Music a business as much as an art, professionals tell performers
| Wednesday, Jun 09 2010 04:06 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Jun 09 2010 04:06 PM
While trying to build an audience for local musicians, the Arts Council of Kern has also been working on the other side of the equation -- encouraging local musicians to think of themselves as professionals, as self-employed business owners. Part of the Arts Council's Irvine Foundation grant project has been devoted to training local performers, especially the rookies, to understand this if they want to be successful.
Songwriting ability seems to be a key to success. While musicians working in some genres, such as Celtic music and jazz, must include established songs in their repertoire, most of the finalists in the ACK's talent search were chosen for the project in large part because of their ability to write and perform original music. Not only does that ability make a performer unique, but may actually guarantee a viable career.
"It's almost like you have no choice," said composer Michael Benghiat, who owns The Music Kitchen, which places original music in movies and on television shows. "If you want to make a living you almost have to go down that road."
Benghiat, who presented an ACK-sponsored workshop on songwriting, says the music industry has changed drastically, not just from generations ago when live music was performed everywhere, but in the last decade or so, with the explosion of media outlets and programming, all of which use music.
"You hear music everywhere, but you really don't think about it very much," Benghiat said.
Benghiat said there is a demand for original vocal and instrumental music not only for the obvious outlets, such as movie and TV soundtracks, but also for movie trailers, direct-to-video projects, exercise videos, infomercials, websites, webisodes, even music in stores and telephone answering systems.
But can a musician living in Bakersfield do that?
"For everyone who thinks because they live in Bakersfield there's no opportunity -- that's not true anymore," Benghiat said. "It helps to live in L.A., but you don't have to be there anymore."
Benghiat said that attending networking events is crucial, but even more important is having a studio or access to one. Consumer versions of audio production equipment have made that possible for anyone with a spare bedroom and a few thousand dollars to invest.
Just as important is understanding the business of music: licensing, union contracts, copyright law and the payoff -- royalties, or what Benghiat calls "mailbox money."
"Songwriters and publishers make money every time their music is played," Benghiat said. "Performers only get paid when they perform."
As an example of the type of money royalties can bring, he mentioned a project that used one minute of his music. He earned $722 for that one minute, and will every time that minute of music is played.
"I know people who aren't very talented who are doing really well," Benghiat said. "If you can produce good-sounding music inexpensively, you can make money."
So while you're trying to get paid for that next soundtrack, how about getting paid to perform?
Many local performers, especially newcomers, will play in a club for free, even participate in a "pay-to-play," just for the exposure, a chance to build a following. That makes it tough to go back and ask the owner of that same club to start paying.
Project coordinator Josh Graham said part of the ACK project has been to train musicians to think of themselves as business owners.
"You really should ask people to pay something when you're going to perform," Graham said. "Not just play for tips."
Graham said some of the grant funds were used to subsidize musicians' fees to get performers' into more venues by reducing the risk to venue owners and managers. But the grant money has either been spent or is committed through its expiration date this November. Now what?
Graham said the plan was for venue owners to see the performers as adding value to their business and would therefore continue to hire (pay) musicians on their own.
"This is a 'teach people to fish' program, not 'give people a fish' program," Graham said.
But just as musicians have to make decisions based on business considerations, so do club owners. Padre Hotel general manager Drew Hall, who is already using local musicians in the hotel's Prospect Lounge, thinks the Arts Council's project is "a great idea," but he still has his own ideas about what fits in his hotel, which uses a variety of musical themes to cater to different audiences.
"For me, it's finding something that fits each genre, each night, and then promote that night," Hall said.
Hall said many musicians have dropped off CDs and he's listening.
"If I like them and think they're a good fit, I'll bring them in and try them out," Hall said.
Rabobank Arena general manager Steve Womack estimates he's hired 21 local bands over the last three years, primarily for community-based events at the Rabobank Theater and the Bright House Networks amphitheater. Womack said the subsidies are a great incentive.
"You can never have enough money," Womack said. "It's always a struggle."
Womack said he usually teams up with radio stations, hospitals, banks and other organizations to share the cost for events such as the Gospel Fest, end-of-the-school-year concerts, so to him, sharing the cost of musicians with the Arts Council is a "win-win" situation.
"It's ever-shifting sands," Womack said. "Sponsors go out of business, and you hope when one sponsor goes away, another comes up."
But cost-sharing alone isn't going to convince a business owner to keep a performer. For Hall, the ultimate test is the audience.
"I'm always looking at what sort of crowd they attract," Hall said. "They can be the best musicians in the world, but if they're not promoting themselves and bringing people in, they're not bringing in revenue."
Womack, who prefers bands that perform original music, said he tends not to hire the same band twice.
"I like to spread the wealth, and keep presenting new things" Womack said. "It's amazing how many bands are out there once you start looking around."
