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Mentor Susan Gibson
Q: You are having great success with your songwriting, and are working hard with the rest of us to get your band noticed and signed. What are some things that you are doing to help your band's success, and what are some of the things you suggest other bands avoid?
A. Well, having a number one song definitely makes for a nice calling card when getting the attention of labels, publishers....all sorts of industry people, but I think you have to convince these folks that one song is only the tip of the iceberg to your artistic abilities. Personally, the success of my song (Wide Open Spaces, recorded by the Dixie Chicks) has only made me work that much harder so I don't see the peak of my career at 27 years old... I think that I am more skeptical of my writing because I feel like I am writing for a larger more ambiguous audience, even though I have the luxury of having a band that can perform my songs very sincerely, regardless of a 'commercial' value... in order to follow up on the success of a hit song, our band is assembling a team of people who can help us capitalize on our success;
1) an attorney to look over offers and translate them into language we can understand, because we publish our own music right now, we have hired an
2) administrator (Bug Music) to oversee the royalty payments from compilation CDs, & licensing as well as mechanical and performance royalties, and
3) a PR person (I prefer fellow JPMentor Catherine Masters, myself) who can make sure people will know when we are coming to their town as well as find good gigs (showcases, festivals) for exposure for the band.
If I were to give advice to a band, I think all I can say would be BELIEVE IN WHAT YOU ARE DOING.... because I believe in what kind of performance I give, what kind of material I write, I don't feel pressure to hurry up and get a deal... I understand that all the time that passes between now and "deal-time" I will only be developing my talent and my passion for what I do...I am a better candidate for a record deal today than I was last week. When our band first got started, we had a guy come in and offer to finance our CD in exchange for 100% of the publishing. He never followed through, much to our disappointment at the time, but we later learned that had we signed with him, all of our publishing money from Wide Open Spaces would have gone to pay off his IRS bill. We are lucky that he left us in the lurch....my point is if you believe in your music, you can keep from desperately signing a deal that may leave you worse off than when you started...