So I went to a movie in the year 2000. The title of the movie was Next Friday. It was an Ice Cube production, a very low budget movie, and as a matter of fact, it led the box office that week. And about a quarter of the way through the film I heard an instrumental track come up in the background of a scene. [MUSIC] Great tunes, a funky track, I started snapping my fingers, and I said, you know, I know that tune, and I know that group. What's that tune and what's that group? And then the vocals came in, and I heard my voice. That was a song that I recorded way back in the middle of the 70s with the group Cameo on their first album, entitled Cardiac Arrest. The title of the song was Rigor Mortis, and of course my first response was, I'm in a movie, fantastic! I was feeling so good, and I almost felt like standing up and dancing to the music. Anyone, I'm sure, would feel the same way if they heard their voice or saw themselves in a movie for the first time. But then as I was feeling so great, I started to think about when I was with the group. And I said, wait a minute. When I was with the group I only made $100 a week to perform live, to rehearse, to record. And even in the 70s, $100 a week didn't take you too far in New York City. And then, by that time I had also been an entertainment lawyer to Rock and Roll Hall of Famers the O'Jays and R&B great, the late Gerald Levert. So I knew the kind of money that's paid to record companies and publishers when their music is used in that kind of format. So that made me come up with a phrase that I use often, and I tell to all of my students. Every time the music gets played, somebody gets paid. Every time the music gets played, somebody gets paid. And I say if you're an artist, songwriter, or producer, you should get paid and not played. There are three overriding principles for success In today's music industry. I call them the Big Three Ps. The three Ps are powerful product, proper perspective, and professional attitude. Powerful product, proper perspective, and professional attitude are the three big Ps for success in today's music industry. What is powerful product you're gonna ask? Well, powerful product can be a great, great song, married with a great performance by a great recording artist, produced by a great producer in a great studio. And mind you, the studio doesn't have to be a 48 track digital, huge room type of studio. It can be a bedroom studio. You can create great product there. I like to expand on the word product and take it out to mean even more than a recorded product or an audio recording. It could be a video recording. YouTube has become huge these days as producing powerful product that has really launched the careers of many artists. Powerful product can be an app. It can be a piece of software, it can be a website, it can be a brand. Jay-Z has done some wonderful things with his brand recently, partnering with Samsung. Powerful product is an asset that grows in value over the years. And that's really what the music business is based on, assets that grow in value. The second big P is proper perspective. Proper perspective. Many artists when they have a hit record, their first hit record, think that they should be millionaires within six months to a year. They think it's a given that that's gonna happen. Well trust me, many times, the fame doesn't equal the fortune. And you have to have the proper perspective to understand that, to understand the business and how it functions. And at the same time, you have to recognize that you have to love this business. You have to have passion for it, if you're gonna stay in it. If you wanna be in it, you have to love it. One of my colleagues told me a story about the great Niles Rodgers. The great Niles Rodgers is a guitarist and producer and he started off with the group Chic back in the 70s. They had great hits like Le Freak and Everybody Dance. He went on to produce great artists, Madonna, David Bowie, Diana Ross. He even had a hit this year, currently on the Billboard charts, with Daft Punk. And he says that the first contract that he signed was at once the worst contract, and yet the best contract, that he ever signed. And by that, he meant that he clearly didn’t get everything that he wanted as far as money goes. But that contract provided the vehicle for him to display his talent to the world. The opportunity to show the things that he could do. And as it turns out, he's working and has had a long career of over 40 years. And that brings me to the third big P, which is professional attitude. What is professional attitude? Well, it's important for you to get a great education in the business dealings behind music, which you're doing right now by taking this course. You need to understand what copyrights are, what contracts are, and the various provisions in contracts, how you're accounted to. So important to have that background. And here is the last part of professional attitude that's possibly even more important than the first part. And that is having respect for the people that you work with. Having respect for all of the people that you come in contact with in the music business. You never know when that intern or that receptionist, for that matter, might become the next president of the label you're involved in. So keep in mind those three big Ps for success in the music industry. Powerful product, powerful product is a valuable asset that grows in value over time. Proper perspective, understand that you have to love this business, you have to have passion and you have to do as my father advised me years ago, to think with a long view. It takes time to develop a career in this business, but I can tell you from representing clients who have had 40 year careers and 20 year careers, that it can be done. Understand the proper perspective and always have a professional attitude. Get a good understanding of all of the basics of the industry. And by all means, have respect for whoever you meet in this industry because you never know. You'll meet the same people going up that you meet going down. And remember, every time the music gets played, somebody gets paid. Every time the music gets played, somebody gets paid. And if you're an artist, songwriter, or producer, I feel that you should get paid, not played.
