Who did what to rock and roll indeed? Everyone is to blame, some more than others. Maybe the one area where they understood it a little better is touring, it seems to be thriving. It shows that while the record business suffers the music business doesn’t. Let’s begin by taking a look at record companies and see why the don’t quite have the attraction they once did.
There was the time everyone wanted a record deal, you signed and you were on your way. Being signed to a record company meant something, it was a massive boost. You felt invincible. It gave you the determination to succeed, someone had spotted you, thought you had that certain something and wanted to make you successful. It was like passing your driving test, someone had recognized you could do this and you were ready for the road. It might be a long road, but they had the courage to stick with you, they were in it for the long haul. They signed you because you had talent and they wanted to nurture that talent, they wanted to watch it grow.
You were given the money you needed to make a record and maybe a little more to live on, to tour. It was “the advance” and it did what it said it would do, it allowed you to advance, it wasn’t an instant fix. And with it came an experienced group of people to help make it happen. Maybe you were young and lacked experience, maybe your manager needed a little guidance, some help. All you had was talent, not a bad place to start. The record company had that experience, where you hadn’t done it before they had and were prepared to help. Wherever you were lacking they had people who could help. they had made mistakes, plenty of them and a lot more than anyone they’d ever signed.
The money the record company gave you was a loan and like any business they wanted a return on their investment. It’s called recouping and it means repaying but like any investment they didn’t expect it to happen overnight, it was a risk. They were prepared to wait ad not only did they get their money back, they got a lot more. It was a never ending circle, when you made money off one band you invested in another looking for the same return. it made good business sense and it allowed labels and acts to grow together.
