Arrested (Artist) Development

By Jeff Price

Sometime in the 90’s, “artist development” for rock and alternative bands, got turned on its head.  Gone were the days of a major label aspiring to propel an artist over many years to “rock legend” with multiple releases, tour dates, interviews and in-store appearances (Led Zep, Rolling Stones, Springsteen, The Byrds etc). Instead, new artists were given six weeks from the street date of their debut album to have a radio/MTV hit.  If the first single from the album failed, the artist would typically get dropped; their career effectively over before it even began.

This change occurred with the consolidation of the music industry under multi-national billion dollar companies (many publicly traded).   Gone were the days of patience for a “return on investment”.  Instead, the world boiled down to revenues earned over the last 90 days.  Shareholders demanded quick growth, the value of a company lived and died by what was reported and booked every quarter of the year.  If the company invested $1 million dollars into a band in January, it cared only about how quickly it could see its money back and how much profit would be made.

This get rich quick strategy helped destroy the value of labels and the careers (and potential careers) of thousands of artists.

Before the record label consolidation, an artist would get signed, an album would get recorded, the release would get set up and distributed. The artist would tour as the label promoted the artist/album building up the fan base and credibility.  The band would gain experience playing live, learn things in the studio and grow as musicians.  About a year later, the next album would be released, this time to some anticipation by the existing fans, and the same cycle as with the first album would repeat – building, playing, learning, touring, gaining new fans - until the next album came out.  It was the artist’s later album, built on years of learning and credibility,  that would go multi-platinum providing the final piece of the puzzle in defining them as a “legend”.  Once at that status, an abundance of opportunities and wealth would arrive for many years to come via gigs, merchandise sales, advances and band and publishing royalties.  The label would experience a huge spike in back catalog sales from new fans discovering and buying old albums selling as many copies of a catalog album in a single week as they did over the previous year.  There were no label marketing costs directly tied to these catalog sales thereby generating huge amounts of high margin money for their bottom line.

Or said another way, the value of a major label like EMI (or make that Citigroup due to its recent acquisition) is not from one new Beatles’ album, it’s from the entire Beatles’ catalog.  These older albums sell and sell and sell yielding huge financial returns that dwarf income made off of just one hit album.

In the old music industry, the true monetary value for the record label and artist was in the catalog of created and released works – each song, album, EP selling a little (or a lot) each day, week and year creating a large and steady recurring and predictable stream of income (“recurring and predictable income” is the holy grail for financial institutions). The shift to a new strategy of just six weeks to “have a hit or you’re dead” flew not only in the face of artist development but also in the face of long term financial gain while radically changing the way the game was played.

A quick financial return strategy in the music industry could only be accomplished in one way, a mass-consumable commercial radio/video hit single.  Bands began to be signed not for their current and future value, but for just the one hit they may have written.  All label bets were placed on the one single as it was sent to radio and MTV with hopes of airplay, reaction and consumer sales.  Radio and MTV gained massive power being the only outlets to allow this quick explosive growth, and the labels were willing to pay them whatever it took to gain the media exposure.

The music world went topsy turvy – debut albums became an artist’s best selling album with subsequent releases selling far less (Spin Doctors, BloodHound Gang, Alanis Morissette,  Hootie & The Blowfish, Third Eye Blind, Better Than Ezra, Marcy Playground etc etc etc).  Gone were the days of development, catalog and box sets;  in their place came the world of "one hit wonders" whose value dissipated as quickly as it arrived.

This is not to suggest that these bands or songs were good or bad, nor is this to suggest that the phenomenon of “one hit wonders” was not happening through the entire history of the music industry.  What was different was the lack of bands being nurtured, supported and given time to grow and develop at the world’s largest labels. Lawyers, calculators and quarterly profit and loss statements replaced the ears and creative passion of music executives like Seymour Stein, Ahmet Ertegun, Lenny Waronker and Mo Ostin.

Bloated artist contracts were an additional side effect of this new get rich quick strategy – understandably, artists, lawyers and managers were demanding larger and larger advances on future albums as a major label would only exercise the option due to the previous album being a financial hit.  Percentages of these large advances went into the pockets of the managers and, in some cases, the lawyer’s, incentivizing them to take the money and run. Marketing spends went through the roof as the labels tried to hit grand slam home runs.  Albums selling a few hundred thousand copies that were previously seen as a success were now redefined as failures.

As more than 98% of the bands signed were not hits, the labels could not justify nor afford the huge advances previously negotiated and the bands were dropped, their careers stunted and ended before they even really began. 

As this new shortsighted strategy progressed for over a decade, the labels woke one day and realized what they had done – for the past fifteen years they neglected to build up a valuable catalog of work that people would continue to buy over a long period of time.  The older “legacy” catalog of Pink Floyd still sold, but there was nothing taking its place, nothing being incrementally added – even rock legends die, taking their chest of musical riches with them to grave.  This left only one option, buy even more into the new vicious cycle, do even less artist development, spend more money on marketing, invest more in videos, up advances, swing like mighty Casey at bat for that elusive home run and hope to god something hit.

Had there been more patience, less greed, less focus on next month’s bottom line the magnificence of the industry could have been perpetuated through its creativity.  Not only would these media companies have been reaping far greater financial rewards, but the artists and the music fans most likely would have had a different view of the entire industry. 

The good news is the cycle has been broken, artists no longer singularly need a label to have a career; there is now a choice.  The lessons of the past combined with the technology and opportunity of today can quite possibly create a return to the true cultural and long-term financial value of music.  Through new media outlets and social networking, bands and fans can connect in more personal and meaningful ways.  Fans are now able to more directly and meaningfully support their favorite musicians over the long term enabling the artist to create a significant body of work through their lifetime. The control of a band’s career has shifted from the label to the artist – be it the path of Vanilla Ice or Radiohead, the choice, success (or failure) is the artists to make.

 

Comments

[Calysta Rose]

And it was somewhere in the 90s that I stopped being able to find the music that spoke to me. I'm just glad I was able to find my way back in '07.

[Lisa Marie Gabriel]

Great article, Jeff, to the point, concise - says all that needs to be said. The way I always look at it is that music used to be an art, sometime in the 1970s it became a business, then around about the 1980s it became an industry. We all know the quality of mass produced industrial products can never equal that of hand crafted originals nurtured through love and passion of music and musicians. I tweeted your article already - more power to your elbow (from someone in the art of music FAR too long to be a Wunderkind!) :)

[m]

Label as lottery mentality. When you sign every band in sight post Nirvana you expect to have massive failures because you're banking on that one lucky number.

[Phoebe Legere]

Jeff! Thank you for articulating what so many of us have tried to put into words...As one who was stomped by a Major in the late 80's I say, "You speak the Truth."

Thank G*d The Music shook off the poisonous and pernicious Music Industry as if it were a gnat. We all know now that Music is not a physical thing. It cannot be owned. The very soul of music is freedom, love and harmony.
Thank G*d The Music still plays, pure and invincible, in the hearts and bodies of a new generation. The music is bigger than all of us. People are still writing great songs and divinely inspired virtuosos are still appearing (like my 15 year old violinist, Jonathan Russell) LONG LIVE THE MUSIC!

[Stephen]

definately a great perspective and information for those who so desparately need it!

[Lee Fox]

In other words:

There will never be another Queen, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith , Kiss, or even a Madonna.

It will all be one hit wanna-be's scrambling for attention on YouTube and begging for scraps on Spotify or some other steaming service that pays .001 cents per play.

Artist Exploitation is Dead!

Long live Artist Exploitation!

[Mike Martial]

Yes as a artist / producer i find my self taking days and weeks before i can complete a body of work.. which i call complete ..... Im Mike Martial aka Mayhem beats aka mr.. bang on a mpc till it talks to me and I'm praying that music returns back into labels taking time into the grwoth of an artist / Band to grow... with time a true poet will only improve if allowed time to mature...

[Kitty Willis]

Thanks, great to know!

[[email protected]]

The one piece that jeff missed in this great article is how the stealing of our music through downloading made labels even more desperate as back-catalogue( bands Like Zep, Floyd etc.) that kept the labels profitable had their sales drop due to people just stealing their music from sharing sites instead of buying it. A significant % of that theft would have been sales. Sad sad sad.

[josh]

so so true! this is why mainstream music has lost complete respect from actual musicians. if you ask any musician what radio station they listen to they will say, "radio?" the only respectable music you'll find being promoted by a major label is the occasional band that gets signed because they toured and profited enough on their own that a label finally grabbed a hold of them and let them do their thing.

[the blisscats]

As an indie recording artist, my band isn't looking for fame or fortune, we just want to make the kind of music that we like. If we're lucky, somebody else will like it too. We consider that a great reward for our efforts!

[Dead City Radio]

I don't expect much if anything from a label anymore, it seems they're just chasing their tails and pissing in the wind. But I do holdout some hope that there are still a few valid companies out there that have a passion for new and good music. We'll see...

~Dead City Radio

[Jones]

Well, since ClearChannel now ownes most of the radio station across the U.S. and only plays "music people know" ( hits of the 70s 80s & 90s ) the record labels don't have a way to promote their new artists anyway.

[sean]

very inspiring

[Rob Taylor/Artok]

awesome, as an artist i am excited about being in control of my destiny, this is a great time to be an aspiring legend :)

[ChristKhodadadi]

Labels provide you contact and access to resources most people don't have. There's a reason why labels are still around. They are needed.

[James Ties]

The myth of digital music "democratizing" the music world is total venture cap. bullshit.

Artists always had indie distributors, etc. to put out their music.

Stop telling artists that the majors controlled the world until digital music came around.

Stop the lies!

[ken]

how do you get a lable to listen yo your music

[Dave Perry]

By Jove, I think you've got it! ;-)

[anne malone]

music is the breath of Love ... long live Love ... keep it alive ... Anne

[Work Boots]

Yes, an article written for children by someone who is wishful thinking and should know better. How are musicians supposed to make a living from their music when nobody buys it? Or buys it for next to nothing. Of course, you'll keep promoting the idea that if they keep churning out song after after song after song they'll suddenly have a career by shear volume alone. You need an editor.

[Shake dizzy]

Definitely have to add in the fact that some artist are to blame as well.. Sometime in the late 90's artist and labels would promote 1 to 2 singles coming out on a new album and when you went out an bought the album, the only good songs on the cd was the 2 singles that you couldn't stand listening to any more because the radio was playing it over and over. Which then caused someone to create napster so you can download the song that you liked for free. Thus, adding to the chaos that exists in the music industry today..

[Suze Lanier Bramlett]

Thanks for your wisdom & sharing it.

[chuck]

I think that some of the reason for artist development going by the wayside in the 90s also had to do with the "grunge"/alternative-rock explosion that happened. Major labels started seeing money in these musical styles that were coming up from the underground, started signing artists, and then were surprised when these artists, who saw their roots in punk rock, turned around and demanded artistic freedom, and had the attitude that they weren't going to let the label tell them what to do, where artists in the past had been more open to guidance. The major labels' reaction was to tell the artists, fine if you don't want to let us _help_ you make a hit record, and insist on doing it your way, then your way had better give us a hit record or else you're out. It wasn't that the labels just suddenly callously decided not to do artist development, it was that artists started to refuse what the major labels' idea of artist development was.

[p-dek]

All glory is be God who teaches human being the meaning of letters and of words and from words,human being create music so everyone understands whether good or bad,everyone loves good and freedom so God listens to the prayers of everyone,the good go to good side and bad to bad side but to hear good words is only God,s mercy because everything comes from Him and every good comes in His name.

[Bob]

You had me until the last paragraph... Which is BS.

[GARY TYRONE JOHNSON]

I love what Jeff said in the last chapter! Very important! Jeff Price you are a true innovator! Thanks for your vision.

"The good news is the cycle has been broken." & "The choice, success (or failure) is the artists to make."

Let's all give what we got and do what we can.

[TEH]

What Shake Dizzy and Bob say are fairly accurate. First, the labels sold singles packaged as albums and consumers felt ripped off paying $18 for a couple of tunes worth listening to more than once or twice. Thievery spawns thievery. The consumers took to doing their own stealing when technology empowered the scorn people felt from having been suckered into buying these undeveloped pieces of music that Jeff rightly attributes to the greed and multinational corporate takeover of the industry. And Bob is right to point out that we are not heading toward utopia with the evolution of music. Streaming rights are giving people a few hundred bucks for a few hundred thousand spins. How liberating is that ever going to be? Yeah, artists, you can control your own artistic development but only a few of you will be able to quit those day jobs on the power of your talent. And thank you for checking out: www.shantymusic.com.

[James]

Very insightful. Thanks for that input Chuck.

[jon ji]

Ya know, this article really laid it out quite nicely. I haven't heard it put so succinctly before. Thanks!

Most of my writing is about the psychology of the artist, and this take on the business helps me to shape some upcoming posts. How to deal with the demise of the catalogue building system.
Hmmm. Build your own, I guess.
Thanks! great post!

[CC]

Also rememner the goverment/music industry said ok to selling music burners which in turn spawned napsters abilities to let people trade/steal music. Why wasn't there a big uprising against that? Great article

[Rob Allen]

http://www.reverbnation.com/store/artist_1195277
Good thing the inter-net is sucking those major labels down the tubes. it's about time those that ain't got ant talent, that make up the rules for the ones that got talent,go BROKE like ME, I AM A major creative force (web search=roballen2) . and it ain't the ones that ain't got any talent and pretend they do, jump on the wagon just for a while 'cause they know it's in style, get on, then get off quick after they make all kinds of money and chicks. I throw down my hat and say CHRIST do I have to be like that ain't there no one here knows where I'm at!!! Ain't there no one here knows how I feel, good god-almighty this shit ain't real.

[Music on the Make]

What a great analysis.
The problem with the "hit strategy" is that the audience doesn't necessarily grow to love the artist. They might just like "Two Princes" never really knowing or caring who "The Spin Doctors" were. The success of that band becomes an illusion, because they don't really have an audience. Their hit single momentarily does, but there is nothing else to build upon.
In today's world the whole thought of starting small and growing slowly seems outlandish, but that's where we're heading. Artists can work this way, and in the process build real audiences with real engagement. Not just big bubble media hype, which after bursting leaves the band as the despised yesterdays news.

[Tapio]

An absolutely spot on atricle. I still find incredible music when I study the music of the 70's and that vast catalogue music and artists. The further I go into the 80's and 90's the less I find interesting music.

I truly hope that things are going to change.

[RyanZ]

My hope is that the pendulum will change directions as power shifts toward the "artist as a label model" and management firms become more dynamic.

"Dead Artist Development" http://bit.ly/fuhl5X

[[email protected]]

Real music comes from Real people who have Real talent.
Mediocritors can and never will catch up!
Record companies will you please listen to this!
MY SOLUTION TO ALL OF THIS IS SIMPLE;
PLACE ALL 'GIFTED PEOPLE' AND CHARLATANS IN A ROOM
FULL OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND ASK THEM ALL TO PLAY -
BELIEVE ME, THIS WILL SEPARATE THE MEN FROM THE BOYS!!!
- 'FINALLY!'

[[email protected]]

THE MUSIC OF 'Michael Martin Farrah'
ON 'TUNECORE'.

[joanpi]

I'll especially focus on the paradox here: without any disrespect to older music legends- labels gained big time $$$ from older bands that still sale now - so they invested and still do a lot of time for these sales but they don't invest(/ed) more than 6 weeks for new artists, that leads to: a) almost every radio/club hit is hugely similar to the other aka they ask songwriters : write a song like Lady Gaga that hit etc - I don't criticize, listen to her tunes-
b) no more artist development that lead in good way of this era we're now living of DIY, have learnt to do a lot by ourselves with lots services for to be available for us.

So when you know it needs time to develop & gain more solid sales in future, how can you expect same solid sales in that short time? Lucky ride soon ends..
Now that they found out that, they wait & see before they invest on new artists... In the end I just hope it'd be better for all in future.

[Dark Companion]

Clark (up above) thinks that people "stealing the music" killed the back catalogues.
I don't think so. I bought the Pink Floyd vinyls as they came out. Then I bought them again on CD. If you expect me to buy them a THIRD TIME to get them digital you must be smoking stuff. How many new kids do Floyd attract, while passively competing with whatever is on VH1 today?
A back cat lives for a period of time, then it fades out as the artist fades from the public scene. You really expect a record to sell flat out for more than four decades, while tastes move on and other kinds of music overtake it? Only DSotM has ever come close.

[Reigndear]

We are doing exactly what you are speaking of! Our name is Reigndear and we've been building up our own catalog of music, which has been entirely independently funded, for sometime now. Even our music video that we have was made by us. If anyone is interested please go check www.reigndear.com. Join our Facebook page, browse our photos, listen to our music, or tell your friends! Help us bring something honest, wholesome and sincere to the world.

Peace, Love & Respect

The Brothers Reigndear

[Bryan Lightningrod]

None of the "acts" you talked about in you article are actually artists. An artist is an individual person. A band is not an artist, a singer is not an artist. So called "solo artists" are not artists either, unless they have created and recorded their work of art by themselves without the help of anyone else. Let's throw out the entire old "music industry" and their manufactured false "artists".

[Rasheed]

In what way was the last paragraph "BS" Bob? I think when you make a strong statement like the one you just have that you back up the statement with some well reasoned thoughts at the very least, sounds fair right? So, in your opinion how is the last paragraph "BS"?