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International Country Music Association Newsletter October 2001 Alfonso Pella, Via Regione Setterio 35, Chiavazza 13051, Italy Paola Zara, Via XX Setterbre 65/A, I 20099 Sesto S Guiovanni, Italy Raffaele Redini, Via Cavour 5, 46042 Castel Goffredo, Montova, Italy Vinicio Giampaoli, Viale Argonne 32, 20133 Milano, Italy Stefan Speckman, Oldersumer Str. 65, 26605 Aurich, Germany Bert van der Wijist, Floralaan 20, 5831 TA Boxmeer, The Netherlands Peter Tee, 43 Wyndham Park, Orton Wistow, Peterborough, England Anne Lykke, Elling, Lemnosvej 1-2 tv, 2300 Kbh. S. Denmark Jeff Dunn, P. O. Box 459, Windsor NSW 2756, Australia Big Al, 129 Meroo Road, Bomaderry NSW 2541, Australia David Parker, 17 Brook Drive, Aberfoyle Park, SA 5159, Australia Rob Davidson, P. O. Box 230, Braidwood NSW 2622, Australia Music Trivia Question What Country/Pop star recently gave birth to a son named, Eja? Answer later, in this issue. We Answer Your Questions The answer to this question is the result of lenghty conversations with several of our board members. They included conversations with Ambassador Charlie Ray, Colonel Buster Doss, Colonel Jason Hawkins, and others. The most commonly asked questions have to do with bookings. We are constantly asked how to get more bookings, how much to charge, and how to successfully raise booking fees. All of these questions so are directly related to one another, they are in effect the same question. There is a simple answer, but before you can understand the answer you have to learn one rather painful truth. The truth is singers, musicians, and other entertainers are not paid for their talent. How well you can sing has nothing to do with the number of bookings you get or how much you are paid. Let me repeat what I just said, talent does not equal bookings and the amount of talent does not equal the amount paid. Before you cover me up with angry self righteous emails, ask yourself a few questions. Could Tiny Tim sing? Get a copy of "Tip Toe Through The Tulips" and listen to it. Could the man sing? Not only did the record sell millions of copies, Tiny Tim continued touring the world for years. He fell dead on stage doing a concert, just a couple of years ago. He did thousands of concerts over more than 20 years. His normal booking fee when he died was in excess of $10,000 per show. Could the man sing? Was he pretty to look at? Here's a couple more questions to ask yourself. Is Garth Brooks 5 times more talented than George Jones? If he isn't, why is his normal booking fee $150,000 and George Jones' normal booking fee $30,000? Now that I have your attention, allow me to point out the most common mistake in any business. This mistake is so common every business school in the nation spends countless hours trying to teach people to avoid it. The mistake is not knowing which business you are in. For about 100 years, railroads were the most successful business in the United States. At their peak, 68% of all people and 79% of all freight in this country moved by rail. The men who ran railroad companies had almost unbelievable power over the security of this nation and its economy. Yet, in less than 20 years the all powerful railroads were going out of business and filing bankruptcy. They had made the mistake of not knowing which business they were in. They thought they were in the railroad business and they allowed those thought patterns to blind them. If they had only realized they were in the transportation business, they would have invested their vast amounts of money and managerial skills into trucking companies and airlines They thought they were in the railroad business and acted accordingly. Small companies took advantage of their mistake. By the time the all powerful railroads realized their mistake, trucking lines and airlines had gobbled the transportation business. When is the last time you traveled or shipped anything on a train? If you're like more than 90 percent of the population, you never have. Most singers think they are in the entertainment business and act accordingly. They spend all of their time and resources trying to find better songs and cut better records. In doing so, they ignore the business they are really in. Singers are really in the seat filling business. Venue owners are interested in two things. How many people will you draw, and how much money they will spend. A bar owner wants to sell beer. If you can sing like a bird, but don't draw a crowd, they are not interested in booking you. If you sound like a hound dawg in a rain barrel, but pack the house you'll have more bookings than you can handle. All successful entertainers have one thing in common, they fill seats. Tiny Tim couldn't sing, but he filled seats. GarthBrooks can fill at least 5 times as many seats as George Jones, so he gets paid 5 times as much. It is just that simple. Here's how you can apply this information to increasing both the number of bookings you have in any given month and the amount you are paid for each booking. PROMOTION!!!!. If you can only devote 20 hours per week to career advancement try cutting your rehearsal time to 5 hours and increasing your promotion time to 15 hours. When is the last time your picture was in the local paper? When is the last time you were interviewed on that little 500 watt AM radio station? The last time you had a booking, did you remember to spend a full 25% of your booking fee on advertising? Did you have handbills printed and hit every car on every parking lot in town? Did you take time to get your show listed on all of the community event calendars. Do you have a drawing at every show for a free CD? If you don't, how do you build your mailing list? If you don't have a mailing list of fans, how do you let them know your show schedule for the month. If people don't know you are playing Joe's Bar, how can they pack the place? If they don't pack the place, how can you ask for more money, next time? Laine Close of Dallas, TX Emailed: I write lyrics and have a co-writer that writes music. We have recorded several songs as demos (very good quality-as good as songs being played on the air), but as yet we have been unsuccessful in breaking into the business and getting them recorded by an artist. Is there a downside to sending your demo CD to DJ's in either the US or overseas? Is there an upside? There are few hard and fast rules, in the business of songwriting. Anything you can think of trying has been tried numerous times by other songwriters. Most of the time it failed to work, but sometime and somewhere it has been known to work. With that said, I offer the following rule of thumb. The shortest route between point A and point B is a straight line. If you are spending time and money sending your songs to radio hoping somebody looking for a good one to record will hear your song, there is a shorter route. Send your song directly to people looking for good songs to record. There is a song pitching service, in Nashville which does a very through job at a reasonable fee. Millennium Records, Drawer 291827, Nashville, TN 37229 has a Songwriters' compilation CD. They select about 20 good songs and put them together onto a master CD. They order copies made and send them to recording artists, record producers, movie producers, television producers, music theaters in Texas, Branson, and Pigeon Forge and other such places. Fairness and our disclosure policies dictate that we must inform you. An executive officer of Millennium Records also serves on our board. Nashville On Stage Showcase Changes Location The open mic event is no longer at the Days Inn. The new location is the Airport Clarion Inn. Take the Briley Parkway south exit off Interstate 40. It's on your left just before the first traffic light. The address is 733 Briley Parkway and the phone number is 615-361-5900. The event is on Friday evenings, between 7 PM and 11 PM. The hosts of the show are Ernie and Debra Simms. Be sure to tell them we sent you. Answer To Music Trivia Question On August 12, Shania Twain gave birth to a son. She named him, Eja. (The name is pronounced, Asia.) Music Trivia Question # 2 What movie studio signed a movie contract with Hank Williams, Sr. ? Answer later, in this issue. George Jones To Do Live Webcast Sunday October 21, "the possum" will appear at the Ryman Auditorium. The concert is sold out, but you can watch it on the web. Just log onto wsmonline.com. There will be a $5 fee charged. Dixie Chicks Will Appear at Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo The ladies will open the event, Feb. 12, 2002. George Strait will close the event. Merle Kilgore To Release Indie Album Merle is well known for writing country hits. Amoung the many he has written are, "Wolverton Mountain," "Ring of Fire," and "Johnny Reb". His album wuill be on the Legends label. Brenda Lee Honored By IEBA The International Entertainment Buyers Association presented Brenda with their coveted, "Lifetime Acheivement Award" She has sold more than 100 million records and has significant impact on country, pop, and rock music. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, in 1997. She is nominated again this year for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Garth Brooks Makes History Again The country superstar came out of retirement and used cutting edge technology to do it. His song, "Wrapped Up In You" was made available to radio stations across the USA simultaneously, by satellite. Each station was able to record the song and re-use it. In addition to making history, the singer saved tens of thousands of dollars. He didn't have to manufacture CDs and mail them to the stations. Also; Garth, has signed an agreement with Dr. Pepper. He will appear in a series of commercials, for the soft drink company. Special Fund Raiser For Victims of Terrorism The "Red, White, and Bluegrass" concert will be broadcast from the Grand Ole Opry House New Year's Eve. Amoung the many stars performing will be Dolly Parton. Money from the event will be used to provide scholarships to children of those who were killed, September 11th. Johnny Cash Admitted To Hospital On October 7, the "man in black," was admitted to Baptist Hospital, in Nashville. He had bronchitis, but was admitted as a precaution, because of his ongoing health problems. Record Companies Signing Up For Booth Space In May 2002 The first annual Ambassador Charlie Ray's Nashville Music Festival was held a last Memorial Day weekend. More than 1800 singers and songwriters made new contacts, in the industry. More than 20 record companies had representives there. The event is planned for May 25, 26, and 27th. next year. More than 30 record companies have already signed up for the event. This year's event kept 6 stages full of artists showcasing. Next year the event will grow to 9 stages. One of those stages will be the Songwriters' Stage. It will be hosted by Jim Fullen of Ohio. Songwriters will be able to perform their songs live using their personal instruments to provide music. An additional band stage has been added, also. Answer To Music Quiz Question # 2 Hank signed a movie contract with MGM, on October 9, 1951 Music Reviews If you'd like your music reviewed in a future issue, mail it to Rhett Ashley C/O International CMA, PO Box 271238, Nashville, TN 37227 Georgia, "I Want To Be A Country Music Star," Charles Anthony Rogers, Songs OK and voice OK, but production a little weak, in some places. 3 Stars Texas, "Latent Treasures," Billy Rawlett, Good songs, clean production, and good clear vocals 4 Stars Ohio, "Different Day," Lou Anne Michel, very simple almost raw vocal demo the powerful voice and excellent songs delivery the message 3 1/2 Stars California, "H. L. Booker," H. L. Booker, old style country pretty good stuff 3 Stars Virginia, "Bluegrass State Of Mind, " Mark Wallace, Overall this is an excellent album. The only complaint is the mix. The vocal should have been a little farther out front. In places, it almost got lost in the music. 4 Stars
Holland, "Bluegrass Boogiemen," Bluegrass Boogiemen Solid first release A real pleasure to listen to 4 Stars
Tennessee, "Hold Your Horses," Pete Bene, A well done album overall, The only complaint is the mix. Whoever mixed it, must really love drums. They frequently over power the other instruments. 3 1/2 Stars |