Opinion

10 ironies in the music business

Tim Hill | 6 Oct 2014 6:38 AM

The music business is filled with ironies, but it continues to be an industry filled with passion from people who love what they do and are hungry for success and validation. 

Not many jobs can boast the level of commitment exercised by musicians and bands. 
 
Here are some of the interesting ironies: 
 
  1. New artists with few achievements behave like divas yet many with millions of sales and awards are the humblest people to deal with. 
  2. Many artists with bad songs think that they have hits on their hands, yet many great songs never see the light of day because the artists are too modest to put them into the public domain.
  3. Success is defined by a collective of things including many years of sustainability in the business, sales, following, songs on the charts, radio airplay, exposure in the media, yet for some, success is defined by one or two songs on the radio. 
  4. Many managers aren't in a position to invest financially in a band, yet many investors aren't in a position to manage a band. 
  5. Many successful managers and publicists maintain a low profile and get positive outcomes from their efforts, yet many "out there" managers and publicists compete with the artists for attention and prove ineffectual in the work that they're commissioned to do. 
  6. Parents and girlfriends have more enthusiasm and passion out of anyone for their loved ones' careers, yet their involvement more often than not is to the detriment of an artist's career. 
  7. Artists who prioritise their music above being a celebrity, become celebrities by default, yet artists who put celebrity ahead of music usually waste a lot of time and effort with limited music success. 
  8. It is sometimes better to settle for a lower percentage of what performance fee you are used to, than to be non-negotiable and end up with 100% of nothing.  
  9. Some musicians are great vocalists yet can't write music, yet some great composers have limited performance talent. 
  10. May artists perform songs they dislike, yet have huge commercial success, yet many artists perform songs they love and their commercial success is limited. 

[Tim Hill]

Tim Hill is a publicist, brand manager and co-owner at Tuned In Publicity, a full service public relations consultancy specialising in building and maintaining positive reputation capital for South African artists and bands.