Let's take a moment to appreciate the real hero here, Ken. The guy bugged Rick for three months until he listened to the band xD

I can’t imagine how much great music is just “shelved” somewhere and how many great bands were ruined because of labels.

Rick is certainly a musical black belt, but also a master story-teller.

A familiar story. My son was in a band in 2008, all in their teens and at music school. They were really on to something, great musicians, awesome original songs and an amazing young lady on vocals. The school, as always, invited UK label reps to come and review its talent - my son's band rehearsed like crazy, then gave a flawless presentation to the besuited ones. A week later one label privately approached the singer, offered her £10K NOT to record with the band (or anyone else), but to sit tight while they decided how to launch her solo career. She was eighteen - she took the money. It got ugly, the band fell apart, good friends fell out for keeps. Upshot: none of them got a damn thing, including the singer (aside from the 10K...) The 'moment' had been there, the luck had been there, the time was right... and a coupla dreary guys in suits killed it dead.

NEVER leave a Rick Beato video, story, before the ending. It ALWAYS pays off.

I just love how you promote the little people out there who really deserve it. You're one of the people I'm unlikely to ever meet in real life, but I consider you a true mentor.

The music industry reminds me of a story that my father always told me about a shoe company in Australia. The owner had a gut feeling that he could greatly expand his market to the Fiji Islands. So, not wanting to lose his number one salesman, he sent his number two guy to Fiji to try and sell his line of shoes. The salesman called the owner in a couple of weeks and said “..send me a ticket home, they don’t wear shoes here in Fiji”. The owner sent him a ticket and he returned. A few months later the owner decided that he was going to give it one last shot but this time he decided to take a bigger risk and sent his number one salesman to Fiji. A couple of weeks later he got a call from his number one guy....wow, they don’t wear shoes here in Fiji, send my wife and kids, we’ll be here for the next few years, we’re gonna make a fortune!! In my opinion the record industry is full of number two guys

This story hits close to home. Minus the Cameron Crowe Clive Davis names this is exactly what happened to my band after we signed to RCA records in the early 80s.

Hunter Thompson said it best, "The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side,,," Thanks Mr. Beato,,,

Beats me that a record label signs a band because they love what it's doing, and then proceeds to turn the band into something else entirely. It's like buying a Gibson Les Paul because you love the look and the sound, and then taking out the humbuckers, sticking in one single coil at the neck while leaving the bridge an empty route, replacing the fingerboard with maple, bypassing the tone controls and spraying the body a different colour. WTF did yo buy a Les Paul for in the first place?

This happened to me 4 times from the late 60’s to the late 80’s. 4 great bands. Albums were done. Then it just -- went away. 4 times. It’s hurt so badly. You go from being on top to being nothing. I couldn’t get past the secretary at Warner bros suddenly. Suddenly I was nothing. You go from this great high to this Way Low low. I was at a Party where I was hanging out with Eric Clapton. Two days later -- nothing. It was painful cause so many A@R people lied to us so much. I ended up working clubs and teaching guitar for the rest of my life. I’ve had a great life as a working musician and I have no regrets. But I often how different my life would have been lol.

The side of this story involving the A&R guy reminded me of an episode from my own past. I was doing session work, mostly as a woodwind player (saxes, flutes) and went to a studio to be part of a jingle production for a high-end client. I waited in the control room while the rhythm section (piano, bass, guitar, drums) started recording. These guys were all top-tier session players and they did the first take letter-perfect. Now, the advertising agency who booked the session had sent a "producer" to oversee the session. This was fairly common practice, mainly so the musicians wouldn't pad their hourly rate by dragging their heels. The producer on this session was a young wanker who was really full of himself but didn't have a clue what happens in a recording studio, or much knowledge of music in general. He gets on the talk-back mic and says "guys, that was really good, really good, but I'm not hearing magic; we need to have magic in this, please give me some magic". The musicians do an eye roll but whatever, they're getting paid. They run it again, perfectly, and the same thing happens - the "producer" is not hearing "magic" and wants there to be "magic" in it. They run it again with the same results. Finally, they've had enough and on the fourth take at 0:30 of the 1 minute piece, the drummer reaches up, pulls down his overhead mic, and says "Abra-fucking-cadabra", then pushes the mic back up and finishes the take. Well..... there's your "magic"! The producer slunk out as we all laughed ourselves silly.

Just in case anyone else was wondering, A&R means Artists and Repertoire. Talent scouts in other words.

As a small musician/artist you always dream about being signed etc., but then you realize all the shady stuff and begin to feel thankful that social media gives you an opportunity to be who you are. Thank you for this story Rick and to all my fellow musicians: never give up and I wish you nothing but best!

"Almost Famous" shows exactly the way the music scene was in 1973 when I was 15 going on 16. Yes, I lived it, and it was truly an awesome time to be alive. Thank you Cameron Crowe.

Rick,I don't know if you'll ever read this,but this crap is what kept me out of the "Music Business" and kept me, utterly without regret,a Zoo Night watchman for thirty years. I led a lower-middle class life with a job that fit me like a hand in glove. My animals turned me into a Buddhist,and I pursued Art and Music with no commercial concerns. It is up to the Fates now whether or not my works outlive me. This is not to say I'm not in admiration of your achievements (your guitar collection is awesome),but life is bigger than anything we can conceive of. 🕯️

Rick's studio is his fireplace for telling stories in front of.

Rick should write a book about the non theory side of music.

I would be willing to bet that this is one of ricks most popular videos because demographically speaking a high percentage of his viewers are musicians who have experienced similar scenarios

Almost famous is still one of my favorite movies. Makes me feel nostalgia for a time period I didn't even live through lol.

The Corporatization of music to translate to “sales” has been hindering artists for decades.

Fascinating. As someone who played in bands in the 90s and was signed briefly to a deal only to see it fall apart, I can tell you that this story has been repeated many, many times over the years. Frank Zappa was right; labels (and the records they produced) were better when the old suits were in charge, because they knew they didn't know anything about the "new music" and let the artists alone. So long as they made money, they didn't care. Once the hipsters took over in the 70s, though, they thought they knew better and tried to dabble in it, which ruined many a great band.

Before I was a photographer, I was a professional musician playing rhythm guitar (6 12 acoustic & electric) in many bands before I joined a band back in the late '80's, and we became 'almost famous.' Don't even get me started on record labels back them. We toured all over the U.S. & opening for some of the biggest hair bands of the day. We performed in front of thousands of people at each venue. We had one tour bus for the entire band and all our gear, compared to the 'headliners' who had multiple tour buses and huge trucks transporting their gear. By the way, our tour bus was vintage '70's age, but we love it anyway. It was our home away from home. We constantly heard "Don't worry, the record label is picking up the tab!" And the young idiots we were, we believed them. In fact, we were picking up the tab. All of our profits were paying for hotels, food, transportation (our bus) and anything else we needed while on tour. In the end, we made nothing, but the record company still made money off of us. By summer of '93, the pressure finally got to us. We did our final show on July 10, 1993 in Salt Lake City, Utah. But the writing was on the wall. We, like many other hard rock / heavy metal bands, blamed Nirvana. Times were changing and grunge was coming in & our style of music was no longer in style. It was a lot of hard work, lots of pressure to write songs that could play on the radio, and tour to promote these songs, but the kids weren't showing up in the numbers like they used too. Dylan said it best: "Times, they are a changing." It took 15 years and a TV actress friend of mine to get me playing not only guitar again, but in front of people. I am not a "great" guitar player, but I hang out at my local Guitar Center for a couple of hours on a Saturday, playing one of their acoustic guitars. To some of the other guitar players around, I get them excited, one guy had chills listening to me, and they all want to play along with me. I've even had little kids watching me play "Hear Comes the Sun" and singing along with me. How they know the song, beats me, but it still warms my heart. By the way, that band I was in, we played all original music. And to this day, I have not played one of our songs since July 1993. I just don't want to. Maybe one day I will...

This is exactly why all those independant labels were popping up in the 80'd and 90's. Bands at that time knew that signing to a major was a death sentence for your band.

Dude, Rick, I'm loving the couple "story time with uncle rick" things. The brutal one about your boy Johnny D, and now this. It's awesome. I would love a series of these. You've been in the biz for so long, I'm sure you have a million amazing stories. I'll bet you think you haven't done anything super interesting, but I'm sure you have had lunches cooler than most people whole life. Thank you for sharing, I'm definitely checking out I9? Eye9? I'll figure it out.

So what if all of Ricks 1.7 million subscribers all bought “Heavy Weighs the King” debut album and they break all kinds of records for first week sales... it would be such justice after the terrible ordeal they went through in this video!

I just bought “Heavy Weighs the King - A Star in the Sky” and lovin’ it. Everyone should do the same to support these artists. Amazing.

It happened to a guy I grew up with. His band eventually got to open for some very big names, but he was never allowed to make it to the top. It was too bad - they were a great band.

What a scary story....Never in my career as a major label A&R executive would I meddle with a band like that although, I did see it happen all the time..on a side note, my very first position in A&R was working for Clive Davis who I found unable to understand any sort of music except manufactured pop...oh well

and as a bonus, we heard of how you met Nancy, which was mentioned, but not expanded upon in the "20 greatest acoustic intros" video

It's so strange that the artform I love is controlled by a business that I hate.

She has a special voice, a producer's voice. No matter what you put into the mix, her voice is what you notice. Sometimes you can be too good, and that's the reason you don't make it. Just think of how many well-established, influential performers that she makes sound average.

This is exactly why I’m perfectly happy to sit in my home studio and record just what I want to and listen all by myself.

Years ago I decided to avoid the music industry like a plague. The downside: I’ll never “make it.” The upside: I can do literally whatever I want musically for literally however long it gives me pleasure to do it, or until I’m no longer here. I have yet to regret that decision.

Rick is a treasure for using his platform to share things like this.

I'm sure this sort of thing has happened a million times, but it reminded me immediately of Lone Justice: genre busting band built around the astonishing talent of a young female vocalist captures the imagination of the entire industry, signs a record deal and immediately has everything that made them great sucked out of them by the idiots at the label. Lone Justice was around 1985, this story is about 2005. I wonder what great artists are being destroyed as we speak.

"An artist can cut an album without a record label. A record label can not make a record without an artist." D.J Jazzy Jeff.

“One likes to believe in the freedom of music. But glittering prizes and endless compromises shatter the illusion of integrity.” Moral of the story is don’t be in a Rush to get signed and lose control of your musical destiny.

This is one reason why I love and respect Prince so much. He changed his name to an unpronouncable sign and succeeded in getting out of a major record label with Warner Brothers. I played professionally for decades. I have had a booking agent break up one of my bands because he wanted to keep our female lead singer on his top circuit when we were just starting to think about recording. It's very difficult for an artist to maintain some control over their art when some control freaks with a lot of money have signed a contract with your band. I love to play music live and record.I am a singer and a songwriter. But I would rather just hit it small than hit it big. Unless it was under the right circumstances. I'm sure that if a major label wanted to sign with a band I was in, I would refuse to negotiate without an attorney. And through the process of negotiating, I would probably get kicked out of the band for not kissing ass. This story about i9 breaks my heart. They did all the work to get where they were. And all it took was one idiot to destroy everything they had worked for. It's not that I don't have any respect for authority, or that I am incapable of taking constructive criticism. I will take a job and do as I'm told. But if I create a project with a group of individuals who bust their asses in order to build a following, then I don't want one guy who owns a record company, or a booking agency to destroy everything we have worked for.

Such a heartbreaking story. Why people can't let artists be artists rather than trying to mold them to something else is beyond me.

You could have added the ol "Artist Development" deal! Where a record company hears you and realizes you're really good and then gets you in to a "development contract" to basically keep you quiet because they have an artist that you would be competing with and they certainly don't want another label to scoop you up!

You said it Rick. Record Labels Suck. Realized this just in time to save my music life lol!

In their Rock n Roll HOF acceptance speech Bono thanked Chris Blackwell of Island Records for having the faith in U2 to allow them to get past their sophomore album to make War and so on. He cautioned that without that faith there would have been no U2 as we know them and that says a lot. Thankfully Island Records didn’t let it turn into just an industry of cool…Almost Famous is amongst my very favorite movies ever.

I've mostly been a sideman throughout my 30+ year career. I've been a part of some great bands to see them meddled with and their art diluted by label people who clearly have no idea what they're talking about.

Hey Rick, I Nine actually toured with my band, HURT (we were signed to Capitol). They opened up for us for a while on tour. I'm not sure what year it was (probably somewhere around 2007-2008 I think), but I remember watching them every night and Carmen was amazing.

OH WOW. "Murder Scene" sounds incredible, I love the depth of the sound. Its almost like Led Zeppelin meets the Cranberries. She has a fantastic voice, there is a haunting quality that you just have. Nancy probably heard a little of her sister on that first tape.

Here’s my music business story: After I got a bit of BBC Introducing radio play locally in the UK and after a few years doing the open Mics in my Home City, I was approached by somebody from the TV show “The Voice”. He was a runner/researcher and he was tasked with going all over the country to find people who were on the precipice of breaking into the industry on their own. They basically had to already be comfortable in front of a crowd, not necessarily a songwriter but that helped and of course have a good voice. He found me on Facebook and basically said he would be coming to my hometown, he’d done a search of musicians who were already playing locally and he liked my stuff. Was quite glowing in his praise. Around this time I was finishing off my second EP and it felt quite nice to have someone from ‘the inside of the business’ reach out to me and like my music. He’d arranged with the owner of a local venue to be in the audience of one of their well known local artist open mic nights. He wanted me to go down there, play a set and then just chat. Now I’m not from that world, musically I’m kind of like indie/Alt rock. Heavily influenced by Oasis, The Beatles, Paul Weller, that kind of thing so these TV talent shows felt alien to me. I spoke with some local band managers, studio owners and other musicians and asked for their advice. I was tempted to not go as I didn’t really want to be involved in that world as I see myself as a songwriter first, singer second and more interested in receiving recognition for my songs, rather than my persona. But they all said no harm in meeting the guy, just use it as a learning experience. So I went down to the open mic night, the place was packed. Over the phone he told me that he’d asked a few other artists to come down but word had got out and it seemed like every man/woman and their dog had come out for the chance to perform for this guy. I took a little bit of comfort in the fact that he’s messaged me personally there was no way he’d messaged all of those people, but hey I guess he might have? Anyway finally get on, played a good set, a few of my own and a few covers. Went off to a decent reception, a couple people in the audience patting me on the back and complimenting me. Through the crowd I could see the guy from The Voice, he’d been sat down making notes about each performer. I went over and we had a great conversation. He was really nice and was quite honest about some of my concerns about the show and tv talent shows in general. He made some good points and after we shook hands he took my number, and was quite explicit in his request for me to go to one of the Live auditions…. And did I go??? No I didn’t. I guess in the end something just didn’t feel right. Not about him, he was cool. But just the whole experience felt a little calculated. Like for example I’d explained to him that I was an indie guy, wrote my own songs and was inspired by bands that would hate these kind of shows. His response to that was that they were actively seeking someone like me from that world but it just felt like I would be ticking a box. Anyway got a text from him a few weeks later. Very politely declined his offer, thanked him for his kind words and he wished me all the best . It was a strange experience, when you’ve worked so hard for so long on your own it can be quite intoxicating when someone from the other side of the door that you’re trying to break down reaches out and asks you to step through it. I’ve been trying to break down that door ever since I picked up a guitar, it just wasn’t the right kind of door I guess. (BTW My name is MICHAEL REDDINGTON and you can listen to my music in all of the usual steaming platforms)

I feel for you guys who came THIS close. I really do. In other videos I made mention of my 7 years in radio and how I learned a lot about the music biz. Like, a lot. But the one thing I learned, aside from having your own publishing and label (to keep your masters), you need to have someone in your corner who can lead you into the minefield and isn't afraid to get dirty. And it's not unheard of if a band's manager uses their hands and speaks calmly to make sure a balloon head like that A&R guy left the band alone and exited stage left from the control room. And side-note: Anyone can be a A&R rep - all you have to do is be able to fog a mirror. But seriously. What would that guy do? Go cry to Clive? The label signed the same deal. Are they gonna back out of that nice advance and studio time they gave the band? Nope. Those songwriters? They do that for a living, and that's fine but - no . "Sorry, we have our songs. Songs you like. Songs we like. Now get the fuck out or we're gonna file for bankruptcy and sign elsewhere," is what I would say. All in all it's about protecting what you have before you start letting people poke their fingers in your pie, and having someone in your corner who isn't afraid to tell someone to go pound sand. A band is a family - manager included. And to protect that family it's perfectly fine to swat a fly with a sledgehammer.

The all-too familiar story. My first psychology PhD proposal in 1998 was to study the effect of label organisational culture on the creativity and well-being of signed artists. A board member at EMI, himself a psychologist said, "That is a fantastic idea but you will never get through the door". I never did. It's heart-breaking what has happened to so many fine artists.

Like or Dislike: Like. Rick not only has great stories, he knows how to deliver them. Could totally take up a career as a public speaker.

I love Rick's talent before the camera. He comes across so relaxed and personable, that I start to forget that I'm just an unknown fan, listing to a recorded video, and become mesmerized into thinking that Rick is relaying a story to me personally. Few people in this world have such an amazing ability. What a guy!!!

"The A&R guy is now running a couple of laundromats in LA" Ha! Poetic justice!

True story this: Back in the early 2000's i was in an indie band from Manchester (UK), we were the support act for Ian Brown. also did some supports for Happy Mondays. Well we got offered a development deal from parlophone records, on one condition, The A&R guy wanted us to sack the singer and replace him with a vocalist of his choice. The problem was, our singer was my Brother. So you can imagine what that conversation was like. Our rehearsal room was the top floor of a huge mill in Ancoats Manchester, And the A&R guy turned up to a rehearsal...Well my brother had him half dangling from the fire escape, with a good 60ft drop down, pretty sure he pissed his pants. We never got the development deal. I do still wonder what the other singer he had in mind was like though :) The End.

I’ve got a bunch of friends and acquaintances who’ve played the game. The only one who struck it really big married a music lawyer in Nashville when he was just a nobody that had a great voice. She knew the game, kept him off the rocks, and made him a star. (That he blew the marriage up after the second platinum album is just the same old story told once more.) But the one friend that’s really happy stuck to their guns, played what they wanted to, produced their first two albums theirselves and came up as a regional act playing the same 50 clubs over and over until they had a real fan base. They’ve now had two Grammy nominated albums and have reached the point of making real money in music without living in the back of a 15 passenger van. Sure they are twenty year over night successes but they have enjoyed the ride while making great music for their fans. I wish every band could say the same.

What a great story....pulled out the CD of Elizabethtown soundtrack and sure enough "Same in Any Language" Produced by Rick Beato. Always thought that was a great song.

“The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.” ― Hunter S. Thompson

"Come in here dear boy have a cigar You're gonna go far, you're gonna fly high You're never gonna die You're gonna make it if you try They're gonna love you Well I've always had a deep respect And I mean that most sincerely The band is just fantastic That is really what I think Oh by the way, which one's Pink? And did we tell you the name of the game, boy? We call it Riding the Gravy Train..."

*_After watching this video of you telling yet another captivating, personal music-based story, I felt compelled to leave this comment. Anyway, it may seem as though I'm kissing up to you (I'm not) when I say this... but, I for one, am extremely thankful to you for sharing 'behind-the-scenes music stories', such as this one about the band, 'I Nine' (BTW, my comment here isn't really about this particular story)._* It's funny - I've been an avid watcher of your channel since about 2 years ago... & just when I think you've told us pretty much all of the great stories/memorable moments of the past 30+ years of your life, you manage to surprise us w/this incredible story. You crafty, rascal you. : ) *Anyway, I always appreciate your honest delivery as you tell these unique stories that we would likely never know if it weren't for your willingness to share them (well, & we also thank KZfaq too - of course). You're channel is in my top 5 channels on KZfaq. -- thanks for all you do, brother!* TL;DR

One of the stories pervasive in my head. John Fogerty got sued for sounding like himself and was in artist jail for years. Great to see you in Chicago at Park West, Rick. Thank you for all you do merely enlightening anything and everything music from your perspective. You deserve the audience that has grown to millions I see.

God how many stories like this can I tell you about...head of a&R for a major label told me how awful my production on a group out of Hawaii was...and totally convinced me I wasn't a producer...I lost such confidence I never went back into the studio again to produce music. It was only about 3 years later that that A&R 'expert' was so totally out of a job that he came to me for any gig at all that I could give him...shame on me for giving up...but, everybody in the biz shouild know record labels are full of people who got their gigs because of some other readon than talent....thanks for the story...Nancy is a friend of mine also...I worked with them producing their life story on CD Rom 25 years ago...."Heart 20 Years of Rock and Roll"...Love your show Rick...thanks for all the teaching

You’re a great storyteller, Rick!

Amazing how artists sound when you leave them ALONE. thanks for sharing that story Rick.

Definitely in my top ten movies. The part where he says I need to go home and Kate Hudson says you are home makes me super emotional every time. I just wish for a life like that on the road with my friends

I love Rick Beato. I think the reason he has become so popular is because he has a very unassuming vibe, he doesn't give off any bad vibes I've been watching his videos for years, it's got to the point where i really only trust him and his critiques. He has become the standard for Rock and roll reviews. I consider him almost a friend.

Labels are a relic of a bygone age, where production and publishing were actually expensive, and required the investment of a label for a band to actually "make it big". We're in the digital age now. Bands can easily produce and publish by themselves, with relatively little capital investment. Labels have no place in modern music, and need to die the death they so rightfully earned for themselves over decades of exploiting great musicians for their own profit.

Pink Floyd- “Welcome to the Machine”

This is why I don't mind stealing music downloads and supporting the bands by paying to see them live, it ensures you don't feed the record label beasts!

I’ve been through this stuff myself, Rick. Don’t know who you can trust, or who you can depend on. Wish we would’ve had you as our production manager. All the best.

I honestly can't understand why someone would be interested in signing an artist or band to a record label and then proceeded to change everything about them. It blows my mind, but I know the record industry is filled with stories just like that. By the way, those last couple clips you played from the reformed group were fantastic. I hope they finally start to take off after all these years.

I was signed to a label in the mid-2000s, thought it was going to change my life I quit my job and put all of my time, money and resources into getting my music together for a release and tour then then everything fell apart. They cited “the internet” as the reason why they didn’t could though with their end of the contract and they dropped not only me but apparently a bunch of other new artists that they had signed that year. Completely crushed me at the time took me forever to get my head straight and get back on my feet, took me maybe literally 10 years if I’m being honest to not feel jaded about recording music again. If I could go back and do it again I would have continued to self produce and self promote, so much heart ache and wasted years after thinking my dreams had come true

I heard a 4 piece band playing in a basement garage back in 1967. They were magnificent. In less than one hour the crowd swelled from about 20 people to at least 300 from the surrounding neighborhood. The police were called to “Break up the hippies.” A near riot ensued. Finally the music was stopped and the crowd dispersed. 50 years later I was at a get together with my older brother in attendance. We were sitting at the bar listening to the house band squeak through a few tunes when my older brother says “ I was at a basement party back in our old neighborhood, probably around 1966 or 67. When I heard this amazing band.” I mentioned that I was there also and YES! They were great. I hope they made it to the big leagues. Long live RNR!

It’s like this in most creative industries. A thick layer of no nothing, non creative types end up being the gate keepers and arbiters of creativity and for some reason have all the confidence in the world while having not a creative bone in their body.

Even The Beatles had problems like this, and from the one person we'd least expect it: Brian Epstein. Epstein came to the studio one day with one of his boyfriends. The Beatles were on the other side of the glass recording. Brian pressed the intercom button and started to tell them what they should do with the song. Within twenty seconds John Lennon screamed. 'Shut the fuck up Brian. We do the music. You count the money.' Epstein literally jolted backwards like he'd been hit with an electric shock and he never dared make any more suggestions ever again. You have to be very aggressive to go where you want to go in this world.

I find it kind of fascinating that for this band, which clearly never needed a drummer, everyone else involved took it as a given that they should get one. As if all music, however unique it starts out, has to fit a certain mould in order to be seen as _proper music._

why do these 'demos' sound better than any song I've ever made?

As a former artist manager (and musician prior), this story was absolute fantasy candy, until the ending which I didn't quite see coming. But for you to be the catalyst of that kind of feeding frenzy for a band, with the kind of heavies you were talking to.... I mean, wow, just WOW.

The actions by the record label echo with the sound of salesmen. One likes to believe In the freedom of music But glittering prizes And endless compromises Shatter the illusion Of integrity, yeah...

Akin’s Law nr. 7 applies here as well: ”7. At the start of any design effort, the person who most wants to be team leader is least likely to be capable of it.”

the most entertaining, informative and inspiring video ever

I’m glad I found you on KZfaq your wealth of experience is so valuable for us independent Songwriter/Singer/Recording Artist like myself I thank GOD every day for KZfaq and technology we have today, because of this technology and the advantages the independent Artist like myself I’m able to steer the course of my Journey in the Music World see how far this Venture will take me.. Your Encouragement for me, thank you Sir..

Honestly didn’t expect to hear that they got back together again, and lemme tell ya Rick, I’m touched.

Unfortunately, that's a familiar story. Everyone wants in on a good thing. Next thing there's 100 cooks in the kitchen with a different recipe for one dish. Result? Whaddaya think? Thanks for sharing your insights into the process of marketing human beings. 👍

The sentiment here seems to be “used to be” between 2014 and 2020 i directed music videos for major labels, I stopped because they wanted to put every penny on screen and then when you're out on a limb, someone has to come in and F^&k it all up. “Put some crazy effect over it” “can we put an Instagram filter over it” People still love the videos and I'm grateful for that, but it does sometimes still hurt to know how they could have been, before the egos landed, the story sounds just like yours, even down to the video that got dropped. At the time I left like it was my fault, so your video helped me a lot, thank you.

When you said "they signed with RCA" - I knew right there and then it would be a disaster. RCA's credibility is lower than that of Ronco Records from the 1970s. They specialize in "fast food", disposable music by disposable artists,, focusing on winners of "American Idol". Almost no one who won that contest and got a recording contract with RCA actually saw their career rise into bigger things.

Almost Famous is pure class!!!! One of my favorites

Steve Albini wrote an article for The Baffler, which is kind of a notorious piece now, about the pitfalls of a record deal. It's almost a companion piece to Rick's story here.

just think about the groups that never had a hit on the charts but everybody knows them ! we all know who they are and are so glad that we got to grow up with them playing on the soundtracks to our lives !

This really a sad but enlightening story. Thank you for sharing, sir Rick.

What a powerful and authentic voice..

Is the entire "I Nine" soundboard recording available to hear anywhere? The bits you played sounds awesome!

Funny you mentioned Fast Times at the beginning. I play bass with Rob Fahey, who wrote Raised on the Radio from the soundtrack. His band at the time, the Ravyns, had a similar trajectory with MCA, got signed, A&R guy was fired, their excellent second album shelved, then dropped, then the band broke up. Such a great band, the other main singer songwriter Kyf Brewer went on to some success fronting Company of Wolves. Everyone from the band is still playing with various ventures, Rob put out several great solo albums and is still playing five gigs a week at 70, I call him the Iron Man of the Baltimore Music Scene.

For a long time, I couldn’t figure out who this singer sounded like. Now I realize that it’s Carolyn Dawn Johnson (she sang So Complicated). Really pleasant, textured voice.

THIS is absolutely captivating!!!!

Ten minutes in I was like "I've got $10 that says the A&R guy screws it up." And then I realized I should have known that from the title.

Summer of 70, our band Phunk,, tube, "Vain River" and "Thought" got signed by Columbia, met John Hammond Sr. Top of the world that day in the big Apple. Rick, how many times has this happiness to tears played out? The prospects for new musicians is far better now than the days of BS that we had to put up with.

Excellent channel Rick. Your's and Leland Sklar's are among my favourite channels on YT.

I think labels have less and less relevance with the passing of time, they take more than what they give and what they give can be obtained in other ways now. Cheap recording solutions are getting better, the funding can be done with a Kickstarter campaign, Patreon and others, the artists can make a name for themselves on social media without spending crazy amounts of money, physical records are almost irrelevant now so you don't really have to care about their distribution. All that's left is the connections that the labels have, but I don't think that some extra exposure worths damaging your product (which in this case is music)

Fascinating video. I went through a similar thing around '91/'92. The band we had were doing good, we'd played internationally, sold a truck load of shirts and garnered a tiny but loyal following. Then the record labels came sniffing. We were of course on cloud nine!!! Now both the singer and bassist were law graduates so poured over the small print and all the contracts were like Rick says - basically relinquishing all creative control and even image control. If we broke wind the 'wrong' way it'd be breach of contract. So our singer drafted a 'new' version of the one that was the best of a bad bunch. Which in regular contract terms very fair and even but still weighted in their favour. Their representative just shook his head and quipped "Listen lads... rock n' roll's meant to be bit dangerous but you lot actually know what you're doing, you know a contract is a trick and we can't have you in the industry knowing that. Can't have the horse before the cart. That lads is way , way too dangerous." All the other labels withdrew too funnily.

If there was ever a single, simple reason to self produce and promote on independent labels, this is it! It's also the reason I smile every time I hear about the mainstream label industry dying!

I'm a busker. That voice brings me to tears. I'm a fan now. I don't give a red hot damn about the music industry.