I got an mean tweet today from some young gal who is
probably really nice and in reading some of her other tweets noticed she had
sent my husband a nasty tweet a couple of days ago accusing him of speaking ill
on twitter of a band he happens to be fond of. Now I can take the heat. I’m
aware that my attempt at sarcastic humor often falls flat and I will take the
shots when deserved. But Mr. H on the other hand is by God the closest thing
I’ve ever met to Gandhi and I’ve met a lot of fucking people. Seriously the
dude is kind, genuine and just flat doesn’t talk ugly to or about people. So
when this little Christian girl who in between posting Scripture verses bashed
both me and the Wylie Llama it got me all riled up, after it got me all sad. I
thought it might be a good time to clear up some misconceptions floating around
lately regarding the way things work in the music business for those fans and
artists who may not otherwise know and may make judgments based on incorrect
information.
Now I’ll be the first to admit that that my lack of formal
education may in some eyes deem me less than qualified to expound upon
numerical hypothesis. But I’d have to be eat up with the dumb ass to not be
able to figure out a couple of things hanging around the music business as long
as I have. The first is that getting to the top of the charts means one thing
and one thing only. That your record got more spins than someone else’s that
week. It doesn’t mean that you paid a promoter to do some back room deal to run
your numbers up the magic chart flagpole or that Mr. Billboard or even Katie
Key has decided to sprinkle success fairy dust on you that week. Frankly it’s
preposterous to think they have the power to do so. The numbers are easy to
check by anyone who wants to take the time to do so. Radio stations send a
weekly report of how many times they play each song to the people who compile
the various charts who then add up those numbers and bada bing it’s posted for
all to see. Does being in the top ten mean you are more “successful” than
someone else? Nope. Does it mean you are now on your way to fame, tour buses
and piles of money? Nope. Is it an ego boost? Yep. Is it nice to brag about?
Yep. Can it get you laid? Yep. Does it pay your light bill? Nope. It just means
for that week your record was played more than someone else’s. It’s simple
arithmetic really.
Now if because of those spins listeners go buy your record
and attend your concerts then bravo; you’ve got something people respond to
which could lead to success.
If on the other hand you get lots of spins and still don’t
sell records or garner respectable numbers at shows then who are we to blame? I
wouldn’t think it’s the stations or the promoters or the venues or the person
at the charting company who compiled the numbers. Wouldn’t we blame the fans
for not coming to the show or buying our record? Why of course not, that would
be silly. So I guess that leaves the artist. As painful as it may be and
believe me I have been on the lean end of the scale as often as the fat end (no
puns on my ass size that’s not what we are talking about here) there is no one to
blame for our lack of success but us.
Getting along with those in the industry certainly helps as
it does in any industry. Networking is a large part of this business of music. Lashing
out at others can, as should be expected cause people to not want to help you
or do business with you. It takes a tremendous amount of work, a team of
talented people, a good business plan and perseverance to make it in this
industry. Being nice to people can make it easier. In addition to that you have
to write good music, put on a good live show and eventually you will attract a
following regardless of what your current status is on any chart and no single
person or group of people in the business can do anything to control that.
There are no victims, only volunteers. It sucks not be able to blame someone
else.
We all have struggles regardless of what position we are in. As a fan, a manager, a blogger or a record promoter none of us are
immune to the daily challenges of this business and none of deserve to be
blamed for others mistakes or failures.
There was a guy that said a long time ago and I believe that
it still holds true that we should treat others, as we would like to be
treated. We all came to the party because of the music, those of us who stay do
so because of the music and when it’s all said and done that’s all that should
really matter.
