There are a lot of important elements that go into creating a successful video, but one that many often overlook (or don’t put any thought to until the last second) is music.
Music can hugely impact the mood of your video, and that, in turn, can have an effect on its success.
As the great Louis Armstrong once said, “Musicians don’t retire; they stop when there’s no more music in them.” Despite the challenges of the industry, you should never stop trying to find ways to keep making good music and growing your career.
My take on this topic is not just based on inspirational quotes and fancy sayings. It comes from having been involved in music as a marketer and entrepreneur.
Over the past few years, I have worn several hats on the business side of music, from managing upcoming artists to starting companies. My experience has given me an insider’s perspective into how different people approach their careers and the little things some people do differently (or don’t do), which sometimes makes the difference.
As a band or musician, your website is one of the most important tools you have. It sets you apart from all the rest and gives you your own little slice of the internet to show off your music.
Performing live music is a nerve-racking experience. No amount of singing in the mirror or head-banging in the garage can quite prepare you for the moment when the lights come up and you’re there. The center of attention. The subject of scrutiny. “Here we are now, entertain us.”
What is this weary feeling I get when I read so much of the commentary around at the moment about music streaming, and the replacement of the desire to own music with the ‘ease of access’?
It’s not just about the fact that the easy access to a vast ocean of music leads to choice paralysis and a lack of involvement and appreciation. It’s that there seems to be this big push towards paying a subscription for an ‘all you can eat’ style streaming service … ONE service … whichever one wins the battle for hearts and minds, or should we say ears and wallets.
Inevitably, this kind of idea means that the ‘consumer’ would end up choosing just one of these services, because the whole point about them is that the service has ‘everything’ on it … all the music in the world, supposedly. So there’s zero point in trying to get that from more than one provider. It’s a ‘winner takes all’ game from the streaming service’s point of view.
For a long time now I haven’t been able to exactly pinpoint my discomfort with this mega-streaming concept. Obviously, as an artist myself, one aspect that concerns me is the visibly minute amounts paid to the artists. These absurdly low rates, which have not been widely publicised, would perhaps not be so bad if streaming served as a promotional tool to drive music sales.
But the fact remains that, in most cases, these streaming subscriptions will eradicate peoples’ need to buy music at all. Thus leaving artists to scrabble around for alternative sources of income from brand sponsorships or T-shirt and tchotchke sales. I’m not knocking the idea of selling a bit of band merch, but it just seems undignified, unartistic, and kind of cheesy, if it is the sole income activity. Has rock n’ roll really come to this?
I know that live music is also being touted as the saviour of artists’ income, but I’m pretty sure that most musicians view this option with the scepticism born of real experience. It’s true that some acts can definitely make touring work for them financially, but it’s questionable whether touring can work for the majority of little-known bands (ie. the majority of ALL bands).
And is it just me, or is anyone else disturbed by the concept of constant carbon-emitting travel being touted as the future of the music business in this era of climate change? Not to mention the looming spectre of the peak oil scenario. But let’s not go there!
The resurgence of vinyl is also being hailed as a solution to the problem of how artists will generate an income. It’s admittedly exciting to see vinyl making a comeback, but realistically it will always be a minority market in this digital world. And for emerging artists, getting vinyl pressed and distributed is more expensive and problematic than many can afford.
The cannibalization of download sales is a big reason why I’m wary of this streaming trend, but there’s always been something else niggling at me … and gradually it’s dawning on me what my problem is with it all.
It’s that it’s so centralized and massive … so juggernaut and behemoth-like. It’s ultimately all so CORPORATE. The one mega-streaming service, enabling mindless mass consumption. It can’t end up being anything other than a major corporation, with the successful service beating all the others and gobbling them all up. Good old monopoly capitalism again - hurray! All we can eat, while the artist starves.
We don’t have to go down this path at all. We could enjoy the natural cottage-industry fragmentation of the internet and rejoice in its diversity. We could celebrate the demise of the monopolies and the massive might of the majors. We could delight in the boundless opportunities for the ‘little guy’ at last, having fun while we surf around a multitude of colourful small sites on the net. We could revel in the warm feeling of supporting small businesses and individuals around the globe, as we happily pay for their services.
Or we could say, F*** that, I just want as much music as I can get, with no effort, for as little money as possible.
Brilliant, thank you Catherine. Your point re Peak Oil and travel is well taken, i've been trying to discuss this for years with musicians, who generally have no idea what is going on. It's especially relevant to american musicians who don't play commercial music, and need to perform in Europe, where audiences are more open...how do you justify the carbon spew of transatlantic flight? As stated in George Monbiot's excellent book "Heat"..you can't, and there isn't a way around it. The problems that are coming via climate change make this look like small potatoes though.
Thanks for your comment, John. I'm glad you're switching people on to the Peak Oil issue - it does need thinking about, IMO. And agreed, re. your last point.
'There's massive potential for growth': Decca's Rebecca Allen on the Classic BRITs comeback | Media | Music Week
Decca president Rebecca Allen has told Music Week it’s the “right time” for the return of the Classic BRIT Awards amid a resurgence for non-pop repertoire.
The televised event, organised by the BPI, is being revived to mark the growing popularity of classical releases, musical theatre and music from TV, film and video game soundtracks.
“As an industry we’re delighted to have this back,” said Allen, co-chair of the Classic BRITs committee with InterTalent chairman Jonathan Shalit.
The word “weird” is fast becoming a habitual, if not involuntary, part of Catherine McGrath’s daily vocabulary. Speaking to Music Week from her Belfast home, she says it’s weird that she’s got a foot in the door in Nashville. It’s weird that nearly a million people have listened to her debut EP, One. Naturally, it’s also weird that she’s about to play Country 2 Country Festival, where three years ago she was just a punter. Judging by her career trajectory, this talented country singer had best get used to the weirdness.
The 19-year-old’s musical journey started seven years ago; McGrath remembers the epiphanic moment like it was yesterday. “I heard Taylor Swift’s song Love Story on the radio,” she says. “I watched her interviews talking about people like Faith Hill and Rascal Flatts. I looked them up on YouTube and found people like Carrie Underwood and Kacey Musgraves. I went on a country spree and fell in love with it.” From there, McGrath started posting covers on YouTube until her rendition of Ed Sheeran’s Lego House caused ex-Warner Bros president Conrad Withey to reach out and express his admiration. Her reaction wasn’t exactly textbook.
“I was like, That’s obviously not real!” she laughs. “I ignored him. Three months later, he messaged me again and I was like, This guy won’t go away, who is he?” Withey was, of course, who he claimed to be and, once McGrath finished college, she promptly signed to Warner Bros. Weirdness ensued. Soon enough, McGrath found herself nervously shuffling down Nashville’s Music Row and into a session with Liz Rose – the songwriter behind many of Swift’s earliest hits. “I was so nervous,” she reflects. “I walked in and there were pictures on the wall of all these songs she’d done that I loved. It was crazy and so fun, she was really happy with the song we wrote and I’m going to write with her again.”
The song in question – Cinderella – distils McGrath’s music perfectly, a recovery of the streamlined country pop sound of Taylor Swift’s first two albums. Lyrically, too, McGrath draws parallels to Swift in her ability to channel the swell of emotion as new love either sparks into life or explodes like a sack of crap. “I write a lot about love, and not even because I’ve been in loads of relationships and know everything,” she muses. “It’s kind of because I don’t really know anything about it." There’s a pronounced innocence to her debut EP, something that’s endearing her to a large audience. Having recently played dates with Una Healy of The Saturdays, her next stop is Country 2 Country Festival.
It’s a sign of just how far she’s come, and in more ways than one. “Just over two years ago I wouldn’t sing in front of anyone, not even my mum and dad,” she says. “I knew it was what I wanted to do, it was just finding the confidence. In a way I put videos on YouTube because I wanted to see what people outside of my family would say about my singing. I wanted to know what strangers thought.” And in 2017, a lot of strangers are probably going to think that McGrath is one of the brightest emerging talents in country music.