What it takes...

Many who know me at this point in time may not know that at one point in time, I played bass guitar for a rock band. Yes, the rock bands that would jump around on stage and would twirl our guitars around our necks at the climax of the set list! The tight jeans and cool t-shirts from Hot Topic. Not like, 80's rock or anything... I'm not that old. We loved bands like Incubus, and any of those modern rock bands that came out in the late 90's/early 00's.

As embarrassing as this picture is (this was the 90's where this was cool? at least that's what I tell myself)... also, I was 16 in this picture, it is one of the first pictures we took as a band.

I remember having many discussions as a band on "what it takes" to "make it", and how we can get signed. Constantly booking show after show, paying or not, no distance too far... eating gas money put into our late 80's model chevy conversion van pulling a trailer to play a show for 20 people that showed up. "Living the life," so we thought.

The misconception we had as musicians on the road to success was that that one record company would find us and all these hit songs we'd been writing would be an instant industry hit and we'd be the ones handing out awards (and possibly even receiving them) at the AMA's. We'd be flying to gigs instead of driving the old van, and we'd be able to buy our 12.3 million dollar house with a swimming pool and take it easy recording our own music in our 2 million dollar studio of the west wing of our house. Fans would be screaming our names and requesting our songs... I could retire at 20 and call it good with some of my best friends playing together in this band. They were a GREAT great group of guys.

The truth behind the artists that we do listen to on the radio is that all of them have worked extremely hard to make it where they are today, or have caught some extremely rare and lucky breaks. It's hard to imagine at times because the entertainment industry makes it seem like its incredibly easy to get a record deal and to become successful and "big time" in the music industry.

You have the ones that come out with one song and it becomes an internet sensation... "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry. Many wouldn't know it, but the "brand new artist" that MTV tells us about has actually been around since the 90's, when she was a Christian Contemporary recording artist with Red Hill Records. She didn't have any hits then, and frankly, nobody knew who she was until now (except for the few who were die hard KP fans back in the day!... no, not me.) Without that song, she would still be known as little Katy Hudson.

Kanye West was an artist, but didn't get well known until he started producing tracks for up and coming artists like Alicia Keys and Jay-Z, propelling him to the top of the Billboard Top 100.

The other misconception is the actual record deal itself... I've had great friends sign record deals to major labels, only to receive fractions of a penny off of CD sales. Their music was in regular rotation nation wide, even nominated for awards and touring with big names, and to this day receive royalty checks for less than 20 bucks because of their contract. It seems like such a great deal at first! Anyone would sign out of excitement alone... and I'm speaking from my seat and not theirs. I absolutely have the utmost respect for those guys and all that they did in the industry and in my life as well.

Signing on to a label is a great step, if you sign the right deal...
Even still, usually signing to a major label you will get the frills and fireworks at first with an advance and they'll put you in the studio, hire the best producers, play on the best gear...

And then in the end? Yep. You pay it all back some way, some how. We're talking 10's of thousands of dollars worth of studio time.

This is where I notice Tate Music Group making the biggest difference in this overtly misled community of musicians ready to take their music to the next level.

The royalties you'll receive as a TMG artist are second to none and not even comparable... where most artists are making single digit percentages in royalties, we offer the highest that I'm personally aware of.

All of this to say, what does it truly take to make it in this industry?
There is no true way of making a guideline and saying follow steps one through 2,450 to "make it", however, I can tell you that a great start is to have a passion for it, have great, marketable songs, and be willing to put aside the common misconceptions that are in place in the music industry. Chances are, you won't be driving that Mercedes for awhile... and honestly, 50% of it is working your tail off and making good music and having a large fan base, and getting the name out by playing as much as you can... and then there's the other 50% that is simply luck!

I'm not saying this because I'm biased to Tate Music Group, but I am just telling you, as an artist and musician myself, signing with Tate Music Group is an extremely wonderful thing, as we'll thrive to make sure you're getting the most out of this industry!

And better yet, you will never have to pay us back in your royalties... we don't own you, your name, your songs... everything is owned by you.

If you ever have any questions, feel free to call us. (405)-376-4900. We will most definitely answer any questions you have!