Anyone else think that todays “popular” music is such crap? Nothing more than ready made music. Seems like todays youth and young adults can’t see the facade for what it is. Grrrr. I wrote this awile back figured I’d post it here. It’s long…
The Manufacturing of a Music Star
In the early days of music it was such that you needed to be able to actually sing in order to become a star. Today the reality is very different.
Have you ever listened to a group/singer on the CD and said “wow! Great music?”. Of course you have. Have you then ever listened to that same group or singer perform live and say to yourself “doesn’t really sound like them at all”. If you ever have then you have just witnessed what is called “the manufacturing of music”
“Making” music and “manufacturing” it are two entirely different things. To make music, you need to be able to sing. In the old days when groups sang there was only so much that sound techs could do with that voice. They could enhance it but not all that much. The underlying voice talent could never be changed and was always there. You couldn’t cover up deficiencies in the voice much if at all. So, in essence, you had to be able to sing in order to record a track. If you could not sing as per the “standard” of your chosen genre you were not getting the coveted “air-time” or even studio time.
“Manufacturing” music is now today extremely common. The voice you here, the guitar, the drums, almost everything in the track has been enhanced, but it is the voice that undergoes the greatest change. Sound technicians will remove all breaks, chirps, crackles, all flaws from the track. The voice will be crystal clear and enhanced so much that when the artist performs live, with no enhancement, you can clearly tell that they are not the person on the CD. Such it is with manufacturing music.
The manufacturing of a star is not that much different. All one needs to make a person a star is, can you guess? Yup. Money. Nothing more. Let’s start from the beginning.
So you want to be a music star? Ok that’s fine. I’ll help you as I got buckets full of money. First thing we need to do if find your “edge”. Your selling point. Something that people will draw upon. Once we find you edge we can make your “look”. The way you are going to be presented to the world. Think of your favorite “modern” bands and the way they “look” and “feel”. You will notice they all have some feature or look that makes them unique in some way. Some will use makeup and look like crazy clowns, some will dye their hair various colours, others will dress all the same or in a uniform. Yet others may not wear much at all. This is all part of something greater called the “image”, and the image is what sells.
After we find your look we make your image. Your image is not the same as your look. You make look like an angst teen but your image will be that of a really nice misunderstood one. An example of this would be Avril Levene. How she looks is not what they have made her image to be. She looks like an angry teen yet comes off as a very nice one. One that a parent would not consider too much of a “bad influence”. Your image is your overall way your presented to the world. It’s more than looks. It’s how you act, how you speak in public, it’s the whole “deal” so to say. Once we have this…We’re gold.
Some may be wondering, “Don’t I have to sing?” Well, not really.
So far we have your look and your image done. Now we need the incidentals like singing and dancing. Sure you need to be able to sing but you don’t need to be a great singer. “Ok” or “Fair” is all we need. I don?t need you to be able to play an instrument at all. In fact if you can dance a routine we’re defiantly going somewhere quick. There will be singing and dance lessons everyday for weeks on end just so you can play your part. Once you actually sing in the studio, technicians will enhance it. In fact modern technology can turn an ok singer into a modern great. I personally have been in a recording studio with a friend of mine who was showing me around the place. He took my voice, and I will say that I SUCK at singing, and changed it so much that it actually sounded good. He used a setup that had hundreds of dials and switches which controlled every aspect of the recording. It’s an amazing process when you actually see it done. As for “what” to sing, don’t worry. Hardly anyone writes their own music now as you can buy it from professional songwriters, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do with you.
Now that we have your look, image, and now your brand new recording all that’s left is the marketing. This is the most crucial step in the road to stardom. If this process is not done right I just lost the buckets of money I have invested in you so far. What I do is use my “powers” to get you airtime. It does not matter if no one had heard of you before. All that matters if that you get on the air. So many modern singers have literally come out of nowhere and landed on the top100 or even top10. Literally coming out of nowhere. Not a single blip of them on any radar. It used to be that a singer worked hard for years and fought their way up the numbers and slowly became “known”. Not anymore, in fact what your seeing is the powers at the top in action. If I can make money off you, or think I can, you WILL be on the air. Once you get on the air and (If I pay enough) you will be in primetime slotting. That is morning (6-9) , lunch (11-1), afternoon (2:30-4) and evening (5:30-8). Your recording will be slated in for maximum impact and coverage. Once your on and people hear you it’s only up from that point. The more money that is spend keeping you on MTV’s, MuchMusic’s, and radio airwave primetime slots the greater the chance of you climbing, or even beginning at, a hit. In fact if I do if right your image will be simultaneously presented on all media in the prime slots even before your release, thereby almost ensuring a “hit”.
Now some will say “It is I the consumer who decides what is a hit by buying the CD”. Well that is only partially correct. If something is in your face all the time it will sell. If you never see it you never buy it. Marketing is all about that. Being seen and letting the world know you exist. There are TONS of great musicians out there that, if they could get airtime, would be great. Some probably would be legends. Instead we get this. The manufacturing of music stars. The quick buck. Once you’re on the air and I have made millions off you it doesn’t really matter if you drop out of sight. You have been my “one-hit wonder” and if you make more, great. If not, no skin off my behind. I made my money. You MAY have made some but probably not a lot. Recording contracts well, that’s a whole new rant.
You drop out of the world’s site and I set mine on a new star.
