Credit Catch 22, BS and the Success Machine, Pay for Play

2009-05-21T16:34:00.000-07:00

Nathaniel Kunkel doesn't realize it, but I'm in his debt. Not because the famous producer recorded my favorite song or because he recommended me for a gig, but because he gave me permission to be career vulnerable. Some months back within his regular back page editorial in Electronic Musician magazine Nathaniel pointed out that engineer friends of his are finally starting to admit not only is business slow, but they are not working. The entire economy is bad enough that President Obama has given us permission to admit things are bad and probably going to get worse before they get better, making business doubly bad for those in the production stream.

I moved to LA from Minneapolis 5 years ago with a dream: to show this town that I kick ass and become one of The Names I read in so many liner notes. Little did I realize the record industry had already entered its death throws. On top of that, I had no idea how to network LA style. I had risen to the top of a market small enough that I could build my reputation organically and steadily as a guy who cared and tried as much or more as he had talent and who was committed to making indie records to compete with the majors. That ain't the way it works here. Like the Twin Cities, LA is more than one town, but unlike MSP's single musical tree, LA music scene is made of thousands of trees, some of which exclusively breathe ocean air, others residing in their own secluded, smoggy valleys. In LA it's easy to have many isolated gigs and not have it add up to any kind of a presence or word of mouth.

Matt Freed, an engineer buddy of mine from MN, who's considering moving to LA to work as a location recordist/post mixer asked me on the phone the other day, "Would you say you've been successful in LA?" Answer: Work my old clients from back home thankfully send me has been the difference between making it here and having to move back. That's one answer: these days proximity to the client matters less as long as you have an internet connection.

Back East, as Californians are fond of referring the the Midwest, my credit was made of not only the names of artists I worked with, but word of mouth recommendation and acceptance based on the quality of my work. They say LA eats people up. One of the main culprits, The Credit Catch 22: how do you get name brand credits if you haven't got any? You can get lucky, be in the right place at the right time. How do you market yourself to musicians whose noses are very sensitive to the smell of BS yet drawn to dream of the local success machine? In LA the right measure of confidence+calling back+courage to work one step ahead of your skills. Of course, knowing the right people is everything, but the connected people I know have welcomed me to start from the same place they did: the bottom. It would be hard to start over, slogging it out as a thirty something tea boy, soon to be father of two. Besides, that big music studio system is dead.

Angelinos have a habit of giving out cards and cell numbers and saying, "We should totally get together," but never following through. Strangely as a gregarious Midwesterner that's how I've rolled out here, too. After an introduction it's easy to be haunted by self defeating thoughts like, "Oh, this guy probably knows 10 engineers with bigger credits than mine. If he does want to work with me I'll have to do it on spec." So I've toiled away in my home Pro Tools studio concocting mixes that I've been praying will be heard by the right person and make me my lucky break.

Savvy musicians who used to fantasize about signing with a major label and getting their big break have given up on that dream and are embracing, if not creating as we speak, new ways to reach the still hungry masses. How do we record producers do it?

I also came up in the Twin Cities at a time when the delineation between engineer and musician was distinct, making it easier to make a name for myself as a guy a band would need to get their dreams recorded. I understand for every one of the millions of DAWs in the world there's a "producer/engineer/mixer" behind it, the majority of them self-recording musicians. I have to remind myself of my value as a classy engineer, brought up in analog and now expert in the box, who has unique creative gifts to share with other musicians and a listening audience still hungry for something exciting and excellent. Or are they? One producer friend of mine says most of his clients want to sound lo-fi, while T Bone Burnett is advocating for superior audio delivery formats.

The question that remains: will the sacrifice it takes in Los Angeles to create and maintain one's network actually improve one's net worth? Think of the long drives to gigs, the competition for work that requires longer hours for less pay, the schmoozing, the hustling, and having to prove myself all over again. If I move back to Minneapolis, my work prospects are immediately better, cost of living is lower, I'd be more likely to see my family more often, there are real lakes and rivers and the air is clean, not to mention downright freezing sometimes. But... would I be giving up on my dream? Just as the dream has changed I think my dream is changing. These days I'm attracted to the idea of apply my skills of engineering, communication, and general inventiveness (if I do say so myself) in a more integrated way and in a more lucrative setting. And I'm a people person -- it's lonely doing everything over the internet.

Even for those in the music biz lucky enough to be working steadily, the ability to recognize changes in the industry and adapt is key. For example, Pro Audio Review, one of the magazines I write for, took on the realities of the economy by tightening the page count, focusing content and upgrading its look. I think it's a stronger rag that just needs to figure out how to pay for a bit more space so I can be more verbose!

The record industry is not dead, but it's really different than the one I dreamed of starring in for the last 20 years. Subscription based or advertiser supported music streaming services seem poised to get the ol' revenue stream flowing again. Regarding radio performance royalty legislation before the US Senate today, California Senator Diane Feinstein said she has long been an advocate of protecting the right of creators to be paid for their work and warned of the ill effects of removing monetary rewards.

-Alex Oana is a featured writer for Pro Audio Review and other NewBay Media publications.
alexoana.com
I/O - Alex's blog on Wordpress.com

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Credit Catch 22, BS and the Success Machine, Pay for Play