ABOLISH SOUTHERN SOUL?
I recently found out that Billboard magazine does not recognize southern soul. I also heard that the major label executives think it is a musical trash receptacle, and laugh at the whole so called Southern Soul situation especially the music. Once again I come back to the quality of the music, and the insistence of the labels to record songs of humiliating substance with artist of questionable talent.
Not for one minute am I saying that all artist recording in this area of music should leave whatever singing they do in the shower. I am not one who ever liked the term
"SOUTHERN SOUL" because I believe soul music can come from every walk of life from Otis Redding to Joe Cocker from Aretha Franklin to Annie Lennox From Jill Scott
to Mary j Blige. There is a rich spectrum of Soul Artists in this world, and with the money that is still being made in the music world despite the illegal downloads on the Internet and Bootlegging which is outright theft, their is still money to be made .
One of the first things that needs to be done is going back to making hits. When was the last mega hit that has come out of the Southern Soul scene. I am talking about a million seller, I can't remember. Can you? Money must be spent to promote a artist project. You cannot expect lighting to strike and luck up on a hit. Spend money, labels must quit being cheap! Get up off those dollars or you will keep complaing about not having any money, which is a lie, why else would you stay in the music business if you weren't making any money. How stupid do you think all of us are.
And artists that come into this business on their own make sure you come in with enough money to tough this thing out. You cannot come into this world and not have just enough money to make a CD. You must have money for marketing and promotion, pressing, distribution, artwork and maybe some more stuff I may not know about myself. You will have to buy ads in papers, websites like the Boogie Report and Soul-patrol.com maybe TV and of course Radio. You want to be successful, it takes money from somewhere and believe me everyone in this business does not do it for the love. We need to be paid like you do, why should I do PR for you for free. So my point is money is what motivates most people in business no matter what the business is.
Cause the mailman can keep a tune does that mean you offer him a recording contract. No! Artists you must take back your music even if it means forming your own companies with other artist, writers, producers with like minded thinking so you guys can pool your resources and harness your power to compete.Maybe it is time to quit competing so hard against each other and send a message to the bigger labels that they no longer are gonna run this thing like a Plantation and you are tired of giving them any of your publishing at all. Don't they take at least want 50nd maybe a writers credit? That's Bullshit! Quit backbiting and backstabbing , didn't daddy ever tell ya their is strength in numbers?
I know many of you think as I do, and none of what I say is new, but it has to be said repeatedly until it sinks in. I do more than talk, I write, what do you do?Let's change the game and to that you need to take ownership of your part in this bullshit and change your behavior. And you need to quit complaining, everybody is broke but you need to put skin in the game that means money for those who don't know. Because people in this business work for a living and will only do so much for free including me. So if you are cheap don't call me asking me a bunch of questions (questions cost). I am giving you advise and some answers here, but your managers and pr people should be advising you about most of this stuff, but maybe they just don't understand that we have to Change The Game. And maybe Change the Name cause southern soul requires too much of explanation every time you have to tell someone who doesn't know what it is. It is either Soul or it is Blues, I think that we need to go back to the days of all the players back in the studio with the singers and put the guts back in the music. Real players and Soul singers, Real Soul singers Like Kenne Wayne Ernie Johnson, Franko, Sterling Williams, Trudy Lynn, Toni Green, Willie Clayton are there many more? Shirley Brown, Francine Reed, The Chairmen of the Board, William Bell?
Anymore? Bobby Womack,Marvin Sease, Carl Sims their are bound to be a few more, but a lot of fat needs to be trimmed and Dj's and PD's are the ones who need to do this, cause as long as you play crap 5,000 units will be the standard sold for southern sole artist. I just wrote the word soul with a e at the end because you will keep making enough money just enough to keep yourself and your kids in good shoes maybe.
Yeah I Said It !
if you want to continue to see my column anywhere you's gots to help a brother out.
WHO is gonna say it like I say it, where I say it , As loud as I say it.