Hip Hop pioneer, record producer and Tommy Boy Records’ founder, Tom Silverman has three decades of gold, platinum and multi-platinum records under his belt thanks to his work with such artists as Queen Latifah, De La Soul and House of Pain. But Silverman is more than a celebrated multi-hyphenate. He is also an industry architect who conceived the New Music Seminar; the music conference prototype from which events like SXSW were built. This music mogul is now reading the old music industry its last rites and ushering in the dawn of a new music era. OurStage sat down with Silverman and asked him to share his views on the past, present and future of the business behind the music.
KB: You’ve been a pioneer and producer of influential music since the early 80’s. What was the industry like when you first started out in your career?
TS: A question in relativism. To the neophyte ‘Tom Silverman’ it did not seem as big or daunting as it is today. But ignorance is bliss. I was able to break radical new artists and records with little money and little staff. I was able to get Urban radio play myself.
There wasn’t the Internet or cell phone. Fax machines were new technology. The computers that came first were big and clumsy and did very little. The kilobyte was the measure of the technologist. Music was recorded via analog. Drum machines and synthesizers were analog. We recorded on 2-inch tape and edited on half-inch tape. We pushed the limit of the technology we had from recording, to mastering, to marketing.
Rap was a spin-off of Urban Disco. Many of the early Hip Hop artists had Disco in their names. People forget that Rap was Urban Disco in the early 80’s and it was a statement against the corporate R&B that had ruled for so long.
Motown, Island, Chrysalis, Arista and A&M were independent labels.
KB: What do you think is the most significant change within the industry in the last five years?
TS: Last 5 years – The democratization of distribution (everyone can get distribution).
Last 10 years – The democratization of recording (everyone can have a studio).
Last 30 years – The mobilization of music with the invention of the Boombox—and more importantly the advent of personal music listening with the Walkman (a far more important invention than the iPod).
KB: From the perspective of Tommy Boy Entertainment, what has it been like to release music as an Indie artist amidst all of the changes within industry? How do you think these changes have impacted your major label counterparts?
TS: It sucks for independents. It sucks way more for the majors.
KB: How would you briefly summarize the current state of the industry?
TS: The current record industry is in the hospice on life support.
KB: Do bands get “discovered” any more? How do talented artists make it these days?
TS: Talented artists are getting stuck in the system now more than ever. Some bands are still getting discovered—but fewer each year—it seems due to the growing conservatism of traditional radio and the growing glut of releases.
KB: What is your advice to musicians trying to navigate the new waters of the music industry?
TB: Throw out the rule book. Differentiate your songs, recordings, image/statement and performance. Work harder on being better. Being a musician requires you to think about photos, videos, blogging and Twitter now. Get a business partner (either label, or manager or bass player) to deal with the flow of your creative to your fans— collecting and managing fans and monetizing your relationship with fans.
Artists interested in hearing more of Tommy Silverman’s insights are encouraged to attend the New Music Seminar in NYC on July 21st. For more information on this not-to-be-missed event, click HERE.
The Indie artists are having a heck of a time getting noticed and yes they can’t do it on their own. If they spend all their time on promotion, their music will suffer. If they spend all their time on music, nobody will know who they are as they’ll have no fanbase. And, everybody who “thinks” they know a little bit about the industry and promotion is setting up “useless” websites and wasting the indie artist’s time and money. They are NOT helping, they are hurting. They pretend to help, take your hard-earned money and leave you no further ahead than you were before.
It’s time the indie artists get noticed for their talent. I tried listening to the radio the other day and it makes me sick the music that is being played when there is so much music out there that is sooo much better. Keep up the good work all you indies – your day WILL come!
Later…Casia (Lyricist, Internet Music Collaborator, Customer Service Representative for The International Network of Independent Recording Artists)
Yes…. I totally agree with this statement, i am so caught into writing music that comes from a place of spirit with a real connection to the universal vibe that the thought of sitting for hours to get a fan base on twitter etc makes me feel sick.
Monetization and proliferation are the two most critical components in the current and emerging era for music artists. Platforms such as MySpace and iMeem serve as a great platform to expose ones music however these services and tools do very little in terms of further exposing the art to a wider fan base or making money.
The current monetization model whereby the general audience buys a CD or mp3 file for personal consumption is simply anachronistic. An artists music online is simply one more grain of sand among the countless grains of sand on the beach.
This means that there is more music available then there are people to hear it and money to buy it. The digital ubiquity of music and the ease by which to obtain it simply makes the current money model impotent.
The answer lies in the monetization of the interaction that people have with the music and ensuring that the interaction people have with the music is conducive to it’s exposure.
In other words artists will be making money from how many people actually choose to listen to and share music. Artists will not sell albums but offer their music as a means to and end (discounts on products, free things, tickets, money etc..) for the general audience which in turn leads to greater awareness and proliferation of the music as well as greater monetary gains from an individual digital file (i.e. song, video, poem, picture etc..).
The music industry is evolving into something completely different from what it is now. Major labels will become marketing aggregation machines which they essential are now just without the guise of being anything else.
As an artist I don’t want to spend time doing anything other than creating, practicing, recording and performing. This is why new systems and tools for musicians are necessary. Systems that will proliferate an artists music and at the same time generate money on their behalf, not just provide a means to collect money.