The Cellar - A Pro Musician Answers Your Questions About Professional Music

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Master Cthulhu (Post 578979)

I hate the factor of money in music.

The words "music" and "industry" right next to each other sickens me.

Do you think it makes me a better musician or a worse musician that I get to spend 100% of my professional life, 40+ hours per week, doing music? Do you think I would be half the musician I am if I had to hold down the swing shift at Walmart and do music on the side?

No disrespect, (at all!) to musicians who do that. Viva la music! More musicians, playing more music, in more places, please! I also know that many of those guys would be much better players than I am if they had been given the chance to pursue it professionally in the way I was.

But I can speak about my experience. I wouldn't have the creative and personal energy to spend 40 hours a week at a day job, and then still practice 10 hours a week, hustle for gigs, rehearse, record, arrange, mix, do all of the hundreds of things that go into being a professional. I just wouldn't

So, I don't know if what I've contributed to the world musically matters at all, but there are some things I've done that I am damn proud of, and they would have been impossible without the "evil" influence of money in music, because it's that money that allows me to DO this.

The general impression of Master Cthulhu is not that musicians shouldn't be rewarded, but rather railing against well funded producers turning no-talent wannabees into megalomaniac pot-tarts that swamp the airwaves with the musical equivalent of MacDonalds.
If that is so, hear hear! So to speak. p:

:) thanks, smooth. You made Danny's day!

(he said, "He's cool - I like him!")

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZenGum (Post 579138)

"Product, meet market. Market, meet product."

Quote:

Originally Posted by smoothmoniker (Post 579127)

...And tell him thank you. I feel pretty bad ass. Here in my khakis and polo. Driving a jetta. To Gymboree.

bwahahahahahahahahahaha :D

awwwwwww yeaaaaah. That's how I roll.

Quote:

Originally Posted by smoothmoniker (Post 579129)

What you're ranting against is how the industry worked 10 years ago.

Labels are becoming irrelevant. Every year, more and more of my work is for artists who have bailed on the traditional label structure, and who are making a living doing music that they own instead. They may release an album, or more commonly these days they record one or two songs at a time and release them online. They get placements on TV or film, those are the big chunks of money, the rest comes from merch and concerts.

10 years ago, anytime I talked to a younger artist, they all asked the same thing, "How do I get signed?"

Now, none of them ask that. They don't care. They all ask, "How can I make a living doing this"? If you can appreciate the significance in how different that question is, you can start to appreciate how much the industry has changed.

I think that's a really, really good thing. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE playing on big budget label albums, where everything is completely 1st class. But almost always, the music is unbearable. I love much more being in the room with an artist who is really, truly and artist, and where I get to become part of their thing for a little while, and make truly good music. Music I can be proud of.

I was actually wondering about that as I read the thread. Back in 1989-1993 I worked in the music industry, for a label and then a recording studio, and my cousin (who is a musician) made two records, one for Polygram and one with RCA. The musicians didn't really make very much money, unless they made it to a certain level, even after being signed to a label. In fact, some of them ended up owing money to the label if the sales didn't pay for all the promotion and recording bills, which happened a lot. Most of them made money from touring, not from record sales. Until they made it past a certain level that is.

So I'm glad the industry has been turned on it's head. That needed to happen. The thing that was so great about the 50s, 60s and 70s and the music that was created, is the industry didn't have as much control over the artists as they have today (or 10-15 years ago), creatively I mean. Everything has become so homogenized, because of the business end of it. The one area where I would say that isn't really true, is in the jam band arena.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sugarpop (Post 579227)

Everything has become so homogenized, because of the business end of it.

I think that's overstated. Radiohead, Beyonce, Fleet Foxes, and Lil Wayne are all bands that have been singed and promoted by "the evil music industry". That's a pretty wide spread to call "homogenized".

Flaming Lips frontman and creative power, Wayne Coyne, is 48. How much longer can they have a career?

ETA: from Mr. Coyne's Wikipedia entry: Each Halloween, Wayne dresses up to scare trick-or-treaters that come to his home. He feels that it is good to scare children, because when they grow older, there are things "that are horribly scary...you can't just run away from them or turn on a light and it runs away."

On the amateur circuit, we have Craigslist. Is there a Craigslist for pros?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Undertoad (Post 579398)

Flaming Lips frontman and creative power, Wayne Coyne, is 48. How much longer can they have a career?

Quincy Jones is 76, what's your point, whippersnapper? :p

Quote:

Originally Posted by Undertoad (Post 579399)

On the amateur circuit, we have Craigslist. Is there a Craigslist for pros?

Yep.

Craigslist.

I have multiple email alerts setup to comb CL for potential gigs. Whenever the words "keyboard piano organ composer arranger studio recording session" show up in an ad, I get sent an email. Here in LA, there's the same amount of crappy work posted there, but there are also lots of legit gigs that are looking for specialized work. About once a month I find something on there that's really worth pursuing.

Do professional musicians get laid a lot?

I mean hot groupies, not your wife.

Quote:

Originally Posted by smoothmoniker (Post 579403)

so now we know how to bug you next time you're MIA from the cellar! :lol:

Quote:

Originally Posted by monster (Post 579438)

so now we know how to bug you next time you're MIA from the cellar! :lol:

exactly right!