DOING THE BUSINESS

Big Georges Guide To Commercial Success; Fun

Published in SOS August 2000
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Music Business

This month Big George adds an extra layer of fulfilment to your music... Fun.

Obviously, you (yes, you! Not everyone else who's reading this -- just you) are poised for international music superstardom. However, all the other readers of this column will have to face the fact that for every financially successful musician in the world, there are at least 10,000 who never break even. And, what's worse, the majority of those who don't turn a profit end up thousands of pounds out of pocket.

But don't panic. The good news is that the majority of the people who do make their fortunes out of music have miserable and unfulfilled lives. There's a thought to keep you warm on those cold and lonely evenings when you're watching the MTV award shows you've not been invited to (again)!

During my time in this filthy, stinking, rat-infested business (that I love so dearly) I've met countless artists and producers who are constantly searching for more than they have. They're not satisfied with the mix, the distribution of the record, the lighting on the video, their own spiritual well-being, the fact that Robbie is selling more than them... and so on. And that's regardless of whether they're shifting lorry-loads of product and swimming in vintage brandy or working on their very first recording. Perhaps we can draw comfort from the fact that our heroes suffer miserably for their art in order to provide pleasure for the masses. You've only got to consider the price Brian Wilson, creative centre of the Beach Boys, paid for his genius to make you wonder whether pop immortality is worth it.

Definition Of A Hit     In my book, having a hit doesn't necessarily mean being at Number One in the charts. I was chatting with a chart-topper the other day who told me a story about the time he did a live broadcast on Top Of The Pops, after which the band were chauffeured off with a police escort to catch a private luxury jet to get them to a massive gig in Germany. As he sat on the plane swigging volumes of vintage champagne, he put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his gas bill, which he couldn't afford to pay. My definition of a hit is when you do something and it pays off. Something I've mentioned many times in my SOS rantings is sending a local FM DJ a few unsolicited jingles. There's every chance they'll play them on their show, giving you a hit! You get broadcast media profile, which is far more important than the modest amount of money the jingle will earn you via PRS (we'll deal with them and the other friendly music-business organisations in future columns). But how many of you have sent jingles to your local DJ? Well? In the past year I've sent out stuff to five DJs and had two hits. Apart from another credit on my CV, they've earned me enough to either take a holiday in the Mediterranean or get a Minidisc multitracker. I bought neither -- but if you can guess how much I made and what I spent it on, you can win an ultra-rare Big George promo EP. Answers on a postcard...

Having said all that, Sting, with his shedload of zillion-selling records, doesn't look like a man who's suffered the tortures of Dante's Inferno as a result of composing songs that half the population of the world was conceived to. Now I'm no Sting, but I've always approached working on music as both an infinitely more invigorating hobby than stamp collecting and, on those increasingly rare occasions where I get paid for my talent (sic), as a far more pleasurable way of earning a crust than a 'real' job would be. Even when the task in hand is a nightmare and I'm having to deal with pretentious know-nothing idiots, I always bear in mind how many holes in the road I'd have to dig to make the same amount of money. In the case of a single three-hour jingle session it works out to a week of hard graft, 10 hours a day, with a pickaxe and shovel.

Enjoying what you do doesn't mean you can't take it deadly seriously -- it is the music business, after all. But getting freaked about things doesn't make the process of creating the music, or selling it, any smoother, or make your work of a higher standard. The more stressed you become, the more you will exude the unattractive feeling of uncertainty to others, including potential backers.

As music makers, what we do is really not that important in the grand scheme of things. At best, our work provides someone with a poignant memory of a good or bad time in their life, helps sell some soap power for a huge multinational, gets someone dancing, or reminds people that their favourite television programme is about to start.

If you have a hit, and it's a Big One, everything your heart desires can be yours. If your hit is of the minor variety, it may afford you some new gear and/or a holiday. But as last month's issue highlighted, having a hit and enjoying it don't always go hand in hand. Don't spend your creative talent getting wound up. You're in the entertainment industry, so have fun with it.

At Your Service     If you want Big George to explain any aspect of the music business, or you'd like to make a comment about anything he's written, or you just want to tell him what a great guy/tosser he is (delete as applicable), write to him here at SOS, email big.george@soundonsound.com, or visit his web site (which has links to most of his previous articles) at www.biggeorge.co.uk.