Uh, Let Me Explain: Deep Thoughts About a Dumb Industry
OK, here’s the story as I know it: AutoVaughn independently released their 2006 album Space, busted their collective ass for a year and got signed to a monolithic international entertainment conglomerate. Then they went into the studio with Brian Virtue, who has worked on tons of projects from Jane's Addiction to the Kiss Alive! box set to the X-Files OST (nerdgasm, whoa!), and they co-produced a six song EP of headphone-ready, echo-drenched guitar pop.
And then their monolithic international entertainment conglomerate drops ‘em like an Indian baby off a tall building. Which is—in my humble opinion—totally fucking retarded.
I am aware that not every band that signs to a major will become superstars. I am also aware that it takes time, energy and money to break a band. On top of all that, I will admit that AutoVaughn are probably not the same band that the dipshits, er, executives thought they were signing. AV have moved past the “Paducah’s Answer to the Snow Patrol” phase of their career. They’ve grown as writers and musicians, forging a sound that, while still within the prevailing currents of mainstream rock, doesn’t sound dumb enough to sidle up with Nickleback and Buckcherry on Active Rock radio and is probably a bit too “edgy” and “abstract” to snuggle with Jack Johnson and KT Tunstall on AAA (Adult Album Alternative) radio. I’m sure the focus groups and opinion testing were so wildly inconclusive that the label staff had to drop them, for fear of staking their reputations and careers on something as fleeting as their own fucking opinions.
AutoVaughn aren’t Leona Lewis, Carrie Underwood or some other Clive Davis construct. I’m sure the boys look great in evening wear but they aren’t going to fit into the unwavering champagne-and-flowers multi-million dollar media blitz formula for (marginal) modern success that is suffocating this industry. AutoVaughn make charming, unassuming rock music for people that like to, ya know, enjoy the music they listen to. They aren’t painfully-obtuse hipster elitists and they aren’t Dannity Kane-style pre-fab pop. You don’t need to get them on The View, they don’t need to be number one in Billboard with their first-week sales of their first album and they certainly don’t need to be licensing their songs to a major ad campaign six months before their record is out (*cough* American Bang *cough*).
They need a van. And gas money. Plus, a good booking agent that will keep them on the road until the tires fall off of said van. AutoVaughn, like most bands, need to build an audience the old fashioned way—one melted face at a time. In the long run it would be better not just for the band, but for the audience and for the industry. If the labels spent more on tour support and less on, say, litigation against their customers, then we’d all be in a better place. A constant complaint from all sectors of the music industry is that there are no headliners in the pipeline, and that when the Boomer Superstars die off we are going to be SOL with our thumbs up our asses in empty stadiums and abandoned retail outlets. What if we took all the money that the RIAA’s lawyers get for suing toddlers and spent it on turning baby-bands into arena-ready road warriors?
If that happened AV would probably be huge, and I would be a little less bitter. Ah, well: C’est la vie.
Comments
Playing in front of people will always be the best way to win a true audience and melt faces.
Posted 05/08/2008 at 02:18:30 PMAutovaughn are as good as it gets in our town at that.
welcome to the laugh a minute world of record label tax write-offs
Posted 05/08/2008 at 02:50:18 PMthey never 'signed' anything. andy gershon just gave them money to record some songs. or something like that.
i like this analysis. I neither like nor dislike AV. their music just isn't my thing. but i agree that they have fans out there, and it would be great to see nice/local guys get their shot.
my take: you gotta expect things like this to happen when you're dealing with the big name labels. and you gotta wait until the ink is dry before telling everyone you're signed!
Posted 05/08/2008 at 03:40:24 PMI thought they did sign some sort of a deal? I highly doubt Andy Gershon would just give them money to record without some kind of contract?
Posted 05/08/2008 at 03:57:49 PMTheir music is pretty catchy, but I can't get past the lyrics.
Also, I was listening to Joe's show on WRVU today and was like "Hey, who's doing a cover of 'I Don't Want Your Love' by Duran Duran?" I went to the check the now playing link on the station website, and it was the title track from AV's new EP. I hope they gave LeBon and company songwriting credit on that one.
Posted 05/08/2008 at 04:01:10 PMI agree. The music business in general is fucked up. They're too busy suing fans when they should be concentrating on how to survive.
So I guess my question is WHY, when an artist is aware of "standard practices," would anyone want to pursue a major deal like Autovaughn, the Pink Spiders, and American Bang did. Unless you can get a commercial tie-in (a la American Bang) or spots on network tv shows, your record is going to be that much harder to be appealing in an already overloaded and homogenized marketplace.
To say it's unjust is obvious. To say the labels should divert their time and energy to more effective means for both the band and the label goes without saying. So why, when you know it's a losing game and you'd have much more success that actually means something if you tough it out and stay true to your values and music, would an artist pursue a deal like this one?
Nashville is full of stories like this. If you're trying to "make it," you should already be prepared for the worst. You're up against everything. So therefore, it would seem to me that artists who are true to themselves will ALWAYS be more successful, even though that success might not translate financially.
And I'm not saying that Autovaughn are sellouts or any of that bullshit, because they've gotten this far and seem to be doing well. I could see them being right at home on a label like FrenchKiss or the Social Registry just off the top of my head.
Large labels don't care about anything but money as we all know. Let the dinosaurs make themselves extinct.
Posted 05/08/2008 at 04:39:44 PMI don't think the bands did anything wrong by signing to a major, it's like getting a loan you never have to pay back. I would sign up in a second if the majors were looking for tone-deaf punk rock singers with poor taste and marginal skills.
Posted 05/08/2008 at 04:54:29 PMIt's the same reason people play Powerball... sure the odds are long, but if you hit it, the payoff is exponentially higher than if you were playing a stratch off ticket.
Posted 05/08/2008 at 04:54:47 PMnice metaphor, darrin.
Posted 05/08/2008 at 04:57:19 PMThis is one of the best cream posts I've ever read. Great job. Not fluffy, not MEAN AS HELL. Perfect balance.
Posted 05/08/2008 at 05:12:44 PMMajors are definitely risky but the payoff can be pretty great. Either way, when you hook up with one of the big boys it creates a buzz. If the artist is good and in it for the long haul ( I believe autovaugn is) then it's probably beneficial even though the album never came out on a major. People will check av out just because of the hype surrounding a signing and dropping.
Posted 05/08/2008 at 05:14:36 PMAutoVaughn
De Novo Dahl
The Pink Spiders
Cannery Ballroom
Posted 05/08/2008 at 05:23:24 PMFriday, May 9
TPS take the stage at 9pm (ok 9:15)
18+
$8 in adv / $10 day of show
tickets at www.mercylounge.com
I couldn't stand their music until I saw them live at sxsw 2 months ago. A friend pretty much forced me to go. We proceeded to move near the front (impossible) and we wound up right in the middle. from our vantage point we could see people dancing their asses off and singing every word. the band was jumping all over the place, bouncing off of amps, speakers, walls and eventually the drumkit was trashed at the end of the set. I have NEVER seen a band with so much intensity. See you tomorrow!
Posted 05/08/2008 at 05:53:33 PMsee also: development deal
Posted 05/09/2008 at 09:42:10 AMI been swinging my dick like an Indian baby all over town and ain't nobody signed my ass yet.
Posted 05/09/2008 at 12:06:54 PMMaybe it's because you're TOO persistent Mr. Moosetash??
Posted 05/09/2008 at 12:39:41 PM"Bawston Sean said:
I don't think the bands did anything wrong by signing to a major, it's like getting a loan you never have to pay back."
not really, most of the money labels spend on you is recoupable. if you want to get paid, look to merchandising, touring, and licensing
Posted 05/09/2008 at 04:18:49 PM"recoupable" means that IF you make money as an artist, then you have to pay it back. if the band makes no money, that was at the label's risk. the band doesn't have to pay that back. so sean is actually correct. but yeah, touring/merch/sync licensing is where it's at these days.
Posted 05/10/2008 at 11:12:40 AM"touring/merch/sync licensing is where it's at these days"
see also: 360 deals
Posted 05/10/2008 at 02:40:10 PM360 deals are a big fuck you to artists.
Posted 05/10/2008 at 11:10:33 PMI think.
Paramore needs some new management.