As we all know, sometimes labels or management or a lawyer put together acts. Duos, trios, the beloved 5 member boy band or girl band.
And inevitably a few years into their careers or a few singles into their careers it comes out that they were “put together”. It’s said in a negative spin, with many people in the industry and other artists and acts looking at a put together group as ‘not true to the art’.
But here’s the great thing about acts that are put together:
They don’t have a story.
So what do they have to do? Create one and tell it.
And they get to create and tell whatever story they want!
There’s no baggage. No one is beholden to the past. No one is precious about anything because there’s literally nothing to be precious about.
This is why groups that are put together can do so well. Because they story is so clear and focused from the beginning…which is essentially the only option.
No one would put a group together and, on purpose, go forth with a foggy, spastic, confusing story.
But ‘normal’ acts do it all the time! When bands start organically there’s an incredible amount of fog, spastic-ness and confusion…but you don’t know it at the time so you just keep going. And that’s great.
A few years in you begin to understand what a story is and how marketing works and so you sit down and try to frame the story.
But there’s already so much history! There’s already attitudes and feelings and preferences and pain and playing favorites and taking sides. (And again, I think this is fantastic in so many ways…this is how we got The Beatles and Led Zeppelin)
What if the past didn’t matter? What if a label head put you in a room with a couple fresh faces and you got to make up and tell whatever story you wanted without being self conscious about ‘is this me, is this us’….because NO, IT ISN’T, it can’t be yet. This group is brand new and isn’t defined. So you get to define it.
Perhaps it’s simply the difference between remodeling/renovation and doing a new build.
Both are great.
But I think the ‘put together bands’ are on to something. Something clear and intentional. Something designed to please one segment of the market and not another.
Put it together.
p.s. Some questions that put-together acts have to ask because they have no back-story, that rarely if ever get asked by organic bands:
Who are we making music for?
What are we going to wear?
What are we going to sing of?
How many people should be in the band?
Who owns the band, recordings, copyrights, etc?
What if someone quits?
Who is going to talk in interviews?
How do we want people to feel when they hear our music?
You get it. All the questions that are easier to ask when you don’t know someone than when you do.
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I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com
