Music Publishing & Songwriting

Alright, to be fair, I haven’t gone on a really vicious rant since I tackled the subject of YouTube all the way back at the beginning of the summer. I’ve tried to be patient and positive and encouraging and educational and not get sidetracked on a subject that frankly, just completely sets me off. But I’ve hit the wall tonight. Look away if you’re easily offended or your feelings get hurt easily. I’m on the warpath.

It all started innocently enough. This evening, as on probably about 7000 other evenings of my life, I went out to what I thought was a showcase performance of a singer/songwriter who had sent me a couple of promising songs. Not hits really, but songs that showed enough potential, both in the writing and the performance, that my curiosity was sparked, and I felt it was worth an hour to go see what the artist could deliver live.

I’m still waiting. Because what I saw left me scratching my head. I don’t know what I saw. It was at a club that ostensibly features live music and charges money, so I assume that it was a performance. On the other hand, the artist seemed to view it more as some kind of therapy, in which she could drag all her friends to listen to her as she sleepily worked out her career path, artistic direction, set list and relationship challenges in public. The back-up band clearly viewed the evening as the rehearsal that they had not had previously. I saw it simply as my own personal hell, in which I watched yet another evening drift into some horrible nightmare of missed cues, false starts, wrong notes, poor song choices, and some hapless manager or attorney telling me how much better last week’s show was if only I’d seen that one.

I did see that one. I’ve seen them all. I’ve endured enough showcases to fill a YouTube channel, except that no one would watch them. I can’t take it anymore.

One seems to read constantly these days that the future of music is in live performances– that’s where the money is to be made, as it’s the one thing that can’t be stolen. It’s all about the live show. If what I’m seeing at showcases recently is the future of the industry, God help us all. The only thing we can be sure of is that no one will figure out how to steal it. No one would want to.

In the past five showcases I’ve attended (some of these presented for major record labels, others at major NYC clubs, all with industry A&R in attendance) I’ve seen the following:

One band, having generated interest at a major label based on an EP of material, played a set-list with an entirely different musical direction than that of the EP. In fact, they played only two of the six songs on the record.

A singer/songwriter chose to play three almost entirely inert ballads in a row, somehow oblivious as the entire audience was lulled into a slumber.

Another singer-songwriter managed to hit six obvious wrong chords in a thirty-minute set, forget a lyric, and had to start one song all over again– all on songs that he had written himself. If you can’t play your own songs, what can you play?

All of the performers proved unable to manage even one interesting, provocative, amusing or insightful spoken introduction or bit of banter with the audience. Most were inaudible, which was a plus. The others opted for things like “How you guys doin’? Is everyone having fun? This next one’s about a girl I knew back home…” Wow. That sounds really fun.

What the hell is going on? How has the standard for live performance slipped so low that most of the artists I’m seeing can barely struggle through a six song set? Could even 10 percent of the acts playing at The Living Room, or The Bitter End, or Mercury Lounge, or the Whisky in LA draw even fifty paying customers if you excluded close personal friends, relatives, and industry people who were coaxed there? Does anyone ever see a performance that truly wins over a crowd, the way Elton John did at the Troubadour or Springsteen did at the Stone Pony?

I’ve heard all the explanations. I’m always reminded that most of the young artists playing these showcases are still developing and defining their sound. They need to experiment. Of course, I totally agree that there is a place for development and experimentation. It’s called a rehearsal studio. More bands should use one. I also agree that the costs of maintaining a band, finding a rehearsal space, and setting up a show are growing more and more overwhelming. Which should mean that artists make sure the performances that they do give actually mean something. It might also suggest that rather than showcasing at pay to play venues, they should concentrate on actually building a live following of people who will pay to hear them.

Here’s the bottom line, for those artists who have not yet come to this realization:

We are not simply in the music business. This is the entertainment business. Musicians do not simply compete with other musicians for opportunities and an audience. Music competes with television, movies, sports, video games, social networking, a dinner out, and anything else that fills the average person’s time when not at work. If your musical performance is not more fun, or more interesting, or more emotionally satisfying than those other things, you will not be successful. Eventually, friends will get tired of coming out of a sense of duty. You will need to entertain them. Here’s four tips as to how:

1. Ponder your pacing.
Every form of entertainment, from movies to theater to sports is focused on grabbing an audience’s attention, holding it by raising the tension and the intensity, then releasing it at the end with a big climax. How then does a songwriter offer up three ballads in a row? When you think of the time and effort that goes into editing a feature film, how can a band get onstage and think to work out the set list on the spot? Broadway shows spend weeks in previews, just trying to fix those few moments where the energy lags. Any performer should put that same amount of thought into his or her set list, to grab hold of the crowd and not let go.

2. Practice at home.
If you can’t play your guitar without looking at the frets, or the piano without looking at the keys, or remember the words or the chords to your song, there is a very simple solution available, and it works for everyone. Sit alone in your room and do it over and over again until you can do it perfectly. No one watches John Mayer or Alicia Keys and wonders if they might hit a wrong note. This is because at some point in their existence, they spent hour after hour learning to do what they do. There are no shortcuts and no excuses. Practice. In private.

3. Don’t speak, unless or until you have something to say.
If you have a funny story, or a witty aside, or feel like saying something outrageous, by all means speak up. But remember, if you are awkward and uncomfortable and prone to mumbling things that can barely elicit a titter of laughter from a group of your friends, it’s very easy to hide it. Just don’t say anything. Know your set list, move immediately from one song to the next, and let the music speak for itself. No one ever complained that Bob Dylan didn’t speak onstage. There’s a power in silence. Use it.

4. Compete.
Put any two great performers together, whether it’s Billy Joel and Elton John, or Tina Turner and Mick Jagger, or Jay-Z and Kanye, and you’ll get a war. An entertaining war, but a battle nonetheless. Great performers take the stage as if they own it, are sure that they’re the best band or artist on the bill, and will not stop until they have won the audience over. No audience has an obligation to listen attentively, or give you a chance to express your feelings. You have to grab the opportunity and make believers out of people. The music business is not a self-help group or an open forum for all interested parties. It’s a jungle, with thousands of aspiring artists fighting desperately to cut through the clutter and reach an audience. Superstars understand that it is a world of “kill or be killed”. You have to be ready to compete.

It would be easy to assume from the description of some of the recent showcases that the artists themselves simply weren’t talented. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. In fact, that’s what makes the whole thing so frustrating.

There are always lousy bands or untalented singer/songwriters, and there always will be. From an industry perspective, they really don’t matter much, as they rarely get far enough to get on anyone’s radar screen other than their immediate family. What has set me off on this tirade is the sight of talented people, with real potential, giving poorly-planned, under-rehearsed, low-energy performances that don’t do justice to their own gifts. No one minds watching a bunch of grade-school kids on a playground playing a sloppy basketball game. But when you go to an NBA contest, and see great players playing without strategy or focus or desire, you want your money back. More than that, you go home depressed, to have seen people who didn’t respect themselves or their craft enough to put in a solid effort.

I read an article recently that talked about the tradition of opera audiences openly booing performances that they feel are sub-standard. Someone commented that it’s rude and hurtful to the performers. Which it probably is. But sometimes, for some performances, it’s the only appropriate response. At least it shows that the audience understands the standards, respects the art form, and cares about what is being presented. Next time you’re at the Bitter End and you hear a loud “boo” coming from somewhere near the bar- you’ll know I’m in the house.