Well, if you haven’t heard, money makes the world go ’round.”
“I hate that that’s true. Ash is so talented. That’s all it should be about.”
“It is about that, but it’s complicated. We need the record company, just like they need us. We need to make sure Trey doesn’t see the band as disposable, though. I’ve had a lot of issues with record companies in the past, like so many musicians do. So I guess you’d say I’m cautiously optimistic that Trey might be a little different. Because he’s local, he knows the local scene and where these musicians are coming from. He’s good friends with Xander. But even so, it’s kind of a record company’s nature to take advantage of bands. They make their money off the artists’ work. That’s part of what the band has Brody for. To protect them. But when it comes to the creative, there’s all kinds of bullshit that comes into play.”
“Really? Even when you have a contract?”
“Definitely. For one thing, the record company can just shelve an album that you put your heart and soul into. If they don’t want to put it out there for whatever reason, they don’t. It happens to all kinds of bands. Even successful, established musicians. Albums just gathering dust on virtual shelves. Worse than that, a record company executive can totally butcher the creative process because they don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about. Because they’re business people, not musicians. Trey is a fan of music and he was a musician, casually, when he was young. Played in a few bands that didn’t really go anywhere. He’s got a great ear for talent, which is why he signed the Players. He knows who we’ve got in that studio. Hopefully this all works in our favor. He might listen better than other executives I’ve known, in theory. But when it comes to the money, at the end of the day, it’s hard to know if he’ll make the right choices.”
“What kind of choices?”
“Well, bottom line, if he thinks the album won’t sell or won’t make him look good, he could shelve it. Or release it but then not bother backing the band any further than that. Or drop them from the label. That could stop the career of a new band in their tracks. Even a new band made up of already established musicians.”
“Holy shit. I had no idea.”
“I mean, the Players would probably have room to bounce back. Other avenues. Ash and Matt probably have that kind of star power at this point. Xander, maybe. Summer, probably not on her own, at least not at the level she’d like to be. But together, they have a currency. Doors will open for them and for Brody. But we don’t want to see this door close. We don’t want to lose momentum. We also don’t want Trey or some A&R asshole from his company telling the band how to make music. It’s a delicate balance.”
“That’s what the conversation was about earlier, with the band? You don’t want them getting bad advice from Trey’s staff?”
“I don’t want them getting bad advice from anyone. And I don’t want them thinking they need to please anyone but themselves in that room, including the record company.”
“But… if the album doesn’t please the record company, then won’t that be a problem?”
I considered how to put it. “Here’s the thing, Taylor. If the Players make the album that’s in them, the one they really want to make, and do it from the heart, as cheesy as that may sound, that’s the album they’ll be happy with. And it’s more likely that that is the album that the record company, and everyone else, will end up loving, including the fans who buy the music. But maybe more importantly, it’s the album that will stand the test of time and when the band members look back in twenty years, they’ll still be proud of. Whether it’s a commercial success or not.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. But don’t you also want it to be a commercial success?”
“Of course. But the way I see it, money’s not the most important outcome. Neither is fame. I know the Players want it, but we can all make more money. This is a chance to make something original, and something that matters. That’s what they put this band together for. They might say they want to be rich and famous, and I’m sure they do, but what they really want is to make