Overture

Ross Ojeda

Promotion and Artist Development

Formerly with A&M Records

I would like to contribute to this book by providing a look at local history and how then and now affect the Phoenix music market.

I speak to both lovers of music and to those who have a desire to hone their skills and gain an understanding of what needs to be done in order to succeed professionally in music.

I will limit my analysis to musicians. But if you are wanting to make a living in the peripheral occupations such as concerts, personal management, services that support an artist (photography, videography and publicity), you may then gain a fuller understanding of how all the pieces fit to create a prominent niche where people can succeed.

My background is in promotion and artist development. I worked for A&M Records from 1974 to 1988. I also organized a music conference and showcase a la South By Southwest (SXSW) in 1991. I will detail that venture a bit later.

There are music centers beyond the three music capitals of Los Angeles, New York, and Nashville. Some developed in the 80s and 90s such as Austin, Minneapolis, and Seattle. Record companies went to these areas to select from thriving music scenes where artists were creating fresh new music.

In the mid 80s, there was a plethora of bands who either were homebred or decided to come to Phoenix/Tempe to perfect their chops in hopes of making good pay and landing a recording contract.

I could feel the scene in my bones. There were many songwriters and performers with magnetic stage presence. They built cult-like followings. I want to name names, but there were so many in different genres, not just rock, who were rising to prominence. They made you feel there was something infectious happening.

That is why I decided on a venture to duplicate what was a successful model in NYC and Austin. I received some help from The New Music Showcase in NYC. It was the first of its kind to showcase new, unsigned acts but also to attract industry people. This was a sharing aspect that also attracted all kinds of companies and professionals: Producers, equipment manufacturers, specialists like publishing companies and management companies, publicists, and marketing professionals. If you wanted to learn the music business, professionals of every kind were there to impart their knowledge.

Then, four guys did the same in Austin. They began South By Southwest (SXSW). At first, it included panels and music showcases. Then, it quickly expanded beyond music to film, and other entertainment forms.

I got help from both New Music Showcase and SXSW organizers on how to put on a similar event in Arizona. Timing is everything. The time in 1991 was right. After the Arizona Showcase And Music Conference, there was a flurry of bands who were signed by major record labels. The most prominent was The Gin Blossoms, but there were also groups like Dead Hot Workshop. There were musicians that caught the eye of major, established bands like Metallica. Jason Newsted was one. He was a member of Flotsam and Jetsam here in Phoenix. He was recruited to join Metallica.

So, what’s my point? It takes a music scene to develop in order to foster growth of a locale. The scene just doesn’t happen. Many forces come together to create a place where talent hones their craft, a musician gets paid, and the public becomes rabid for more and more and more.

If a scene is sustained, as in Austin’s situation, the inevitable creation of a center of influence occurs. And musicians flock to the area to participate.

It didn’t happen for Phoenix as successfully as Austin. But it has had all the ingredients and effects that make Phoenix a destination for bands and solo artists.

Much of this is nurtured by clubs and venues who support local music. Recording studios add blood to the heartbeat. About the only thing lacking in Phoenix that places like Austin have is municipal or state support. Austin had it. Phoenix still needs it. A state or city funded office acts to bring disparate silos of influence to converge and benefit each other.

But what of the band or artist that wants to ply their talent ? How do they get started? They have to mesh and become not only musically adept but also engage in self promotion, marketing, and publicity in order to complete the package that will create the path to success.

One doesn’t need a record label anymore to make six figures. Look at Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell. They started on SoundCloud, followed by Apple Music. They got a publicist and did a Chanel fashion branding to shape an image. Their YouTube channel was the next step. It took just two years. By the time Billlie was 15, she had her first major label contract.

All the parts came together to support the writing, talent, and performance. And that spelled success beyond their wildest dreams. They have sustained this through the years.

So how to duplicate that? I ask potential clients who I think have “it” the following:

What is working for you?

What is not working for you?

What do you want to have happen ?

If they provide me with thoughtful answers in great detail to these questions, they will garner the best opportunity to succeed as Eilish and Finneas did.

The music scene here in Phoenix, in my estimation, is very vibrant. The scene in Phoenix was just a seedling in the Sixties, grew in the 1970s, polished in the 1980s and 90s. In the first 21st century decade, it seemed to have stalled a bit, but since 2010 it has rejuvenated.

So what does this mean for aspiring musicians? Phoenix is fertile. Phoenix is an ideal place to plant your career and harvest the results of your work. It all starts with talent. If you are gifted with talent, desire, goals and perseverance, your return will pay off. Even amaze you. You may not accrue fame and fortune. Not everyone does. But your personal success will be accompanied by monetary rewards.