Stoneman
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12/21/2017 5:08:26 PM
Your Time Will Come
The music industry is not a choice that I encourage anyone in my family to try. In this industry you can go many years without any recognition, money or respect from the industry. But one valuable things that I have learned from the 7 decades i have been in this industry is that hard work and perseverance always wins out in time. You see there is this thing that we use to say in the old days. It is called "paying some dues". No, it is not like it sounds. The dues that older musicians were talking about is touring all the tiny dives that will let you come in and play. Living out of a suitcase for many years with very little compensation for your work. Being lied to and bullshitted by managers, agents and A&R reps. They use to say that until you have had your musical heart broken several times by rowdy audiences dangerous places, you don;t anything about being a musician. They insisted that the dues had to be paid. But the pay off in the end could be tremendous success or no success at all. In other words, even with all the hard work of touring the nation and the world you still may end up with nothing to show for it. But the dues must be paid regardless. An old Blues musician I knew as a kid that they called "Cool Papa" use to tell me "Boy, you got some good chaps but don't don it because you think you're going to be s star. Do it because you love doing it. If you do it that way you will be rewarded every time you pick up a guitar, horn or microphone. The sheer joy of playing will always be the biggest reward for you. He was so right. After all these years of thousands of hours in the studio, touring the nation and playing my heart out, my rewards are finally being seen in the way of peer recognition, moderate wealth and the freedom to get up and work on music everyday all day without having to punvh in on a job. It took me many years of working two jobs plus my music business work but I got there. No, I am not a household name but I am stable, happy and pretty much set for the rest of my life. So, what would I say to those younger musicians coming up? I would say "get your ass to wok". Don;t stop working until you get where you are trying to go. Yes, It is hard and you will certainly have to pay some dues. But the joy of doing it should be enough pleasure to keep you going. If you just do that! I guarantee that eventually you will make it. Your day will come. Maybe not tomorrow but keep woring towards it and you will get there. Another thing I would advise is to educate yourself about the business of music. For about 35 years or so I knew nothing about publishing income, performance rights organizations etc. But, in 2004 I went back to college to learn about the music business. I proudly graduated with a 4.0 GPA. Hah aha, and all my High School teachers use to think I was stupid. They just were not teaching what I wanted to learn. Anyway, I digress, What I am saying is that you need to be aware of the way the music industry works and how the money streams develop and get paid out. I remember back in 1984 I signed my first Publishing contract. I didn't know what I was signing and it came back to haunt my young naive ass. If I had known what i know now I would have never signed that deal. It was for 12 gospel songs that have done well in the Christian genre but have not generated much cash to me because of some clauses in the contract I didn't see or understand. I was so impressed with the fact that someone wanted to sign me that I just didn't pay attention to what was happening. The lesson I learned is that you must put several things in place before the music starts to generate revenue. Otherwise, that revenue will not be seen by you. So, I would advise that you get educated about the business and how to make an income in the business. When I went back to school I was the oldest guy in my graduation class. It was hard as hell. Sort of a culture shock. While I was there I also picked up a recording engineering degree. That helped me to put my own studio together. Now I save my self hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in studio time. Self empowerment is essential. You need to learn how to do more than just perform. You need to learn how to accommodate your career without financial strain. The answer is always having the ability to do a lot of things yourself. That's why I play all the instruments on my recordings and sing all of the lead and background vocals. I do it because it is cost effective. Not because I think I am great or some shit like that. If I could afford other artists to play on my recordings I would do it. Bu right now, any money made from my music goes to me and not a bunch of other musicians who I gave co-sign credits to. I like that. Even though I do miss being in a band, I am now so very comfortable with being a one man band. Its fun and i don't have to buy beer for anyone or watch them smoke up all my weed while we work. Yep, been through all of that and I don't miss it. When I am ready to work I just go to work. I know my work could be so much better if I was working with other people. But I also know that it could be so much worse because of the hassle of working with other people. People, everywhere, suck! Don't waste your time working with someone you cannot get along with. Its not worth the hassle. Been there and done that! However, I can truly say that if you work hard, educate yourself and persevere! The sky is the limit for you. Trust me, your time will come. Every dog has a good day and every good dog has two good days. Keep at it and enjoy yourself while you do it.
Much Respect To IMP Artists
Stoneman
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