Week 3 Readings:
- The Lost Gate, Orson Scott Card. (Fiction)
- Chapters 1-23
All You Need to Know About the Music Business, Donald S. Passman.
- Chapters 1-10
Donald Passman dissects the Music Business in a choose-your-own-ending style. Depending on what is relevant to interest or inquiry the reader can flip around the book. Within the text he gives parenthetic references to future or past pages that contain more in-depth explanations. The book is written chronologically parallel to the life of an artist who is strategically planning a career in music from the floor to the ceiling. No previous experience necessary.
Passman begins the text laying out who should be apart of an artists team, why, and how to acquire them. This all entangles itself within the branded image of the artist: the artists philosophy and goals. Who do others see you as or who do you want others to see you as?
There are many options, he explains, but there are ways that the music industry already flows. Knowing this information is useful in navigating the currents of a music career.
As an artist who takes control of 100% of my personal life, musical career and finances I consider myself worth 100% of my profit. However my profit from music is currently $0.00 and I cannot very well have 100% of nothing. I need a team; managers, agents, attorneys. Their time and resources are worth something and within the industry there are standards to how much they are worth. This is usually calculated as a percentage of the artists earnings. It is up to me to decide what tasks I can’t handle, what tasks I can and who is best to fill the gaps.
Once an artist establishes a team (the largest part of this collective is a fan base) they are ready to begin selling their music and negotiating with labels. This is a fork in the road for the artist and for the text. Reading through how record contracts operate is useful in one of two ways:
1) You plan to sign away your career to the benefit of a benefactor (your label) wether major or independent and need this information to assist you in contract negotiations, bargaining power and lowering the cost of an attorney by not being a pretty stool with a voice.
2) It reinforces your motivation to be independent because you aren’t a pretty stool with a voice and now you know the face of the monster you’re avoiding. Curiosity kills the cat. Im not a cat. I only have one life.
Since I subscribe to benefit number two I will forgo any further explanation of record contracting and utilize the readings to supplement my creative experiences in Los Angeles as well as my other readings. I will return to responding when I reach Chapter 15: Songwriting and Music Publishing.