How To Succeed in the Music Biz (Part 1): The Cobain Factor

by George Howard

The Sine Qua Non
This article addresses specifics that you as a musician or participant in the music business must face head on.  Put simply, if you don’t address these issues, you have little to no chance of succeeding in the music business.  These specific details can be referred to as the sine qua non of the music business.  That roughly translates to, “without this there is nothing.”

There are two specific details that you must address immediately.  The first is a concept that Jim Collins outlines in his fantastic book, Good to Great.  It’s called the Hedgehog Concept.  The second is an internal factor.  Specifically, it’s the belief that your own music, or the music of the artist on whose behalf you work, must be heard.  I’ll explain both in some depth, beginning with the latter.

Kurt Cobain
To illustrate the importance of the belief that your music, or the music of the artist on whose behalf you work must be heard, it’s instructive to look at the career path of Kurt Cobain from Nirvana.

Recalling his time before starting a band, Cobain sums up much of what I’m trying to convey.  He states:

I had this feeling all the time—I always knew I was doing something special.… I knew it was better, even though I couldn’t prove it at the time. I knew I had something to offer, and I knew eventually I would have the opportunity to show people that I could write good songs—that I could contribute something musically to rock and roll.

Cobain had these insistent thoughts in that hotbed of creativity, Aberdeen, WA, a remote, logging town. And yet, Cobain somehow managed—even in this creative wasteland—to find ways to get his music out. He gravitated to the only band in the area that he felt an affinity for—the ultra-heavy Melvins—and began hanging around with them, while he honed his guitar and songwriting skills. Additionally, through his connection with the Melvins, he was able to occasionally escape Aberdeen for the far more hospitable Olympia, WA.

Olympia is a college town, with a large bohemian contingency, many venues for bands to perform, a great indie radio station (KAOS) as well as a record label that so represented Cobain’s ethos that he eventually tattooed its name and "K" logo on his forearm.

Nirvana—as they were now called, after wisely ditching their first name, Fecal Matter—recorded a demo tape in January of 1988 at Reciprocal Recordings in Seattle. It was not a coincidence that they chose to record there, as some of Cobain’s favorite bands had done so as well.

The owner of Reciprocal, Jack Endino, engineered the early Nirvana demo tapes. He played them for Sub Pop head and founder Jonathon Poneman. It is not surprising or coincidental that Endino played the Nirvana demos for Poneman. In fact, two EPs that Endino had previously recorded were for the bands Soundgarden and Green River, which were released by Sub Pop. Clearly, Endino and Poneman had a rapport. And Cobain, who was aware of the scene that he aspired to become a part of, wisely chose to find a way—however tangentially—to make a connection to it by selecting this studio to record his demo.

Sub Pop is a Seattle-based label that, at the time, was specializing in a relatively specific genre of music that came to be known as "grunge." This music, in some ways, reflected the regional climate of Seattle: dark, thick, somewhat gloomy. The label became known for releasing records by artists that defined this type of sound. Nirvana was making music that fit—and soon defined—the description of this sound. At the time, Sub Pop was actively looking for artists to help grow their label, and Cobain realized this.

Cobain believed that his music had to be heard. This need forced him to assess how to get it heard. He educated himself about the industry that he wanted to be a part of, and found ways to connect his music to it. He did not simply let his undeniable talent stay in his room unheard. Instead, he learned who the players were, and directed his energies towards appealing specifically to them.

What we see from this case study is that while Cobain’s musical talent ultimately played a huge role in Nirvana’s success, it wasn’t this talent alone that got him signed. We also see that he was forced to really persevere—funding his own demos and finding backers, while the label waffled, in order to bring his music to a larger stage. Additionally, it was his desire to have his music heard that drove him—gave him the fuel—to contextualize it and find other participants in the business who he hoped would grant him entrée into the record industry.

Are you doing the same for your music?  Do you have that belief that your music must be heard?  It is only this belief that will sustain you during the inevitable indignities that accompany you on your way from obscurity to popularity. If you don’t have this belief, you will not be able to persevere.

Stayed tuned for Part 2 next week.

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(Jeff here. I would humbly like to suggest that the point being made here is half the story - believing in yourself, pursuing your dreams is required to make something happen.

The other side of the coin has to do with people's reaction to what you have created. Believing in yourself and pursuing your dream is step 1, getting what you created out to the "people" via media outlets is step 2, the "people" reacting to it is step 3... A previous blog posting discusses the new media outlets and how people have to react to what you create - it may help round out the conversation)

Comments

[Brian Redfern]

The reason the industry is in such bad shape is that the underground such as we had in the early 90s is gone.

I did the same thing as Kurt back then in the jazz scene.

But what I've found in LA is that the scene here is now so Balkinized that I'm going into doing sacred music on the oud to keep playing music.

Once I switched from guitar to oud, things started getting better pretty dramatically.

I never got to record for a label in 20 years of guitar, even though we played killer electric Miles style jazz, the lack of market for instrumental music had been killing my career till I found a better niche.

But the genuine indie music scene that gave birth to Nirvana is dead, its pointless to try to exactly copy that path as it no longer exists. Rock music isn't about revolution anymore. These days its all about using the indie image to market bland uncreative corporate music. Today "alternative" has become the new "smooth jazz," in its boring predictability.

Sonic Youth was all too right, '92 was the year Punk literally broke.

[JessicaJohnsonMusic]

I can absolutely relate to the quote from Kurt Cobain. Problem is, I still haven't proven anything yet. Sooooo, I would like to think that in theory that is the case: believe in your talent and strategically work every networking angle available. However, theory and reality are two very different things. Guess only time will tell ;)

[Pippi Bernstein]

Hahaha, if only the poseurs had a glowing rock in their hand just like in "Logan's Run" and were never allowed to go past the seats but had to stay in their place. All the corporate media whores would be so easy to spot, what would they do? Oh dear, hopefully, take up plumbing instead. If only there were venues for talent too and people could have a little more faith in american music again, and while yer at it, american cars too.

[Renn]

The gist of this article is helpful regardless of what era we find ourselves living in: Though there are more ways to distribute and access unsigned non-major label music these days than ever before it is still basically the same game: There have always been MASSES of bands making music. There were relatively as many bands proportionately in England at the time of The Beatles when they were trying to make it as there are now. The point of the article is not to focus on the gossip magazine aspects of Cobain's personal life (and after all would ANY one's life be able to stand up to public scrutiny and the mass media's penchant for dirty laundry?!) but the undeniable artistic talent and strategically-focused drive he had to get his songs heard by a larger audience and how that translated into an actual measurable professional success within an industry that was balanced against such a success.
However traumatized, fractured, flawed, and human Kurt Cobain the person was; as an artist there are few who would suggest that he had less to offer than the glorified karaoke king and queen winners of American (insert name of your country of franchised choice here) Idol ever will.

As anyone who has trudged through the soul-wrenching wastelands of the music business can attest: One simply cannot hear the wisdom of continuing to believe in oneself and talent (when there is at least some significant indication and feedback that there is real potential value to it!) in the face of adversity enough. The very nature of the business and scene tends to erode one's confidence year after year so these words are invaluable and even if you are aware of this fact it never hurts to recharge the databases every once in awhile.

To those of you who infer that you are not interested in reaching people to sell or market your music any further than to a few friends and cyberbuds out there and are not seeking any money for your hobby might I respectfully request that you lurk elsewhere than a site that is blatantly in place to do just such a thing?!

[Dave Perry]

I won't deny that Cobain can be seen as an inspirational figure in music (before the ravages of addiction and his mysterious stomach ailment that seemed to have partly pushed him past the point of no return). Nirvana itself was a standout band in terms of talent, as evidenced in part by Dave Grohl's later success.

Someone correctly equating themselves with sizable talent when in fact they possess it is a key element in the success stories of great artists. Van Gogh is a prime example, since he is today viewed as one of the greatest modern painters although he had to persevere during his own lifetime in spite of total financial failure.

However, I think we have to be honest in acknowledging that things like MySpace, and even TuneCore, represent as much a part of the problem as a part of the solution. Since most of us don't want to end up like Van Gogh (i.e. rich beyond out wildest dreams though not fortunate enough to still be living at the time), we *need* a way to make money through our artwork or we are doomed to fit it into a part-time schedule at best, which relegates it, in reality, to the status of a hobby.

Both the massive overload of amateur music available through internet avenues and the massive presence of music file sharing have created a music "non-business" so big as to outweigh the traditional music business at any time in its history. And while MS and TC do little to compensate for the latter issue, they actually contribute to the former.

Believing in yourself and possessing real talent to back up that belief is essential, probably now more than ever, but neither of those things can generate a business success where there is no viable economic infrastructure left to support it, which is why the Cobain example is only partially valid as encouragement for today's musician.

We need an example of a Nirvana from 2005 or later, who used the avenues available now and somehow evaded the seemingly bottomless pitfalls, if we are to be educated in finding a clear path through the dense woods confronting every non-famous musician seeking to make a reasonable living through their art today.

Sincerely,
Dave Perry

[Bette Dillinger]

Thank you George for your responses. Of course I was erroneous in citing you as the one who mentioned WAR, and I apologize for my error. This article certainly sparked alot of critique..and yeah, I am making music while checking it from time to time, so "corporate companies" of course was meant to mean major labels. I guess the length of time it has been since Cobain's death has changed the landscape so much that it is seems difficult to many to see his relevance in the case of distributing music in 2008. I will check out your interviews. Maybe I shall see the light, or not. We're all adults here.

Thanks for the comment about the necessity for diversity, though we could thumb wrestle over the established name of Ani DeFranco before Web 2.0, but all in all I think you are a forthright person. Thanks again.

Bang Bang ;)

Bette Dillinger

[george Howard]

Dear Bette,

Thank you for you comment (both here and earlier). Just to be clear, I never mentioned WAR; that was another commenter.

I very much appreciate you making reference to Web 2.0. I'm deeply passionate about attempting to help artists spread the word about their work using social media marketing (aka web 2.0). In fact, I recently wrote another piece on this very topic for the TuneCore blog:

http://tunecore.typepad.com/tunecorner/2008/10/the-straddle.html

Note also that in the comment to my original post (the one I did make) that mentioned other artists (besides Cobain) who have demonstrated that talent alone is not enough to succeed, that it takes belief and work, and (as we will see in the forthcoming articles) strategic focus, mentioned Jonathan Coulton. Mr. Coulton is using web 2.0/social media better than just about anyone, and succeeding very well (on his own terms).

I also appreciate your mention of corporate companies. I assume by this you mean major labels. Just to be clear (again), I am not advocating for major labels. Rather, I very much hope artists develop revenue streams that allow them to create their work on their own terms over the long term (again, this is a bit of a preview of part 2 of this article which will appear next week). To be very clear on where I stand, I would ask you to have a look at this interview I recently did with Wired's Listening Post blog:

http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/11/wolfgang-press.html

Finally, thank you for mentioning the importance of keeping these discussions gender inclusive. I made certain to reference a female artist (Ani Defranco) in my comment. I did this, not because of her gender, but because she's a fantastic example of an artist who has the deep belief that her music must be heard, and has found many ways of achieving this. The fact that she's a woman however, holds personal resonance for me, as she (and other women) are examples that I point my young daughter towards.

Again, I thank you for your comments. The value of blogs in general, and the TuneCore blog in particular, is that the format does allow for discourse. My only goal is for my own personal contribution to the discourse to be constructive to as many as possible (certainly, I have no delusions that it can be so for all).

[Bette Dillinger]

1) I wonder why the writer picked of all people Kurt Cobain. First, Cobain died in 1994 when email was the new hot thing. He never dealt with a post Web 2.0 world. This is an obvious observation the writer could have made; I suspect him giving us another example with the great group WAR (though they STILL are not a band that is managing itself in a post 2.0 environment...they are/were a 70s band, and a fantastic one..sure they have a great producer, but that is not what this discussion is about) is his attempt to rectify his observation that he might have picked the wrong example for his assertions. Unfortunately, even with WAR there is a disconnect with their history and our current Indie environment. But thanks for trying.

2) Bottom line, ladies and gentlemen, is that it is *obvious* one must have faith in one's music. I feel mildly insulted that this even had to be written. Dr Suess taught most of us that in first grade. Believe in yourself! Yay!

3) Also, this "belief" is not something one needs to be taught again .....everyone on this list already knows it since they distributed their music and continue to play.

"Cobain" still has a resonance with many musicians because people look at him as the "last rock star", who burnt out much too quickly. There will be no more Kurt Cobains signed to corporate companies like Geffen in the future. Kurt would be doing others things in this day and age....and those would be......

Also, I love how these type of posts devolve into a person typing a response that "they get it (the article), and everyone should mellow out". Huzzah to you. Everything worthwhile involves debate and analysis, including music. And just blind belief ain't gonna work. Opening that third eye will.

From a comment below:
"So rock on my brothers. Rock on!"

There are always sisters and we are a diverse musical group, sweetheart. Maybe before lecturing you might examine that statement. It is 2008, not 1994.

Bang Bang ;)

Bette Dillinger

[Eric]

Seems like a lot of people that are commenting on this article have a lot of baggage and a mantra (story) they carry with them.

I say, just let it go and admit there's some good insight provided in this article. If you can't you are not hearing it or already know it, then re-read it. If you you still don't get anything from it move on, but keep your mind open and keep learning. Learning keeps you're mind young.

Personally, I like the concept of believing in your own music. For me, it's not easy to do at times, but I've kept on doing what I do and I continue to my sound. And now my songs are really coming together as is the sound of my band.

Getting your music heard is always much easier when it's of higher quality, howbeit you should not get too discouraged if it takes a long long time, because some of the best artist are way ahead or their time and won't be appreciated nearly as quickly as a pop artist. Even then, avante-guarde artists probably need to market their music music to a broader audience. (Try marketing your music in Europe or ...? Think man think.

So rock on my brothers. Rock on!

[Charles Marlowe]

Well, this article makes a lot of sense to me. Weather people want to hate on Cobain or not, the truth is, he was a successful artist despite the fact he had lots of problems. I can only imagine how hard it must have been in the late 80s in Aberdeen to get your music heard. I think now days people take recording studios and other musicians for granted because they are around, even in my small town. So even though we don't face the same challenges as Cobain did 20 years ago, we must still use our own stradegie in order to find our own level of succsess. Cobain was an excellent example to show how you music belive in the music first, before any succsess.

[Nicholaspaul]

The only comment more ridiculous than 'junkies are not our heroes' is 'the industry killed Curbain'.

Since this blog and post are about the music business, the point here is the path that Curbain took TOWARDS success and within the industry. He made dumb decision all by himself, like doing drugs and hooking up with Courtney Love. That's not the industry's fault. Curbain was a professional success and personal failure. Only on gossip TV do people confuse the two.

As others have pointed out, we have to forge our own goals and measure of success. Recording, local one man shows and internet exposure may be all you want or need. However, if you want to be a pro musician and quit the grave yard shift at the meat packing plant, there are certain roads you will have to take.
Just take the exit off the highway before you get to Nirvana.

[george Howard]

Thank you all for the amazing comments. I feel I should weigh in here very quickly. Please remember this is just the first part of a multi-part series; the other pieces address many of the issues that have been brought up in these comments.

Second, and this is the important part: The point I am making here is that even someone with the undeniable talent of Cobain had to believe deeply that his songs needed to be heard. And, even someone with the undeniable talent of Cobain had to operate strategically and proactively in order to increase the chances that his music would be heard. The two work together; without the belief that your music must be heard, you likely won't do all the things it takes to get it heard.

Could I have selected another artist to use as an example of someone with undeniable talent who still had to work strategically and over time, sustained only by the belief that his/her music must be heard? Of course. I do so in my book where I profile both Bob Dylan and Public Enemy.

There are many examples of artists that fit this bill: My Morning Jacket, REM, Kanye, Mike Patton, DJ Danger Mouse, Ani Defranco, Jonathon Coulton...the list goes on and on.

If I gave the impression that I was endorsing drug use or (and I find it hard to believe anyone would have really thought this) suicide, this was not my intention. Further, if I gave the impression that any type of success should be defined by anything having to do with major labels, again...not my intention. The remaining parts of this series will make that abundantly clear.

Again, thank you so much for the fantastic comments. There's nothing better than passionate viewpoints; particularly when they're grounded on a foundation of experience and good data.

[JohnDoe'sMother'sBrother]

What if all you truly care about is writing great songs and only care if a few people give a hoot? Isn't that success? Can we define our own success? Set our own goals? Writing and performing my own songs is my hobby. My goal is to keep writing for myself and hope a few people like it. But I don't want or need their money. There is no doubt Nirvana was not an accident. Cobain wanted to make it big on his own terms. I admire that, but not everyone who writes and performs wants that.

[Malcolm Rios]

While most of the world hails Nirvana and Cobain as the Commander-in-Chiefs of grunge scene, my money is still with Soundgarden.

I agree with Howard on two aspects: 1. belief in yourself, your music, and what you're doing and 2. doing whatever it takes to make it happen so that your music isn't just heard by Mommy and Daddy and your best drinkin' buds.

I also agree with some of the other comments in that this generation of musicians and those with interest in the music industry are tired of being told that we must sell out to the man. Thank God for digital music and the way it can reach as many people as the Old Guard used to. Thank God for venues who still pull in up and coming acts who have the hunger to perform. Thank God for the people out there who want to hear something new that's not built through some music industry man's idea of what music is or isn't.

I've never had a #1 song but I'm not going to quit writing and recording or performing. And you know what, that's fine. I like my stuff and so do a few others so by that rational, I've made it up the first step of success.

[Bob Laprime]

Please, let's continue to praise a drug addict and someone so screwed up in the head that he was alone when he died by his own hand.

If this is your idea of the way to succeed what does that say about you and your advice?

How about you go in another direction if you want to be taken seriously.