Final Bonnie Hayes

I was not going to print any more e-mail on this subject, but I believe Bonnie Hayes is entitled to respond. And since I'm cluttering up your inbox, I'm including some more correspondence on the topic.

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From: Bonnie Hayes

To all the Berklee bashers: did it ever occur to you that maybe if you'd learned how to score a movie and write a string arrangement instead of dropping out of school to play shit gigs, right now you might be scoring movies and writing string arrangements instead of playing shit gigs? Nobody gave me sh*t; I make my living playing, writing, producing, teaching. But if I could go to Berklee today as a student today, I would. Maybe that makes me stupid, but I doubt it.

Sure: some Berklee kids are spoiled brats, some people should definitely give up on NYC and move to philly or nashville or austin or athens to start their bands and conquer their local markets. Some people should quit (and believe me, they will). duh.

It's easy to miss the point when you're stuck in your own little 30 second rant/loop, It's not that musicians shouldn't have to work, or get straight jobs, or live in basements, or ride around the country stuffed into vans, love it, live for it, fight for it. blah blah blah. all of which any real musician is delighted to do, whether they're making money or not.

My points, again: one, accusing young musicians of only being in it for the money is a generalization and inaccurate, and secondly, the problem is socio-economic, not generational. Once upon a time, America offered more options for life possibilities for artists and others who don't want to bow down to the money god. That's all I'm sayin'....

And lastly, I'd observe that it's sad how joyless some of these lifer musicians are, isn't it? Really kind of making my point for me, in some ways.

Keep on posting, Bob---we are reading.
xobh

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The irony is y'all have made Bonnie Hayes a household word now.
btw Berklee is spelled thusly for the name of the founder's son - Lee Berk

Al Kooper

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EVERYBODY PLEASE STOP SHITTING ON BERKLEE! The vast majority of the faculty and administration work hard to provide one of the best music educations you can get, and the majority of students work hard to succeed. I can't stand these anecdotes I hear: "I worked with a Berklee graduate and it was all scales and trainin' and no soul," so now the WHOLE SCHOOL sucks, never mind that the "hundreds of cookie cutter demos" one of these gripers got from Berklee grads are certainly similar to hundreds of other cookie cutter demos. There are problems with the school as with any institute of higher learning, and it is expensive, but there are many, many benefits to going there: a clear, codified core curriculum, the availability of great connections within the industry via the faculty and guest artists and internship hookups, some of the best musicians in the world as your peers (present and future, meaning the people you meet and play with here can be your musical partners for life if you want), some of the greatest music faculty anywhere (Bonnie Hayes, and one of the great gurus of songwriting, Pat Pattison, among them, not even mentioning the hundreds of great faculty in other departments). Music school is not for everyone, and for some it is part of the path that leads one to other disciplines. And graduating from Berklee is no GUARANTEE that you're going to be a great purveyor of music. Name ANY great teacher and you will find many great artists and professionals that learned from them and also many terrible ones. But I find that most of the negative comments here (it's fun and easy to dogpile on Berklee) come from people who most likely haven't spent any time here, or definitely not lately. It's not perfect, and it's not for everyone, but if you come here and work hard and seek out those faculty and students with whom you're most compatible (again, like ANYPLACE, be it a music scene or institution of higher learning) it will be worth your time and money, and your artistry and potential earning power will improve.

-Mark Shilansky, Berklee Faculty

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Man it sucks to read so many people shitting on Berklee but come to think of it most of them are right. I was in the first class of "music business" graduates and the only thing at the time they were teaching was how to be a major label yes man.

I learned more about the music business from interning for Morphines manager Deb Klein, gigging in my three bands and working at Aerosmith's old rock club than I did at Berklee.

If I had it all to do over again I would have dropped out of BERKLEE after two years and finished my degree at Northeastern or some other real business school. I was considering doing that but just stuck it out.

But in spite of all the Berklee pooping I will say one thing. When I got there I could play the guitar ok. When I left I could (and still can) play the fuck out of the guitar. And I'm not sure I would have applied myself without a few of the amazing teachers I had and kept me from being a one trick pony metal head, introduced me to Zappa, jam bands and folk singers and taught me the value of nuance and great songwriting. So I chose to go into business instead of playing but my command of music informs everything I do today and allows me to hang out with musicians on their terms (and my own of course) and offer developing acts real constructive criticism. I'm not sure I would have that if it weren't for my Berklee years.

Oh, and as someone still living in Boston I am frequently invited to speak in entrepreneurship classes and booking clinics and I always tell it like it is. If you are REALLY GOOD AND REALLY MOTIVATED you will get breaks.

And conversely of course if you suck? Too bad.

Peace and Love!

Dan Millen

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I think it's important not to overthink this. You do the best you can, and hope it's enough. Sometimes it is...sometimes it isn't.

But there's a bigger picture. It's only in the last century that music could be time-shifted, and was no longer the exclusive domain of live performance to relatively small groups of people. This change allowed some musicians to get very rich, but is anomalous compared to how music was done for millennia. All the arts have undergone a similar change from limited market to mass market: Plays became movies, paintings became reproducible, hardcover books became paperbacks, and paperbacks ended up on iPads.

I'd like to think that one reason why people aren't buying as much music, going to as many movies, or buying as many books is that the arts have become sufficiently democratized that people are creating more than they are consuming - whether they're putting their own movies on YouTube, writing blogs instead of buying books, or making music with a laptop and a guitar.

If I have a spare couple hours, I'm not going to put on headphones and listen to music. I'm going to make some :)

Craig Anderton

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The great Jazz drummer Dick Berk summed it all up:
"I'm making six bills a week: a 20 a 10 two fives and two ones" .
Regards to Bonnie Hayes.

Nic. tenBroek

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Hey Bob.
Love you.

I went to Berklee.
Everything your readers have said about it is true. Good and bad.
But ain't that life, Bob?
Perception is reality.

I will say this- the anonymous graduate who had the shitty bitter attitude? He is not going anywhere. And the alum who spoke of gratitude and self-acceptance sure sounded happy. Isn't that what we are talking about? Being happy? Not making it or fame or any guarantees of employment. "Does making music make you happy" is the question. My thought today as I looked at the photos of the tragic blackout in India, a year after my band returned from an all-expenses paid trip to play some festivals in Goa and Delhi (which is more of a shithole clusterfuck than the music biz) was this: why are so many of them smiling? Clearly they aren't Americans.

Some facts:

You have never heard of me.
I have been signed. And dropped. 5 times. dreamworks, lava atlantic, lost highway, most recently uni republic.
I have toured the world.
I have been a nashville staff writer.
I have sold shoes.
I have waited tables.
I have written with some of my idols.
I have a dinky home studio.
I have had songs featured on too many tv shows and films to mention.
You have never heard of me.
I have had 2 songs stolen that sold millions.
I have had songs cut by Legends and and a bunch of pop no-hit wonders.
I play sessions on drums and guitar and bass and piano.
I sing jingles
I produce other artists.
You have never heard of me.
I am finishing up a killer album I wrote and recorded with my Rock and Roll Hall of Fame friend and bandmate - his first true rock record since 1983.
I write for anyone and everyone because I love writing.
I have lived in my car with my dog.
You have never heard of me.
I have gold and platinum records from other countries in a closet somewhere.
I went to Berklee.
They teach some of my songs in songwriting classes alongside Gillian Welch and John Mayer.
I learned things at Berklee I use daily, some of which have to do with music.

You have never heard of me.
And yet I am happy.

I "made it" many times.
Then again, I worked my ass off to get happy FIRST, then I got busy.
It never works the other way around.


Rob Giles

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Basically, anyone who wants to do something badly enough will gladly crawl through broken glass to be able to do it whether it's getting laid or painting or selling houses or making music. And, anyone who has enough excuses to not do something will guarantee that they won't do it.

This has no bearing on being 'successful', it just means that if you want to do something then do it and don't bitch about how difficult it is. No one asked you to do it. And, by the way, being 'successful' is honestly measured by your own yardstick, no one else's.

"Never retract, never retreat, never apologize. Just get the thing done and let them howl."
Nellie McClung

Matt Wallace
Husband, Father, Carpenter, Writer, Record Producer, Gardener, etc.

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I've been following this very interesting conversation, and I'd like to add something from the perspective of a guy who started his professional music career at 18 in 1965. I applaud the young artists who said "quit whining" and "work as a dishwasher 80 hours a week, then practice..."but, the reality is -- and I don't care how young and energetic you are -- you don't have that much good energy to create after working a shit job for 60 or 80 hours a week. And by "create" I mean create work that stands out in the throng, work that will hold up and still sound relevant 50, 100 years from now. The Beatles worked hard -- playing 10 hrs a night at the Star Cub in Hamburg. Bach and Mozart never washed dishes, but they worked damn hard. So I join Bonnie in lamenting the loss of a time when young musicians -- such as I -- could really spend their best energy at their craft, doing the thing they did best. I lived through that time, and I can tell you it was great!

Ted Myers

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Good to read 1 or 2 people that actually graduate Berklee. Anyone can get in period. It's the real that make it through. Most who enroll expect the name of the school to carry their no talent bodies. They forget you need skill to survive. There's a little school cross town called New England Conservatory. How many could do that audition? A name is a name. If you buy a Les Paul and Marshall half stack does that mean you are Page? Berklee is a mediocre school and the same rules apply. If you can't play or write or bring it it does not matter at all. In the true professional music world Berklee is not on the list. Not dismissing the talented people that gained from the experience at all. Just making fun of those that think it can make you great because of its name.

Chris Apostle

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Pianist Dayramir Gonzalez. Current Berklee student. Cuban citizen - because of fucked up US laws it is ILLEGAL for him to get paid from doing gigs in the US. It doesn't matter. His band is being paid thousands but he is playing Carnegie Hall in November for FREE. Here is video of him playing music that is more interesting, challenging and emotionally moving than 99% of the shit you listen to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6eUSLzFlbE

GREAT musicians overcome ALL obstacles.

Larry Robinson

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I think Bonnie stated pretty clearly that most of her students are not looking to get rich, just make ends meet and were willing to work for that. And I'm sure lots of them have crappy or part time jobs.

And to all those bashing Berklee, I have met a lot of grads and everyone of them have been excellent players and willing to play anywhere, anytime. The environment seems to be a nurturing collaborative one. It's not for everyone and yes it is elitist purely because of expense. But then, so is Julliard. Some of the greatest musicians come out of those schools. And of course there are amazing musicians that are self taught, can't read a lick of music and play by sense and passion and become great by hard work. It works both ways. Why some people find it necessary to bash one or the other really perplexes and amazes me. There is a lot of hate in some of these responses and it is really disappointing to see that.

There are lots of opportunities out there to make a living in the music biz, but besides not having labels to provide funds to develop, I think the biggest issue is the amount of competition out there. It is greater than it has ever been. Everyone has YouTube videos, websites, free downloads, cheap shows that anyone can afford. And you know what, a lot of it is good, some even great. Of course there is a lot of crap out there, which makes it even harder to be seen just by pure volume. In the 60's and the There may have been a lot of musicians toiling away in their basements, but we never heard of them or their music unless they were our neighbour or our relative. Now, I can listen to some 14 year old shredder from Japan who makes videos in his bedroom and gets a million hits. This has NEVER been possible until now.

That’s what I tell every young artist that comes to see me for advice. And it is your message I quote the most. You have to be GREAT! This is probably one of the most globally competitive businesses in the world right now. If you aren’t GREAT, forget it or be content with playing in your local bar where most 70's, we only ever heard what the industry decided for us was the best. people don’t know the difference between Pavarotti and Tiny Tim.

I think it is the sheer numbers of great competition out there today that is the biggest factor in being able to make a living in the music business. And by making a living I mean paying a mortgage, putting your kids through school and buying groceries. All those things that "regular people" aspire to. And if you can, count your lucky stars. You have to work hard for it, but there is a ton of luck involved.

Rob Oakie

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i know you are inundated, but as a composer who has been very busy for over. 20 i have always had high regard for berklee grads, they were just better prepared with the skill set needed for my line of work: serious programming chops, good ear, playing and orchestration chops, knowledge of film scoring asthetic.

however, today the market is flooded with them and grads from other schools. i think they are over promising career placement when there are very few slots.

i ran an ad in craigslist looking for a new person and got over 200 resumes, yah, alot of them songwriters who think that they can score, but then many many people with composition degrees and chops and studios and even that knew my same area of preference, some with abilities to play rachmaninoff piano concertos and had perfect pitch, for 15 dollars an hour.

but it's all word. you cant lean what i do in school, you either have a facility for it or you dont. i did have a person with perfect pitch who played rachmaninoff and was a technical programming genius. but her personality held her back, and though she wrote good "music" she couldn't score a scene to save her life. writing good "music" is not the same thing.

Willheim

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I always heard the best thing you can do r/e Berklee was drop out.

John Mayer did.

Eli Chastain
Nashville

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While I was in school, I was helping to mentor some kids who I saw had potential. I organized gigs on campus, funded equipment (amps, mics, cables, etc.) available for them to use, directed them to local venues, directed them how to advertise themselves, and poured every ounce of knowledge I had into them. All of this while being a gigging musician and a full time engineering student, mind you.

The one who showed the most potential was this girl, Natalie. Her voice would melt you. She decided to take a semester off (+ the summer) in order to pursue music. Now, that's not enough time to do anything big, but it is enough time to get your foot in the door locally. Since then, she has taken more semesters off; effectively, she dropped out. What did she do with music? I don't think she has played a single gig since before she dropped out, when I was organizing gigs on campus. I don't even know if she has picked up her guitar lately. She works as a bank teller now.

Kids just don't want to hear that it will be hard and that it will take work outside of their comfort zone. Without that, you've got nothing. Sure, some will do everything right and get the short end of the stick, but that's part of the risk. If that's you, just get back up and try everything differently.

Alex Brubaker

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I bet Bonnie gets fired from Berklee for this. She's certainly screwed them out of future students, unintentionally I'm sure? Either way, she knows how to survive in the music business right? After all she teaches it to the kids.

Keith Walker

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re: the debate following Bonnie's email: One thing that needs to be acknowledged is that there REALLY HAS BEEN an overwhelming drop in opportunities from, say, 30 years ago when almost every bar had bands, most running six-nighters. The audience is not out there anymore. There used to be THREE tiers for rock rooms and three for country rooms. Agents booking A bands , B bands and C bands. Some hotels had an A rock room and a B country room. Even shit holes had bands.

And in truth, a large percentage of full-time working musicians were kinda mediocre and sometimes just plain terrible. But almost anybody had the opportunity (which is now a privilege) to play music for a living.

But the real oportunity for the serious players was that they got to hone their craft playing night after night. And many were plucked out of the A rooms and put in bigger touring bands. There was a ladder to success that you could climb. The A and R guys were in the rooms. And you didn't have to spend all your time promoting your gigs; the bars were already full of people who wanted - needed - live music, and the agents made all the calls. Musicians had the opportunity to spend your whole day practising.

But the reality is, whether or not the decline was spurred by greed and fear, the audience is not there anymore. Going to see a live band in a bar is not at the top of everyone's list these days. By now they've seen and heard it all on TV and Youtube. They've seen and heard every amazing thing that humans can do. Not until music becomes a much more endangered species will the tide turn.

G. Pretty
Edmonton, Canada

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I think that Jessica Bonnano's response was spot on. While everyone sits around and targets the art sector the rest of the country actually feels the same way. It's bizarre to hear your friends who work in construction or in the Finicial sector talk the same way as you do. Even though they may not be struggling as much they are feeling the effects of a crippling economy. The fight to survive has always been here but in the past I don't think it had an effect on as many people. There use to be a middle class and that has quickly vanished.

JULIAN TAYLOR

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Bonnie Hayes is a trooper, and if anyone has taken their lumps and liked it, it's Bonnie...in fact, it's her whole fam damily...her brothers, Chris and Kevin, are no strangers to hard work, long hours & low pay either.

Regarding the 'feast or famine' motif that's been struck here: there was a time, back in the 80's, when it was possible for an original rock band to make close to $1000 for a single 45 minute set, Thursday thru Saturday, night after night, week after week. It was at the Palms Cafe, on Polk Street in SF. Bonnie herself played there, with her band, the Punts. Her appearances there predate my tenure, so I'm not sure how much she pulled in, but a host of other acts, including Night Ranger, the Squares (feat. Joe Satriani), the Red Pencils (led by Grammy winner, Rick Nowels), Eye Protection (feat. Andy Prieboy, later of Wall of Voodoo), Tommy Tutone, Sylvester and His Hot Band, The Weather Girls and many, many more, always did very nearly that at each performance, and sometimes more. It was the Palms' policy, you see, to give all monies collected for admission, the cover charge, to the bands.

If club owners today would wise up and, follow suit, i.e., give 100% of the door to bands, instead of screwing them mercilessly, more clubs could pay $1000 a night (or the 21st Century equivalent thereof), and not only might starving musicians be able to put at least a little cheese on that tuna fish, maybe more clubs would have the stand out, sterling kind of roster that the Palms Cafe still has, nearly 30 years after closing its doors....

Ray Staar

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Bob: The great jazz musician Sam Rivers said: "Just because something is true doesn't necessarily mean that the opposite isn't also true". Both sides in this debate have valid points. In 1980 I moved to NYC with $200 in my pocket, got a rent free apartment for being a building super. I had no qualifications, the neighborhood was rough and they just needed someone right away. Most of my friends were able to make rent with a couple days of work a week (musical or otherwise.) It left a lot of time for making music and hanging out. Unlike the CT suburbs I grew up in, the bar scene in NY was full of wild, weird, and original music. That's why I moved to the city.

Today I might choose otherwise, but it made a ton of sense then. Pointing out the distortions in our current economy is not whining. It's also a fact that those chop building paying gigs that were available and plentiful to earlier generations (like the Beatles in Hamburg, or jazz musicians in the '20s, '30s, and 40's) are gone. Good sounding piped in music killed a lot of those gigs a long time ago.

It's never been easy being a musician, but just like the larger economy, it's the working class that's been hit the hardest, by technology and shrinking opportunity.

The flip side is, once you've acknowledged this, what are you going to do about it? Live music is still a transformative experience craved by many and the means of production are now in the hands of the artists. Rent is a problem, but I have faith in the eternal power of music. When you start saying the younger generation doesn't get it, you're officially an old fart. They don't give a shit what you think, and right now there is some great music being made by some of these youngsters that you might never hear, but it's not for lack of quality, passion and commitment.

P.S., I felt bad about passing up on going to Berklee for about five minutes, but touring on three continents with a great band cured me of that.

John Mulkerin

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Bonnie my father is a musician, went to Berkeley and worked as a professor of Jazz studies and performance at Michigan State. Growing up in Detroit we were very poor because this was before his teaching gig and we were living off his and my mothers musician earnings. It didn't bother me that we really had nothing that our neighbors had whose parents all worked at the Car factories in Detroit. Because when I went down to that wonderland of a basement where I could see posters of P Funk, Kiss and Miles Davis and instruments of all sorts, I felt rich in creativity and inspiration. I know it is hard in the age to not want and desire what is being fed to us through the media, TV and through reality TV but it is important that we try to tune these images out.

In my 18years of being a professional musician I have accepted that I may become discouraged and I allow myself to be discouraged but I don't allow myself to give up. As birds fly and migrate south for the winter, an artist creates because it is our nature, regardless if we earn money or not. Labour with Love and the benefits and financial rewards will come because staying true to your art is contributing to humanity. I can't tell you how many artists have saved my life. Bonnie if your students want it bad enough they will succeed. You are doing an amazing job by giving them the tools and trying to understand how best to encourage them and prepare them for life after college. We all find our own way of how to earn a living in this crazy profession that have no guarantees. That is why it is so important what you Bob are doing. Thank you for your constant efforts and staying true to real art.

Sincerely,
Ife Sanchez Mora

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Several years ago I decided to take an MBA with the intent of applying my studies to the Music Business. I live in Canada, so the cost of tuition was only a few thousand. I had been playing in bands for several years and had long since accepted the new model of digital / web based distribution. I wanted to take an entrepreneurial approach to succeeding in music. I even had a professor mentor me through the process. Under the guise of a Masters thesis on behalf of the school's centre for entrepreneurship, I interviewed everyone I could - promoters, musicians, labels, agents, producers and media - with the intent of trying to figure out how to succeed in the new music economy.

Then I hit the road and toured. I slept in a van with my bandmates, ate crap food, survived on very little. It was both romantic and shitty. I did this for three years, but unfortunately during that time my older brother - also a musician - got sick, his heart stopped and the fall-out was a massive brain injury that left him virtually incapacitated. So then I was left trying to tour, trying to help with my brother's rehabilitation AND trying to make rent. My life imploded. After 3 years of trying to help in his recovery, with some success, my brother died. I was heart broken and somewhat relieved.

The fallout for me has been that music is, and always will be, an almost spiritual exploration. Trying to quantify or add value to the end product will change as technology and the general public's patterns of consumption alter and shift. I think it's an exciting time.

With respect to the struggling musicians of this era, I think the end goal should always be personal fullfillment: to write great songs, find a distinct and genuine sound and always, always try to capture the essence of that individual's life experience. That is ultimately what my research during my BUSINESS DEGREE taught me. After all, marketing 101 is differentiation and how better to differentiate yourself from the pack then to write about your genuine experience. By following the path of fulfillment, I think a musician is MOST likely to be successful in the business arena, and if not, that individual will always have his/art to keep him warm at night....

Steve Reble

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Hey Bob

I'm a new subscriber enjoying a lot your letter. I'm also a Berklee student, well online student, I didn't have the money to go there but I'm learning incredible stuff from my home.

I live in South America (no, we don't live on trees) and I'm not going to bitch about my beloved third world country. In regards to Bonnie's email I guess the two sides (pro/anti) are both right and wrong.

One thing my brothers in the U.S. must consider is that life there is still far better than life in underdevoloped countries. Think of this: according to your standard of living, the lowest level is to live in your car. Guess what: cars are insanely expensive around here....and still there are lots of us wanting to be creative. dreamers? stupid naive? who the fuck cares. we just do it.

I don't care that every moron with a pc calls itself musician/producer/sound engineer; I don't care the fact that all mediocre clowns can upload a zillion thrashy videos to youtube. ¿Music industry is dead? I certainly don't care.
at the end, only the good stuff stand out.
the only thing I care about is giving the maximum I can give creating my music, which is what I love and do best. and no: I'm not rich.

And another thing, enrolling for this Masters in Berklee is the best desition I have made in recent times. If things go out well or not will be my exclusive responsability, not the college', but I can assure my life is improving a lot because of the info/experience I'm getting.
That father who wrote about taking his 250k, and then went to an established songwriter to work with his son instead of paying Berklee's tuiton, was very clever. Very forward thinking. There is not a formula to life and what works for some does not necessarily work for others.

We live in a very complicated world right now and things seem to be harder as we "evolve" (I think we're really devolving) as species. Yes, life is more comfortable, funnier, faster, tastier... TO LESS AND LESS PEOPLE AND WORSE TO REST (THE MAJORITY) OF THE POPULATION. Fair? absolutely not, but this is how it is.

cheers
Juan Ospina

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I see quite a bit reverse snobbery there. I just managed to get into Indiana University School of Music after growing up in a little town in Tennessee outside of Nashville. I suppose some letter writers would have told me to "stay in Nashville", i.e., think small. I did not. I studied with the phenomenal David Baker and others, my first encounter with energetic, super-talented people. I became a percussionist as well as a drummer. Plus I got an education. The skills I got enabled me to later work in NYC wearing several hats, thanks to my reading, practice habits, percussion playing, etc. My friends and I used to laugh because I would get complimented on my triangle playing at sessions before my drum tracks did. Note: that's because I knew how to hit it -- people noticed. I never would have had the skills and confidence to do lots of gigs over the years by staying put. These comments about living cheap and being in a band are not addressing the professional side of the business. If you want to take the gamble to be in that space (and you are not naturally gifted, many are) you'd better take some music lessons, with students better than you are. Everybody studies, including the stars. And everybody needs an edge.

However, an I.U. degree didn't cost the equivalent of $200k in the 70s. Berklee started out as a place to teach kids high-level fundamentals by pros. They probably still do. The only issue is the money. The division of wealth in this country is growing at a blistering pace. Most Americans seem to be so brainwashed into thinking about how fantastic and glamorous everything is in their life (from football to Home Depot) that they just sleepwalk through it as they stare at the nearest TV. Most do not understand that their pensions have recently been stolen by Wall Street and thousands of retirees cannot survive on 1% interest rates. I wouldn't be surprised if this place looks like Blade Runner within 50 years. Berklee's fees are current US capitalism in action, i.e., Wall Street. They take what the accountants tell them they can get from "the brand". The sleepwalkers think they are upper class if they pay exorbitant fees for something, whatever the quality.

Listen to Niall Ferguson's 2012 Reith Lectures on the recent decline in the Rule of Law in our society for the food for thought on where this is heading. http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/reith

Thanks for everything,
Robert Bond

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I still come down on the idea that you've got to be good and your music has got to be good. Build strong artist/fan relations, play lots of shows, put in your 10,000 hours and don't worry about the money because if it's good people will come to see your shows, buy your merch, and yes, even pay for digital downloads, CDs, and vinyl if you offer it -- but only if you're good.

Sure the Internet destroyed the old paradigm. I'm okay with that. It created avenues I never would have had. Theft and "piracy?" Give me a break! I don't give a rodent's behind about "intellectual property" in the sense of a state-granted monopoly on who can sell or buy my stuff. If some guy can figure out how to make money from my stuff and I can't, power to him. As long as he's not claiming to be me, have at it! IP doesn't protect anyone against plagiarism. Protecting against plagiarism is, for the most part, a self-policing enterprise and works just fine without a need for IP laws. The fashion industry proves on a daily basis that you can make money without IP protection. Copying is NOT "theft". "Theft" is when you deprive someone of something that is rightfully theirs and no musician has a right to actually make money from their music. They only have the right to try -- and if they succeed -- YAY! And "piracy" is when you board a boat, steal most everything on it and destroy stuff, so Internet "piracy" is a myth.

I would argue that in fact, the Internet/file-sharing/P2P paradigm hasn't diminished the value of music as much as it has exposed the TRUE value of music. The copiers and "pirates" are simply showing WHICH music actually HAS value. It may be harder for the artist to make a buck, but at least it's not lining the pockets of some old fart at CBS whose ONLY care is how much money he gets as he parasitically sucks away the blood, sweat & tears of the artists, most of which get lost in the shuffle anyway. I'd much rather live in a world of "pirates" who all make very little than a world of monopolistic control where all the losses are socialized and all the gains are privatized to the benefit of a few well-connected individuals. People seem to think that IP must be "correct" because some old men in powdered wigs scribbled it on a piece of parchment 200+ years ago.

If what was right about the old paradigm was that there were "gatekeepers" and promoters who vetted the really good music for the rest of us, then I don't see why each and every one of us, individually, cannot be our own gatekeeper and promoter. If labels are mostly dead and "gatekeepers" are necessary, then maybe what the Internet needs are more sites that are better at finding and promoting the best stuff. I've seen a lot of excellent models come and go. We know this hangover is going to be harsh as we find new ways to operate in this new model, but I enjoy the Internet's sweet-water aquifier of deep and connected wells. Sure, the walls are lined with a lot of crust and mud and useless crap, but that makes finding the jewels that much more pleasant.

Kurt Tischer

______________________________________

To all those lambasting Berklee, do they realise most top artists here in the UK went to an Arts college of some description? Adele, Amy Winehouse, Imogen Heap, Leona Lewis, Jessie J, Kate Nash, The Kooks, The Feeling all went to BRIT School. Radiohead went to Tech Music School. Freddie Mercury, Pete Townshend, Art and Ronnie Wood, Ray Davies, David Bowie all went to Ealing Art School (now the London College of Music).

These guys studied! Seems to me in this day and age anything that gives you an edge above the rest is almost a necessity.

Steve Marcus
Ghosts of December

______________________________________

There are definitely two sides to this coin. On one hand, you don't deserve success, you have to earn it. On the other hand society does indeed seem to be moving towards a new feudalism, and it will be a return to the "patron of the arts model" from centuries ago.

No one is paying for art, they are downloading movies and music for free. There is no economic, or business model for profit off of music that still makes sense. Labels got out of the artist development game long ago, now it would be financial suicide. The cream will rise to the top as it always does but now it will be sponsored by the rich, and artists will be nothing more than show dogs for the bragging rights of the elite.

It is already happening. The new art patrons are the wealthy parents of teenage girls in Orange County who want their daughters to be rock stars. These parents are spending far more on their children in efforts to buy careers for their kids than a record label would ever dream of shelling out for the album for a highly seasoned but still unproven artist.

I am a musician, and as times are lean for us touring sidemen, this is where we have to go for work. I don't think that it is a coincidence that labels are signing thirteen year olds to record deals almost exclusively. From their point of view, the labels have others investing millions into artist development for them. Why wouldn't they put out a record that cost someone else a half a million dollars to make. Its a win win for them, low risk, they are essentially playing with house money. I have played and recorded for many of these trust fund kids. Some of them are actually talented, some not. I personally don't charge them any more than I would charge a girl waiting tables to fund her dream. Maybe that's wrong of me. I don't know, but it sort of sickens me to see producers and musicians who can't find work for real artists take advantage of a child's dream just because they were lucky enough to be born into a rich family.

The Internet has changed everything, and as you always say, the old guard no matter how they try can not put the lightning back into the bottle.

Shane Soloski

______________________________________

The point I was trying to make in my first note re. Bonnie...a point that seems to have been completely overlooked by practically everyone...was that the ratio of expenses to income has been completely tilted in the past 50 years. I was able to live decently paying a tiny percentage of my income for housing; medical insurance expenses were practically nothing...hell, I paid out of pocket for the hospital birth of my first son...while being a hardly working musician and part time craftsman. We could afford to be musicians then because basic expenses were so much lower...and I mean relative to today's dollars. Using the consumer price index, my 13 Bleeker St. loft rent in 1968, which was $75.00 a month, would now be $485.00. Hah! No way... That place would now be at least $3,500.00 a month based on what I know is true of New York rents in 2012.

The real problem is that due to various bubbles...real estate, finance, and medical costs...the basic costs of just living suck up way more of anybody's income now than was true 30 to 50 years ago when many of the artists posting here were starting out. Bernie, Wendy, Bonnie, Tom, and I started at a much easier time. Now add to that the sudden loss of what used to be known as THE income stream...songwriting royalties...and the ground rules of the game have been completely changed...for the worse.

And this bullshit meme about live gigs? Yeah, try touring these days and see where the money goes. Or try to get the kinds of gigs we used to be able to get...like a full week or two at the Cafe Au Go Go or the Mooncusser or the Village Gate or Gerde's Folk City. The fact is that except for certain music hubs like Nashville, Austin, New York, Boston, or my town of Santa Cruz, gigs are really thin out there, and musicians are competing with sports, video games, and Netflix.

Does anybody think the Beatles would have been great if they'd not had steady gigs in Hamburg and Liverpool? There is nothing like playing five or six sets a night six nights a week for getting good. And that is gone...

This is not a golden age for pop music...

Rick Turner

______________________________________

My story is probably semi-typical for a lot of folks.

I worked my way through college playing in bands. Clubs, parties, etc.

Got a manager. He booked us on weekends and we opened for folks like the Blues Project, Rascals, Smokey and the Miracles. It was great fun. We were sure we were gonna be stars.

Next, we got look-see's and "do a demo" stuff from RCA and other labels.

Pass.

At some point, I realized an important thing: I was probably not good enough to do anything very special in the music biz.
It was a sobering revelation.
So I got married and had two kids (well, my wife did) and started a small ad agency. I had a decent time at that and made decent money, and played some clubs on weekends for fun. I still do today in my dotage.

In the 60s and 70s, we made $30-40 a man in clubs. Today, we make $60-90. Not much difference.

Do I regret not staying in music? Sometimes.

But...I made a decision.

I can't blame anyone for that, and I applaud everyone who makes a living as a full time musician--I know several here in South Florida and it's very tough.

But as a tangent, I liked various illicit substances back in the day, and I'm guessing I might not be here if I had really been successful. So it probably all works out.

Anyway, thanks for the interesting reading. I wish that everyone struggling here gets exactly what they want.

I did, I suppose.


Rik Shafer

______________________________________

I'm so glad Bonnie Hayes has stuck with it. She's impressive. When she's not on the road, she's teaching songwriting in the Bay area to up and coming artists. Her heartfelt letter to you hit truth all over the place. I had the opportunity to meet her and to hear her perform over a year ago at the Conclave in Minneapolis. Bonnie performed along with a new female artist the record company was showcasing. Bonnie sang back up (and I think she produced the album) for a young singer songwriter, (who was also a LAWYER). They wowed a room full of hardboiled broadcasters.

Valerie Geller



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