£1,000,000 was stolen from our record label that was supposed to be invested in us. That was hard to take. But here's my bands story from the beginning.
After spending nearly a decade in the music industry, here's a truthful account of my experiences that you might find interesting. About 8 years ago I started a band with my brothers, and looking back now I can see the pattern already emerging from the start. We'd only been a band for a few months, when we decided to audition for a Sky 1 "talent" style show, but this one was supposed to be more about the music, and bands, rather than some of the other shows about. We did the pre-audition in front of the producers, which went well.
We got a call a few days later inviting us to attend the TV auditions in front of the celebrity judges, but we decided not to do it for two reasons. They sent us a contract, and in order to attend the TV audition we had to sign it. There was lots and lots of small print, and check this, if we'd have signed it, if we'd have performed any of our own music, they would have gained the rights to our own songs in all aspects of media "throughout the universe" for the "duration of copyright", WHICH IS 70 YEARS! It also stated any music we wrote whilst under contract would be theirs also. We thought that that was probably a baaaaad idea. We also realised the show was probably going to be like all the other TV talent shows, and we didn't want that kind of vibe.
So after that we decided to break through how it should be done, through hard graft, pub gigs, building our following, and growing organically. We eventually started doing bigger gigs, festivals and generating interest. It was going well.
A picture I took from the stage at a new years eve gig outside the York Minster.
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After a couple of years of hard work, we got contacted by an new indie label, and after discussions we signed our first record deal. There was a famous producer involved and £1 million in the pot for the new artists being signed. We were told we'd be put on a retainer of £1500 a month so we could put all of our time into it, we couldn't believe it, we were over the moon! It was happening. We went to record some demo's to send to some other producers over in America as well.
At the time we were having to pay bills etc by doing cover gigs/weddings, but because of the contract we'd signed, we were told to cancel all our gigs. So we started that process, and then, when the first payment was due though, guess what........ no money came through. We called one of label guys, and all these excuses started coming in, like "it"s a European bank transfer so we're just waiting for the authorisation code" etc but we would get the payments. To cut a long story short, we didn't get any money, and we found out later that the money had been stolen by THE MAN IN CHARGE OF THE FINANCE of the new label. We didn't know what to believe, but what we did know was we'd lost our immediate income as a band. That was the end of that chapter.
We carried on though, and ended up with some great management that got us gigs touring around Europe, Australia and America. Here's a shot of us playing in Vinstra, Norway.
These were exciting times, we were playing some great support slots all over Europe, and we were getting paid for playing our own music. We also got invited over by the bassist of a big American country band to record our album at his studio. I don't want to start name dropping by the way. All sounds amazing right? Well, here's the thing, while the experiences were amazing, our bank balances weren't! Yes we were getting paid for the gigs, but when you're away on tour, you have to use that money to spend on food and accommodation etc, and all the while you still have to pay for your rent and bills back at home. Also, when were were in Nashville recording our album, we weren't earning anything at all (oh how lovely that £1500 retainer would have been then) So we were having a great time, but the financial pressure was building.
In the music industry, you will find that a lot of the artists that have broken through and "made it" have been able to do so because they've had someone bank rolling them when times got tough, a lot of the time from rich parents. We were just a bunch of normal guys from normal back grounds and so didn't have anything like that. So although things were great, we were skint!
Here's a shot of us on our travels.
And then, we got a tragic call. Our manager, who had not only been getting us all of these amazing gigs, but was also our good friend, was found dead in a hotel room, he'd overdosed on heroine. We were devastated. The next gig we played was at his funeral in Sweden.
After the tragedy, were persevered and were invited over to Nashville again to do some more recording. Lovely stuff! But for me personally things were getting desperate, I couldn't afford to pay my rent. If you know about Bitcoins, me and my brother had 1.5, we had to sell when they were about £150 to pay for our electricity bill. (As you know they'd be worth a lot more now :D)
We then got invited to attend an award ceremony and play at a festival in Australia.
After this we were supposed to be going over the pond to Nashville again, but I literally could not afford it, so Australia was my last gig. I know, what a gig to go out on right?! I do feel very lucky to have had the experiences I've had, and to have been the places I've been. But ultimately, I just couldn't afford to carry on. All of my friends back home were buying houses and starting families, and I was maxed out of my overdraft, not even being able to afford to go out with my friends for a drink. I think the thing about the music industry is, unless you are at THE TOP, as in Adele, Ed Sheeran etc, it is truly hard to make a decent income. There really isn't much middle ground. It's either a hobby, or you're a superstar. Gone are the days when you could write a good song and get fairly paid for it. When our songs were sold on Itunes, we were only getting 7p of each sale, AND that had to be divided between the whole band haha. I have friends in other bands that were doing really well, as in full time tours etc, but have had to pack it in also. I feel like it was like the dangling a carrot in front of the donkey scenario. There was always something good just around the corner, and for us there was, but the ultimate goal of breaking through and being a household name never came to pass.
You may be reading this and wondering why I haven't written the bands name anywhere, and the reasons for that are, my brothers and the original band members have all left now, but one of the members has carried on the torch. Another reason is, I haven't written this to try and gain publicity or promotion in the hopes we can get back together one day. It was purely to give you an insight into what it's like for the little guys in the music industry, and to hopefully help you see that whenever you watch a performer, it's most likely that they will have put a lot into their music, so maybe buy a t-shirt or c.d to help them.
But HEY, again I can't complain. I had a blast! I just wanted you to hear both sides of the story, as often you'll only hear the promotion lingo. Thank you so much for reading my post, I hope you found it an interesting read. Anyway, it's time to go and wash the dishes!
Arthur :)