Song
George Howard's Comments:
“Makin' Me Sick:” Love the production on this. Extremely well done. While there are some elements that could be thought of as gimmicky, you really pull it off well, and it adds up to something that is effective and not gimmicky at all. Love the mix of the acoustic guitars with the distorted drum samples. The chorused vocals are cool, and really jump out. I’m pretty amazed that you’ve managed to get all of these elements to flow so well together. You build the rhythmic tension very effectively in the verses, so when it finally goes to straight time it’s very satisfying.
Love the quiet break-down about two-thirds of the way in. The arrangement is really fantastic.
The vocals are great too. Very compelling timbre, makes me want to hear more. The lyrics don’t leave a lot to the imagination, but as far as pop songs go, I think they work well.
Ultimately, it’s as I said, this song leaves me curious to hear more, which is, frankly, high praise as most of the time I feel like I can sum up a band by hearing about 8 seconds of their song.
In terms of production advice, it seems as if you’ve got a real distinct vision of where you want to go with your music. To me, this is about 99% of production; the rest is just capturing what it is you want in the most efficient manner possible.
You did mention that you’re looking forward to doing more work with your producer Joshua Rumor, so I thought it might be helpful for you to check out some of the material we have on production. In particular, we have an interview with the great producer/engineer Trina Shoemaker (Sheryl Crow, Catie Curtis, etc.) who discusses, among other things, talks about the importance of communication in the studio. Watch it here.
Additionally, you might want to check out what Glen Ballard (Alanis Morrisette, No Doubt, etc.) has to say about production and the business in general. Also, the great Dave Stewart from the Eurythmics provides a wealth of advice regarding recording and production.
Lastly, I’m a big advocate of artists being able to create on their own without having to rely on an engineer. Clearly your work with Joshua Rumor is a winning combination and one you should continue to explore, but—if you’re not doing it already—you should get yourself set up so that you can create at home. It’s easier and less expensive than you might think. Check out our information here.
Mike King's Comments: This is a great pop song. I think you really nailed the chorus here, going from the minor in the verse to the strong major in the chorus gives this a nice anthem feel, sort of like what Sheryl Crow does in the chorus for ‘If It Makes You Happy’ (totally different song feeling, but a similar approach to the chorus, I think). I can see why you have a publishing deal; this is a really accessible sound that has a lot of potential in film and TV (I can definitely hear something like this in the Clueless soundtrack for example). You’ve got a solid voice, and I like the vocal overdubs you’ve done. I might take another listen to the drums, I find them a little distracting. You list Alanis Morissette as an inspiration, and I can hear a bit of the distorted guitar that she uses in ‘You Outta Know’ in here as well. Other than the drums, I think this is produced really well. We’ve got some clips of Glen Ballard, who produced Jagged Little Pill, here on the site. Here’s more on the ‘Glen Ballard Sound’ or lack of a particular sound as he puts it, in this video
Overall, I think the song is great, and you have a tremendous amount of talent and potential.
Marketing
Bio
George Howard's Comments: Your bio, unfortunately, is sort of at the other end of the spectrum from your music. While your music (at least the song I’ve heard) is fully-formed and professional, your bio is not. This hints at larger issues which I’ll talk about in more depth below, but to focus on the bio for a moment. It’s not that what you’ve written here is bad by any means, and there’s a certain charm in the fact that it reads like a personal letter, but, this isn’t really the tool you need if you want push your career forward.
While we have a lot of information on the site that I’d like you to take a look at, begin with this editor’s guide on the materials you need to accompany your music, found here.
I do want to offer up some thoughts here. First off, you really want to have your bio written from the third person. The upshot of this is that you should probably try and find someone to either write the bio for you or help you to write it. It’s very hard to write about yourself (and you’ve done a great job of that), and this is why one of the roles of a publicist is to write your bio for you.
Secondly, you want it to be more informational, and less personal. The great thing you’ve got going for you is that your music is so good that people are going to be drawn to it rather than concerning themselves too much with the bio. So…you really want to just put yourselves in the position of the of the listener/demo recipient who really likes the music, and now wants to find out what you’re about. Give them this. It’s fine to tell the reader who your influences are (way better to do this, by the way, than to say “you sound like…). But what most of the people who will be getting this demo (press, radio, retail, a&r, management, etc.) will want to know is what you’re doing now. Talk about some of your more notable gigs; talk about any significant career metrics you have (signing to a publishing company, for instance); definitely mention upcoming gigs (though often it’s better to do this in a separate tour itinerary sheet so you don’t have to keep updating your bio). It’s also a good idea to throw a quote or two in from you about your musical philosophy or about something specific to the songs on this demo. Quotes from other industry luminaries is a good thing to include here too; if you’ve got, for instance, someone from Famous who can say something nice about your work in a brief blurb—put it in. Lastly, you can throw in some lyric snippets that you feel would give listeners insight into what you do.
Do have a look at the materials in the Editor’s Guide references as I think it will help you flesh out not only the bio but your other materials as well.
Mike King's Comments: There’s some good stuff in your bio, but I think you have to reorder some of the info in here, add in some stuff that is missing, and format it a bit differently (definitely not in the first person). First, I like how you illustrate how your name sounds phonically. However, I’m not sure that the place to do this is in the title of your bio. You might want to do this a bit further in, because as it stands now, it’s a bit distracting. You need your bio to knock people over the head right away with the absolute best promo stuff you have. I think it’s amazing that you are signed to Famous publishing (recently acquired by Sony). A publishing deal like this is a dream that a lot of folks have, and I think it provides a ton of legitimacy to you and your music. Additionally, I know that you’ve played (or will play soon) the Whisky in LA – which is a world-class venue, and has a ton of name recognition.
By the way – We’ve got a video interview of the manager of the Whisky providing advice for musicians that you may find useful.
If I was taking a shot at this bio, I would start off with some more specific background info that sets you apart from everyone else (a lot of folks have been in love with music since age 5 and have performed for friends and family, what’s something a bit more specific that you can mention?). Remember, the folks that get this bio are more than likely going to skim it to see what makes you special. After some particular bio information (or maybe even a quote from the VP of Famous??), I would dive into how you got your publishing deal. More than just ‘After recording a three song demo I got a deal’ sort of thing. Did someone see you perform and was blown away? Did you get the tape to the president of Famous who couldn’t stop listening? You need to create a story in here. I always like the name-dropping in bios; it gives folks a point of reference that I think is important. Again, drop in your tour dates, the venues you’ve played, and I’d also like to hear about plans for your next record.
You’ve got a good base for a bio, but you need to fill it out a bit more, and put a professional shine to it.
Check out this piece I wrote awhile back on the essentials of an effective press kit, which goes into the bio and other elements that should go into a press kit.
Photo
Mike King's Comments: This photo is ok for a live listing, but when I hear your music I picture in my mind something a bit more polished. Think about images that your influences use to market themselves: Madonna, Sarah McLaughlin, or Alanis Morissette. Your music is polished and professional sounding. I’d try to go with a photo that is a bit more glamorous, that can sit alongside shots of the folks above. That being said, I do like seeing that you can also play guitar, which is not mentioned in your bio (it should be, I would have assumed you were just a singer!).
Web/MySpace
George Howard's Comments:I’ve addressed the bio (and other items related to the demo package) above, but this is only part of it. You need to extend the reach of these materials by getting them online. Certainly, MySpace is the easiest way to do this, and something you should do. To maximize your MySpace page, have a look at this article.
I personally don’t believe that a MySpace page is enough. You need your own website. This will go a long way to separate you from the countless basically anonymous masses on MySpace. I certainly prefer an artist directing me to their own well-designed page than to their MySpace page. It shows a level of commitment and seriousness. Setting a website up is a non-trivial task, but it is getting easier.
For more information on the importance of your own website, check out this video.
Think of your website as not only an extension of your press package, but also a community meeting place. In order to do this you’ll need to be able to engage in a type of “conversation” with your constituency. This could be through a message board, a journal, podcasts, blogs, etc. It’s a big undertaking, and can take some time to pay off, but if you’re diligent, with the strength of your music, you will build a community. This will lead to an ability to monetize your art. You’ll be able to sell not only your CDs and downloads, but also merch, and – of course – inform people of your upcoming gigs, and thus increase attendance. Again, this ain’t easy, but the alternative is not a good one.
Mike King's Comments: You need to get this to happen. Obviously, so much of what goes on in the world of music these days happens online. If you want to be perceived as a professional musician that should be taken seriously, you need online visibility. I’m also a firm believer that while MySpace is cool (but owned by Rupert Murdoch, which is not so cool), you need your own site as well. Here’s a quick tutorial I put together on some Web site dos and donts. Also, check out this video with Dave Neupert, the founder and acting CEO of M80 Interactive Marketing, on the importance of an artist's Web site.
George Howard's Comments: Speaking of playing live, it’s great that you’re out there doing it. It seems you’re playing some good venues, and now the challenge is to increase the number of “anchors” you have. I’m not sure how you pull off the music you do in a live setting, and if it means hiring a bunch of people to reproduce the nuances of your recording, it’s going to be tough to finance this for a while. I’d suggest that you figure out some way to put on great, compelling shows that create emotional connections with the audience with as few people as possible; preferably you alone. I know this isn’t easy, and it might not be possible, but as you’re growing your fan base, you need to keep costs as low as possible. One way to manage this is to have the occasional full-band show which are big events, but primarily get out there on your own (or with as few people as you can manage).
You need to, of course, maximize these gigs. And this is something we talk a lot about on AHM. Here’s a video where I explain what this means.
George Howard's Comments: As you maximize these gigs you can begin to build a team. It’s wonderful that you already have a publisher (and a great one at that), but you’ll need others to really propel you forward. The key to building a great team is to first take on the roles of these team members yourself. This means that for some time you must be your own manager, be your own booking agent, be your publicist, be your own radio promoter, be your own distributor, and – to a degree – be your own lawyer. These are all the crucial team members, and the only way you can appreciate what it is they do — and therefore when they’re doing it well — is to do it yourself for some time. Like a lot of my other recommendations, I’m certain this seems somewhat daunting, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t suggest this route.
I’m — in a nutshell — suggesting you think of your music career as a business and think of yourself as the CEO. Here’s a video where I lay this out.
Ultimately what most of these team members are supposed to do is to help you attract and retain fans. A more pithy way to describe it is market. The way to effectively market is to first very clearly define your values, and then look for potential fans who share these values. Of course, this is not easy, and why you need a whole team of people to help you accomplish this. Essentially, you must understand your own marketing strategy first, and then work to move towards accomplishing these goals. This will lead you to find other team members who share your values.
Start your marketing strategy by giving this editor’s guide a look:
http://www.artistshousemusic.org/editor+guides/marketing+editors+guide
A manager will likely be the first member of your team, and we have a lot of material on this. To start, check out this video on What Makes an Effective Manager.
The booking agent is often the most difficult team member to come by for basic economic reasons. The secret to getting a booking agent is (surprise) booking a lot of shows yourself and building a fan base in a number of markets. This will attract agents, and start the relationship off in a manner in which you have the power and leverage. This is what you want.
Here is some information on booking agents.
Of course it’s not just about booking gigs in clubs, you also want to be looking for opportunities to play festivals. The following video walks you through what it takes to play the South by Southwest festival. This would be a great gig for you!
Radio is of course tricky business, but you really need to do what you can on this front, I think one of the most efficient (and affordable) ways to augment your own efforts is via hiring a college radio promoter. Here’s some information on this strategy.
To maximize this radio effort you need to tie it in to gigs and to press. I spoke about booking above, but you need to make sure that you are tying publicity into your strategy. So, with your gigs and radio, you need to make sure that someone (either yourselves or an indie publicist) is advancing the gigs to media.
Check out this interview about publicity for more on this.
Publicity is not just about print mediums, you need to also address web-based outlets as well. This video addresses this.
Ultimately, the key thing to remember is that the gig is the hub and increases your chances of getting press and radio in the markets. This applies to retail as well. As you go through towns on tour you should be at least making introductions with key retailers in the market.
Here’s a great article on indie retail.
One piece of advice I always give as a way to accelerate growth is to find an artist from a nearby market who is stylistically similar to you and who is drawing a decent sized crowd in their hometown. Work out a deal with them where you come and open for them in their hometown, and they open for you in yours. It’s a win/win scenario, and once you do this several times with a number of different bands, you’ll have some great anchor markets.
By focusing on the above opportunities will emerge. With these opportunities often come contracts. At this point you most definitely need to get a lawyer involved. We’ve put together an editor’s guide to help you walk through the information we have on lawyers.
One of the roles of the lawyer will be not only to help you negotiate the opportunities that emerge from your hard work, but also to find opportunities for you. Following the advice above, and being persistent, these opportunities will include record deals.
However, the question that will emerge is that now that you’ve built this wonderful team, and you’re having the level of success that is required to attract the attention of real labels is, do you want/need a label.
In essence you will have built an infrastructure, and will be enjoying the fruits of your labor not only from an artistic standpoint (making the records you want to make, etc.), but also from a financial one (the margins you maintain by controlling your own copyrights is vastly higher than when you sign to a label). It will, however, be a real question for you to determine if you can break through at the level your music deserves without a label helping you at radio. That’s really the only reason I can see you needing a label. While it’s possible to (as I’ve advised) get a toe-hold at certain radio formats (college, mainly), it’s really nearly impossible to get traction at the other formats without a label behind you. However, you can do a ton before you have to do deal with this problem, and by doing it should you determine that you want to sign to a label you will have great bargaining power. The more you bring to the table, the less they can take away.
Don’t be daunted by all of the above. Basically my advice is to start thinking strategically, and taking control of your musical destiny. It’s a very rewarding process where you can see tangible results from your efforts. You’ll see more fans, more sales, and more opportunities emerge as you take more control. Your song is fantastic, and I hope that some of the advice above will help you to have more people hear your music.
Mike King's Comments: You have passion, great musicianship, have played great venues, and you have one thing that most folks don’t have: a publishing deal with Sony. But one glaring hole is your marketing campaign. You mentioned that you are interested in getting a record deal so you can turn your passion into a career. While I have some reservations about record labels and artist development these days, and think that publishing in the long run is a more stable income outlet, no matter what you want to do, you are going to have to start marketing yourself a bit more aggressively. As I mentioned above, a MySpace page is the easiest way to get started with visibility online and building up a following. But if you truly want to get noticed outside of song placements that Sony hooks up, you are going to need to tour more aggressively, and start collecting names of folks that come out to your gig and opening up a channel correspondence with these folks. Press, Radio and Retail, love touring artists. Also, touring provides a stable revenue stream through the sales of merchandise.
Here’s a piece on what to make for merch, and when to make it that you might find useful.
I don’t say this often, but your music is perfect for mainstream radio. But any label or indie that can talk to the STAR 98.7 in LA is going to want you to have a lot happening on your own already. Get your tour happening, get your marketing materials in shape, build up your base, maximize our promotion through your amazing publishing channel, get your self a great manager (a good piece from George Howard on this is here) who will know who to approach at a label, and when you are ready for one. Like I said, these days there are not a ton of things a label can do that you can’t do on your own with the right team, but if this is your goal, you’ll need to get your promotion and marketing chops up to speed first.
John Snyder’s Comments:
My friends George Howard and Mike King give a very detailed and insightful critique of the music of Ines, Mathien, and the Trench Town Oddities. I am sure that their observations will be pertinent and useful to many other musicians who are in the same place of development as these young artists (and they are all on different levels and at different stages in their development).
I might disagree with George just a tad about the need for and advantages of a great engineer, and producer too for that matter. Of course, as a card-carrying member of the producers and engineers guild, you might expect me to be enamored of our skills. But the fact of the matter is, some people are just good engineers – they love it and they are good at it. I can tell you from personal experience that it is one of life’s great pleasures to work with a great recording engineer. I have been very very lucky in that respect, at least in my generation. But with the advent of the myriad of schools that teach Protools and the other digital recording systems, there are many trained and talented engineers running loose. I’d nab myself one if I were you. The engineer/producer is the first audience. The artist needs an audience, I think, and I think it’s hard to be both artist and audience. And the great thing about a good engineer/producer is that he or she can often say something that is so insightful to the artist that it is inspiring and it changes things for the better. One of the greatest producers I know (Herb Alpert) told me that the secret is tempo, and he has a definite talent for picking the right tempo. Different people have different talents. Of course, these people can also be full of crap, or may be just wrong on occasion. It happened to me once. :) As an artist, you have to trust yourself, but you also shouldn’t avoid a helping hand, especially if it is offered by someone who is as talented at what they do as you are at what you do.
I might suggest a few broad considerations, since George and Mike dealt with most of the specifics. First, I would suggest that artists study their own work. Analyze your performances, do a post-mortem as it were on the performance – what went right, what you need to improve. You should be constantly improving, constantly innovating on some level. And these acts of improvement should not be random; they should be results of a plan. Define excellence on every level – sound, set, song, dress, audience interaction, lights, everything – and then define how you’re going to get there. Constantly analyze and evaluate your progress.
The fact of the matter is, however, the best way to be successful is to play great. PLAY GREAT. It’s that simple. Of course, it’s also that hard. But that should be your pursuit. You play great, your MySpace page will take care of itself (almost). While it is important for young artists especially to take care of their business, to be active and aggressive with respect to the opportunities the Internet and technology provide for artists, it is also true that the music comes first. And it is also true that even though all artists may be thought of as entrepreneurial by definition, they may not be entrepreneurs per se. When I was managing artists, if I could get them to think about their business for an hour a day that was a good day for business. But most weren’t all that interested in the business. Of course, they suffered as a result, financially and eventually physically, but they sure could play great. That’s where the infrastructure of support comes in. We teach kids how to be managers, business people, marketers, engineers, designers, musicians, etc., at the school at which I teach. And there are many of schools like this that teach young people the music and entertainment business. So while it is important for artists to keep track of their business, it is also possible to team up with other professionals to build and monetize your career. But remember, these people work on percentages or for cash money, so you’ll need to have something they can sell and make money from. You get yourself to THAT level, and you’ll attract the team members. George will tell you more about how to determine when you need assistance.
I’m not sure how each of our contest winners views the idea of a contract with a recording company but most young artists think it’s the Holy Grail. Which, of course, it isn’t. The days of the work-for-hire artists, the artists who are promised royalties but never see royalties, is OVER. From now on, record companies work for artists, NOT the other way around. Record companies are SERVICE organizations. Contracts are joint ventures. Companies don’t automatically own the work of the artists. It depends on who pays. If an artist has no money and no record and is going to ask the company to put up the money and take the risk then the artist is probably not going to like the financial consequences of that deal. But what can you expect? Here’s the key to dealing with contracts: if the contract looks like they “old” way, the way in which the artist turns over their property, be very careful and get a very good lawyer. I’d turn around and walk directly away from such deals. But whatever you do, make sure you know why you want and need a deal and what exactly you want and expect from it, and what exactly the company is guaranteeing to do for you in exchange for your intellectual property.
Most bands don’t really know why they want a deal except that they have this mistaken idea that it will solve all of their problems, when, in actual fact, the opposite is true. I am of the opinion that the only reason for an artist to want a deal with a major company, or an “indie” that is owned or controlled by a major, is vanity – pure ego. The odds of coming out are so low and it is such a diversion from your own long-term, self-sufficiency, potentially, that it is a diversion that is not worth the potential payoff – the downside is too great. Of course, there will always be a certain few that receive the “treatment” from a major company and have a successful 3 year career. But there are far more artists who get burned than who have success with a major company. I don’t want to sound too negative about major companies because they provided me with a great life as a music producer, but the business has changed, and not for the better. Opportunity and technology are moving faster than the record companies, and this is good news for the independent artist. My advice? Respect yourself. They work for YOU.
There are many books on the music business. George Howard wrote a couple of them. See our bibliography for some of these. Check Amazon. Also, go get the article “The Long Tail” from Google and read it. It should give every independent musician hope. Your market exists! You just have to find it. Also, two of our editors, Mike and Debbie, work at www.Berkleemusic.com online and even though Artists House isn’t affiliated with Berklee, it is true that they offer an array of online courses that are very popular with musicians and those who want to work in the world of music.
Good luck to Ines, Mathien, and the Trench Town Oddities! It will be a pleasure watching you develop and grow as artists and contributing members of the music community.
