By Scott Coner
Country Artist
(Following is the first of a series of blog articles
offering my experiences as a singer-songwriter and performing artist in country, Americana and Southern Rock.)
The music business isn’t
a refined science. There are many ways to get somewhere in this business, and
to be honest, they have all eluded me. My approach has been consistency. Simply
forging ahead even when there didn’t seem to be any hope has been my policy. It
is funny how things begin to take shape if you can remain standing though. You
begin to notice that behind each curtain there was a purpose of some type. What
may have appeared to be a waste of time and money might have turned out to be a
stepping-stone.
I have spent my private
life involved in some type of construction for the most part. I have worked for
contractors, but mostly I have run my own show. I found out pretty early that I
had a knack for estimating and managing work. I seemed to excel at putting a
job together along with a scope and timeline that would not only meet the
clients needs and expectations, but it would also make a reasonable profit for
everyone involved. The most important part of this type of work though is to
have open conversation with a team that communicates well with others, as well
as with me. As in most things in this
world, it is always important to surround yourself with honest and competent
people.
I have approached the
music pretty much the same way I have approached construction. I knew, and I
think most of us know, that the whole process starts with a song. Now, I am a
singer-songwriter with a specific skill set, so I felt that
putting together a great team early on
was probably the most important first ingredient. This team needed to work
around any of my weaknesses. Then we could analyze and finalize where we needed
to go from there. I wanted a group of players, along with an engineer who
understood where I was coming from musically. I didn’t want a group of session
players showing up for three hours at a studio, knocking out three songs, and
calling things done. I began working with an engineer that was from a different
musical background than me, but who understood where I wanted to go and how I
wanted the songs to sound. For instance, I wanted very big sounding drums, so I
would need to record in a room with tall ceilings with an outstanding
drummer.
(I have always used
Kenny Aarnoff as
my example as far as a drummer goes.)
I
didn’t want too much of the “sugary” type
background singers in my mix, so I do
a lot of my own backing vocals and I also work with
Marcia Ramirez as often as possible. (In my opinion, she is one of
the finest vocalists I have ever known.)
Marcia understands the importance of dialect and the layering of vocals.
She is willing to “over-sing” her parts throughout a song, bringing all sorts
of ideas I hadn’t taken into consideration for the final mix. We do the same
thing with different guitar hooks, textures, pedals, bass lines, and whatever
else. Then, we put together a “rough” mix to live with for a few weeks. After
listening to the “ruff”, we meet to begin the final mix.
 |
| Scott Coner with acclaimed singer Marcia Ramirez (Photo by Cynnamae Media Productions) |
Early
on, I had a friend back in Indiana helping lay
some of my songs down using a Pro Tools application. This approach worked,
but it also had its limitations simply because it had a tendency to close
certain doors for future performance and production ideas. I have also used a
BR-1600 to record on, but this was almost as limiting. What I do now is play
the song on video using a loop for
guitar if I have lead arrangements and send the file to my engineer/producer. I
will usually discuss Ideas right there on the video either before or
immediately after the song, and then we proceed from there.
Okay,
so that is a simplified version of how I work on my songs. You probably have a
better and more advanced approach, but I have to keep things kind of simple.
I’m a pretty simple guy. So, let’s assume you already have a large bag of hit
songs written and recorded. What would be your next step? Well, to me, the next
step was pretty obvious. I needed to launch a social media campaign. I needed to reach out into the world and let
people know about what it is that I do, and why and how I do it. I didn’t
understand how all of that works, and I still don’t, so I hired a publicist. A publicist is a pretty big
part of the puzzle from here on out, so I suggest that you try your best to
locate someone that you like and trust. After all, you are about to give that
person access to your entire library of music, photos and thoughts. You might want to look at their current and
more recent clients. Check out their “brand”. Did the publicist do a solid job
representing that artist or band? Do the colors, the fonts, the press, and
photos work well with who and what is being represented? Could you see any type
of growth or other transformation? Can you afford this service at this time? Do
you have enough material put together that would allow for this to take place
now? Or do you need to get back into the trenches and maybe get some video work
and photos done, then see where you stand? I think the most important step is
to be willing to take your time. Don’t rush things.
I already had photos and some video work started, so I felt that the time was right for me to get
started developing some media attention.
I had already written one book and
was in the process of completing another. I had 30 or 40 songs in the can, and I had already experienced some success overseas
on their charts and had some radio play in the U.S. We got started with some
pretty dismal numbers at first, but we worked together and discussed how we
planned to attack each quarter of the year, and built up some pretty nice
numbers. I found out that I truly enjoyed writing blog articles and Facebook and Twitter entries. I also began to develop a very personal
involvement with the folks that were following my music. I could see their
families, their likes and dislikes right there on my computer. It began to look
like maybe we could get some wind under our wings. We needed to take another
step.
Managers seem to be effective only if you have more than you can
find time to manage on your own. Through recent years, I have tried a few, and
although they were nice people, I can’t tell you that they got anything of
value done. Especially when you consider the cost factor. So, my next step had
to be a deliberate one that was willing to take risks and put my cards on the
table. I hired a music attorney.
This person is knowledgeable in all facets of the industry, and they can be
very effective in getting certain doors open when the time is right. An
attorney will probably only take you on if he or she like and believes in the
music. They need to see you have spent ample time on development of your brand.
And finally, they need to feel like they can take the fruits of your labor and
develop some type of deal.
Remember,
everything we are going over here has to be in your own time. You may need to
take baby steps. You might even need to get a second job in order to save up
the money to get this done because it is an expensive start-up. But if it is in
your heart, you really don’t have much of a choice. You just have to figure out
how to get things done within your own budget and timetable. I have always said
there are people that play golf; others are season ticket holders for sports
teams; and some drive fancy cars. I am like none of those people. I am a
songwriter. These songs are important to me. Sound is important to me. It is
where my passion is.
I am aware that this is
an incredibly thin overview of what I have done and how I have done it. But, if
it is in your heart, you will find a way. Enjoy
the journey. Enjoy the people you meet along the way, and allow yourself to
grow from all of the new experiences that the world of music has to offer. I
can only tell you from my own experience that it has been a fun and exciting
trip so far. In this world, most everyone is a little bit different. They see
things more colorfully and challenge me in ways that I had never before
considered. I have stood shoulder to shoulder with some pretty amazing and
talented people, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I am certain your trip
will be pretty special in its own way.
(Stay
tuned for part two of "My Journey Into Music... So Far".)
