Mind Coffee: Artist 'development' has become something of a relic

Take well-known bands and artists from the '60s and '70s, turn them back into newcomers just entering the music industry and what do you have?

A lot of music you'll probably never hear because it'll never get made.

For the past couple of decades, the idea of "developing" an artist has become something of a relic, jettisoned for "Make a hit now!" Sure, the music industry has always pushed for hit singles; that's nothing new. But it also gave certain artists - ones that didn't fit snugly into the mainstream whether they were rock, country, R&B, etc. - a little leeway to establish their sound and, hopefully, their audience.

There are many bands in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, for instance, that would not be there if they hadn't been given time.

Shawn Ryan

After two albums that stiffed like crazy, Bruce Springsteen was almost certain to be dropped if he hadn't come up with "Born to Run." Aerosmith's first two albums barely raised any ripples sales-wise, but they led to "Toys in the Attic," which skyrocketed the band into fame with "Sweet Emotion" and "Walk This Way."

After six albums, AC/DC was big in its native Australia, but a dud in America. It took "Highway to Hell" in 1979 before the band was more than a "Who's that?" Prince didn't get much notice outside of music critics until "1999," his fifth release. "Night Moves" was Bob Seger's sixth album; he survived by constant touring.

Journey wasn't much of anything until "Infinity," its fourth album. R.E.M. was doing pretty well in alternative circles, but really didn't raise its head above the fray until its fifth release, "Document."

These days, smaller, independent labels are still willing to give artists time to get things in order, musically speaking. They understand that artists can grow solid careers by building them brick by brick. Word-of-mouth is a powerful, and cheap, advertising method.

Major labels may seem like the Holy Grail of musical stardom, and they do have the power of money, marketing, prestige and longstanding relationships with radio stations, video networks, sites like Amazon and record chains - what's left of them. But there's a big downside.

In many cases, contracts from major labels not only take a percentage of album and singles sales, they want a chunk of the money from concerts and merchandise sales, two areas that used to be the sole province of the acts. With record sales tanking, major labels are trying to pull in cash wherever they can. Trouble is, they want an artist to pay back the investment pretty quickly. A couple of singles that stiff and talk of dropping the act comes up around the boardroom table.

For many acts that are now superstars, attitudes like that would've scuttled their careers.

Contact Shawn Ryan at mshawnryan@gmail.com.