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November, 2006
 
The Music Business with Attitude
Perseverance Comes with Hard Work and Determination by Larry Weir The music business is a tough nut to crack. Many that come into it wind up bitter and frustrated with the entire process, and at times it is quite difficult. For those that enter into the arena thinking that they will become instant rock stars, good luck! Like anything else in the world, this is a business and not some type of fantasy camp where everything is lined with Gold and Platinum. Success is most often the result of tireless hard work. Keep in mind that this a full-time career, not something that is done on a whim. The attitude of the music business and radio has changed over the past few years. A good deal of it has to do with getting rid of some of the independent promotion companies that at one time laid claim to stations and station groups. It had been a major practice that if you wanted to get a song on a certain radio station, you would go to the people that controlled that station, pay them a lot of money to get the song added, and then pay them even more to move the song up in rotation. A good deal of that has stopped, although it is not gone for good. What is evident is that music and program directors, even in the bigger markets, are far more accessible. "What is different now is that we talk more about the actual song and less about what kind of deal we need to make to get the song added," a major-label vice president recently noted. This is all good news for those of you that are releasing product on your own. Your positive attitude can move mountains and can change the course of a career. The most exciting news of 2006 so far has been the emergence of the band Heartland. This group was going to stations in the Huntsville, Ala., area, trying to get their music played. One of the stations suggested that they contact the small independent label Lofton Creek, and within a very short period of time things began to happen. Their debut single, "I Loved Her First," spent a month at No. 1 on the New Music Weekly charts and was set to go to No. 1 at Radio and Records and Billboard. "We really didn’t have to work any deals with stations to get this played. It was all about having a good record," said Mike Borchetta, who runs the Nashville record label. We are also proud of being a part of the promotion team and could not be more thrilled. You can credit the positive attitude of the band and the label, as well as a great song and production. Those critical ingredients helped propel the single to the top of the charts. If you think there wasn’t a lot of hard work at play here, you are mistaken. People are always rooting for the underdog and you can’t get a better example than this one. As future recording artists, it is one thing to have attitude in your craft and vocal style, and quite another to have an attitude when it comes to the business itself. One needs to learn fast about being a team player. Building the team and setting that positive attitude can be the determining factor in whether or not you make it happen. No matter how many changes have occurred in the industry to make this a more independent-friendly environment, it’s still a very tough road and you are going to need a lot of teamwork and help along the way. The artist that prides himself or herself on doing it all by themselves may actually wind up alone. They could also end up being the only one left listening to their project. Larry Weir and Masika Swain run National Record Promotion. They invite you to 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. |