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There are stacks of books aimed at musicians, from singers' survival guides to "how to have a hit record" books. With the exception of the KLF's wickedly funny The Manual - half biography, half plan for world domination - the "how to have a hit record" books are written by losers. The last such book I read was written by "The Singing Teach", a rapping teacher whose record, erm... sold... erm... I think you get my point. How-to
books about music miss out the fundamentals. In 400 pages they'll tell
you all about networking and sending out flyers, but you won't discover
what to do if a promoter holds a knife to your drummer's neck (this has
happened to us. The answer is: who cares? Run for the van and nick anything
portable on the way out - you can sell it and buy a drum machine with
the proceeds) or why adopting a rock star attitude makes people think
you're a twat. Hopefully the articles on this site - and on other sites
- redress the balance.
Deals on wheels The most serious problem with how-to books is that they gnerally work from the same assumption: if you're a musician, getting a record deal is essential. The reality is somewhat different, as books such as Ed Jones' This Is Pop demonstrate. For many bands, getting signed is the final nail in their coffin, with record deals encouraging resentment, breaking up friendships, and eradicating everything that made the musicians want to be in a band in the first place. If you want to get a record deal, good luck. Just don't expect the reality to live up to the myth, and forget any misguided notions of "keeping it real". Package yourself so you're perfect chart material, whore yourself until you get a deal, get a good lawyer and manager so you don't get stiffed, and spend the money wisely. When the bubble bursts - and it will - then you should have enough cash that you never need to work again. Most bands aren't willing to make those compromises, and most bands aren't willing to put in the effort it takes to get signed. That's not a bad thing, however: once you realise that you don't care about getting a record deal, you'll be a lot happier, because you're making music for the sheer love of it. If you get a deal, great. If you don't, who cares?
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