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slowly. It will take time, but persistence, consistency, and professionalism go a long
way, whether you are the artist, or you’re
representing all of your friends’ bands.
4. “I’m awesome, and the next big thing,
and they are going to know it.”
Awesome. No one cares.
Just present yourself properly, and if
that is true, someone will notice. You have
to be told you are awesome—you can’t
tell others that, because then you totally
lose credibility. A bio comparing yourself
to Bono, Jagger, Bowie, and Thor is not
going to convince anyone that you are
Ziggy MickThunderGod Hewson. Lose
the ego and the leather pants.
I’ve said it for years... an artist’s
biggest enemy is not lawyers, not managers, not producers, not labels, not publishers, and not Yoko Ono... it’s the artist
himself. I have a song about this called “I
Love Me”. I wrote, recorded and played
all of the parts in one take on a portable
16-track recorder one evening as a
demo, with zero overhead, and it’s been
licensed to all sorts of TV and ads. Check
it out at http://bit.ly/1580hko
5. “I’m going to pay this company $6K
and I’m bound to get a license somehow”,
or “That company wanted to charge me a
fee for pitching! Screw them, they wouldn’t
take a percentage, total crooks.”
I have a friend who signed up with a
licensing company that insisted on her paying around $3K for a college radio campaign, in order to be eligible for pitching.
After her college campaign, they got her a
reality show license, and then told her that
she had to pay them an additional fee for
them to clear the song. Blackmail extortion!
Then on top of that, they told her she had
to pay an additional $2K or so to be part
of a conference, to further push her music
to licensors. Well, she ended up spending
over $6K with them, and ended up with
nothing. It’s a great example, more so
because she then came to my company for
a fraction of the price, and ended up with
something like 25 songs licensed to 12
shows all at once, in the same month.
The stars do not align every day, but
they do when they do. Supervisors want
what they want, when they want it. As
long as the package fits what they need
at that time, and the quality is good, it
can pay off sooner than later. The trick,
though, in working with a pitching company is to learn via word of mouth who is
good—they do exist and they’re out there
and you can work with them—and not
pay attention to message board trolls with
no accomplishments to back up their
opinions who play Wii all day and talk
smack about everyone.
As for the whole idea of asking people/companies to pitch your music for a
percentage: if you’re not willing to do the
work, why would anyone else do it for
free? There are companies that have an
RECORDING November 2013

automated program with thousands of
tracks in them, who are paid for their service by networks, and can expose artists
for free on a percentage basis. The only
thing is, you’re part of a huge number of
songs, may not get the personal exposure
needed, and your song might get licensed
for $1, of which the company then takes
50%. Can you still buy a box of Tic Tacs
for 50 cents? These companies have
devalued songs for licensing like you
would not believe. Get into a credible system, analyze the company, and don’t
assume that you are entitled to free labor
or access to someone’s contacts gratis.
When you have to struggle, you are
more appreciative and understanding of
what it takes to become truly successful.

I recommend to all artists that they take
control of their work, learn the ropes, and
appreciate the process, because it turns
them into better decision makers. It can
take a long time, and yet sometimes it
doesn’t. Try it yourself. You’ll learn a lot
about how badly you want it, and
whether you’re in it for the long haul.
Eric Alexandrakis (alexandrakis@record
ingmag.com) is a highly successful songwriter, producer, and recording musician.
He has had several Top 40 hits on the Adult
Contemporary charts, has licensed hundreds of songs for various media, and
recently completed a remix of Depeche
Mode’s new single “Should Be Higher”.
Learn more at www.ericalexandrakis.com.

http://www.ericalexandrakis.com http://bit.ly/1580hko http://www.gracedesign.com

Recording - November 2013

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