The placement that went wrong!

I got a request for placement on an old song from one of the supervisors I work a lot with. This song is from a band that is no longer exists. We draw a deal that we can place the song anyway. Still, it was probably over five years ago someone requested something around them.

She had a lead on to someone that needed the song. But it was locked on YouTube through the aggregator to the song. This one was so old that back in the days we let the artist upload themselves to aggregators. The reason why we don’t let that happen now is pretty clear in what happens here.

She asked me if I knew the company that was blocking, it was not the usual ones, so I had no clue. I then went back to the leader of the band and asked if he knew.

The problem with this band was all the time that they never understood the music industry. Everything went around that it should be cool names, getting a record contract, being flashy. The band that takes a picture that they are outside the office of Universal. I told them for years that they had to learn how the industry worked before they could get a record deal. But no, half of the management job was to explain why they couldn’t get a record deal. It was several reasons, not just one. Still, it always came back that they didn’t have success because they didn’t have a record label. Oh well, I can always get you a record label that is not hard. Is just to negotiate without having anything special to offer is that you just get a deal, nothing really in the deal.  

After a year of nagging I just went to a friend that had one of by the time biggest record labels in Sweden. Got them a fair deal. Not the best deal, but totally fair. The first thing leader of the band did was trying to get to my record label friend direct. Suddenly he had the record label guy so why need a manager? The second thing he does I open his mouth and just tell the record label owner that they should invest 10 000 dollars on a video that their best friend would shoot. To the point is that his friend barely had done any videos and was certainly not a name. This was also the time when YouTube was still small so a video was really nothing anyone would put money in. The budgets were around 100 dollars if you had a budget.

The record label came back to me and was just astonished how stupid they were. I had to explain to them to not speak to the band speak to me and I had to deal with the stupid part from the band. This was also because the leader was phoning the inhouse producer several times a day just sitting and chat about nothing just to sound cool in front of his musician's friends.

So, it continued for a couple a month until they realized that being on the label just meant they had to work harder and actually start to focus on their career. That just broke up the band. The leader then called me and asked if he started a new band I had the rights as a manager for that too? I told him, no of course not. But he didn’t ask me if I would like to do it? He was just satisfied that he could move on with a new project. Okey the answer would have been no to the new band anyway.

Then he just went for all contacts that had passed through the former band with his new project. Of course, everybody knew that he was a pain in the ass so they called me see if I still was the barrier against all stupidity, when I was not they more or less dumped the project.

When I reached out for this old song I knew what kind of thing he would do. I got the question on an SMS. He answered ten minutes later with a question of what an aggregator was. So, I had to explain that. Then it just went silent. No more answers.

I had to go back to my supervisor that I didn’t know the name of the aggregator. They didn’t have time to wait they had already waited too long. I suggested another song with another band kind of similar and the supervisor would check that instead.

Five days later the guy answer with: What’s the company name that is interested?

Ok, like I would ever tell an artist that! I know that you would run to the supervisor try to sell the song through him, don’t knowing that the song is on a deal from us anyway. It would mess up the whole situation and the supervisor would be stuck with a maniac calling her all the time if she had sold a song. Or try to sell another song that doesn’t fit from his new band. Things like that are why supervisors don’t want to deal directly with and artist that has to little knowledge.

And just the stupidity to wait five days to answer on a deal? If you know the business, you need to answer before they had a question. I just told him that he was too late and just make a note to myself never try to sell anything with him again.

The tragic part of the whole story that this artist goes around and portrays he is the nicest guy in the world. He is trying to collect money for nurses. He is a spokesman for several non-profit organizations and so on. I guess the music industry’s Mr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

And today I got the message that the supervisor went along with my tipoff and placed the other song.

The record deal make it go backwards.

We should get a record deal! Said the band. Oboy here we go again was my first thought.

I usually ask back what should the record labels do? So far I really never got a good answer. The myth is strong in this case. The record label mythical will fix your career and you get more fans can tour etc. It would take you forward.

And it was true, twenty years ago when they controlled the gateways. Yes, there was a structure then and you needed them to get your music out. Today to get your music out you can upload it yourself with the same effect as them.

Today the gateways are free. You have the same power as a record label to reach people. They are up against the same hard work as you do. So how do they solve that? Money!

Yes, you need Pr money in this new world. And if you are a world artist like Kate Perry the record labels would put a lot of money on your career and do a lot of jobs. 

But you are not Kate Perry so that will not happen. Instead, you are more trapped than ever.

Since you are so small what most labels provide nowadays is problems. Suddenly a bunch of people wants to have their say around your songs, your look, your career. On top of that they don't contribute to anything it's mainly just talking. And all this talk and thinking will slow you down.

Most of the time a record deal is a step backward, not a step forward.

So should we just don't work with labels?

No, you need them, but you are on them too early just because you think they build your career. You need to build your career yourself until they approach you with a deal. When they approach they will have things to contribute with, and then it's a step forward.

I guess the error is that when and where you seek them out.
Before you seek them out to develop you.
Now, you develop and they come around when you reached a certain level.

Then comes the problem. When you reached that level do you really need them? Or would it be a step backward?

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What risk have you taken lately?

There is always a risk to make a deal. Sometimes when you work with artists you can feel how they try so hard to minimize the risk it's not worth proceed working with them.

A couple of years ago I was in negotiations with an artist that was afraid of everything. The contract was scrutinized in every little detail. Nothing wrong with that, it's just you don't want to do it three times and still get the same skeptical questions.
In the end, the artist thought that we could work on a six month trial period and then we could decide.
Not a good move. The artist would be the same skeptical then and just keep another six months. And six months is to short to prove anything and I see a lot of trouble working for free in six months and introduce the artist in networks and don't have any safe things.
In the end, we dropped the deal. The artist is still in the thinking that we negotiate but the lack of risk-taking just said that we really couldn't get anywhere.
So in all, you must be willing to take some risk to get somewhere.

Personal:
Just been on the opening VIP party at GMA. Meeting great people as usual. I feel this round will be very productive. I'm getting good feedback on the ideas I have. I like it also when the conference is of good size. Many tend to be too big, this is very good in size. Also, that Live at Heart is presented in the same speak as SXSW, the great escape, Reeperbahn, Co/Pop and Primavera sound. We are all here.

Artists:
I hope I have the time to do a cool surprise for my artists this summer. Time is short but I hope to get it right.

Is this a good deal?

Okay, so I tell you to build me a house. You will work full time to build the house, you can build it as you like on my piece of land, I will provide you with the material for it, well at least the material I can afford. If I like the house I will pay you for your job. Sounds like a good deal?

No? Why? You like building houses and be creative. I give you free material?

Still no? So what is wrong?

Oh, you want a security that you will get paid when you have finished building my house? Okay but if I don't like it I don't really want to pay if it's ugly or so. Of course, I trust your building capacity. You have built several nice houses. But I'm not sure anyway. I think it's a good deal.

Oh, you want security to get some paid for your work you do?

I guess no one would agree on that deal up there. Still this deal I get from artists almost every month. I offer to work with their music they produce for a stake in the rights. I will put in long hours with really no chance to even get paid. But I like the music so I'm willing to put that up. But I want a small security so if it goes right I get some paid by getting some percentage of the rights to the music that I work with. Then the artist tells you, well if you get something you can get paid from that amount.

That is the ultimate insult. Yes, you can work for free, building a house on my property and if I like it I might pay you.

I get something like a record deal or a placement then I would get some money if you like that placement or deal. I might work my ass off for months to get a placement in and then you can just say no since you don't like the brand.

Never offer anyone to work for free and get something if something happens. That just means you don't trust my building experience. And that just get me to not want to work with you.

Do we have a deal?

What really annoys me is when an artist is trying to change a deal just because things have changed. Imagine I get to you with a great new company idea. I will open a juice bar that serves a new juice of an apple and a pear that just got on the market. I need money to open the restaurant and to the PR. There is no safety that this new apple and pear will even take off, in fact, the first tree is just ready to get fruit in a couple of months. But you need the money now so you have to take a risk that it will work.

The more money you put in the more percentage you will get. So we strike a deal that you take 50% of the risk. The part you will do is also shouting about on the social media since you have really many followers and do some work in the juice bar for no payment when we open the bar.

Everything is fine and the juice bar opens. And the apple really takes off, it comes out it's really healthy and everyone wants it. The pear is going okay, but not as good as the apple which is a success.

The money that you lent me is got back to you. But no profit so far, you will start getting profit from it. Then I come back and start talking about that we should change the deal. You can still get a percentage of the pear part but the apple, well it was my trees and you already have gotten your money back. We should change the deal.

Not nice huh. I mean you took a risk just getting me the money and now when we finally get some I want to cut you out?

This happens all the time. When you then say no they go around and tell that you are the evil music company. You invest in their record and then when you get a hit they don't want to give you the percentage that we agreed on. That you took a risk, well you knew it was a hit so it was no risk. All that work you did for free since you calculated to get it later. That free work was just for fun.