Know what’s funny? A lot of people walk around scratching their heads wondering what it is that they have to do in order to please the buying public, regardless of what business they’re in. Here’s a novel concept.
Why don’t you just ask them?
If you recall from the other day’s article, I think I was telling you about a possible joint venture with another person in regard to creating synth patches. Well, I sent him some samples and he very politely told me that they’re not what he’s looking for; that the patches were too “basic” for his demanding needs.
Fair enough.
Now, I could have just let it go at that, but I didn’t. I wrote back to him and I asked him to send me some samples of what he IS looking for. And then I said, “In fact, tell me what libraries you recommend and I’ll buy them from you.”
He could have ignored my response, since he wasn’t thrilled with my initial work, but something about my determination and my willingness to even pay him to learn what needed to be done must have impressed him. He sent me a couple of emails with links to two of his packages. I wrote him back telling him that I didn’t feel right about just taking these and asked for his PayPal address so that I could at least send him a donation. I’m sure that must have made an impression as well.
Pleasing people is really easy. Just give them what they want. Once I’ve heard the kind of sounds that my future partner is looking for and duplicate them, more or less, in another synth (I’ll be programming in Zebra 2) I’ll have a product that he’ll be more than happy to sell. Not only that, I do all the work and he gets 50% of the profits. You can’t beat that deal.
This philosophy works in any business, especially in music. I don’t care what kind of music you’re into or what field of music you’re into.
If you’re a solo performing artist, say in the country genre, you need to first listen to country music…a lot of it. Especially from artists with similar styles to yours. Look to see how popular they are on the charts. Do they do a lot of touring? What kind of image to the put out to the public?
Now, here comes the hard part. You want to be just like this person but different. You want your own style. Maybe a certain kind of look. It will certainly help, especially in country, if you have a very distinguishable voice. Have you noticed that the biggest country singers have the most recognizable voices? I can tell John Michael Montgomery or Randy Travis from 10 miles away. They sound like nobody else, especially good old Randy.
What if you’re a music producer? Same thing. You want to listen to the genre that you produce music in. What does it sound like in general? What kind of ambiance does it have? What sounds does it use? Are the specific ones that are staples? For example, the trance lead in trance music or the wobble bass in dubstep?
Okay, hard part time again. You want to sound the same as what’s out there but different. How? Maybe you create a different kind of trance lead or wobble bass. Put a spin on it. Yes, you need to be creative. Straight copies of acts or sounds won’t cut it. You have to have something that’s unique. And that’s why so many people fail at this business. They’re just a bunch of “me too” acts that don’t stand out from the rest.
Do you know why prog rock died in the late 70s? Because all the bands started sounding alike. There was no great distinction between acts like there was between groups like Genesis, Yes, ELP and Kansas, four of the biggest that sounded nothing alike. Same thing happened with southern rock after Skynyrd. Being a southern rock band was like death after a while because they all sounded the same.
You’re not going to get anywhere in this world being a “me too” artist. But you do have to be identifiable. It’s difficult to do something totally new and be accepted. The irony is, people don’t like drastic change. Give them something new as long as it’s familiar. That’s why this business is so tough.
Of course you have to have talent. That’s where I think I have my biggest problem. I have always been told my music was different and even quirky. But my talent only takes me so far. It needs to be more refined or what people would call slick. Or, as my wife tells me, “Steve, you’re just not cool.” No, I’m not. I’m the stereotypical nerd. Always have been ever since I was a kid. Nothing has changed at age 56 going on 57 in exactly 2 months from today. That’s why I so admire people who are really cool and do really cool things, especially if they’re musicians.
But even these really cool people with their slick music are giving the buying public what they want. A lot of research goes into discovering what the buying public wants. It doesn’t just fall into your lap. And yes, sometimes you have to take some educated guesses. And yes, a lot of times the buying public is just force fed a certain “thing” until they have no choice but to accept it. That’s something else I could write a whole article about and just might someday…how the corporations brainwash us into buying into today’s “sound.” This practice goes back a long way.
So what are you going to do? If you haven’t made it yet and really want to are you going to start doing your research? Are you going to listen to acts or producers like yourself to see what they’re doing? Are you going to spend your time trying to come up with your own slant once you’ve done that?
If you do these things, you will absolutely give yourself the best chance of making it in the music business.
Just ask John and Randy.
For The Love Of Music,
Steven “Wags” Wagenheim