How to make it in the music industry
RIGHT HEAR RIGHT NOW 22 THE LIST 27 Nov–11 Dec 2008
Want to make it in music? Fancy yourself as The Next Big Thing? Claire Sawers and Malcolm Jack track down nine very different people currently working in the industry and quiz them on just what they do and how they do it In addition, for detailed listings of all the info you might need to know, from venues to recording studios see list.co.uk/musiciansguide
The Musician BARRY HYDE OF THE FUTUREHEADS I love being a musician – I haven’t done anything else for about six years, and I still can’t believe I’m able it professionally. It’s not about becoming a famous person, or an infamous person, or playing huge shows or being glamorous. To be a musician is to be true to your art and to be humble and passionate about it. to do
We’ve been up and down like a rollercoaster – the first album did incredibly well, the second album not so well, and the third album kind of saved us in a way. We’re still on the rollercoaster; it never ends. Even The Rolling Stones have gone through 20 years of patchy existence, going on tour just to pay for their 100 kids. They’ve been very successful, but have they made any good music over the last 20 years? I don’t think so.
The most important thing, in my opinion, is that if you don’t enjoy what you do, no one else will enjoy what you do. To be contrived is to fail, in the music business and as an artist. If you’re not feeling it with genuine passion, then you don’t have any right to be in a band. Passion comes before everything: conviction, dedication, these are the things that will pay off in the long run. With regard to going out there and getting a record deal, I haven’t got a bloody clue, because there are great bands who never get a deal, and terrible bands that do. This seems to be the random factor – the fickle finger of fate, as I like to call it. It’s black magic mate. Enjoy yourself is all I say.
The A&R man and label owner IMRAN AHMED OF ABEANO RECORDS Abeano is the imprint that I run in conjunction with XL Recordings. I’d tipped a lot of new bands while working as a journalist for NME that went on to have a lot of success; I was looking at what