the YellYo.com Blog

I recently saw a musician play at a local venue and I was very impressed.  To help keep the performer anonymous in this article, let’s call him “Jim.”  Jim’s solo acoustic performance was captivating and carried an energy that could be felt by all in the venue.  The songs all sounded like they belonged in movie soundtracks or at the end of an episode of Scrubs or Gray’s Anatomy.  I talked with Jim after his performance and found out that he is planning on signing with an indie label here in town.  Unaware that there was any notable indie label in our area, I inquired more and was informed that it is actually a local recording studio that is partnered with a local indie label.

Upon researching the studio, I was not surprised to find that it had virtually no presence on the web or sign of any real activity.  The MySpace page was so lacking of content that it barely required scrolling to reach the bottom of the page and their official website was no more than a splash screen with a note saying the site is coming soon.  Being the obsessive person that I am, I further researched the actual domain name for the site that is “coming soon” and found that the domain name has been owned for almost a year.  So the question is, how long has the site been in a perpetual state of “coming soon”?  And if they cannot even get their website up and running or generate more than a handful of friends on MySpace, how do they plan to further the careers of their artists?

I next took a look at the local indie label the studio is partnered with.  They at least had a website that was completed but it was certainly nothing special.  In addition, their MySpace was even more desolate than the studio’s, with their friend count barely in the double digits.  One thing I was surprised to find was that Jim was already listed on their website as an artist signed to the label, which I know from speaking to Jim is not the case…yet.  Maybe it’s wishful thinking on their part and at least it shows that the website does get updated.  But it’s simply false information to make their label look more established.  I wonder how many of the other few artists listed are actually signed with them.

Relieved to find out from Jim that nothing had yet been signed, I gave him my card and asked him to contact me ASAP before taking any major steps.  Jim is young and although his talent is overwhelming for his age, it’s apparent that he’s doesn’t have a full understanding of the business side of the music industry.  I’m sure having someone telling him that they want to sign him to an indie label was exciting and I hate to be the party-pooper.  However, signing a deal with an indie label that has no impact on even our local area could prove to seriously affect his career now and in the future.

Now that I’ve provided the premise for why I wanted to write this article, let’s get to the things that Jim should be watching for, as well as any of you who might find yourself in a similar situation.  I would also like to point out that I do not feel that indie labels, even local ones, are inherently bad for up-and-coming artists.  But at a time when musicians and bands are capable of achieving at least moderate national success without the need for a label at all, any recording contract needs to be scrutinized closely.  Even major labels that have existed for decades are having difficulty maintaining success for their artists and their own company.  So how can a small label with no track record for success actually provide something you couldn’t provide for yourself?  Well, I guess that’s the first question you would need to ask yourself in this situation.

If I told you that you were getting signed to a label, be it major or indie, what would you think is included in that deal?  I will tell you what should be included in a record deal and if I mention things you hadn’t considered, that’s all the more reason why this article can help you.

Recording: In the example of Jim, recording is implied, mainly because the indie label is partnered with a local studio.  Plus, Jim only has some older recordings and if he plans to sell his music, he will need a professional product.  However, recording is not implied in every circumstance.  Oftentimes, a label will pick up a band that has already professionally produced and album.  This makes life easier on the label because that’s one less thing that has to be done before hitting the ground running.  If you’re like Jim though, you should expect recording as part of the deal.

Distribution: With internet music downloads, file sharing, widgets, music players, etc., physical distribution on a global scale is no longer an imperative.  Yes, it’s nice to have your CD sitting on the shelves at Best Buy.  But simply having it available on the Best Buy website in this day and age is almost just as good.  Regardless, distribution is an industry all its own and it is unlikely that a local indie label will have the resources, know-how, or time to properly distribute your product.  If your label is not using a third party distributor, what’s going to happen to your CD?  It will sit on a table at your live shows and hopefully you’ll have people who will be willing to sit at that table all night so you can perform and schmooze with the patrons of the venue.  But isn’t this what every unsigned local band with a CD does?  Do you see where I’m going with this?  Is it possible for me to end this section with one more question?

Booking: This may or may not be part of your deal.  If it’s not, do not consider it a deal-breaker.  However, any label that is making an investment in you should know that without live performances to support your product, help generate revenue through other merchandise sales, and gain exposure in areas other than where you live, both you and the label are setup for failure (and a lost investment for the label).  If they do not provide you with a booking agent, they should at least put you in contact with one.

Promotion: Without good promotion of your product and live performances, everything else is pointless.  Yes, your label may actually be able to get your CD on the physical shelves at Best Buy.  But if they are not alerting people to the fact that your album is there and available, what’s the point?  How often do you go to a music store to buy albums that you’ve never heard of before in your life?  I know some people who will do this, but they are a rare breed.  Rare enough that you certainly won’t be going platinum anytime soon based on this method of sales.  In addition, radio stations need to be contacted and your songs submitted.  But this isn’t just as easy as dropping a disc and letter in an envelope and sending it to the station.  There is a process to doing this effectively as program directors get submissions all the time and don’t have the time to listen to every one.  And radio stations should be targeted to regions that you plan on playing in the near future.  If you’re getting signed with a label that knows how to promote effectively and properly, you don’t really need to know all this stuff.  But since I’m discussing things that you need to know in order to ask the right questions of the potential label, I thought it prudent to include some detail.

Presence: This can include many aspects of your music which, when signed to a label, is now actually a business.  You will need a brand to begin with.  An easy way to establish a brand is to determine the artwork for your CD and then use that as your branding.  Once you have a brand to market, you can then have a website created with a similarly-branded MySpace or Facebook page.  You will need promotional shots taken by a professional photographer for inclusion in just about everything you send out to anyone, as well as for posting on your website, MySpace page, etc.  You will need to create a professional press kit and radio kit to send out when trying to get radio play or new gigs at new venues.  Without a professional presence, you’re setting yourself up for failure.  Your label should know this and should be prepared to implement your presence almost immediately upon signing.

——————————————-

There may be other aspects to your contract, hopefully in your favor.  But these are the ones to look for and may help you to ask better questions before signing.  Keep in mind that signing with a label, no matter how big or small, will impact your potential signing with another label in future.  If you sign with a label and fail to make money off your product, you will be considered high risk with any other potential labels as they will know that you attempted once but failed.  And it’s very possible that your failure was a direct result of a lack of the components discussed above.  But in the eyes of the next label, failure is still failure.  Another thing to consider about signing with a label is that any work they do on your behalf is not free.  You are responsible for paying back every dime they invest in you.  If you only sell $100 worth of albums and the label spends $10,000 on different things through the course of your term, you will get a bill when all is said and done.  Unfortunately, too many bands are naïve enough to think that a record label means you have someone who wants to give you a free ride.  Not even close.

Hopefully, if you have a deal on the table or find one down the road, it will be one you will want to sign.  But do not be afraid to ask question after question and even more importantly, do not be afraid (or too excited about the prospect of being “signed”) to say no to a bad deal.  Sometimes in life, saying no is the best thing you could ever do for yourself.

Good luck, Jim.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 6th, 2009 at 2:38 pm and is filed under Articles, Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.