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bonejoy
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« on: June 12, 2004, 03:58 AM » |
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Just been reading some really interesting posts about turning pro and what it means etc...I'd like some of your thoughts on this scenario....
I'm 31, married, have a six year old daughter. I have a VERY well paying career as UK sales & business development manager for a global company. Thats's the domestic side of the scenario described.
I play in a band, and love every minute of it. I don't gain any sort fulfillment from my career aside from the financial benefits, all my fulfillment comes from the music (and family of course).
Knowing what I know of the music business (not a great deal), if your band gets signed to a decent label, you won't make any significant money as a band member until the band recoups the advance from the record deal, and only then if you are selling large amounts of discs. I'd hazard a guess that a musician in a band in the first year of its record deal would be lucky to take home £7,000...
and that's by syphening money from the advance, and gigging like mad..
So the question I've had in my head for a while is this: What would I do if my band got offered a record deal?
If it was practical, I'd carry on working as long as possible, but at some point I'd have to quit my job and go back to poor lifestyle. Would I go for it..........? I probably would because I'd hate to regret not having the balls to take the opportunity. Perhaps short term suffering is the only way to potential long term achievement and success. On the downside however, I think it would put incredible amounts of strain on the marriage as I don't think my wife would support me on this one......
I'd probably be more settled if the band never became more than a respected gigging band around town, and to be honest, that's probably what will happen (hopefully), but I'm interested to hear your thought on this...what would you do? Have you been through this kind of thing?....
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capnrusty
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« Reply #1 on: June 12, 2004, 05:31 AM » |
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Your first priority needs to be your family (which I'm sure it is). If it is going to cause such a huge strain, then it's not worth it. Maybe my advice would be different if a child were not involved. I am not married, nor do I have children, so the situation is different for me. I already make a living with music and my girlfriend more or less understands what she's getting into and it's ok with her. My advice is not to worry about this until it becomes reality.
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Tony
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Art is the expression of the self.
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« Reply #2 on: June 12, 2004, 08:58 AM » |
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Well, I'm not sure how much money you make now, but here's a real life example:
The band Trust Company is from Montgomery. Jason, their drummer is a buddy, in fact we were out last night checking out some other friends of our (The Spicoli's ) who are leaving next week for a European tour. Trust Co, is signed to Geffen, and their first record sold over 1,000,000 (platinum status). They spent 13 months on the road with Linkin Park and Korn, playing Europe, North and South America, etc. After all was said and done, they each took home about $40,000 for the 2 years of work that went into the record and the tour. That's $20 grand a year. Not much money here, and even less in England, I'm sure.
True, they saw the world on someone else's nickel, and have experiences worth more than any dollar amount, but they are an exception. Not many rock bands sell a million copies of their debut. So, the question you must ponder is: can you support your family on less then $20 grand a year? For me, the answer is a resounding no. But I have no dreams of being a fulltime musician or rockstar.
The other factor that few people take into consideration is that once you take something like music and begin to rely on it to be the main source of income, some people crack under the pressure. It's no longer fun, and you begin the "compromise". Taking gigs soley for the money, not the art. After a while it tends to jade you.
Becoming a fulltime musician can be a rewarding career, but it can also be as pressurized as police work or surgery. Just because it's music doesn't mean it's easy.
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The techniques, though they play an important role in the early stage, should not be too restrictive, complex or mechanical. If we cling to them, we will become bound by their limitation. Any technique, however worthy and desirable, becomes a disease when the mind is obsessed with it.
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563
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drum + hand
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« Reply #3 on: June 12, 2004, 09:58 AM » |
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I have no kids. So bear that in mind. My missus would be behind me 100%, even if it meant living poor for a while, if I had to quit my job to make music. So for me its relatively simple. Yes, I would.
My main goal with my music is to make music I feel good about playing. My second goal is to run that up the flagpole and see who salutes. I have a game plan, and will attempt to get myself more public, and potentially make a living at it. But it has to be based on that #1 goal or I wont do it. So while Im limiting my ability to make a living with music. If I get the opprotunity, I'll be able to take it, and feel good about it.
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Making bad art. Saying stupid things. Implimenting my master plan to be forgotten when I'm gone and forgettable while I'm here. The Luna MothmeTableland |
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Chris Whitten
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« Reply #4 on: June 12, 2004, 11:26 AM » |
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A couple of cliches to say upfront:
Life's too short....
And grab any opportunity by the horns.
I take on board Tony's example. I have no real idea what an average band can make these days.
What I do know is that any advance is your money and recording expenses and promotion are going to come out of it.
Any band have got to be foolish to spend thousands recording in a well known studio with a big shot producer etc...
Most people are recording at home or at small studios these days.
You can go into a well known studio for a few days to track drums maybe. Most people do that, spend a few weeks at home overdubbing, then spend a week or so mixing (again at a decent studio).
Unfortunately, a lot of labels will force you to spends big bucks on a mix specialist and videos for promotion. But don't forget, it's your money they're spending.
If I was in your position and a reputable label came along to sign the band I would go for it.
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smoggrocks
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Is there another word for synonym?
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« Reply #5 on: June 14, 2004, 01:15 PM » |
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i always thought i would take the 'coward' way out and not go for the big push for success. but, having lived at the cusp of real poverty the last 3 years, i now know i have it in me to take to the open road.
the way i see it, poverty sucks. but it sucks less if you're on the road playing music. and if someone's going to pick up my room tab, even in a crap hotel, i'll take it. if i can sleep in a tent, i can sleep in a crappy hotel. and if all i gotta do is play my drums and answer some interviewer's questions a few hours a day, i think that's not too heavy a demand for 20K. shoo. i lived on $12,800 last year.
if you're an artist, you almost always have to suffer for your art. but i think it's worth it in the end. even if you don't become really famous, getting a record deal gives you the opportunity to put your music in front of people, get some exposure, and make some connections in the industry. it gives you a chance to get your 15 minutes. as the great and powerful jon e. always says, 'better to have your odds be a million to one instead of a million to none.'
the only cautionary advice i would give is to not vest yourself only in your music. any thinking artist has to have a 'reality check' back-up vocation, no matter how humble it may be. you have to have a master plan in the event everything falls through.
the other thing is, if you are getting recognition, and a label is into you, you've got to try to leverage that success to your benefit. i always get inspired when i hear mc hammer talking about how he crafted his deal with his label. basically, he gave them an argument they couldn't refute, and he walked away much richer as a result.
so yeah, hmmmm and all that. but i do think if the call came, i'd answer it with a resounding YES. you can always rejoin the ranks of the plebians if it doesn't work out. but you won't always get another chance at making it in music.
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The most wasted day of all is that on which you have not laughed.
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Chris Whitten
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« Reply #6 on: June 15, 2004, 04:22 AM » |
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i always get inspired when i hear mc hammer talking about how he crafted his deal with his label. basically, he gave them an argument they couldn't refute, and he walked away much richer as a result.
Did he? I always thought he was way too arrogant, spent almost all his money on a huge entourage (and all the usual 'bling' trappings), had a couple of hits and now I wonder what he's done since. I'll try not to sound too jaded, but I think it's often a mugs came to try and 'play' the record labels. Better to realise that an advance is like a bank loan. It's YOUR money. Whatever the approach to record companies, I imagine that most here would prefer a long career with critical and public appreciation. In my experience, a smaller deal, with a smaller label - usually more enthusiastic and more hungry to achieve a level of success - is a better route to a long term career in music. |
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