Troy Carter At Music Matters
"You can’t skip a step."
And that goes for jet lag too! I figured if I just put in enough hours under the covers I’d be peachy keen, but after enduring too many nightmares, one wherein my girlfriend donned a bikini and stepped out, I bolted up and descended the elevator to hear Troy Carter.
Who wasn’t on yet.
So I went up and ate breakfast.
The food… That’s what Singapore’s famous for.
I went to Lau Pa Sat for a black pepper crab. That’s what my minions told me to do. You see it’s a giant food court, taking up an entire city block, it’s got nothing to do with KFC and Panda Express, rather it’s anything but corporate and loaded with schmutz and you only wish you could stay for a month and sample everything. Then again, I don’t think I’ll be sampling pig organ soup anytime soon. Yup, that’s what it said on the marquee, "Pig Organ Soup"…reminds you of the mall, don’t it?
Before that, I experienced the Asian Civilisations Museum. Which was enlightening because I realized today’s tech explosion…as David Byrne so famously sang, is the "same as it ever was." That’s the history of the world, innovation. It disrupts the entrenched base but the individual profits. India was a powerhouse, all because of textiles, cotton and dyeing thereof. So, after failing to completely control the market, the Europeans replicated it, at a better quality and a lower price. And India’s economy hasn’t been the same since.
It was like that book "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet" come to life. I can’t recommend the tome, it’s the hardest book I’ve read in decades, but having plowed through it, I got an education about the Dutch East India Company. And when we ascended the Marina Bay Sands
last night for dinner and I looked down upon the harbor and saw all the boats waiting to unload… I got insight into the world economy. It’s got many pieces. The key is to find where you add value. And to know that not everyone can grow food and make their own clothes, it’s too inefficient, we need disruptors, we need artists.
And that’s what Troy Carter does, manage artists.
Then again, he’ll enter the pantheon when he breaks act two. That’s the badge of a superstar manager. Once can be lucky… Twice? Then it’s about you. Actually, Troy may be on his way with his second act. Mindless Behavior is selling tickets.
But it really got interesting when Meglen asked Troy if the quick ascension of today’s acts ultimately shortens their careers.
That’s when Troy made the statement above, that you can’t skip a step.
Gaga was more successful much faster than they anticipated. But to ensure longevity, they booked her in clubs when she could play theatres. She had to work out the kinks in her act.
And then Troy said something incredible. That he doesn’t want her fans to find out about her on the radio. That if you find out about an act on the radio, you’re in trouble.
That’s the power of social media, that’s the power of word of mouth.
Troy meets all the time with people who go on about how great they are. So he dials up their YouTube channel and sees they’ve got 67 views. He’s not interested. It’s less about building your own fanbase than illustrating that your music, your identity, your act, has power, inflammability. If you put it on YouTube and it doesn’t blow up, back to the drawing board.
Everybody today wants it fast. They want to be an overnight superstar. Like Paris Hilton? She’s toast. But those classic rock acts can still play the sheds.
Why?
Because they built their audience person by person. Over a long period of time.
Then again, that’s the only way you could do it back then. And radio serviced the audience more than it did the advertisers. There was no social media, we owned the radio, it was the tribal drum, those days are done. Today the audience owns Twitter, and Facebook and…
It’s hard to tell wannabe stars that they’ve got to wait their turn, pay their dues.
I played my guitar all through high school, I’m ready!
No you’re not. Have you played in front of people who don’t care and convinced them to? Performing is a skill. Can you read an audience… Have you made music that causes a reaction, that gets people clamoring?
It’s easier than ever to let everybody know, all over the world, but that mindshare is based on the music, and if that falters…so do you.
Troy said "Born This Way" came out a year ago and the tour has just begun. This is the album cycle. They’re going to markets all over the world and incubating. Spending a week in Singapore instead of flying in and moving out.
And Troy’s brilliant this way. He’s thinking about it. We’re experiencing a shift in music management. It’s less about bluster and intimidation, less about the deal and more about the plan. And the plan isn’t just get it signed and go on tour… How do you penetrate social media in China, where the platforms are different? How do you deal with censorship?
Troy did make an interesting point about Jakarta, where they want to cancel Gaga’s show. Tickets sold faster in that market than anywhere else. That’s what repression will yield. Governments have less power over their subjects than ever before. That’s what the Arab Spring was all about.
And the interviewer did touch upon Atom Factory’s tech investments.
My belief is once the punters get in, it’s time to get out.
You see what tech yields which music does not is money. You can make a lot more in Silicon Valley. Read all the press about Bono’s profits in Facebook.
But Bono had nothing to do with it. It was all about Roger McNamee, who’s been investing in tech for decades.
But that’s what income inequality will do to a country. People want to go where the money is. But although Steve Jobs was not a coder, he grew up with tech. Visionary coders are the musical artists of today. Sure, the idea is important, but can you bring it to fruition? Now that everybody’s paying attention to tech, it’s getting harder to get rich. Kind of like being a real estate agent in a property boom. You think you’re gonna get rich, but with the influx of new agents into the field it’s harder than ever.
In the old days, you’d go to a convention and some label head would give a prepared speech that said nothing. He’d trot out his successes and pat a few backs and then go out for a thousand dollar dinner.
Those people still exist. But they no longer run the music business.
The keys have been passed on to Troy Carter and his ilk, who find an act and then try to navigate the new world, knowing that admitting what you don’t know is almost as important as being sure of what you do. No one can know everything anymore. It’s about keeping your ears to the ground and hooking up with trusted filters, of information, of deals.
It’s exciting.
