As the this season of American Idol begins, the show has helped to perpetuate the notion that getting signed to a record label is easier than it really is. How many times have viewers seen Randy “The Dog” Jackson fondly remark to one of the show’s competitors, “I’d sign you tomorrow.” Or likewise, how many times has even Simon Cowell himself -- who certainly has not been shy in cutting down talent he believed did not make the cut -- nevertheless lavished praise on select candidates with such remarks as: “I don’t think you even needed this show to get a record deal.”
Comments such as these seem to imply that the competitor -- bless their heart -- could have otherwise strolled up to The Dog’s production offices or Simon’s Welshire estate, announced their presence, and wowed them with their rendition of everyone’s favorite karaoke classics, all of which we are treated to hear weekly on American Idol. In truth, it just ain’t so.
The fact of the matter is that if you (i) don’t write original material, and (ii) don’t perform as part of a group or band (or play an instrument yourself), you are at a severe disadvantage when it comes to the possibility of being signed to a major record label. For these candidates, in today’s market, auditioning on the show is probably the only realistic chance they’ll ever get. Or, to put the point in Simon’s terms: they do need the show to get a record deal. Here’s why.
There are many, many people out there with great voices -- more talent than there are slots available on major label rosters. Imagine if each of these individuals (not to mention the untalented ones) routinely bombarded A&R representatives at the major labels with unsolicited demos consisting entirely of cover songs. Even if the reps were willing and able to listen to the unsolicited material (which, in reality, they are not), where would that leave them? What good does it do to have a database of 10,000 capable singers, each of whom has to be developed from the ground up in order to bring them to market? What separates one from the other? That’s not to say that one of those ten thousand can’t possibly be plucked from the files with some timing and luck. But it is to say that the odds of being that one person out of ten thousand are not good.
In other words, pasting some cover songs on a demo -- no matter how well sung -- won’t distinguish you from your competitors, because there are plenty of other talented folks doing the same thing. Unlike American Idol, where each contestant -- no matter how worthy or unworthy -- gets their chance to shine before the judges, and where weeks are spent attempting to parse the field of candidates down based on singing ability and “star potential,” in the real world, demo tapes sent to labels by these same competitors would be thrown in the garbage. In today’s market, labels are not developing artists; they are acquiring them. This means that labels want: (i) artists with radio-ready original material; (ii) an act polished enough to be promoted with minimal development costs; and (iii) some strong “buzz” surrounding the artist. Now we have criterion that gives A&R reps a more workable screening process, and which minimizes their investment costs and risk. After all, this is the music business, not the music charity.
Of course, this presents a problem. How can a “mere” singer -- a singer who, despite loads of natural talent and ability, does not write original material and does not perform with a band -- win gigs at venues that allow for opportunities to showcase the artist’s talent and generate buzz? Without a band performing with the singer, and without original material to actually perform, the singer is not bookable. And therein lie a greater concern that the majors are faced with when the N.Y. Post decided to focus on the trend of declining compensation for record execs. For example, incoming EMI CEO Elio Leoni-Sceti will be paid less than $1 million a year plus incentives. "The era of the standard promo guy making $350,000-$700,000 a year is over," said one source familiar with the situation. "There's not a lot of million-plus players on the label level outside of the label heads."
There are exceptions, of course. While WMG Chairman Edgar Bronfman Jr. has a base pay of $1 million, he can pocket a bonus of up to $6 million a year. He collected $3.4 million in total compensation in 2007, according to a regulatory filing. The topic of music industry pay stepped into the spotlight last week when one Wall Street analyst took Lyor Cohen to task after Cohen sold a quarter of his shares in the struggling company for a whopping $6.8 million. Critics charge that kind of money is symbolic of the business' excesses and a pay scale that is out of whack with its declining fortunes.
In contrast to other media executives, CBS boss Les Moonves collected $33.7 million last year, while Comcast chief Brian Roberts made $38.9 million and Disney CEO Robert Iger made $20.71 million, according to Forbes’ latest roundup of CEO pay.
Multiple sources said that labels have cut back on long-term contracts with guaranteed money. New deals tend to be more performance-driven and are often limited to 2-to-3 years in length. Private-equity players investing in music are also demanding belt-tightening. Pali Capital analyst Richard Greenfield—a noted critic of the salaries for Warner's senior execs—pointed out last week that the company is scaling back compensation for its employees.
One source who controls the purse strings for a major record label has a different take than Greenfield on the industry' executive compensation. According to this source, music companies are suffering a brain drain because the plunge in their financial fortunes are preventing them from competing aggressively for top talent. "Record companies can't keep their top people anymore," this source said.So now new artists have to consider what the key concepts are now and this is share and share alike which is the reasons the at the end of the day you just want to build new music fans and hope they will love you efforts and your creations of song,music and performance well enough to wna to download it and share it with all of their friends on a social level.
