“To work or Not to work pt. 1…”
by Sean O’Bryan Smith
Greetings Agers,
It’s that sometimes bitter-sounding bald guy who used to play redneck music that’s genuinely trying to help you again. I’m here for some more tidbits on how to survive this crazy business of music focused on those of us in this adventurous genre we call New Age. By the way, that sentence has that one word that I’ve noticed musicians struggle with the most over my 40 years in the music industry on this big rock. That being said, let’s do this.
I’m going to generalize a few things today that we can easily spend more time on, but I felt it best to do our so-called aerial view of these first. The absolute first part I want to emphasize with all artists is not going to make most of you happy, but I assure that you need to hear it anyway.
The work STARTS the second you finish mastering. Yes, I know you’ve spent countless hours on your project and yes, I know you obsessed over that one synth patch that is hard panned on the left for three days even though the listener is probably never going to appreciate it while wearing $2 earbuds. Unfortunately, this does not change the fact that you now have to really get to work to prepare your music to actually be heard.
This is the point where a number of artists get flustered. For some this means choosing the traditional route of the machine that is the music industry. You can very well say “I just want to create my music and put it out there to be heard.” There is nothing wrong with this is what you want to do. Just understand that when you do that, it comes at a cost.
If you go with traditionally styled record labels for example, you have to realize that the label will most likely own your publishing. Yes, they will do all the work that you don’t want to do, but they don’t do that for free and must be compensated, so you have to realize that your chances of return on investment just went out the door. Translation: you need to get substantial airplay on satellite and terrestrial radio, go viral online and build a loyal fanbase that actually purchases your music and none of those things are easy so, don’t expect much more than bubblegum money.
For those of you that decide to focus on being an independent artist or work with non-traditional labels though, this article is for you because you have a LOT of work to do the split second your songs are “finished.” The good news is that you do this properly, you might actually be able to afford the large combo on that the drive thru.
First off, your masters are not complete just because they sound great, and your friends and family love them. These songs are not ready until you have fully prepared them for the people you intend to send them to. This means before you send out the first track, they need to be embedded with the correct metadata. What in the world is metadata, you ask? No, it is not a background character in Star Trek. It is all the vital information your tracks need to have embedded in them to guarantee you might actually get paid one day for your hard work. That means your album art, ISRC codes, the year you tracked it as well as the obvious things, like song title and album title.
You may be asking yourself why you have to do all of this. With metadata, all these things have to be embedded so that they can be properly tracked online. That way your streams and plays can actually be tallied so that you can have an accurate idea of what’s going on with your hard work. It also helps you with radio, podcasts, etc., in that, these outlets use programs to host their shows that read this information. Fastest way to get plays on a radio station? Give them what they want and need.
Think of your favorite radio station. If you’re listening online or in your car and the song comes on without the album art popping up and the title says “mix3WAVthatSuckedLess” instead of the album title, whose fault was that? YOURS! You didn’t embed the information on your track. You just sent it in doing your mass email campaign and by some strange fluke, you were extremely lucky that they even played you. Of course, you’re not getting paid now since you didn’t embed it so, there’s that. Not the lesson you wanted, was it?
So, how do I fix this, you ask? In some DAW programs, you can embed your masters in the program itself as you render out your completed files. If not, there are a number of apps and programs out there that allow you to embed your masters. This doesn’t have to break the bank either. I use a free app for iPad that works like a champ and only takes a few minutes. Those few minutes are worth it too if it keeps a program director from having to email you back to tell you what you sent them was wrong. That is also IF they even respond to you at all.
Most program directors will just delete it if it isn’t right so, you MUST read the requirements of each and every outlet you’re submitting to see what they want. That means confirming if they want MP3 or WAVs, etc. Will it create extra work for you if one station wants this and another station wants that? YUP, but do you want your music heard? . . . That’s what I thought.
Next time we congregate, I’ll dig into some more steps in how to actually make the right steps to get your music heard but, more importantly, switch you from being the artist to the representative of the piece of art. It is a massively different approach and an area where musicians typically fail the worst. Until then, be blessed, stay creative and get ready. There’s more to do.
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Sean O’Bryan Smith is an award-winning film composer, author, producer and recording artist. As a musician, he has recorded and/or performed with over 100 major and independent recording artists worldwide in multiple genres.
Sean originally emerged onto the new age/world scene in 2012 while on the Australian record label Wolf Entertainment. His single “Rain” from the album “Tapestry” became an international jazz/new age crossover hit. The album also included the single “Vashon” which was featured on multiple new age stations overseas. These ventures into the genre continued when a number of Sean’s original compositions from the Indian motion picture Mrigtrishna were heavily featured on a collection of ambient/new age works in India.
As an author, Sean’s regular columns have been published in numerous musical periodicals and he was a contributing author alongside Gene Simmons and Nile Rodgers for a series of books dedicated to the ins and outs of the music industry. Sean’s music continues to be heard across the globe on radio, film and television. He is currently composing, recording and producing from his home in South Florida as well as serving as Director of Artist Development and Relations for Wayfarer Records where he is also an Artist in Residence.
