Crossover:
Selling Out or Selling?
By: Ray Sare
Religion and politics are two topics to be avoided in conversation, in order to rid society of endless arguments, not to mention wars and murders (just check out the news). There is, however, a third subject of conflict which has caused artists in general, and musicians in particular, to tear out their beautiful hair, or part others with axes.
The million-dollar question is "How can I become a commercial success while preserving my artistic integrity?" Many now-famous people have taken that question with them to their paupers' grave, whereas others seem to have a formula, and churn out hit after hit. What is this formula? Crossover, the term of the 90's.
Crossover is a formula based on time tested business principles: a) The law of supply and demand, b) Giving people what they want and, finally, to quote P.T. Barnum, c) "There's a sucker born every minute." This is called selling. Artistic integrity will determine how long people will keep buying, but if the selling formula is not in place, your band will continue to be the world's best kept secret. Crossover is strictly business, and can be logically broken down into the following elements:
Each element must have commercial appeal that transcends the boundaries of traditional styles of music, thus creating a mass market. Regardless of the style of music, be it reggae, R & B, country, Rock 'n Roll, or heavy metal, these elements of the formula have to be commercially attractive to the record companies and general public in order to secure an international record deal.
The difference between a traditional reggae or blues song and one that has crossover appeal can be found in the way the song is structured. A perfect example is "Jammin'" by Bob Marley. It was an international breakthrough because it's structure was appealing to people from the Caribbean to the North Pole and from Japan to South Africa. It was the same with that once obscure English pop band called The Beatles. Their earlier hit, "Love Me Do," will never be confused with, "A day in the Life," nor will Emerson Lake and Palmer's first hit, "Lucky Man," ever compete artistically with their sophisticated version of "Revel's Bolero," but the impact of these simple tunes paved the way for these bands to record their artistic masterpieces, and live quite affluently as a result. Their first songs penetrated the pop market.
In Canada, particularly Toronto, there are insufficient numbers of consumers in any one particular vein of music to be able to sell a million records. By writing a crossover tune, a band can penetrate all the mainstream music markets and radio stations, and thus attract international recording interest.
Detroit is large enough to support R & B; Chicago has the blues; Nashville has country; New Orleans has jazz, Atlanta has southern rock; Boston has straight-ahead rock 'n roll and Toronto has crossover rock.
A friendly suggestion to the artist who's still struggling with the balance between artistic integrity and commercial viability; the public - the ones who buy the records - are not artists, they are consumers with simple needs and tastes. Appeal to them on their level and they will accept your most intricate work. Remember: The mountain never came to Mohammad; Mohammad went to the mountain - and found a gold mine.
--Ray Sare is president of A.C.E |