Revolutionising the music industry.... on a semi weekly basis.
If you are an independent artist these days, you are taking on one of the most demanding, time consuming roles you can possibly imagine. The potential to actually make money is there, but in the majority of cases, you are doing it for love. Rob Dickins from East West Records in the UK said a few years ago, "Sometimes you record to make money. And sometimes you record to make music". I'd say all of our acts are in the latter category. I asked one of our acts, Michael Peter to contribute some ideas for the fog blog. He sent me the following... I think it sums it up really:
I am a…Booking Agent, Manager, Graphic Designer, Record Company, Publicist, Tour Manager, Engineer, Producer, Singer, Human Resources Manager, Guitar Player, Secretary, Promoter, Door Person, Merch Person, Sound Guy, Roadie, Driver, Stylist, Website Designer, Film Clip Director, Songwriter, Lyricist, Entertainer, Performer & Accountant... I am an INDEPENDENT ARTIST.
Michael's new single "Shop Around" is out on June 1 and it's a ripper. You can check it out here.
Everyone Is Entitled To My Opinion
How bad is the cold that is going around at the moment? Seriously folks, the Man Flu is a curse. I've had it twice this year. And sympathy? Ha! Forget about it. Fortunately I can come to work and annoy everyone with my coughing and constant sniffing. Maybe I should change the name of this entry to Everyone Is Entitled To My Infection?
Small Triumphs In Traffic
We're pretty lucky in here. We get to work with some great people. Talented, creative, amusing... oh, and musical of course. Right now we are working on the latest album from Charlton Hill, "Small Triumphs In Traffic". Some of you may remember him from his first album when he was signed to Sony. But if you haven't, check out the video to his latest single "As Long As You Can".
He's a handsome bugger too... This video was directed by Denson Baker who is also extremely talented and creative. And wouldn't you know it... he's handsome too! Guess I'll just have to make do with "amusing".
You Can't Spell Star Without A&R
Being an A&R manager is a misunderstood role. It's kind of like a black art. It can be the most fun job in the entire world... or it can be one of the worst. But one of the hardest things is trying to explain to non-music industry people what it is that you do each day. I took my mother into a record store to show her the first album I had worked on. She picked it up and said "And which part did you do, dear?"
And finally... to balance out this week's entry, have a look at this link to the new hotel in London owned by Iron Maiden. Not content with being the biggest metal band in the world and owning their own 747, now they're in the hospitality business as well. See? Sometimes you do record music to make money.
