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1.
Newsletter direction
2. Focus on NOW!
3. My seminars
4. Why aren't you educating yourself?
5. Songwriting resources
6. Radio resources
7. Scams
8. Interview with El-P
9. Intern wanted
1. Newsletter direction: I'm starting to do
interviews for my new edition of Start &
Run Your Own Record Label and will include
part of at least one per newsletter. I have
some fantastic people on my list to interview.
Two highlights this week were Jonatha Brooke,
who began her own Bad Dog Records after MCA
dropped her during a tour. She's sold over
150,000 records so far. The other is El-P,
well known producer, rapper, and co-founder of
Definitive Jux Records, which is the buzz of
the industry. In the last 4 months his own
release has sold 55,000 copies. Other artists
with him are selling at least 30,000 copies a
piece. El-P told me why he's turning down
label deals and his secret to doing it
successfully as an independent. I'm excited to
include him in this issue. He's such a
terrific guy that interviewing him was so much
fun. He inspired me by the person he is.
I'd like this newsletter to be a resource for
musicians. Therefore, I invite you to send me
any resources that helped you, which others
might benefit from. I'd also love to hear from
people who succeeded by doing something that
others can learn from. Have you found a way to
approach radio stations or the press? Did you
get a gig because you tried something
different? Did you break out of your city for
touring? Have you cracked the college market
or Europe? Do you have a technique to motivate
yourself? Did you get a song into a film or TV
show? Did you use a good tool or marketing
technique? If you did something specific that
worked, I'll love to share it with my readers.
Feel free to make suggestions. This newsletter
is for all of YOU!
I'll also be happy to share info on events put
on by industry organizations. I have people on
the list from all over the world. I've been
talking about events in NYC because that's
where I'm based. But I'd include those in
other cities too, if there's room. Please
don't send gig listings or CD announcements.
I'm looking for resources I can share.
I've asked before but will ask again - I'm
looking for good indie labels that have found
their niche, or artists who are
self-sufficient in marketing their music and
selling CDs, to interview for my book. If
anyone knows of any, please let me know.
Thanks to those of you who already responded!
2. Focus on NOW! I hope you're all pursuing
your music passions with the energy of the
season. I'm in a dynamite mood! Fall is my
favorite season. The still warm days and crisp
nights of NYC put me into a better frame of
mind than usual, if that's possible. : ) Plus,
my birthday was this month - an excuse to
celebrate my life even more than usual. I
think of September as a time of new
beginnings. As summer ends, I clear out old
stuff and make room for new goodies. If you're
feeling a bit out of control, clean your
apartment and throw out anything you can't
justify keeping. It helps you get a grip on
reality. This recovering clutterholic has
learned by experience. : )
Since today is the first day of the rest of
your life, take the next step in achieving
your long term goals. Remember, success isn't
just the big picture. Each little thing you
accomplish that puts you a wee bit closer to
your ultimate goal is success too! If you only
see getting a record deal, making tons of
money, being the opening act at huge venues or
running a record label with top distribution
as success, you're setting yourself up for
major disappointment. More importantly, you're
selling yourself way short. Success isn't just
showing people how great you are or having
blockbusting achievements. Real success is
appreciating anything you do that you hadn't
done yesterday. All progress is success!
For example, some of you say that you find it
hard making calls to book yourself into gigs.
I hate that job too! When I finally get off my
butt and do it, I own a great sense of
satisfaction, instead of shrugging it off to
see everything I haven't done. Every gig is
success, whether there are 2 or 2,000 people.
Every person that buys your CD is a fan you
many not have had yesterday. I live in a
perpetual journey and follow my heart and the
spiritual guidance I'm so blessed to have.
It's taken me a long time to get where I am
but I've enjoyed every step of it. So as fall
embraces you with a sense of renewal, get your
head in the right place. Enjoy the road to
your long term goals! People ask me why I'm
always smiling. That's why! : )
3. My seminars: Reminder: my next full day
seminar dates at the New Yorker Hotel in New
York City are:
September 28th: Start & Run Your Own
Record Label
November 16th: How to Get a Record Deal
February 22nd: Start & Run Your Own Record
Label
More info about the seminars is posted on my
site:
http://www.outersound.com/revenge/seminar.html
Right now my confirmed speakers for the Sept.
28 one are attorney Wallace Collins, someone
from Disc Makers (not sure which of my buddies
yet), Charlie Cheney, my computer and internet
guru, who is also a musician, will speak about
finding and making use of all the contacts you
need on the internet. I'm waiting to hear back
from Amaechi, co-founder of Definitive Jux
Records, who handles a lot of the biz. He's
going to try to make it down too, which would
be an exciting addition. Either way, we're
going to hook up this week so I can interview
him while we hang out. So even if he can't
make it, I can pass on the info I'll pull out
of him. : )
For those of you who plan to attend but
haven't registered yet, you can still get the
advance price if you register by charge card
on my website by Wednesday night. Or, I'll
take money orders or cash until Friday. I'm in
midtown and if you want to pay in person,
please give me a buzz the morning you want to
stop by and I'll arrange to be here. This is
going to be a terrific event. I have more info
than ever from all the interviews I'm doing.
4. Why aren't you educating yourself? Recently
someone who's read my books wrote that he'd
gone to his first music conference. It was in
a different state but he said it was worth the
trip for the networking alone. He commented
that I encourage people to attend conferences
and was surprised at the low turn-out. I've
been hearing comments from many people across
the country about conferences they attend that
seem like ghost towns.
I don't get it! Are musicians getting so jaded
that they don't value the potential for
contacts and knowledge at music events? I
still go to them and always learn something
and meet someone. Actually, I meet lots of
great people who make going worthwhile. I
credit all the conferences I attended as being
instrumental in my success and encourage you
to attend whatever you can. I'm not saying
this because I teach seminars although
everyone should attend mine. : ) It's funny
because at least 50% of those at mine come
from across the country and sometimes
overseas. These are motivated people! I can't
understand not attending events in your own
backyard.
Even if you don't have a big budget, there are
many events sponsored by music industry orgs
that cost little or nothing. And they're not
well attended either. Last month I went to an
event during SGA week, sponsored by the
Songwriters Guild of America. They have SGA
week twice a year in several cities and have
great educational and musical events for free.
The night I went there were good speakers and
I expected it to be packed. There were people,
but this is NYC and I wondered why every
musician wasn't there. Songwriter orgs are
especially terrific about providing
inexpensive events where you can network and
learn. (more below).
5. Songwriting resources: I've found that
resources for songwriters are the best! I want
to share a few.
The Muse's Muse http://www.musesmuse.com/ is a
fantastic website for songwriting tips, tools,
interactivities and connecting with other
songwriters around the world. It's run by a
dedicated woman named Jodi Krangle. She
invites you to drop by for musician
classifieds, busy message boards, links,
songwriting association listings, a songwriter
radio show, music reviews, copyright and
publishing info, articles, interviews, a
weekly chat (9pm EST Mondays), a monthly
newsletter and lots more! I love their
excellent selection of articles with concrete
info for songwriters!
I'm an advocate of songwriter workshops. You
can't get TOO GOOD! I highly advise honing
your craft at every opportunity. Another
reason to go to songwriter workshops is the
opportunity to network with other songwriters.
I told my friend Ann Ruckert, who's synonymous
with the SGA, I'd share their upcoming
schedule. She runs the ProShop every Wednesday
at 6PM. It's a great place to network with
other musicians, have your songs heard, and
hear good speakers. I've spoken there several
times and always love being there, as the
energy and people are fantastic! You have to
submit material to be accepted into the
program. You can audit it once for free. Call
the guild for rates. Every Tuesday they have a
free song critique session. Only members can
submit songs. So join! Check out their other
songwriting workshops. AND, the last Monday of
each month they have an in-the-round
songwriters showcase at the Red Lion on
Bleecker St. at 7pm. It's free! I go whenever
I'm free. It's a good place to meet other
musicians. Arrive with a smile! : ) Get more
info on all of the above at 212 768-7902
Tuesday to Thursday 10 - 5pm or http://www.songwriters.org/newyork2.htm
My friend Bob Leone, Projects Director of
Songwriters Hall of Fame asked me to let you
know that they have 4 songwriting worskhops
starting on either 9/30 or 10/01. They all
take place at West 72nd Street Studios, 131 W.
72 St. Each is a 10 week session and covers a
different aspect of songwriting. All
instructors are seasoned pros. One includes
the performance end for singer/songwriters.
Call Bob for more details: 212 957-9230. If
you want to make money from your songs - go to
some of these workshops!!
The NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association
International) http://www.nashvillesongwriters.com
has chapters across the country offering
wonderful opportunities to meet with others
and learn. My friend Anne Freeman, who runs
the Princeton Songwriters chapter in New Jersy,
has a slew of regular events. http://community.nj.com/cc/princetonsongwriters.
So does my friend Mary Beth Stone who has a
chapter in NYC. The events are reasonably
priced. So wherever you live, find local
events and attend. They're out there!
6. Radio resources: People ask how they can
find radio stations in cities across the
country. The 3 sites below offer great
databases of radio and some TV stations across
the country and around the world. Search for
other sites .
http://www.topradio.com Radio stations listed
by state, city, country, by format and more.
http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/home A
database with radio stations that allow you to
search by city, format, or genre. They have
links to over 10,000 radio station web pages
and over 2500 audio streams from radio
stations in the U.S. and around the world.
http://www.jcoston.bizland.com/filmfr.htm#Radio
A database with radio and TV stations from
around the country and the world. Search by
city, format, or genre.
7. Scams: I'm sick of hearing about musicians
getting scammed! I regularly get people for
consultations who tell me about a so-called
producer or someone who "says" they
have many industry contacts and wants a chunk
of change for their services. I ask exactly
who these pros are and they repeat the BS they
heard. Often, frustration at not getting
further with our music, or impatience,
distorts the senses - and our ears, so we hear
what we want and ignore what common sense
should zero in on as shady. BEEN THERE -DONE
THAT!! When I began rapping, I hired a
"consultant" to help me get PR and a
label deal. He knew what to say to suck me in.
Took my money and gave me crumbs that were
wothless. When I began my label, another
sweet-talker guaranteed me radio play for a
fee. Well his partner with contacts got sick
and he had problems and yada, yada yada! No
play and no refund! That's why my company is
called Revenge. Instead of doing a dirty, I
let past anger motivate me to succeed. Smooth
talking people prey on musicians who think
they're so great that if they could just get
their music out they'd have it made. WRONG!
Please be careful about who you pay to help
you.
If you or someone you know paid money to
someone and got scammed, please let me know. I
may write about it, but you'd be anonymous.
Thanks!
8. Interview with EL-P: Interviewing EL-P was
a joy! I hope he inspires you the way he did
me. He's a perfect example of someone who
began from the ground and worked his way up,
using his smarts and talent to the max. He has
some great philosophies!
How did you get started in music?
I was working on music with my friends as a
full time thing. The part time job we had
funded us to record music. It dawned on us
that we could put the music out ourselves. The
initial idea was that we would do a single.
We'd press it up ourselves and send it out to
radio DJs. Hopefully we'd get some exposure
and maybe we'd get a major label deal . . . We
realized it was essentially the same price to
put 8 songs on a piece of vinyl as it was to
put one song. We decided to do that. We threw
this record out and the word of mouth on us
was strong, through the hip hop underground
communities, colleges and the internet. By the
time we actually came out with that EP on
Official Recordings, the first label we
started, we sold 30,000, pretty much
immediately. It was not something that
normally happened [to a record label] on that
level. At the time (1996) there was no
independent rap scene, at least not the way
there is now. . . You were performing in front
of your friends and other people who liked
what you were doing in clubs.. That was the
underground. It was the music scene that
wasn't attached to money yet.
How did you feel about being independent?
Our whole thing was "We don't want to be
on a major label. We are proud of this
independent route. We think this is a long
term plan. We're addicted to the creativity
and control." And we were addicted to the
hands-on experience of learning how to become
an adult as opposed to becoming someone with a
patriarch, which is how I look at a lot of
artists who are involved with major labels.
Once I realized the margins between what you
have to sell on a major label and what you
have to sell on an independent label to make
the same amount of money - I really broke them
down mathematically ? I realized I never
wanted to be signed as an artist on a major
label. For years no one was saying or even
thinking about this. We were the first group
to come out and put a voice to that logic and
make it a movement. It's not an anti-major
label thing. It's self-empowerment ? My whole
goal was to be able to get where I wanted to
go but on my terms. And to reap the benefits
of my hard work as I went along, and also to
make the mistakes. At the very least, with
trial and error I learn something.
Is that why you turn down major label deals?
It doesn't appeal to my personality to be
involved in the situation where you're an
artist and the label is literally like a giant
robot with 30 levels of technology and one
human somewhere, if you can find them. . .
Taking care of your own destiny is a powerful
thing. It's a lifestyle decision. What I
believe for an independent label is that you
have to have a spirit behind it. You have to
have a philosophy and an idea. There are these
independent labels that come out and their
idea, spirit and philosophy is "I want to
make money." All that means is that you
are simply a chip off the old block, but
without the resources. I believe in the
consistent release of quality, creative,
artistic, beautiful music, and that's my only
philosophy. For me it's about creating a
lifestyle and creating a mechanical hub to set
up careers for young, talented cats who can
use us as a home base but we are not going to
be their main piggy bank. What we are is like
a support center and we're going to let them
springboard from us and come home whenever
they need to. It's a lifestyle thing for me
because I feel better, stronger as a grown
man, knowing that whatever is coming to all of
my friends and to everyone working for me and
with me, is truly OURS.
Will you take a major deal?
I spent my entire career being offered major
label deals and have not taken one. I haven't
taken a publishing deal. Because I felt a long
time ago, that all it took was one thing ? the
fact that we put a record out ourselves that
we made in our house; we did the artwork on
our kitchen table, and then we went to one
distributor and said, press this up for us.
They did, and we were eating off of that
record for 2 years. [This distributor was a
fan of their music, which is why he did it.]
Once we realized that, the whole perspective
changed for us. It became the license for me
to actually follow this line of thinking. . .
At an early stage, our plan was to put
something out, use it as leverage to get a
deal with somebody bigger than us who will
give us exposure. We'll use that as leverage
to bring something back again into our own
company and not have to use them for exposure.
That was literally the plan. We sat there and
mapped it out. We were getting so much money
off that thing because we put no money into
promotion. We were working at [a mail order
place] and sending all the records out through
their mail order department, overnight to the
radio stations. We were loving it. We'd been
involved in every step of the way and all of a
sudden people were handing us direct sums of
money. Directly to us! No bullshit. For us at
the time, it was like, 20 G's, we probably
don't have to make a record again. That was at
least how you look at it while you're young.
How did you get Rawkus Record to put out one
record?
Because a lot of record labels were knocking
on our door, we arrogantly designed our own
contract. I said I want 50% of everything,
complete ownership of my masters, 100%
creative control, and I'll sign a deal for one
album. We held it out in front of us like the
arc of the covenant. All the infidels fell and
burned away. At the end of the day, Rawkus
Records, God bless their corrupted hearts,
were the ones who were standing, because they
were the ones who were desperate enough to
give us what we wanted. Once my deal was done
with them, it had brought us, and Rawkus, to a
pretty recognizable level in the industry.
Once our record sold the numbers it sold, it
was time for phase three ? move on. Take what
you need at the time, respectfully, let
everybody know up front what it's about, and
take control of yourself again. I decided to
start this label. But this time I didn't just
have a philosophy. I had experience,
connections, and a serious amount of weight
behind what I had done. I had been involved in
successful music. I had a name and a record
that I could put at the pivot of any sort of
distribution deal, that was very attractive.
So we stepped to Caroline (distributors) and
they recognized it and jumped on it
immediately, because Caroline Records worked
our record on Rawkus.
How have your record sold?
My record has been out for about 4 months and
I'm at something like 55,000, which for an
indie is very good. If I said that at a major
label office I'd have my ankle broken by some
thug they keep in the closet. 50,000 records
for us is great. Cannibal Ox sold 40,000
records; Aesop Rock is over 30,000. The way
that it's going now, RJD2 is probably going to
sell 70 or 80,000. We're making a living, a
killing actually!
How do you feel about doing it yourself?
It's a reflection of my own personality. I
can't help but do it myself. I'm a controlling
freak, and don't want to convince someone else
that they should believe in me, or the people
I believe in. I don't want to walk into an
office and talk to someone who's younger than
me and knows less about me than music and try
to explain to him my vision, holding my
breath, hoping that he'd relay that vision to
whoever he has to relay it to in order to cut
a check and support what we're trying to do. I
love it, man. I'm proud of it. I feel that
it's necessary. And I'm a businessman. I
wouldn't be doing it if it were ethereal ? all
about heart, struggle and power. It's more
that I believe in my heart of hearts that THIS
IS the industry that will be surviving when
everything collapses. This is the industry
that's based on cult fanbase; on grass roots
promotion. There is no event marketing. We
don't have to come up with splashy, explosive
ways to sell a new artist, because we know
what we're going to do with one. We're going
to tour him for a straight year.
9. Intern wanted: I'm looking for an intern to
help me research my book. The person should
have a computer, be excellent at searching the
internet, have good writing and communication
skills, be very familiar with the music
industry and preferrably live in or near NYC.
The job is to research information and labels,
compile material in a well-written format, and
maybe do some of the interviews. I'd consider
a second person who's not in NY for research
on their own. Most of the work can be done
from home on your own time - very flexible. If
you're interested, please email me your
qualifications and why you'd want to do this.
There's no pay but there would be perks, which
would be discussed if I consider you.
For those of you who don't know, I'm available
for private consultations about marketing
music and starting a record label, both over
the phone and in person.
Please be true to yourself when it comes to
your music! Don't lose your passion for it in
your pursuit of a deal/money. El-P said
"There's a difference between fame and
happiness. There's also a modern day trick of
combining the two, which is the rare and
elusive combination of being financially
stable and being happy. Not many people are
willing to stick around for the long-term
plan. You need patience. I have the word
tattooed on my arm." Patiently follow
your passion and let it be your guide. If I
hadn't, I'd still be a bored school teacher. :
) Instead, after a lot of hard work, eating
tuna, and living hand to mouth for a long
time, I'm living my dreams! That's the only
way to find true happiness. FOCUS ON YOUR
PASSION!
I wish you all a productive fall!
Daylle
Revenge Productions
http://www.daylle.com
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