Berklee today is the official alumni publication of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a forum for contemporary music and musicians.
Issue link: http://berkleetoday.epubxp.com/i/106074
I think that there are opportunities for artists who want to make good music and make some money back even if they don't become famous or superrich. I think people out there still want a variety of good music. to play your songs for them. I'd like to think those things are worthwhile. One placement could get the money back that you spent for the seminar and you might build a relationship with a music supervisor. How do you find the artists you want to develop? I'd say it's 90 percent word of mouth from someone I know. Other times people approach me after hearing me play with Avril or the other acts I've worked with. The Internet is also a good source. My wife found a video on YouTube of Drew Arcoleo singing and playing cover songs. I thought he was great and connected with him through Twitter. We started a dialogue, and then he came out here from Connecticut and cut a track with me. We are going to get an EP together for him. It's rare when things happen that way, but there have been other scenarios like that where you meet through the Internet. The video of you singing "There's No Over You" has gotten nearly 4 million YouTube views. To what do you attribute that success? Twitter accounts for a large part of my YouTube presence. Avril, Michelle Branch, Vertical Horizon, and others tweeted about that video. They have huge numbers of followers and that amplified the number of views. I don't do much with Facebook but I'm on Twitter. I don't know if social media has helped me get work as a producer, but I don't think it has hurt. It does provide a way for people to see who I am quickly. What's your approach for getting songs into TV and movies? I've been creating relationships with music supervisors. They're the gatekeepers for people wanting to get their music heard on television. I met a guy who does supervision for some big shows. He told me about a song he placed in the finale of a series, and it played for about two minutes. The next day, the artist sold 20,000 singles and four labels called to find out who she was and how to reach her. So if you have the right song on the right show at the right time, opportunities can come from that. For musicians in general, it's difficult to get through to music supervisors. They are bombarded with music every day. Sometimes you can attend seminars where you pay That song and your performance of it are top shelf. Do you harbor any aspirations to be an artist one day? When I was younger I wanted to be the artist, but over the years my desire for that has waned. I enjoy writing and recording as an artist, but I don't have the time or desire to do all the other things a successful artist needs to do—like traveling all night after a gig and then going to a radio station at 6:00 A.M. to do a promo appearance. But I'll still put singles out and will probably make other videos. I've been on and off the road for 15 years. It's been great, but that's a lot. Traveling now is difficult and expensive. It's still a rush to step onto the stage and play, but it's not something that I have a strong desire to do right now. I have written about 70 songs since I got off the road last February. I hope to get to 100 by the end of 2012. Spring2013 27