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December, 2006
 
What They Don’t Want You to Know
Exposing the Myths by Larry Weir As someone entering the music industry from the sidelines, you will ask a lot of questions and no doubt get a lot of answers. Many people in this industry have their own personal agenda. So keep one thing in mind when getting answers from the so-called experts: consider the source. Many still believe that you have to be signed to a major record label to get airplay. That is simply not true. Well into 2007, releases from independent labels will continue to build by leaps and bounds. Radio station programmers and music directors are becoming far more accessible to the independent. As we have mentioned before, the biggest story of the year has occurred in the country format with the band Heartland and their "I Loved Her First" single. Released on the independent label Lofton Creek Records, the single shot to No. 1 at New Music Weekly and Music Row, and it wasn’t long after that it hit No. 1 on the Billboard and Radio & Records charts. You will see more of these things, but keep in mind that the song and the production have to be first rate and you have to have some type of promotion plan in the works. There are numerous independent record promotion companies that will work your product for a month at a very reasonable rate. You will need to do some research, but without their help with mailings and tracking reports, little will be accomplished on your own. You will need to put a small team together to make it happen. Some experts will tell you to break your record regionally, and that is another myth gone bad. No radio programmer in their right mind is going to look at stats and the movement of a record or single at the regional level. Smart programmers want to know that there is some national plan in the works. Along with the regional waste of time is that notion that your hometown or local area will be the first to support your new release. We find that to be far from the case. Many hometown stations may be part of a group programmed in another part of the country. They will want to see how your single fares in other parts of the nation before they will even take a meeting with you. In many cases, your hometown is the last to fall. Some people believe you can’t get airplay or get your songs covered if you are not with a publisher. Over the last 10 years, the publishing houses were the first to take a hit with consolidations and downsizing. Even in the flourishing time of music publishing, there were many who would sign you up and just sit on your material in hopes that you would get something going on your own. Only then would you begin seeing money, but by that time your publisher was taking all of it. Many artists have spent a lifetime trying to get those rights back. If you need money that badly while starting out in the music industry, it would be best to borrow it or get a loan rather than give up your publishing rights. The major labels also don’t want you to know that thanks to the Internet, you don’t even need a traditional distribution deal to sell your product. MySpace, CD Baby and your own website can be the best places to start selling CDs, and you will see all the money instead of getting a $2 royalty (if even that) from your record company. Even then, trying to get money after you recoup is not easy At least you will get the mechanical royalties paid to you. That is, unless you already gave up your publishing. Larry Weir and Masika Swain run National Record Promotion out of the Los Angeles area. Send your CD for consideration or evaluation to: NRP, 137 N. Larchmont Blvd., #500, Los Angeles, CA 90004. Call 323-658-7449, e-mail lweir@larryweir.com, and visit www.heartlandent.com, www.larryweir.com and www.masika.net. |