Clash Tips For The Tipped

So, you’re in a band tipped for the top for 2009. You’re on top of the world, right?

But for how long…

Every year only a handful of the hyped make it to a level where day jobs are forgotten and dodging groupies becomes part and parcel of the everyday. Yes, Foals and MGMT made good on their promise when 2007 became 2008, but what of Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong. Whoops. Go back a year earlier: where are Ghosts, and Air Traffic, and Sadie Ama now?

Not where media commentators predicted they’d be, is all we’re saying.

But fear not, the likes of La Roux, Little Boots, White Lies and company. Follow our top tips for the tipped and you shall not go far wrong in navigating this fickle-as-f*ck musical world…

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Learn to differentiate your friends from your colleagues

As soon as a band is signed by any major label – or significant indie – they’re immediately surrounded by a team of people working ‘for’ them (i.e. they’re taking money from your pocket, one way or another). Establishing early on who’s a friend for life and who’ll drop you as soon as the label does is vital. You don’t want to be wasting hours talking shop with a fair-weather sort who’ll turn their back on you as soon as single two tanks.

Unplug the phone in the studio

If the label wants an update on your recording progress, assuming you’ve not got a debut album in the bag already, they’ll come to you. You don’t need the A&R department – or your ‘mate’ who had you put pen to paper – pestering you for the latest news on chord progressions in a potential single to be. If it’s their money on the line, they’ll drop the dog and trundle over to whatever studio they’ve set you up in.

Don’t be afraid of doing things yourself

So many bands make the mistake of thinking they need a manager at an early stage of their career, and even those who get by soon acquire ‘assistance’ (someone else to trim a little money off the top of that rapidly decreasing pile) once they’ve done a record deal. If booking a tour wasn’t above you before, and you’re still able to do it, do it. If you can find the time to sort hotels and transport, do it. If you can arrange your own press time, do it. Bypassing the middlemen might fuck them off, but retaining as much control as possible is vital for longevity. See Dillinger Escape Plan as an example of a band who self-manage with success (more on that below).

Read this article by David Byrne

In 2007 Wired published an article by David Byrne, former Talking Heads frontman and founder of the Luaka Bop label. In it Byrne looks at how the music business has changed from one that sold music, to one that focuses on selling little plastic products. Where can it go now, and how? Byrne offers options and opinion, and looks at exactly what a record label of today can do for a band, with regard to different distribution models, and the importance of touring. He speaks to the people at Merge, and with Radiohead’s management. Click HERE to read the incredibly in-depth piece in full.

You can say no

We like listening to your music, and the odd show is cool. But if you’re in our face every day of every week, we will become sick of you. If you’re not cool with a gig, don’t do it. If this opportunity doesn’t suit, wait for the next. It’s no biggie to turn down one or two TV interviews if you have six or seven lined up.

Listen to those with experience of both sides of the bargain

Alex Fitzpatrick has both played in and managed his share of bands, and runs a successful indie label. Says the man:

“I think more important than anything right now is the need for bands to be organised, communicative, pro-active. Bands should only get other people involved with their band when they simply do not have the time to sort everything out anymore. It can be done: look at Ben Weinman self-managing Dillinger Escape Plan, as it certainly hasn't hindered them. It is these bands that will prevail right now - especially with blogging/twitting/online promotion. Rolo Tomassi booked their own shows and self-managed for years. Pulled Apart By Horses make a song and dance about everything they do and everyone noticed; Dananananaykroyd likewise have a solid online presence. Bands, if they want to be serious or get anywhere, should try and divide up roles within the band as early as possible - writing, online, merch, tours etc. It really helps and really makes certain members feel less pressurised. Bands should also talk to and befriend other bands, network between themselves for tours, and to discuss potential labels etc. Horror stories about labels need to be stamped out now, in this climate more than ever. Any label with shifty practices and principles should not last, and it should be bands that dictate this. Finally, I still hugely advocate bands taking their time, rather than rushing through a hyper-condensed career, dictated by a label or management. Organic growth. Don’t release an album too soon. Do lots of little releases. It makes your band more interesting. Again - it seems bands that last are those with a bit of history and background and working knowledge of this shebang, before getting into the public eye on any serious level - Blood Red Shoes, Rolo Tomassi, Dananananaykroyd… and it's what I'm trying to do with Throats, take things gradually.”

Read ‘The Problem With Music’ by Steve Albini

It’s Steve Albini. You listen to the man, okay? Despite the fact that this piece was originally written in the ‘90s, much of it still rings true today. Click HERE for the full article. A sample, just to give you a taste:

“One of my favorite bands was held hostage for the better part of two years by a slick young ‘He's not like a label guy at all’ A&R rep. He had failed to come through on any of his promises (something he did with similar effect to another well-known band), and so the band wanted out. Another label expressed interest, but when the A&R man was asked to release the band, he said he would need money or points, or possibly both, before he would consider it. The new label was afraid the price would be too dear, and they said no thanks. On the cusp of making their signature album, an excellent band, humiliated, broke up from the stress and the many months of inactivity.”

Don’t believe the hype (i.e. your own)

If you get sucked into the machine by believing everything that you read about your fantastic material, chances are you’re setting yourself up for the dreaded backlash. Even bands who play the game right, with caution and comments along the lines of “Oh, we don’t read our own press,” can get shafted by the second-release kick in the teeth – “Yeah, the debut was quality, but this stinks worse than student sheets.” If your head’s seen to swell, the more chance there’ll be for people to pop it.

Come out fighting

For crying out loud believe in yourself and your material. If you’re not buying into it, who else will? Sounds simple, but many a band this writer has interviewed has completely failed to convince me of their work’s selling points, of the blood, sweat and tears that went into it. It’s one thing to be modest, quite another to be indifferent to the extent where you put people off your music.

Have a Plan B

No, not a copy of the magazine in your rucksack. If you’re dropping out of university to pursue a career in music, leave the door open: you never know when the industry’s honeymoon period with you will be over. Again, sounds like a no-brainer… But how many indie acts of yesterday are now selling themselves to a dozen hardcore acolytes at some backwater pub off an A road? Quite a few, rest assured of that.

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Thanks to Sean Adams and Alex Fitzpatrick for their input. Visit Alex’s great label Holy Roar HERE and Sean’s site DrownedinSound.com HERE.