Music Career Talk Twenty 2

We're going to talk about videos. Not so much how to make one, but what role a video might play in your music career. I have been involved with making videos for many years in several capacities; as producer which entails putting all the parts together.Finding a director, location, budget, actors (if needed) in short "making it happen". I've worked as a director which is very similar to producing music. Though not technically trained in cinematography I have been a photographer my whole life so the concept is there. I have always had a great D.P. (director of photography)and someone who can really light a set. With all the years of directing musicians in the studio, preparing bands for major shows and showcasing directing for video was a very natural progression for me. I have also been titled with executive producer which in short means I paid for the video. Back in my days at T.N.T. records we shot all of our videos on film. This is very expensive, but looks great. Now you can shoot on any number of video cameras which can give you a film look. I believe in time your cell phone video camera will have the quality to make a video, mine is close right now. Having a great video can really propel your career by making you assessable to the masses without leaving your house. When I'm shopping for a record deal (truly a vanishing art)having great music is the key, but no one buys anything sight unseen. A video gives a company (record label, management) a chance to see as well as hear what they might be investing in. I can tell you as someone who has run two record companies seeing a bands video really helps me make that yes or no decision. In most cases a label will still want to see the artist live, but with a good recording and video you're improving the odds. With the internet and social networking available there are very creative ways of self promotion making a video a very necessary tool in your (imagine trumpets playing and a lot of reverb on your voice)"Quest for Fame".
Keep in mine that using a weak and or bad video will sink your ship fast. Remember unless you have a friend who knows what there doing, "you get what you pay for". It's hard to make a first impression on a second try. Now go out there and make a great video!!!

Music Career Talk #21

I took off last week for my birthday and thanks to all my readers who contacted me with H.B. greetings that was so cool. Now on to the business of the day. This blog is all about band agreements or contracts, a written meeting of the minds. Bands often form without an eye or ear to the future until a fight breaks out, someone leaves the band. In some cases there's no problem, other times there's a mess. Let’s start with equipment; amps, transportation, P.A. system, the band name and the list goes on. A band buys gear together because it's an expensive item and chipping in makes it possible. Now a member leaves, how do you handle that? I guess you can give that person their share of the money, based on what they paid at the time and not what the P.A. is worth now. How about the band Van (or truck or what ever) same deal as the P.A. A more difficult situation, lets say the band has (very wisely) hired me to produce their CD, and man that was expensive. Each member contributes towards a lavish recording (just kidding) and now a member has left. The recording is no longer really useful to that person other then a way to showcase their playing. What can be done to be fair to all parties, keep the peace, avoid a law suite (if any one can afford a lawyer) and move on with your life. Here's what should be done, a very simple band agreement covering the "what ifs" and "who gets what" just in case that band brotherhood shield of invincibility should crack like a Thanksgiving walnut (sorry about the sarcasm). I've heard the "dude that will never happen in this band" too many times!! Here are some points to cover in the agreement. Make reference to the band name so after a member has left the band can continue to use the name. Of course if that member has a trademark on the name you will need their permission to use it (get that in writing) or pick a new band name. If there is a recording, promotion campaign, website, vehicle, musical gear any expense that was acquired together there is a way to settle all disputes at the end of the rainbow. One thing to mention is whether that band member has quit or been fired which might affect the agreement. If the band writes songs together then that should have no affect on publishing splits. All of the above mentioned and more needs to be covered in a band agreement. A musical prenuptial if you like. Please don't try this at home on your own, get a lawyer to over see all. Most important: don't be a flake, try to stay TOGETHER. See ya.

Music Career Talk

Hi everyone. I have written 20 blogs so far and hope my readers have gotten some useful information. Today is my birthday so I will take some time for myself and my family. I'll be back next Sunday with a great new blog!!! (I hope).
Take care,
Dito

Music Career Talk #Twenty

So last week we talked about songwriting. This week, "what to do with all these songs you're writing." One thing I always recommend to songwriters is to have other people listen to the songs. Sometimes you write something and think it sounds great, and don't realize you have written a song that already exists. Sometimes a song will stick in your head and part of that song will end up in yours by accident. Not your fault until the lawsuit. It's also good to have other writers hear your music (as long as you have everything protected by copyright) and ask them to be honest with you. So many people come to me with what they think is the best music ever, and it rarely is. Okay so there are several avenues of possibility to explore. Writing for yourself as an artist, writing for others, looking for a publishing deal,and songs for film and T.V. Pick your songwriting career du jour. Before I start, remember songwriting is so competitive and now with the internet your competition is world wide. So if your writing for yourself as the artist figure out who you're writing for (mentioned last weeks blog), who will buy (or download) your music. Once you know your audience you are at least one step in the right direction, but that's just one step. The good thing (if there is any) about this generation of music is you can be independent and still be successful it's an open field today. With record companies being so restrictive and unwilling to develop new artists, the hell with them might as well do it yourself. Just do it right because the majority of artists are spinning their wheels with effort and little substance. The really bad news is there are lots of talented people out there who will never be heard for a multitude of reasons, please don't be one of them. Writing songs for others keeps you as the artist out of the picture which is one thing less to worry about. Writing for other artists lets you write in any direction you want for who ever you want. If you feel you have a song for a particular artist you can contact their manager, publisher, or record company and pitch your songs. There are also people who will do that for you, lawyers, agents, me who ever, just get out there and try. Remember writing for film or T.V. is another story. In a perfect world knowing music supervisors is a home run few of us get to hit. When you record, make sure you always take a T.V. mix (without vocals) of your songs, sometimes the music is perfect for a scene, but not the lyrics. Don't ever be discouraged by getting turned down, most of the people who listen to your music are completely clueless and only have there jobs because of who knows what. Keep writing no matter what, it just takes one song to make it happen, just ask all the one hit wonders who are driving around in their Ferrari's. You can't hide a good song regardless of a poor performance or bad recording, and a bad song is a bad song no matter how you sing it. Good luck.
This blog is dedicated to 9/11 and all the brave souls who went through it.

Music Career Talk 19

This will be a two part blog on songwriting. The first part will be on the act of songwriting and the second part (next Sunday) will be on what to do with your song and or catalog of songs. There are several ways people write songs, first of all some write with others as in a collaboration, maybe one writes the music and one writes the lyrics, or both do both. Finding a great writing partner is like finding a great doctor or auto mechanic, you want to keep that relationship forever. Some writers use an instrument to write, piano, guitar whatever feels right. I have worked with a number of writers who use no instrument, but write melodies and lyrics in their head and come up with great material. So what comes first the chicken or the egg, music or lyrics and does it matter? When you sit down to write it's usually based on some kind of inspiration. Another song you just heard (that doesn't mean stealing)a sunset, love, hate, politics, anything or just a message you want delivered to the world (or one person) through song. If you're writing in hopes of commercial success it's good to know who you're writing for, your audience, who wants to hear what you have to say. What's relevant to the people you're trying to reach. When writing for yourself anything goes, when your writing as a career for yourself or others to record your material there are some guide lines you might want to follow. It's great to be original, but at the same time you need to keep your ears and eyes on what's happening in the market place, and be able to feel where musical trends might be headed. Songs have a formula that consists of intro, verse, sometimes pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, and solos (which can be played over any part of the song) and a means of ending the song in a memorable way. With that said you can mix up these parts anyway you want. Sometimes I like to start a song with the chorus as an intro. When your writing in the contemporary music world there are a few things to keep in mind like don't wait too long for the vocals to come in, no one at a record company wants to hear a 5 min. song, unfortunately long solos are out and the old industry saying "don't bore us, get us to the chorus" is still in affect. Popular music should be easy to remember and easy to like. We all like the "hook" that one part of a song that we wait for every time we listen. The "hook" can be a lyric, a guitar lick or the bad ass chorus that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up (if you have hair on the back of your neck). I tell my clients the best thing they can do for their career's is to write. When you collaborate with other writers make sure you have all the splits worked out, it becomes much more complicated when you're trying to figure out percentages with an $800,000.00 check sitting on the coffee table. Every major artist had their first hit so there's room for us too. We all have the same amount of notes to work with A - G including sharps and flats, it's how we mix them up and arrange them that makes the song. The Beatles said "all you need is love" that sure worked for them.

Music Career talk 18

It's the early to mid 80's in Hollywood. On the weekends the Sunset Strip is packed, hard to walk from club to club. Big hair, spandex, and power ballads was the vibe du jour. My plan was to produce as many artists as I could for low to no doe if that's what it would take to get my name out there. A lot of the bands I worked with had attorneys shopping their music to major labels, I always made sure "produced by Dito Godwin" was on all the work I did so lawyers, managers, and record labels would see my name, and know the level of my work. I spent the remainder of the 80's producing artists in every style of contemporary music. My plan for exposing my name and brand really worked, though it took years. I started great relationships with a number of A&R reps at major labels both in L.A. and Nashville. I remember parking my car on a Sunset strip Saturday night and commenting to a friend that I had produced every headline act at the four largest venues in the area. Bands knew A&R would listen to music I produced so finding work back then was great. My calender was full most months of the year. As my name and reputation grew I started getting offers of production work from labels including Interscope, M.C.A., R.C.A. and the rest of the pack. I did very high quality work, stayed within my budget and artists loved working with me as I did with them. Enter the 90's still doing well, but starting to hear and see a shift in music. By this time I had produced a number of major artists, but felt a void in my professional life. My attorney (one of several) called me and asked if I would go to the Roxy to see a band he was representing. They were a good hard rocking alternative band, with a strong following and in possession of real potential. The band had a development deal with Interscope Records which didn't go anywhere. I met with their manager who hired me to record a few new songs and remix a few others. After a some of rejections from other labels the manager and I decided to put an independent label together and not wait for a record company to come along and offer us a weak deal. We formed the company, and as luck would have it got a three page cover story in a major music magazine. This article would draw the attention of a very famous musician interested in what we were doing as an indie label. As I said I wouldn't mention any names, but this person came from a band known for wearing lots of makeup in the mid 70's to this day. Signing this artist opened the door to world wide distribution. We signed several other artists spent hundreds of thousands dollars and started selling records, it worked. We ran the company for four years, did our own radio promotion which turned out to be more successful then using some of the high priced radio indies that helped us burn through our money. We got to travel all over Europe and met some great people I still work with today. You'll have to read my book (when it comes out) for all the dirt, and I will name names. The company was sold in the late 90's, the timing could have been better!! At this point I leaned into my production career which had been all but abandoned while running the record company. Building that back up would prove to be really tough. Some of my contacts at the majors were gone and the need to cultivate new relationships was looming and so time consuming. In a radical move I relocated my family to Ashland Oregon 700 miles north of L.A. I needed to slow it down, so we moved into a 100 year old Victorian home and I started commuting from Ashland to L.A. for work while my family got to do some well deserved chilling in Oregon. I'm going to cut to the chase (excluding a decade of music production) and let you know that several years ago the urge to have a label kicked up its ugly head again, and with that said got a deal with Universal Music Group, loaded up the truck (No Camero any more) and moved back to L.A. By the way my friend from that snowball fight back in the 60's is about to record an album with me some 40 years later. "Get a real job mom?" I got one.

Music Career Talk 17

It might help to read the last few lines of last weeks blog, and with that said: so they packed up their Camaro and moved to (not Beverly)but Toronto Ont. Toronto is a beautiful city roasting hot summers and a winter you wouldn't believe. My singer and I had been signed to RCA in New York for a quick one album deal which lasted as long a bad cold. Being fed up with the New York music scene is what prompted us to leave and now it was time to conquer another music scene as well as another country. At this time in the late 70's Toronto had some cool music (maybe a little dated) with great players and lots of venues. First order of business was to put a band together. We had already found an agent who was the top guy in the city. We had a ton of experience having toured all over the country with rock stars and our recording from RCA, so putting a band together should happen pretty fast, and it did. We got a drummer (from Iran) a French keyboard player from Quebec and a Jewish bass player from New York. We rehearsed a full set of original material, called our agent and said we're ready to go, he replied "when I get something in for you guys I'll call you". WHAT!!!!!! We didn't move all the way to freaking Canada to hear that B.S. We had been living on savings which was dwindling away at an alarming rate. My singers wife found a job in the publishing business so they were safe. My wife and I had only been married a few months so this was a great introduction to my ability to supply a stable environment. We left Toronto on a cold autumn morning wondering what's next? We headed back to the U.S., but not New York, this time Virgina where my sister lived. We stayed there for about 6 months until one freaking great call from my singer who had found us a record deal with a small indie label through London Records distributed by Polydor, I think? So they packed up their bags once again and headed back to Toronto. We used some of the tracks from our RCA album and recorded a bunch of new tracks to make the new record. I flew a number of my musician friends up from New York to play on this record. These were the same people who said we would never get signed. The record was completed in the best studio in Toronto. We were the first band to get a major world wide deal in Canada from the states, kind of a reverse situation. We got a ton of press. "Who was this band from New York who came to Toronto and got signed?" It felt good. I remember the day we drove to get our album cover shot, we were on top of the world. I felt miles apart from the doubters and haters I had dealt with my whole life. We put a touring band together, I still keep in touch with some of those members who are still my good friends and read these blogs, thanks guys. We had our same agent and he put us to work in support of our release. We played all over and got really good. We performed at lots of colleges, clubs and did live radio concerts and interviews as well as playing the C.N.E. which is a very big deal in the Toronto summer concert season. This was great and what I wanted, but only lasted so long. No hit off the record and very weak promotion from the label =
the end of that dream and on to the next. My singer and I parted not on the best of terms, he stayed in Toronto (still there) and we headed to L.A. which turned out to be the best location decision we had ever made, and we're still here.
We arrived in Hollywood on a hot June morning in that same Camaro. Finding music industry work here would prove to be near impossible, but because I didn't know that I found work right away playing guitar and bass sessions. One thing lead to another and I helped promote "Motley Crue's" Too Fast For Love CD in the U.S. and Canada. This would be the spring board to my career in L.A. I know in this business who you know can be more important then what you know. You've got to fake it to make it. Next Sunday I'll finish this autobiographical story and you'll see what makes me tick. Thanks for your time.