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My wife says I listen to angry music.
I don’t necessarily agree, but with bands named Puddle of Mudd, Disturbed, Staind and The White Stripes (search)being among some of my favorites, she might have a point.
Butdespite allthe angst-ridden lyrics and screaming guitar riffs of today’s hard rock, I find somethingvery soothing beneath all the noise. The songsalmost forceyou to confront whatever demons or fears that liedeep withinyour soul, and the band members themselves seem to personify that notion.
Watching music videos onFUSEthese days is like watching HBO’s Oz meets Revenge of the Nerds. Who knew the tattooedkid sitting alone in the school cafeteria had a hit song in him?
It shouldn’t surprise us however. After all, who better thanthe “uncool” kidsof theaudio-visual department (remember the only kids who knew how to program the school’s VCR?) to embrace today’s technology to make and distribute their own music?
But producing one’s own album, even a goodone, does not guarantee success.
I recently featured a singer/songwriter named Rick Henrickson in a segment on FOX Magazine (Sundays 11 p.m. EST on FNC).His just-released debut album, Reaching fora Gun, was financed 100 percentout of his own pocket, and is available through his producer’s Web site EngineCompanyRecords.com.
With inspiration from themusic ofElvis Costello, John Lennon and Aimee Mann, Henrickson crafts a fun CD that deserves the attention of a major record label.The catchy single “Cool Dry Place” is a natural for a movie or televisioncommercial.
“It’s a great tune,” says Ramsay Adams, music supervisor at Fox News Channel. “It has that retro Beatles feel, and certainly could find a place on a soundtrack,” says Adams, who is in charge of putting music on the air at FNC.
Adamssaysaspiring songstershave to get their music in the hands ofmusic supervisors (search)who workon films and atad agencies if they’re looking for exposure.”Those peopleare not that difficult to find,” he says.
There is also potential for exposure from video games as well.John Madden’sNFL 2003game for Sony’s Playstation2, for example, features music from new and big-name artists.
But getting songs heard by recording executives, however, isan uphill battle that is getting increasingly steeper in thesetroubling timesfor the music industry.
“I don’t know that it’s any harder to get into the record business now than it’s ever been,” saysBillboard magazine’s (search)Brian Garrity.
He says no matter what the market is doing, there is no sure way of breaking into the industry.
“It’s a scattershot thing,” says Garrity. “It’s all about a grassroots element, and the Internet is a good way to build an audience and communicate with it.Then you can turn around to labels and say look, I have this many hits, or streams.Here is my fan database, etc.”
“But there’s a lot of hard work and a lot of intangibles in place here,” he says.
And then there’s the music video factor.After maxing out credit cards and depleting the savings account to get your record made, selling albums and making your money backwithout exposure on MTV orthe newerFUSE (search)is extremely difficult.
ButFUSE president Marc Juris says making a video these days is not a scary proposition.
“It’s all about creativity, drive and desire,” says Juris.”You can go to Comp USA and buy whatever you need to make your own video for a couple thousand dollars,” he says.
“And the song is the narrative of the video,” adds Juris. “A great song will make a great video.”
So what’s next for Rick Henrickson and thousands more like him?
It all depends on who you ask. Garrity says probably nothing, citing immense competition in a consolidating industry. Juris agrees to a point, saying without the infrastructure of sales, promotions and media relations personnel workingon your behalf,it’s nearly impossible to become the next big thing.
However, both say everybody in the industry is alwayslooking for new talent.
“To the extent that he [Henrickson] has an album that demonstrates his talent could get him the attention of a major record label,” says Juris. “It’s a great way for him to show that he could be the next big thing for that label.”
That’s reassuringcoming from someone who knows what it’s like to go up against a giant.
“We [FUSE] are the music video network that actually plays music,” says Juris. “And we want to kick [MTV’s] ass!”
Mike Straka is the project manager for Fox News’ Internet operations and contributes as a features reporter and producer on FOX Magazine (Sundays 11 p.m. on FNC) and as a reporter and columnist for Foxnews.com.
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