Be Careful What You Ask For

The one thing I've realized about the music industry is that it is largely a dream driven industry. People have dreams, goals or visions of success that are sometimes manifested just the way the saw them but most people dream not really expecting their dreams to come true. When planning your career you should be very cautious and be careful what you ask for because you just might get it and if you are not prepared to deal with it you will be the worse for it. Most people TALK a good game about what they want but if someone dropped out of the sky and gave them everything they wanted they would be to afraid to take it. Let's face it, most artists have dreams that they never really believe will happen so they fall in love with dreaming and not manifesting or realizing. I read a book called The Alchemist and in the book the author referred to your dreams, passions or goals as your personal legend. Now we all have a personal legend but less than half of us ever really pursue our passion to the end. He gave a lot of reasons but the one that stuck with me was the fact that some of us just don't really live our life planning to achieve our goals. A dream, goal, passion or personal legend is a living breathing thing that we have to nurture daily. What we have to do is the moment you know what your dreams are, start planning at that very moment. You should make your daily decisions based on how they contribute to you achieving your goals. This is why most people get caught by surprise when success drops in their lap because they know that they were not really expecting it. You have to practice achieving and being successful at even the smallest things so that your dreams become tangible and attainable. Like the Nike slogan "Just Do It" The moment you think it, do it. Don't question it just move. I have only worked one "REAL JOB" in my life. I worked for six months at a record shop all the while saying I wanted to do music full time. I met a gentlemen that is still one of my mentors today and he told me to just do it so I did. Now it is a lot of work but that was me pursing my personal legend and making my dream a living thing. After I jumped in with both feet, my dreams got bigger and more doors were opened to me because I was living my personal legend. I am still doing so and enjoying every moment because the sky is not the limit. There is no limit. So start TODAY making your dreams breathe and come to life because what ever you want can and WILL happen just expect it too. Work today as if you already know what is coming so that you won't be surprised. Don't ever give up pursuit of your personal legend.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2010

Understanding The Landscape

One of the keys to success in this business and any business is being able to understand the changes in the market. It is as simple as Economics 101... supply and demand. Most of us understand this concept but only on the surface. In the music business we have to look beneath the surface to see that success is about understanding the landscape. We all want to make Cd's to get airplay, make videos and sell millions of copies but we are not seeing the entire landscape of opportunity. Selling music via a packaged CD is only one small piece of this landscape. There are so many ways to make money with your music and they all revolve around PUBLISHING. I mean look at T.V. commercials, movies, sitcoms, infomercials and reality shows. THEY ALL NEED MUSIC and getting a song placed in any of these areas will often times bring you more money over a longer period of time. And if you are able to place a song on a show that goes into syndication, that's a check for life. We just have to learn to see the opportunity around us everyday. I'm sure you listen to the radio and notice all the advertising that you hear and every ad has a musical jingle to help sell it. So as business men/women in this industry we have to learn to see the entire landscape beyond FAME. I mean you can be very wealthy as a movie composer or writing music for T.V. shows and no one will really know who you are but your music will be making you a lot of money and a great living. I challenge you to look around and see what other things are available to you and pursue them. The industry is literally changing daily and we are the people that are in the best position to help define where it all goes from here.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2010

Taking Ownership

It's always interesting to me how many artists and musicians complain about being ripped off, exploited or mistreated but won't do anything to be proactive about changing their perceived situation. I submit to you today that the way to change this situation is by taking ownership of your career. Years ago I heard a quote from Dave Clark who is known as the father of modern record/street promotion and he said "If you don't have a record then you are not in the record business." Now as simple as this may sound many of us still don't get it. Most of us want something for nothing. We want to record Cd's but we don't want to pay for the studio, graphics, photos or packaging and we are content to try and take advantage of someone else to get these things paid for. I know you've heard stories about how record companies for years have stolen royalties from artists and how the company got rich while the artist became broke. A lot of these stories are true but in most cases no one forces you to sign anything. You have a choice and it is up to you to take ownership of your decisions. It's really common sense. If I am a record company and I pay for an artist to produce a Cd and I cover all the cost involved with marketing and building their career then the record belongs to me as does the lion's share of the profit. I would have to make all of my investment money back first and because I took the risk I will also have a healthy percentage of whatever other earnings are made. Don't get me wrong, the artist will make money too. I will just make more per my investment. I mean without me you wouldn't have a record. I know you've seen the name "Executive Producer" on Cd's. This simply means who paid for the project. As an artist, if you are not willing to invest your own money, time and energy in your career you should just quit today. I understand that it is costly but you can at least pay half and partner with someone to help you but just know if you don't invest in you then you are telling the world that you don't really value who you are and what you have. You are simply setting yourself up to be ripped off. As a label owner and publisher I have garnered ownership of so many pieces of intellectual property because of artists trying to take the easy way out and get something for nothing. When they sign the agreement saying that for my investment I will own part or in most cases all of the publishing rights they think they are taking advantage of me. Now I do everything I can to try to get them to come out of pocket with SOMETHING so that we can share the executive producer role but they want something for nothing so I don't have a problem with it because it costs our company quite a bit of money and time to produce and place these projects. We produced a show a few years ago and the concept was to get a group of talented artists that each had a basic fan base of one to two hundred people. We proposed a partnership between our company and them to produce the event by all of us equally splitting the cost to produce the event. Each artist was to get video and audio footage of their performance to further help them. Now all of them wanted to do the show but do you know that not one of them would give a dime not even $100 to invest in themselves? We did the show and it was very successful but since we took the chance we made the money. Yes some of the artist started saying we were ripping them off because we didn't pay them this or that but from the moment they refused to invest in themselves they relinquished any right to complain. It's all about taking ownership and responsibility for your career. As a record executive/musician/producer/performer I have had to invest in ME all my life so I have zero tolerance for artists who don't want to do the same for themselves. I simply believe they will get what they deserve or what they put in and in most cases that is nothing. So I challenge all artists to take ownership right now.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2010

Swagger Jacking

I know you've heard that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Well there may be some truth to that but there is a line between imitation and out right thievery. Borrowing concepts, themes, melodies, grooves...etc has been common place for years in the music industry. When someone had a hit song, look or style everyone would jump on it with there version of the original idea. That is still true today. Let's face it you have trendsetters and then you have trend followers. Now it's cool if people are presenting a variation on your idea but plagiarism is still a crime in every since of the word and concept. Today we simply call it Swagger Jacking. When some artist cannot be not creative enough to come up with his/her own ideas or style they steal or jack someone else's ideas. Now I have seen people jack photo poses, CD concepts, style and I've even seen someone lift direct passages from someone's website or bio and attempt to pass them off as their own. Now for the first part there is not much you can do about some uncreative simple minded thieving artist jacking intangible concepts but I advise every artist to not only copyright your creative works but to also trademark your name, concepts, photos...etc. Now this is a rather costly investment but well worth it in the long run. We spend a lot of time branding in this industry and for someone to usurp the benefits of our work is just like them taking money out of our pockets. We have to think just like a major corporation I mean Coke does not play around with Pepsi or any other company when it comes to their brand. If you have a slogan, theme or catch phrase, be sure to trademark it before you start your branding so that if someone decides to steal it you have legal recourse. Keep it fresh and beware of the Swagger Jacking.

The Truth
All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2010

Membership

If I were to ask any number of artists what they wanted to do with their career they would all say something to the affect of being famous, rich or known worldwide. All of these goals are fine but if I ask these same artists what they are doing on a day to day basis to accomplish these goals then you start to hear crickets because I think a lot of us are in love with the idea of dreaming more than we are with actualizing our dreams or visions. If we want to be number one, we have to do what the people who are already on top are doing and we have to be in the same or similar circles and yes we can do it. One of the things you have to understand is that in every industry their are networking organizations that give you a chance to rub shoulders and get to know people in your industry that can help you get where you want to be. The entire music industry is like a huge fraternity and MEMBERSHIP has it's privileges. We all watch the Grammys, American Music Awards, BET Awards, MTV Awards & Academy Awards. Now most of us sit back and dream saying "One day I'm gonna be on that stage". Well before you can be on the stage you have to be in the building and in the mix with those people. Not many artists even realize that they can just buy tickets to most of these events and just go but in most cases you have to be a member of a particular organization. For instance, the only way to attend or even buy a ticket to the Grammys is if you are a member of the Recording Academy. All you have to do to join is pay your MEMBERSHIP dues which are $100 a year and to qualify for membership you just to show that you have been credited on a certain number of recordings that have been published. Yes it's that simple. Also every artist that is making music for public consumption should be a member of ASCAP or BMI as both a writer and a publisher. You can only belong to one or the other. They both have annual fees and this MEMBERSHIP puts you in the mix with the entire music industry. Each one of these organizations has FREE networking events almost monthly. By attending these events you are then able to meet people that are working in the industry on all levels in all facets. This is how MEMBERSHIP can help you realize your vision. There are also hundreds of industry and genre specific music conferences that go on each year that can give you a chance to network and expose people in the industry to who you are and what you do. I advise every artist to budget to attend at least one awards show and after party and at least one major industry music conference a year as a part your regular career building strategy. Remember you can't win the fight if you don't put yourself in the ring.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2010

Use Logic

I have met so many artists that are just starting out that have great passion but are very naive about what they need in their career. I've seen a lot of artists come to me and say..."You have to talk to my manager" and my thoughts are what the hell do you have to manage?! Most of the time these people have managers that don't know anything about the music industry. It seems that all forms of LOGIC are just non existent. This one is very simple. You don't need a manager if you are not manageable. This simply means that as an artist you must first understand that the manager works for YOU and YOU are the driving force of your career. Use logic to choose when you need a manager. When you have created something that is in demand and is too much for you to MANAGE then you need help. Now again be logical when choosing a manager. If you are a full time artist or musician then how can you have a part time manager?I've seen so many people claiming to be managers but they work eight hour jobs for someone else. My question is how are you managing ANYTHING if you are on someone else's clock for eight hours. You should choose a manager CAREFULLY and for God's sake if a person comes to you asking you to pay them to manage you you...RUN... If a person is serious about helping you build your career, that is just what they will do...HELP! A manager only makes a percentage of what they make you and your percentage should always be higher. For a manager starting out with you ten to fifteen percent is usually a good start. You should develop a relationship without paper work first. Now most people will tell you that they can't work for you without a contract but I disagree. If they only make money by making you money then it shouldn't matter. This gives you and the manager a chance to test the waters. You can do a trial run for six months to see how the relationship works and if after that time you are satisfied you can entertain an exclusive contract but even then I would only do the first contract for a year. Check the person's history as well. Have they managed other artists before? Do they know the music business? Do they have or can they help you find resources to advance your career? And I repeat, IF YOU ARE A FULL TIME MUSICIAN OR ARTIST YOU DON'T NEED A PART TIME MANAGER!!!! Your manager has to be as all in as you are. This is not a game this is your life and career so don't let people play with your business. Forget all the hype and use logic and common sense.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2010

Raising Your Value

Our industry is full of intangibles. I mean in every other field there is a very tangible barometer of skill measurement and competency which makes it easier to place definite value on those skills. For example, you don't go to the doctor, dentist or your attorney and try to haggle with them over the price of their service, you immediately figure they are worth it because they are certified regardless to experience. Now what I have seen in our industry is that people figure that musicians or artists are just having fun and we are there strictly for their entertainment so they don't really place a high monetary value on what we do. They also don't respect all of the knowledge we have acquired by doing what we do and that knowledge is worth something. A lot of times we are devalued simply because of our presentation and the fact that we simply allow it to happen. Now I submit to you that we have to practice raising our value. The first step in doing so is to define what your skill sets are and do research on the market value of those skill sets. For instance, I've been operating an independent production company and label for over fifteen years. Now my partners and I started this company after working with major labels and realizing that we could do the same thing for ourselves. In the company I was a producer, musician, arranger, writer, visionary, performer, head of artist development and stage presentation, I wrote contracts for shows, licensing deals, worked records at radio, dealt with product placement, proper packaging, marketing and....well I'll stop there but I think you get the picture. So when people hire me, they don't realize that the price I charge is based on my experience and expertise. Once you've defined your skill sets, you must package yourself. Remember perception is reality. You can't charge $10,000 and you look like $10. You should have your company letter heads, bios, resume, proper photos, press kits(both digital and hard copy), company contracts for dealing with whatever facet of entertainment you deal with and of course a business email address and a very clean website with samples of your work. Having these things will enable you to justify and prove your worth to potential clients. And beware of the ear hustlers. These are people that will pick your brain for knowledge and make money off of your information but not pay YOU. Everything you know is of some value and you have to start dealing with it in that manner. Only then can we raise our value. Also understand that value is not always assessed in dollars and cents. You may sometimes make a decision to do something for a relationship or advancement but you will know when those things are required. For the most part, anyone who wants your service should be made to value it and what it has taken for you to obtain the knowledge you possess. As my business partner says " We are not on sale!"

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2010

Be Careful

I was having a conversation recently with a new artist about laying a plan for his career and how I could help him. I found it amusing that he could not make any plans that didn't include his CREW or HIS BOYS. Now out all of the guys in his CREW he is the only one with any REAL talent and focus. My advice to him is the same I will submit to you today and that is BE CAREFUL who you allow in your circle creatively and otherwise. Loyalty has it's place but you should always be loyal to yourself first. To have a successful career an artist has to be able to identify when something or someone is no longer an asset to them or their career. There are thousands of stories of artists that could have done great things had it not been for there misdirected loyalty to the wrong people. Don't get me wrong we need help but what we really need is the RIGHT help. Don't get caught up in thinking that you have to be a savior or carry your hood, state, homeboys, family...etc because until you do it for yourself you can't do anything for anyone else. Their is one simple way to assess this. As an artist you should have a plan for your life/career. ANYONE THAT DOES NOT FULLY SUPPORT THAT PLAN BY CONTRIBUTING TO YOUR ADVANCEMENT AND WELL BEING SHOULD BE CUT OFF IMMEDIATELY. Now this doesn't mean you want a bunch of yes men but have to know that you can't run as fast with rocks in your pocket. Drop all dead weight.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2010

The Winning Team

The music industry as we used to know it is gone forever. With the advent of itunes, youtube and all of the other social sites, the marketing and promotions landscape has completely changed. The old recording studio model has even changed with protools, logic, nuendo, etc... people are able to make high quality records in their living rooms. Now even though the old model of the music industry has changed the one thing that we can maintain from it is the infrastructure. The only way to truly be a success is to have a good TEAM. Back in the day and even now I guess a record deal is just a loan that you have to back pack with severe interest. Out of this loan a company will build a team to help make your project a success and this is what we can learn from. There are certain things every artist needs to have a WINNING TEAM. This can be very detailed but for this forum I will summarize. The team is comprised of you the artist, a producer, A&R rep, graphic designer, stylist, photographer, manager, publicist, radio consultant, attorney, accountant, booking agent and at least three people for Internet work such as social sites, web sites and web placement. This list may seem a bit extreme but it is true. I've learned this from doing record after record and having to wear several hats only to realize that I needed help. A great team is all about specialty. You need people doing what they specialize in and have a passion for so that their tasks don't seem like work at all because they truly love what they do. This will allow your project and business to grow and be worked consistently on a daily basis. This is the secret to the old industry model. You must work, promote and market every day to build a successful brand. By the way, never forsake having a great image staff on the team such as your graphic designer, stylist and photographer. This is an image driven industry and your image is usually seen before the music is heard. Build your team wisely and success is YOURS.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2010

Do For Self!

The music industry is a complex puzzle with many many pieces that all are built on the what's in the center of it all....the talent or artist. For an artist to truly have a successful career there are a lot of factors and players needed to comprise a good team. You need a manager, attorney, publicist and accountant to help you advance you career. Notice I said HELP you. The most important piece of the puzzle is YOU. All of the people on the team work for you and if you/the artist are not focused or self motivated, how can you expect results? A lot a of artists' think that managers or record companies are supposed to do ALL of the work while they sit back and WAIT to be famous. Read this carefully..... NO ONE SHOULD EVER WORK HARDER FOR YOU THAN YOU! You/the artist should be the designer of the vision and the driving force to hold his/her team accountable. So many people in the industry have horror stories about being taken advantage of and blaming some manager or attorney. This is some cases is true but in most cases I submit that the only reason they got taken advantage of was that they were lazy and only wanted to be famous or rich and didn't want to participate or have knowledge of the mundane things it takes to insure that you make your money like filing copyrights and publishing papers with the correct information or making sure that your licensing profits are in order. Now don't get me wrong, an artist needs to be able to focus on being a great artist but everything that goes on in YOUR business needs to come to, by, or through you and YOU have to make time to pay attention to it so that no one can take advantage of you by saying "Let us handle this. You don't need to know about all this little stuff". You should know EVERYTHING that has to do with your career and your money. For that matter, no REAL manager wants a lazy artist because that will adversely affect their bottom line. This industry is about WORK and if you want an easy way out, DO SOMETHING ELSE! but if you want a music business career jump in with both feet and go to work.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions

Relationships

I know that you have heard the saying "It's not WHAT you know but WHO you know" a million times. Guess what? It is true! Especially in the music industry. Forging good relationships is one of the main keys to success. Now where most people make a mistake is thinking that the only relationships that matter are the ones you have with people you perceive to be at a higher level in the game such as record execs, radio programmers, attorneys... etc but the truth is these people don't really have time for you and the only way to get to them is usually by having a sincere relationship with someone they trust. You should practice building good relationships in every situation you are in because you never know who knows who and most of the time people won't tell you who they know just so they can check you out to see who you REALLY are. For example: I have been in the industry for over 20 years producing, writing, administrating and performing at many different levels so it would stand to reason that I would have amassed quite a few CONNECTIONS and I have. Now one of the things I do is I don't sale people on what I've done or what I can do. It is always better for me to work with people that are in it for the long haul and are willing to sacrifice and be loyal or at least exhibit good character. I have been in situations as a bandleader or head producer and had people undercut me for bids or gigs. I've even had musicians go behind my back and underbid me on a gig but go to the show and play my arrangements. Now these people had no idea that they were basically destroying a major relationship over a few dollars when I only had THEIR best interest at heart. Now I have since had all of them request things from me and I have been and I still am in a position to recommend them for things that will help them but do you think I will? Well I think you know the answer. This is never personal it's ALWAYS business. In order to form good relationships you must maintain good relationships and always be honest and forthcoming. For me to recommend people that I know did unscrupulous things to me would be a bad reflection on me because if they did it to me, they will just do it to someone else and that would adversely affect my relationship with that person. It is a never ending web. Practice forging great relationships at ALL times and you will see your career move much faster.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions(c) 2010

What It Takes

As a musician I have played and continue to play in a number of different situations from the local club show to T.V. shows such as the Tonite Show and everything in between. I often have musicians ask me WHAT IT TAKES to play at the other level or how do I get certain calls for this gig or that gig. Now, the biggest misconception is that all you have to do is be able to play or perform well to get these jobs and that is not at all true. The truth is that ability is a forgone conclusion most of the time and most musicians lack the character and life skills to be successful at the next level. Getting a certain gig is more about your attitude, dependability and ego. No one cares how many hot licks you can play or how fast or how many fills you can put into one song. When someone is hiring for a position, they are looking for someone that is going do only what is asked of them for the music and the job. Your opinion doesn't matter. The more user friendly you are the better and the top two criteria are BEING ON TIME AND A MAN /WOMAN OF YOUR WORD. Jobs at the next level often require you to have a passport and experience with airline travel. Being a responsible person is more valuable than ANYTHING. I can't tell you how many time I have recommended musicians for a job and they show up late, miss a flight, don't have proper paper work, fail to follow through on communicating, don't have the proper attire or fail to exhibit the proper attitude. These things keep more musicians from advancing than anything. Your word is your bond. People like to hire musicians that make their jobs easier. NO ONE LIKES TO BABYSIT! So if you really want to do better then you have to exhibit certain life skills at all levels. You should approach every situation with the same respect and preparedness. It doesn't matter if the show is for ten people or ten thousand. It doesn't matter if the job pays $100 or $10,000. You should give the same level of professionalism on and off the stage at ALL times. This is how you make it to the next level. Your job is to make whatever situation you are a part of BETTER. Remember when preparation meets opportunity then you have success. Get your act together and you will see doors fly open for you.

The Truth

(c) 2009-2010 Airtight Records, Inc.

Decisions Decisions....

Being in the music industry can be such a contradiction. As artists we all want to create music that will sell millions of copies and make us FAMOUS. Now anyone that tells you anything to the contrary is not being truthful. Otherwise why even spend time and money trying to make, package and market a CD. You don't invest money to not make a profit. If making a profit is not the bottom line then you can just make music for your own personal enjoyment and never worry about putting anything out. This brings me to my point... we have make decisions on where we stand. We can complain about the music that's being made and consumed and for the most part we are right. There is a lot of trash out there but there always has been. The funny thing is that those trashy records are selling millions to SOMEBODY. A lot of people complain about not hearing music that deals with this or that and when an artist makes a record that people CLAIM they want to here, they don't by the product and they don't fully support the artist's career. I mean I hear people dis on records everyday only to find that they have the same records on their ipod. Think about this. Music is only a reflection of the society we live in. Now when Berry Gordy started Motown, the society was such that it enabled and nurtured the kind of music that was made at Motown. That music was honest, classy, sexy & hope filled. It made us dance, laugh, cry, party & mourn. It was like a true part of our lives because they dealt with a number of emotions and dimensions of the human experience. And just face it, the intellect of the masses was a bit higher because they had not yet been totally brainwashed by T.V. and corporate greed. The music that we have today is only a by product of where we are in society and education. Now the companies that have to sell CDs could care less about education. There goal is to turn a profit by giving people the lowest most accessible level of entertainment they can because this is what the market dictates. So as creative people we have to make decisions about what we want to do. To be successful you at least have to be fairly relevant. The challenge is being relevant, saying something and selling records. So don't complain about it CHANGE IT! That change starts with our children that are in the classroom now. If they learn to respect music of all forms, play instruments and learn music history then we will be able to impact the creative intellect of the society and then the music can reflect that change. But understand there will always be some trash out there. Just make a decision on who YOU are and where you stand in the game and GO GET IT!

The Truth

(c) 2009-2010 Airtight Records, Inc.

Respect The Industry

Today I want to talk about the most misunderstood aspect of our industry and that is the level of RESPECT you should for the industry itself. Most people only enter the music business as some kind of hustle or get rich quick idea and history has shown us time and time again that when you don't respect the industry it will consume you. There are countless examples of people who have gotten rich and lost it all mostly because of a disrespect for the industry and what it takes to make and sustain a career. When you decide to be an artist or participate in any facet of the music business you should approach it with the same respect and diligence as someone entering the medical or legal fields. This business is not a hobby. Most people think that we play and create music because we either could not or would not pursue what they refer to as a REAL job. Here in lies the disrespect. The music industry is filled with careers that require various skill sets, drive and raw instinct. It isn't for the faint at heart. One must always maintain a high level of competency and understand that success in this and any industry is about role playing. No one is on top all the time but you can be consistent. For example: you may enter the industry as an artist, have a few hits, make some videos, tour and then discover that you are not as in demand as you once were or your earning potential as an artist is not what it once was but from being in the game you recognize that there are many other positions that can keep you working such as producing, writing, managing, entertainment law, artist development etc. The key is to respect the industry by educating yourself on all sides of it not just what you do but who counts the money, who are the publishers, who makes the key decisions on how the industry operates and how can you go from being an artistic pawn to being a major player. You can only do so by truly respecting the industry and always demanding only the best from yourself and those you work with. Also you should always work or strive to work with people that know more than you do so that you can grow and continue to develop this respect. This, to those of us that DO IT everyday and night, is not a game so if you are not serious find something else to do. Respectfully in love.

The Truth

(c) 2009-2010 Airtight Records, Inc.

Music BUSINESS

Being an artist can be a beautiful and fulfilling pursuit but being financially successful at it can sometimes be another issue. This is largely because most of us as artist place the wrong emphasis on our profession. It is important that we remember that we are in the music BUSINESS not the MUSIC business. Being financially successful is fully dependent on us understanding that the ratio is 80/20. 80% business and 20% music/art. Every artist should have a basic understanding of copyright law, publishing, management & a realistic view of how the business works. Most of us say we do it for the LOVE of the art and I agree that artistic passion is important but not enough. Each artist, when building their career, should have the basic view that the only reason to make music that you want to package as a product is to MAKE A PROFIT so you must understand how that is done. After your music is done you must first copyright it through the library of congress which now super easy because you can do it all on line at www.copyright.gov. Once your ownership is solid you must join either BMI or ASCAP as a writer member and publisher, these are licensing organizations that track usage and exploitation of our art. Once you get your product ready to present to the public, make sure that you have your sound scan form registered as well as your BDS forms filled out and submitted with full versions of the songs that you plan to promote for airplay. This is just the beginning of what has to be done to insure that when your music/art starts to make money that YOU can profit from it. I will stop here. As you can see there is a lot of BUSINESS involved with being successful in this industry. Just understand that just like a scientist or mathematician has to study and read to master their craft, so must we. There is a ton of resource material available that discusses the science and mechanics of the music industry. Read as much and as often as you can. Knowledge is POWER and MONEY. I will let you digest this much for a bit. Stay focused!

The Truth

(c) 2009-2010 Airtight Records, Inc.

Welcome 2 TheTruth

Hello and welcome 2 The Truth. We will be discussing a lot of information associated with the "New" music business. Our first topic is developing your craft. Now we all know that there is a difference between a "HIT" song and a "GOOD" song. Every now and then you will find a song that fits both but most of the time the former is created by promotion and over the top marketing. But I digress. To truly have a "CAREER" in the music industry, you must have a strong fundamental base. If you are a producer, a basic knowledge and respect of musical form and history is a must. I advise everyone to play an instrument of some sort and basic knowledge of the piano is a must. Now this is strictly from a creative point of view. One of the main reasons for a decline in musical quality in the industry is that you have a lot of non-musicians making records and running the industry. We have seen a steady decline in sales because of this very fact. With Itunes and other download sources, consumers are able to just buy the song they like instead of blowing cash on a full CD with just one great song and the rest fillers. So instead of artists' deciding to step up the quality, most have just decided to focus on making "HIT" singles instead of making a great project as a whole. Everything comes to an end and music, like all things in life, goes in circles. We will soon see the industry return to demanding a higher level of quality and consistency. So I encourage all of you to develop your craft and take it to the stage. Live performance experience in an invaluable way to learn what works and what doesn't. It is truly instant. You will know what moves an audience right away and you can then take that info to the studio and cut. Live performance will also help to preserve the music that came before us. So this is step one. In future blogs we will talk more about the music as a business but I wanted to start in order. The most important thing should be creating a quality product with competent and qualified talent. So go read & practice your craft. This is THE TRUTH.


(c) 2009-2010 Airtight Records, Inc.