Yeah I tried to wrestle with the gender thing, hopefully nothing egregious. I'd love to know what you think about all this, since you're top of the field for decades, my friend!
Little Richard wrote songs that were national monuments to their genre, covered by one multi-successful artist after another who also had hit albums off of that, and he still ended up broke. Every artist owes it to themselves to be at least business-literate, AND wary. Now that present generations literally have more info at their fingertips than all previous generations combined, I'm hopeful that deals written for rubes will get called out before they do damage.
I should have worded that better. Artists who make work that is worthwhile are not people I consider "rubes", but I'm sure a lot of record companies, especially if we're reaching back into the 1950s, think of them that way. Thus their deals were "written for rubes", in their eyes. Little Richard was a national goddamned treasure!
You should both listen to the Murder on Music Row podcast the Tennessean put out recently. Lots about the predatory side of the business that really victimized any who wanted to make it. Some of the quotes make it clear that some people in the industry then and now, who believe it’s all playing the odds, and that successful artists just got lucky. I am pro-artist on every level, I believe artists create value and business people either contribute value or need to get out of the way. Our job is to protect artists from predatory people and companies.
And never forget, it’s an A&R man, A&R woman, A&R person!
Yeah I tried to wrestle with the gender thing, hopefully nothing egregious. I'd love to know what you think about all this, since you're top of the field for decades, my friend!
Little Richard wrote songs that were national monuments to their genre, covered by one multi-successful artist after another who also had hit albums off of that, and he still ended up broke. Every artist owes it to themselves to be at least business-literate, AND wary. Now that present generations literally have more info at their fingertips than all previous generations combined, I'm hopeful that deals written for rubes will get called out before they do damage.
It’s the legal speak and math in the contracts that make it hard for the rubes. The artist needs a trustworthy translator like John Strohm
I should have worded that better. Artists who make work that is worthwhile are not people I consider "rubes", but I'm sure a lot of record companies, especially if we're reaching back into the 1950s, think of them that way. Thus their deals were "written for rubes", in their eyes. Little Richard was a national goddamned treasure!
You should both listen to the Murder on Music Row podcast the Tennessean put out recently. Lots about the predatory side of the business that really victimized any who wanted to make it. Some of the quotes make it clear that some people in the industry then and now, who believe it’s all playing the odds, and that successful artists just got lucky. I am pro-artist on every level, I believe artists create value and business people either contribute value or need to get out of the way. Our job is to protect artists from predatory people and companies.
Hey Mike, I understood that you were speaking from the Label point of view and your comments are exactly right.