Drive-Thru Records A&R catch-22

[Gregg Sartiano]

Richard Reines, president and A & R, Drive-Thru Records (New Found Glory, Finch, Something Corporate, et al.):

"[interviewer] DO YOU PREFER ACTS THAT COME IN WITH A FULL ALBUM?

[R.R.] No. Only New Found Glory did that. Actually, I don't like it much, because it usually means the music has already been on the internet and exposed to quite a few people. We would rather control that marketing aspect."

O.K., so I think the vital point here is the 'internet' comment, not the 'full album' comment. After all, in most markets, it's not an 'album,' it's a ten-song vehicle based on the 3 standout songs on the demo (i.e.: 'potential hits') which were probably on the E.P. the artist made two years ago...besides, every artist is EXPECTED to have a myspace site since The Bravery, right?

In the internet age, how does an artist use their hottest s&^t (i.e.: the 'hit(s)' they can't afford to keep in reserve) to turn on a grass-roots fanbase without the overexposure Richard Reines is referring to?

[RichT]

This is what's wrong with music today.

Can bands nowadays only write 3 good songs, ever???

If the band's material isn't strong enough overall then they shouldn't have a ****ing record deal.

Simple as that.

Pretty soon people will work this out for themselves and no-one will buy their sucky records anyway.

New bands need to pick up their instruments, write a hit, write another, keeping writing 'em.

That's the only way to do it.

[Gregg Sartiano]

Originally Posted by RichT

This is what's wrong with music today.

Can bands nowadays only write 3 good songs, ever???

I'm not comparing Elvis to bands today, but Elvis didn't write ANY of his songs (or if he did, it was VERY,VERY few).

You and I know damn well that ONE SONG can make ANY artist's career, and I'm talking about any era. Look at that "Get The Knack" record -- I really love it, but as far as the general public (and record sales, and career visibility) is concerned, "My Sharona" IS that album.

Ozzy jokes that Black Sabbath was required by the label to have 8 songs for a record and "that's all we ever came up with."

Country music production by and large has ALWAYS relied on outside songwriters and session musicians, letting the artist shine (hopefully!) as a vocalist and entertainer.

In fact, if anything, I would like to see more of these super-young artists rely on outside writing and collaboration instead of using their position of power (as artist -- i.e.: "I refuse to sing a song I'm not credited as a writer on!") to abuse the situation. But then, a lot of the pop market is built on the music being BY MORONS FOR MORONS -- the market is short-attention-span teenagers raised on reality T.V., so the artist/writers can use their limited vocabularies to repel me all they want while perhaps enhancing their appeal to the intended audience by "keeping it real" and speaking the language of their peers.

[RichT]

True, true.

I guess I was just trying to make a point that Richard Reines is only interested in having a few marketable numbers (that have never been heard) to chuck on an album and sell to the unsuspecting masses.

His interest is not in developing a band that could achieve more artistically and grow as an act.

In fact all I've seen Drive-Thru records do is sign up copies of other successful acts on other labels.

Cheers,
Rich

[Gregg Sartiano]

Until recently they were completely under the Geffen umbrella.

Maybe this is a comment on the attitudes of the indie/pop/punk crowd toward product -- I have long theorized that the indie crowd is the worst audience when it comes to making actual purchases of music (as opposed to downloading or CD burning). I mean, it just happens to be the genre with the strongest heritage of bootleg vinyl.

[Kestral]

Originally Posted by Gregg Sartiano

I'm not comparing Elvis to bands today, but Elvis didn't write ANY of his songs (or if he did, it was VERY,VERY few).

You and I know damn well that ONE SONG can make ANY artist's career, and I'm talking about any era. Look at that "Get The Knack" record -- I really love it, but as far as the general public (and record sales, and career visibility) is concerned, "My Sharona" IS that album.

Funny, "Good Girls Don't" was my favorite track on that album. As for the Ozzy comment, imo anything more than 10 songs is just too much. In fact, I'm playing with the idea of releasing "mini-albums"/EP's of 5 songs, but 5 songs that form into a cohesive whole. So a 5-track Sgt. Pepper's for this era's shorter attention spans and just long enough for a one way commute.

[DrummerGuy09]

Richard is a good guy, but sometimes he can be quite the hypocrite... I talked to him a few days ago at his house and he was trying to tell me that he hates bands that are labled "scream-o" or that scream, and that he would never sign a band that does so... But then again he had Senses Fail on the label and they currently have "Finch" on the label... So i got confused. When i asked him about it, he just bluntly said "oh they are different"..... And he also said he would never sign a band with rhyming lyrics.......????? Is it possible to have a song with absolutly no lyrics that rhyme?? Well maybe he's not talking about all the lyrics, but still that seemed strange. And then again he has "Hello Good Bye" on the label...

He also told me he loves "catchy" choruses. He said he'll take much intrest in a band that has nothing else besides a "catchy chorus.".........??? I though this was strange too.

<u>To get signed:</u>
1)Don't write lyrics that rhyme.
2)Don't scream
3)Just write a catchy chorus, don't worry about anything else. Have everything else sound like S#!%!!!!!!

Good Luck!!!!!

[Kenny Gioia]

I would probably just not sign with a label with stupid rules.

Grow some balls.

Sign music you like.

Not something you can market easier.

If I lived "MY" entire life that way I would die of boredom.