American Taxi – Chicago
This Chicago rock act who are known for their intense live show belongs on your radar list. The band cites The Clash and The Replacements as influences and were named “The Top 8 Bands To Watch” by the Daily Herald. American Taxi will be performing at the Double Door January 27th. Our favorite tracks include The Mistake and Dead Street.
The music business has gone through a technological shift as all businesses have. The Los Angeles Times profiled Hollywoods Musicians Institute that teaches students the new role of A&R.
A&R execs were in charge of discovering and signing talent and typically would spend their time scouring nightclubs and sifting through demos hoping to find the next big thing. A&R professionals would also spend time nurturing an act by pairing them with fitting producers and serve as liaisons with other divisions of the record company which are now carried out by independent consultants or the musicians themselves.
“There’s been a massive shift in A&R,” added Jeff Blue, the newest member of the institute’s A&R staff. “It’s evolving — and devolving — and more and more artists have to be their own record label.”
Today, major music labels do not have the time nor money to develop an act for any period of time.
“Instead of partnering singers, instrumentalists or composers with producers, they might pair them up with a music supervisor working on a popular television series or a video game franchise, media that have become great ways to break artists.”
Also, many of the old principles still apply, even though technology has changed how we go about business.
“It’s not impossible, of course, but Blue and the others note that, despite evolving technological ways for artists to connect with fans, it’s still true that the best way to get a gold record is to shake 500,000 hands through touring and personal appearances. And no amount of live Web chats or Facebook activity will substitute for good old songwriting skills.”
The bottome line – artists today must understand that they play the most important role in their success. The Beatles, Metallica, and all those game changer acts also were responsible for their fame and fortune. Sure, those acts eventually had major music labels supporting and marketing their efforts, but it was only after they proved themselves by writing great songs, performing shows and turning heads.
“Prince’s promise of three albums in 2009 and he is in negotiations with “a major retailer” to distribute the music and a highly interactive website will also provide an opportunity to buy. ” (Los Angeles Times)
Prince also said he refocused on his playing while performing live dates with the singer Tamar Davis in 2006; with the spotlight trained on someone else, he could fall back in love with solos and riffs.
This is what I would like to see – more consistency and more albums from artists. Why wait 2 to 3 years between albums?
In fact, it was quite common for artists to release an album every year. As one commentator stated, “Neil Young, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, and Led Zeppelin were relentess for years, and would have quality records out on a regular basis.”
Of course recording contracts have changed as well. Record deals use to be for a term of one year, with options to renew for additional periods of one year each. The artist was obligated to deliver 2 albums each year. This worked terrifically in the in the days when records were banged out like pankcakes. As Donald Passman says, every contract is a history lesson.
Releasing albums more frequently would benefit the artist and the label while keeping the fans energized. Also, it is easier and less stressful to release more albums frequently as many artists today are releasing records independently without contracts and stipulations.
What can we learn from the legends? More albums and more consistency.
Thanks to all who have read KOAR. Next year will be an exciting year. Kings will go under a new 2009 facelift and expect to see new content with a twist. We will continue to cover music news, success stories, and new artists. KOAR will also continue to be a multi-platform for connecting artists to the industry while exposing acts to a larger audience.
We really believe this year could be the start of something big. Tough times brings prosperity, change, and new ideas. Could a brave new world be ahead?
For instance, The Beatles were a by-product of a social revolution where many commentators refer as the 1960’s for greater individual freedom, breaking free of the social constraints of the previous age through extreme deviation from the norm.
Don’t we all try to deviate from the norm?
We will be traveling to Los Angeles and updates will be sporadic. Regular updates will resume January 15th. Until then, please send your new music to tips@kingsofar.com and remember, melody is king!
Happy New Year and Peace Be With You…..
Are we living in an increasingly-splintered music world? I think so. In fact, can you name a few trends that set apart 2008 from previous years? Nope.
This article titled The good, the bad, and the ugly spotted a few observations worth mentioning and we added a few thoughts of our own. Hopefully, you will find this information valuable.
1) iTunes became the Largest Retailer
Digital retail stores like iTunes are convenient as we can download songs directly to computer. No more driving to record stores. The bad news? No more albums. Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins hit the nail on the head when he recently said that he would no longer write albums since listening patterns have changed. Unfortunately, more acts are liable to focus on 3 minute sound bytes rather than pouring their emotions into an album.
2) Artists Blogging
I love this line. “In 2008, musicians took to blogging like they used to take to cocaine”. Today we have blogging overload, as artists are embracing the net and telling their life story. That means we no longer need an interviewer or a questioner. The good news? Artists can communicate with their fans directly. To illustrate, Axl Rose refused to do a single interview for Chinese Democracy, instead, he posted a rant on a fan website. The bad news? Music and the art will suffer. I have witnessed to many artists focus on their blogging skills while they should have spent more time on their songwriting. Do you want to be a musician or a blogger?
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