You Don't Need to Be So Serious
by Larry Weir, Masika Swain
The music industry is a serious venture. This is one industry where we get paid to do what we love to do. People actually pay radio to play music and to entertain us with their morning and afternoon-drive antics, or so that we can hear our favorite songs. Recording artists and bands can generate revenue by playing music just the way that they want to. It all comes down to this major labor of love, so as it is all serious business, it is and should continue to remain lots of fun.
The fun factor can also be found in the music itself. Many artists have been integrating tragedy with comedy. Cases in point can be found in the lyrical contact from Panic At The Disco to Blue October. Nashville songwriters have been making this kind of music for years, and on just about every country CD you will find some pretty tragic and serious stuff that gets a bit of comic relief from time to time.
In dealing with music and programmers on a day to day basis, one needs to keep a sense of humor. You tend to attract people if you are not too serious, and that makes them feel as if they are important. In trying to get programmers to play your songs, you can get your way by spending more time entertaining them. Ask them about their lives rather than just reading them a laundry list of things you want added to the playlist. These programmers have a pretty busy schedule, and putting their music together is just one of the many things they have to deal with. If you can help brighten a moment by not being so serious, you will find them more apt to take your calls.
In addition to some comic relief, this business is about relationships. You can’t just come into our industry as a businessperson and think you can succeed just by throwing a lot of money around and bragging that you are bright and clever. This industry is made up of individuals who have worked hard for many, many years. The industry has sacrificed, lost many of its own to downsizing and consolidation, and many have been pushed into positions that are far less than that of their potential. No one is impressed with the "big-talking guy" that can claim that they made a fortune in plastics and now intend to do the same in the music industry. Just be careful when you step into our territory, and treat our brothers and sisters with the respect and the dignity that they all deserve.
We were thrilled to partake in this year’s New Music Weekly Awards, and that brought a lighthearted celebration of a year of hard work mixed with fun, music and a lot of humor. Sometimes the humor would work its way right into tears, but it all showed the passion and intensity of our industry, especially from the independent perspective. Recording artist Tom Levin, who won the award for AC Artist of the Year, had one of the most heartfelt speeches of the evening. After thanking his core of supporters, he ended by saying, "I would also like to thank my record label—me. My manager—me, and my booking agent and publicist—me." That brought a roar from the crowd and had a lot of truth to it as well.
We are getting ready for a new year and it is time once again to reevaluate how we go about our business. Once we have all of the mechanical things in check, it might be time to kick back and have some real fun with our career and in our business. This new attitude will help pull the stress level down and attract people toward you. In the music business, the fun factor is built right into it, so use it to your fullest and enjoy the ride.
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.%
