The cha-cha-charts
I have to confess there’s still a certain thrill when I watch something I’ve done climbing a chart. It’s not an experience I’ve had for some time. The very first time it ever happened to me I was ecstatic. I was 21. It was Lene Lovich’s ‘New Toy’ which I’d written and co-arranged, and played synths on. It got added to the BBC Radio 1 Playlist, which is an essential start, as in the 70′s and 80′s without it you couldn’t compete (unless you were the Sex Pistols or Frankie Goes To Hollywood, but that’s another story.) After a couple of weeks it had risen high enough for us to get invited on Top Of The Pops, Britain’s one primetime music TV show, which again was essential if you wanted a hit. Without TOTP you had almost zero chance of reaching the Top 10; with it, you were likely to get there, even if your record was rubbish.
Even though the charts were only published weekly, when a song was going up them you could feel it. The phone was always ringing. A friend left you a message to say they heard it in their car. Your manager or someone from your record label called with a request for you to do an interview with Radio Aberystwyth. There would be a tiny mention on the Daily Mirror’s pop page. In the streets, you’d hear a titter from a group of kids as you walked by. Based on the accumulation of that buzz, as the day approached for the new chart to be announced, you would find yourself visualising and hoping for a certain number—#19, from last week’s #26? Then your manager would call and wake you early in the morning with the actual number, which would be a rush, or a shock.
When the record was struggling, you could feel that too. The phone would be eerily quiet. You feared the worst. And then when the chart position came in, and your record had stayed at #26, or worse, dropped to #29, you felt sad and deflated. You usually only get one shot at it. It’s almost impossible to turn a record around once it starts to fall. And this had a huge affect on your lifestyle. If the success continued, the offers would keep pouring in, each more exotic than the last: fly to Paris for a TV show, meet the NME’s top journalist who’s writing a feature, go to New York to play guest keyboards on some megaband’s new album. Your agent is desperate for you to tour in the Summer, playing bigger venues than ever before. But if the record went into freefall, within a week, people could be asking you when you’d start thinking about new material, a new album?
Thinking back, it was a crazy way to live. You couldn’t help it affecting your sense of self-worth, and the gratification you felt about your music, which was measured in radio playlists, chart positions, royalty statements. There was no way to truly get face to face with your audience. Signing autographs at the stage door certainly didn’t do it.
And the irony was, those charts were so manipulated. When you saw behind the scenes, the seamy underbelly of the pop business, you’d wish you hadn’t. Parties were thrown, peoples’ speedboats were berthed, their kids’ college funds received anonymous donations. You turned a blind eye to it, because you knew that in order to get heard by the public, and then to compete on a level with the other records that were out, you needed the dark machinery of the Music Business to be working in your favour, not against you.
I can’t tell you how happy I am that it’s all over! Those days are gone. Even if the mainstream music business is still ultimately more powerful than the MySpace world, it has changed beyond the point of no return. And I’m on the cusp. I have a reputation and core sales base that date back to my time on the charts; yet unlike some of my contemporaries, I have a good sense of how to take advantage of the new scheme of things. I feel lucky to have benefitted from the Music Biz when I did, even though there were other times when it did me no favours at all, and great songs got lost without trace just because the oily cogs never clicked into gear.
The main thing is, nowadays there’s not that disconnect between my sense of artistic self-worth, and the commercial realities of the charts and retail sales. Of course I do care whether people are taking notice, whether they’re listening to and buying my stuff, but it’s not a numbers racket any more. And I certainly don’t have to make any compromises just to make some A+R or marketing guy happy. I can live happily as a ‘cult’ artist, making great music and not caring too much about the charts—in fact, emulating my teenage musical heroes, few of whom ever got anywhere near Top Of The Pops.
Best of all, via the Internet, I get to read what real people truly think about my music. When it has affected someone in a profound way, I know I hit the mark. Each chord change or line of lyrics that I struggled with, deliberated over, and eventually settled on because it hit me in the gut—I hear back from somebody who felt it the same way I intended it. I communicated, I touched someone’s soul.
Regina Spector said it best:
“this is how it works
you peer inside yourself
you take the things you like
and try to love the things you took
and then you take that love you made
and stick it into some–
someone else’s heart
pumping someone else’s blood.”
(From ‘On The Radio.’)
With the Net, the genie is out of the bottle and he’s not going back in. I’m glad to see we agree that there’s never been a better time to be a recording artist, we live in amazing times.
You’re not wrong about touching people’s lives in profound ways.
There are whole swathes of my life today – including career and relationship choices – that are entirely down to the work of recording artists I’ve never met and probably never will. I could reproduce quite a list here, to be perfectly honest, some more influential than others, and I’m certain others have the same opinion as I.
The point: This is a roundabout way of saying – from an office in a grey building in White City – “Thanks for The Flat Earth, guy”.
Wow.
Fantastic blog entry, Thomas! The future does indeed look bright for musicians.
We forum members are honored to share our thoughts about music with you. Your music has definitely touched my life in a subtle way that can’t be described in words.
Monica
And do you know how cool it is from we fans’ perspective, Thomas, that we can actually communicate directly with you?
With other music artists, we send fan letters, but unless their
publicists send an autographed photo, we have no way of
knowing whether they’ve even read our letters. That is, if you
can even find a fan-mail address for them. I haven’t sent a
fan-letter in at least 10 years; I’m not much of an ego-stroker.
Honestly appreciative, heck yes. But it bugs me to have no way
of knowing whether most musicians give a damn.
For all I know, most “artists” [read: musicians with recording contracts] might sit around on their butts all day and count their
money. But with you, you write these open, honest,
informative and interesting blog entries, and we get to comment,
and there’s just this whole fantastic level of interaction that is
just wonderful. See, *you* want to know what people actually
think. And we ‘blogsters’ value that. And you spill all the dirty little secrets about the recording industry, heh heh heh. People like me want to know. You could probably blackmail a few people if you
wanted to!
I used to be so jaded about being just “one of the crowd”. Now
I feel much, much better.
Thank you for giving a damn.
Kara
Thomas,
this member of your core sales base says thank you for such an enlightening and fascinating blog entry. It was a joy to read and get such a personal insight to the good old bad old days.
More please!
Jon
One can’t help but be competitive. I guess its human nature. You make something and put it out there for all to see and comment. That takes some courage and self belief but you always leave yourself open to criticism. Being on a chart is a very graphic and immediate way of seeing your progression or downfall.
What’s great is that the internet has made all this all more instant and for the most part there is no cover up, no smoke and mirrors. So it’s all the more real.
Good to see you putting your work out there. I think your new toy will keep climbing.
While I may not exactly be able to know how you felt during those times of both elation and deflation after the birth of one of your records, I can certainly imagine. I would like to think that we all have had those same feelings in some way.
I bought TGAOW back in 82 (26 years ago). I was 14 years old then. I can remember many a lonely night at that age lying on my bed with my headphones on listening to Airwaves or Flying North. -Since my folks wouldnt buy me a boombox, I would carry around a rectangular tape recorder with a makeshift speaker from my recordplayer and would fastened to the side as I strolled my suburban neighborhood with my friends.
In 1984, at age 16, I giddily drove to the local record store for a tape of the Flat Earth. I can remember my buddy and I singing Hyperactive on the bus as we went on marching band trips.
In 1988, I was 20 when Aliens arrived. Budapest by Blimp would sooth me as I drove back to my dorm room in college after my night job at a “mom-and-pop” video store.
In 1992, I was 24 when Astronauts landed. I was three years into my first job after college and one year away from the birth of my first daughter. I can remember playing “I Love You Goodbye” in my cubicle as my co-workers would curiously ask “Who IS that?”
Two years ago when you announced your tour, I was first to get a ticket and sat right up front at the Rams Head – my second daughter had just turned two.
Only months away from 40, I immediatly invested in SXSW and remembered the time when I couldnt wait to open the wrapper on the Flat Earth cassette that I still own today along with a CD and vinyl copy.
My oldest daughter is now fourteen and loves your music as I have. While I wouldnt expect her to have quite the excitment I would have to hear new music like “Dogma”, I am happy to say that she does not change the song when your music trickles out of my ipod as I play it in the car while I take her to school.
It is wonderful to hear that you take to heart the impact of your music. This 40 year old male has certainly been one of those with whom your music has had an impact.
There are more of us out there, Mr. Dolby. We may not be the type who would argue the meaning of lyrics on a forum — but instead we close our eyes and just … simply … listen.
…and after all these years, we still do.
Best Regards
Callicutt
It’s remarkable how much music can influence, affect, and impact a life – just as a listener. This entry gives us an idea of how much impact it has on the person who makes the music.
As always, I’m so grateful for the wonderful friends I’ve met because of your music, which has provided a soundtrack for my life. I’ve carried your songs all around this planet, and they will always have a place in my heart and my mind. Your gift for imagery and storytelling enhances the music you create and takes us places – sometimes it’s the same place you envisioned, and sometimes it’s somewhere completely different, driven by the ideas in our own heads. Regardless of the destination, it’s awfully nice to have you along for the journey.
Thanks for this entry, Thomas. It really is nice to know you’re as happy with the connection you make to us through your talents as we are to make that same connection. Keep telling stories. Not everyone has that gift.
I would like to be as good as storyteller as you someday. =)
I certainly have vivid memories of the when’s, what’s and where’s of each of your astonishingly satisfying records/CDs. What’s more, I can picture the day I first heard a Prefab Sprout CD and ran to the liner notes to see if that sound was what I thought it was. Sure enough. Your fingerprints were all over it. It was like unearthing a hidden treasure.
You can imagine, then, how thrilling it is to get to enjoy new and different aspects of your musical genius every year at the TED conference. I always leave yearning for more and looking forward to next year. Only ten more months to wait . . .
DAVID
I’ve uploaded a remix too now Thomas. You can check it out here: http://www.radioheadremix.com/remix/?id=2198
Hope you like it. All comments gratefully received.
Cheers,
Andrew
I wonder if you would have the same viewpoint if you were just starting out now.
I assume you’re reasonably well off & don’t need to worry too much about a career. (not that many musicians do) You yourself admitted that you have a reputation.( why else would I be here?) Don’t you think that, it is even harder now
for anyone to get off the mark?
I love the internet.I think it’s total communication (thanks John) but my god sometimes I pine for the old days.
Love ya.
Brian.
Brian, I don’t doubt that it’s intimidating for a musician starting out today, and I didn’t mean to sound smug. However, even the most uninteresting musician can make a CD, build a web site, start a mailing list, put songs on iTunes and YouTube and MySpace—ie get a platform, a potential audience. Consider that in 1979, the ONLY way to be heard was to sign a record contract with a big label. Then look at the odds of that. There were maybe 100 new acts signed annually in the UK by the labels, of which at least a half never got a record produced and distributed to stores; of those that did, only a tiny percentage got played on the radio, which was the only broadcast outlet. There was probably a ton of brilliant musicians that we never got to hear at all, because they never managed to get a cassette onto the desk of an A+R guy and gave up. At least an aspiring band today knows it has a shot at getting heard, that perhaps the world will fall in love with their music, and that the cream will rise to the top.
Thomas,
A fascinating blog entry, boy how things have changed.
I would have never believed if someone in early 1980′s said you could be in touch with your favourite artists using a computer.
So here we are today in 2008 the music industry in decline, but as in all revolutions and evolutions something new will come to the fore.
For you the artist to have an instant barometer and feedback must be great.
You have touched our souls with your songs.
Snoopy on the form said she wanted to tell you she is moved by your words and music they mean so much to her.
I must admit that Thursday nights aren’t quite the same without TOTP they were an institution.
Best
Lindon
It does seem that there’s more of a ‘level playing field’ now with
regards to getting one’s music ‘out there’, and thank goodness
[and the 'Net] for that, Thomas and Brian; yet one thing has
never changed: the likelihood that one will be able to make a
living wage from music alone. I guess there are a few one-in-a-
million ‘artists’ with recording contracts who just get massively
rich, probably mostly due to publicity (has nothing to do with
talent, or lack thereof)…it seems that if an artist is willing to trade
artistic integrity for a recording contract, then he or she may end
up drinking Cristal champagne like it’s water. But their music
will almost definitely suck. Evidently mediocrity pays…
But obviously it’s not all about money. I’ve found that the best
The thing is, musicians
music comes from independent artists like yourself, Thomas, and
so now we music-lovers can go to CD Baby etc., and buy tracks
or CD’s that are just *stunning*. Independent music is gourmet
music, to coin a phrase. No dynamic compression to be found
in CD’s from independent artists!!!
that I’ve chatted with make music for *love*, not money. Music,
to me, seems like more of a hobby now, such that an artist does
have to have an independent source of income. But that lovingly-
created music is unbeatable quality.
Peace and love of best-quality music,
Kara (it IS all about the music!)
Teeny bit of clarification: I was speaking of people who *voluntarily*
sign with a major label, various rapper-types of dubious talent. But
I mustn’t name names, lest they sue me!
Yet more peace,
Kara Clarifier…
Dear Thomas and dear everybody, and in particular dear Brian to which I want to answer too.
The Thomas post take me back to the 80′s… at the time I had a new wave band here in Italy, named Balkan Air – by the way: our music was VERY inspired form Thomas songs.
We was so popular that at our gigs some bands (would have been famous in a few years and some still are) was our supporter bands.
We publish our first single on ’83 with an indie, local radios start to play our tunes, some people of our city start to recognise us while we was walking on the street, than suddenly the first “serious” contract came down from the sky.
It was a VERY BAD contract full of grind clauses (as usual in the 20th century as in the 21th).
Some members of the band had the rush to sign it (in fear to lost the “opportunity”), some started to think that the playing was really hard (a totally change of lifestyle, work and so on), other thought that it was necessary to wait a better chance.
To cut a long story short, we had a bad disputes for weeks and as in Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust song, we had to break up the band.
End of friendships, no sign, no contract, no more band, nothing at all.
So as you Thomas tell to Brian in the comments “the cream will rise to the top” I add that a modern artist/musician must have also a lot of lucky, guts, right peoples around, a rapid sense of adaptation to all kind of situations and almost nothing to loose (to be a musician is a mission!), yesterday as today, if you really want to be a “rock’n roll star”… also if now there is Internet!
I’ve forgot to say that because now there is almost only Internet to be known between a zillion of a trillion of musicians and bands, you must also have a master in web communication and management and a lot of free time (taken out from playing music) to promote yourself.
To tell with the words of Thomas:
“There is probably a ton of brilliant musicians that we never got to hear at all, because they never managed to spend a lot of time to promote themselves on Internet”…
Anyway… everybody must excuse me for my bad English…
All the bests to everyone and to you Thomas.
One of your best admirers of all times,
with all my fondness,
Luca Oleastri (a.k.a Innovari Retrofuturo)