“You either wait your turn to sit in an existing pigeon hole or you make your own pigeon hole and sit in it.” Independent electronic music producer, howard, expresses his view on the alternatives facing independent artists trying to make a living out of music.

What does it take for an independent musician to crack the commercial market and make a living out of what they love? Does talent always rise? Firstly, we need to look at why it’s so hard for the talent of the independent to surface. For some insight into the industry I caught up with Stuart McCarthy, Label Manager of Silent Recordings, the current stables for an array of respected Australian acts like Coda, Telemetry Orchestra, Prop and Tracky Dax.

Currently, the climate of the Australian music industry is not favourable for the independent, it is unpredictable and as a result we are seeing labels invest in fewer artists and less prepared to take a risk. McCarthy explains, ”...that’s been a direct flow on from the uncertainty the industry’s been through with the whole digital download thing and the reactions of majors to that, I mean, they started coming out with too much over manufactured pop that only further alienated the audience. It’s a real chicken and the egg thing, so subsequently, the flow on affect is just less opportunities.”

With shrinking record sales the whole market has become a lot more competitive. It is becoming increasingly challenging for an Independent to rise in this market when they are no match for the advertising dollar of the majors. McCarthy elaborates, “There is not really an element of promotion you can’t actually purchase, even down to getting CD’s on listening posts and poster displays in stores, right across the line.”

Getting airplay on commercial radio is equally as competitive and such a crucial part of marketing any artist. Majors will often have designated radio pluggers whose sole task is to secure airplay. Furthermore, independents are by and large excluded from television, a very powerful medium to increase awareness of music. Shows like Australian Idol are a marketer’s wet dream. You have a captive audience emotionally involved with the artist’s journey, soon to be stocked at a store near you…

McCarthy maintains a great level of respect for any person brave enough to put themselves through the pressure and gruelling public scrutiny that many of the Idol artists must endure, but does admit, “It has been quite warming to see that not necessarily everything that goes through that production line has come out the other side and been as successful as they’d like.”

Despite the current climate of uncertainly, In McCarthy’s experience you can still generate interest. “As an independent you can’t necessarily compete on that level, but when you don’t necessarily have that pressure to consistently meet sales expectations or whatever, you can still remain interesting in terms of what your producing and I think, by virtue of that, it really sets you apart from what their doing anyway.”

In addition, when an artist finds success as an independent they do not have the pressure of meeting the financial projections of a major and they experience a greater autonomy and creative freedom. Independent commercial success stories with major distribution like ‘The John Butler Trio’ and ‘The Waifs’ couldn’t be in a better position.

It is further promising for the independent to learn that McCarthy has not heard of many stories where talent has not eventually risen to the surface. However, it is not necessarily uncommon to hear “stories of people who probably think they are a lot more talented than what they necessarily are, persevering for a long time and never quite getting there”.

However, talent must be accompanied by a realistic understanding of the industry. “People often lose sight of the fact that they have made this amazing music but they’ve got no idea how to market themselves, they have no idea how to present it in a live context and they’ve no idea about making music other people relate to as opposed to just writing music for themselves.”

Furthermore, talent rarely rises without paying your dues. McCarthy confirms, “All those success stories were just built on doing the real hard yards in terms of just playing constantly over a period of years and building up a really core fan base, and all of a sudden, if you do that for long enough and you’re good enough at your craft, you’re ready to go BANG!”

On the creative frontlines, howard is still waiting for the BANG! But he does not believe, as a classically trained guitarist now pioneering in the field of electronic music production, his talent will go unrecognised. In his opinion, “There are two ways you get to the top, fit yourself into a roster somewhere – young boy band, rock/punk/indie band, country/female/male vocalist or whatever – each major has one, of which, nobody is going to care if you get hit by a truck as they will just find someone else to fill your place in the roster. The other way is to develop your own style and make something other people can’t make. There will be a big gap in the world when the likes of Thom York, Aphex Twin or even Tim Rogers go.”

Howard admits it can be very frustrating being an independent trying to promote yourself into a position where you can make money from what you love and knowing music in the commercial marketplace is seen as better than your own just because of the cash injection most signed artists get. “You would be surprised how much any marketing budget, no matter how small, can sway public opinion. Especially in street press, where ads, more often than not, buy editorial. I’m not complaining, that’s just how it is.” Says howard.

There is plenty of inspiring stories out there for any independent struggling as long as you love what your doing and are willing to persevere. Plus, McCarthy predicts more opportunities will, once again, open up. “When everything settles down and people have more of an idea how the whole digital download thing will work as a way of actually distributing music, the majors will all of a sudden need to increase rosters again and the first place they ALWAYS look at is the independents.”

McCarthy’s advise, “Soldier on”.