Emails, bureaucracy, Men in Suits and the death they bring…

I’m trying to get a record deal.

Or rather, I’m trying to get a meeting with a record company to discuss the possibilities for releasing my songs. What I really wanna do is to be able to write songs and perform them live. That’s it.

So, what do you do? I have tried to contact record labels in Copenhagen – labels that I feel have the right musical profile. In my mind, record labels like those make a living from listening to demoes artist send them, and from going out a night, to the clubs where we, the musicians play – and there they scout for talent – like a soccer talent scout goes to the soccer field.

This is a mere figment of my imagination.

I can’t even get a response to my emails and my phone calls. I cannot even get a no. The so called talent scouts are sitting in their offices, praising themselves – patting each others backs because they got a job in the recording industry, and because they have backstage passes to some fashion show tonight. They couldn’t spot good lyrics if the words came out of their noses.

My very close friend – also a musician – told me something very upsetting yesterday. Major labels in The UK and The US will not sign an artist unless they have a complete organization behind them – a manager, an accountant, a booking agency etc. – and furthermore, an insurance company has to be willing to insure the whole album release, with everything it involves… Maybe this is old news to some, but it is definitely the first I have heard of it.

I am petrified.

This means that a singer/songwriter like me, has to establish a full business – with 5-10 employees – just to get a record label to consider signing him/her.

Just thinking the process through, my soul, my creativity has died a thousand times over. I cannot and I wont let men in suits decide whether my songs are good songs. I am proud of my songs and of my skill – and I think that there is an audience for my music.

I write music for me and for you – I write songs because I can’t help it – I have to write. I did not become a musician to be a number on a chart – to be a digit on a budget. I do this because it makes me happy – a guitar, a piano – just humming a melody – can make me smile. All the money in the world will never, ever, be that powerful.

Now, where’s my pen and paper – where’s my coffee and my guitar – I have an album to finish, to release and to perform.

Out of my way, bureaucrat!