Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tim Akers on October 28, 2007 at 6:24pm

There was a really great article in one of the trade mags (not sure....i THINK it was one of the British ones, i.e. Sound on Sound or something....or might have been Wired) about this one Music Supervisor in L.A., it happened to be a female, I forgot her name, of course, but she was M.S. on Grey's Anatomy and one other show. Maybe the O.C. Anyway, she said something like 90% of her job was sitting at her computer trawling MySpace for new acts. Those Grey's Anatomy CD's sold really well as I remember. Sounds like MySpace is working.

Permalink Reply by Donnie Boutwell on October 29, 2007 at 12:00am

yeah, yeah.... the song. But hey, it's also about the brand. It's about the fan connecting with the personality of the aritst as much as they care about the songs. My wife freakin loves Ashley Simpson. And it's because she loves Ashley. She watched every episode. She connected to the character, and she'll buy every record for Ashley's whole career.

It is about helping artists become characters that are bigger than life. Helping them to have amazing art... yes. Doing our best to find or write the best songs.... yes. But take it a step further, and look for an artist who has a persona that people connect to, and do whatever it takes to make that personality evident in the marketing.

Quiz yourself for a sec about the artists that have a real "brand". Isn't there something more than just music that you think of when you recall a name in your mind? Don't you connect to the personalities too? Or at least the percieved personalities of those artists.

I wish it was all about the music. Unfortunately I think it has to be about way more than that today.

Permalink Reply by Caroline Boyce on March 17, 2008 at 1:20am

I have to agree with you to some extent ... I would go with the other side of the "coin" ... it begins with the song; one great song by an artist will make you check out all their songs and if they're good enough to speak to your heart and soul; you're sold ... a fan is born ... the fan will then find out everything they can about the artist and turn all their friends onto the artist and the music... the result of which creates the "bigger than life" character of the artist whether real or perceived by the fans ...
Once there's a demand by the consumer for an artist's music ... the powers that be will jump all over it to capitalize on the popularity that results in the "brand". ... I'm sure each of us in our own ways are searching or hoping for that amazing "great" song that will survive the test of time ... but ultimately it's the listeners that make the final decision on the songs and the artists that create them. Thanks to the internet etc., the consumer is beginning to take back control of what they listen to ... where, how and when they listen. What a technical industry of products this has created....Just another perspective and opinion.

Permalink Reply by Melissa Mattey on October 29, 2007 at 12:28am

Radio is entertainment. Bad songs getting played on radio is like getting your favorite afternoon milkshake at Sonic - you know it's not good for you but it's convenient, entertaining, cheap and it is everywhere - so it's an easy sell. A good song is like finding an obscure bottle of wine in a small all-organic vineyard in Napa Valley - definitely not cheap and easy but you're glad you found it and will talk about it for years to come. So it seems there may be more milkshake drinkers out there than there are wine connoisseurs. I find that a good song makes you think and feel - many people may find this too threatening. They want something they don't have to think about.

Permalink Reply by Salvo on October 29, 2007 at 11:41am

Great song = Great Mix
Hard to mess up a mix on a great song..

Permalink Reply by Bret Teegarden on October 29, 2007 at 11:44am

Many times, the sonic aspect is WAY down the list...

Permalink Reply by Bob Olhsson on March 18, 2008 at 11:14pm

The late Tom Dowd once said the ingredients of a hit record are a hit song, a hit performance and a hit mix. I've seen no signs that this has changed.

Something that's very interesting is listening to Jack radio. (You do have to ignore the layered DX7 parts.) Each song is something that had a brief run in the top ten but never became a classic. There is usually one of Tom's three ingredients that clearly isn't up to the level of the other two.

Permalink Reply by Dan Hagen on March 18, 2008 at 11:48pm

I had a great composition teacher that proved to me that a great song is two fingers on the piano...Two lines... The right hand playing the melody and the left the implied harmony... This goes back to the brilliance of Bach~ Basic counterpoint... If it holds up,,, it is great... If not~ throw it away... Everything after that is arr. and production.. Any great Beatles, Stevie Wonder tune to Jazz standard will hold up and that's why you can record them instrumentally in any genre and they stand up...

Unfortunately we live in a society that does not demand melody as a whole these days. Radio most certainly doesn't...

I haven't even gotten to lyrics yet... But if the song doesn't pass the two finger test... Forget about lyrics...

The great songs pass the two finger test and have lyrics that are brilliant..

Unfortunately what mainstream radio plays these days is Melody less Rap, Country and Rock/Pop music.... That's why the labels are folding and the industry is flailing... Well the downloading factor is a great contributor...

That kind of music is selling an attitude and an image... It wont stand the test of time...

I'm old Skool and still only listen to artists that make a great compilation recording.. I still buy cd's.... But only the rare few that are great...