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The
6 Rules of Commercial Music
Success
by Gian
M. Fiero
Back to The
Academy
Over
the years I have had many conversations
with music artists about commercial
music, which usually leads to
them disclosing their disdain
and hatred of it. Some refer
to pop music (pop, as in what’s
popular now) as commercial music.
Others think of anything that
is receiving heavy rotation
on radio as commercial music.
Whatever their definition, one
thing is often overlooked: commercial
music is the heart of the music
industry which pumps the blood
that keeps it alive.
So
why then are so many music artists
resistant to making commercial
music? The answer that I’m often
given is because they don’t
want to “sell-out” their creative
integrity by conforming to some
industry version of what’s popular
(i.e. what’s selling). It becomes
very obvious to me that the
problem is not commercial music,
but rather the perception and
definition of it.
The
misconception is that the music
industry created this rigid
definition of commercial music.
That fallacy is often perpetuated
by music artists who or either
unwilling or incapable of creating
commercially viable songs. The
truth is, the public dictates
what is commercial, and for
decades they have gravitated
towards, embraced, and purchased
records that adhere to a commercial
music format.
If
commercial music is the rule
for success and sales in the
music industry, there are inevitably
going to be some exceptions
to it, but unfortunately, the
tendency is for music artists
to try and become the exception,
instead of observing the rules
and why they exist.
Simply
put: the rules of commercial
music success have not, and
will not change. Not in your
life time or your children’s
lifetime. They exist because
it's human nature to reject
the unfamiliar; in the music
industry, similarity is the
cornerstone of acceptance. This
is why so many popular songs
sound similar and contain familiar
elements. It’s a rule that is
prevalent in every genre, and
on every continent.
There
are those artists who do a masterful
job of observing their own artistic
values while delicately balancing
the demands for commercial music
by industry professionals.
Artists
such as Prince, Sting and Bjork,
have pushed the envelope of
creativity for years. But artists
of their caliber who possess
such sublime talent and vision
are rare.
For
the sake of clarification and
argument, I will offer my explanation
and industry definition of what
commercial music is; based on
25 years of listening to recordings
as a music lover, music industry
professional, and music critic
in what I will call, “The 6
Rules of Commercial Music Success.”
They are songs that
have the following:
1.)
A strong hook/memorable chorus.
If no one knows what your song
is called, they can’t request
it when they hear it on the
radio. More importantly, they
can’t buy it at retail…or track
it down on the Internet to illegally
download a copy of it.
2.)
Good melody. Commercial music
is characterized by good melodies
(i.e. verses, choruses, and
sometimes bridges that get stuck
in your head and make you want
to sing-along). What can the
top selling hip-hop acts of
the last 10 years (Tupac, Notorious
B.I.G., Jay-Z, Eminem, and 50
Cent) attribute their success
to? Good melodies (not cool
beats) that increase the commercial
value of their music...thanks
largely in part to the king
of modern hip-hop melody, Dr.
Dre.
3.)
Well-Produced. Coming from an
r&b background where producers
are a pivotal part of commercial
music success, I did not realize
until I became a consultant
that many rock bands don’t utilize,
nor value producers like r&b
music acts. Perhaps they should
since the record company often
assigns producers to enhance
the performance of songs (through
their musical expertise) and
enrich the records (through
their experience and proficiency
in the recording process), ultimately
making them more enjoyable to
listen to and, you guessed it…more
commercial!
4.)
Appealing lyrics. The lyrics
don’t have to be profound; people
just have to be able to relate
to them. If you have a way of
saying common things in an uncommon
way, your lyrics will have an
edge over the songwriter whose
song is about the same topic.
Write about what’s closest to
your heart for credibility and
sincerity, and others will be
able to relate to your songs
– especially if it’s on a subject
matter that they know or will
experience.
5.)
Keep it short. Keep the length
of your songs down to a maximum
of four minutes. Jazz and World
Music are exceptions. A song
that is well written makes people
want to hear it again, and again,
and again. The longer the song
is, the less likely that will
happen. Don’t believe me? Check
the length of your favorite
songs.
6.)
Well-Performed. Most outstanding
vocalists are often surprised
by how low this rule is on the
list. The fact is that there
are more mediocre songs performed
by outstanding vocalists, than
there are mediocre vocalists
performing outstanding songs.
A good song that is well-performed
gives it an edge, but if the
song is lacking, all of the
yelling and vocal acrobatics
that singers tend to use to
compensate for it, will not
make it a better song….though
it may help the singer to attract
better songwriters to work with.
Now
that you know the 6 rules of
commercial music success, hopefully
you will be able to use this
information to your advantage
and create songs that will increase
your chances of success in your
professional music endeavors…or
you can ignore them and continue
to wonder why no one (other
than your friends and family
– all of which listen to commercial
music) like your songs.
----
Gian
M. Fiero is a freelance music
business consultant. He can
be reached at gfc@musesmail.com
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