today and how you can get “camera ready” with help.
· How to employ your fans for maximum results.
· The truth about do-it-yourself stardom.
· Recording labels will come calling “if…”
· The professional networks that are out there to help you right now.

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