I don’t usually plug myself, but to me, this is different. I’m engaging in a social experiment, which actually has multiple holes in its process, BUT can absolutely still produce the results I’m looking to observe. Here is my disclaimer for this entire thing… I’m not claiming to be the best song writer on Earth, nor am I calling anyone talentless OR gutless, but as a song writer, these are the initial impressions, later realizations, questions about, and attempts to walk in the shoes of, the existence of this situation and method.
Above is a song I’ve recorded that is the first of its kind for me. It is a remix/rewrite of Adele’s – “Someone Like You”, produced by CHill from BeatBulletin.com. It’s the beginning of a mixtape. A mixtape is an album of sorts, most prevalent in the rap/hiphop genre, comprised of previously well-known and established music by other artists, remixed. Most or all of the vocals are removed from the track, then new lyrics and vocals are written and recorded over the remixed music. This isn’t the official definition by any means, but it is often the case. Mixtapes are used to help build an artist’s fanbase by allowing them to showcase their vocal stylings quickly, through not having to start and create an entire song from scratch AND by giving the listener a familiar melody they are already willing to hear.
At first, mixtapes didn’t stand a chance with me because I love the idea of a mixtape being a collection of songs you recorded on cassette tape from the radio or a cd. That’s just my purist, irrelevant gripe with high-jacking an already awesome, historic term and making it something I find… very much not as awesome. That point aside, I saw it as a cop out. No other genres in music, releases music as a mass product they can’t completely call their own (cover bands aside). Not to mention use it as their sole, initial driving force to gain fans. I don’t really care what the argument is that you give me: who’s huge and has done it before, how successful it has helped you or some other artist become, etc… I don’t know how anyone can argue that there is most definitely a compromise of artistic integrity in there. My inner-artist disagrees with that in a big way.
The process is that an artist uses someone else’s music, specifically because it has already tested successful to the masses, changes it so there’s a rap/hiphop/catchy/poppy beat added, pull all or most of the original vocals out, write and recorded new lyrics and vocals to it, then release it to the public for the sole purpose of spring-boarding themselves ahead of the stresses and rigors of trying to convince listeners that their COMPLETELY ORIGINAL music is worth listening to. It doesn’t necessarily even represent the artists’ true level of talent because those lyrics and that delivery may never have been able to exist without that music being written for them. Its the basis for the song’s existence. As a song writer, I see the source of the creativity 95% belonging to the music and the artists who originally wrote it. BUT… music is still a business and sometimes you have to bend to unfavorable circumstances so you can find yourself in more favorable situations.
The truth of the matter is that the music industry is flooded with people who declare themselves musicians. Technology and the internet make it even worse because the tools that were once only found in recording studios and required a significant bankroll to have access to, are now cheap, readily available to purchase, easy to use, high-quality, and able to be posted all over the place, as quickly as possible. If you’re a musician looking to make it as a professional, paid, writer and performer, it is extremely difficult to set yourself apart from all the noise and hobbyists. Lets face it, appealing to the masses is not always appealing to the most intelligent or unique people in the world.
The entire world’s music is about 80% or more, controlled by the big 6, which is why the music you hear on almost every radio station, is almost exactly the same, almost no matter where you are. If that is what the majority of people are conditioned to listen to, and they don’t much stray from that format until the radio awards them with something new, maybe as an artist, you NEED to give them something they already know just to give yourself a fighting chance? Maybe the best way to be able to give people your 100% original music, is to first sell them on a taste of your originality, wrapped around someone else’s already proven success? Maybe, even though the quality of your craft far surpasses most others comparable to you, the fact that there are people comparable to you at all, decreases your chances of ever being found in the midst of all the chaos? Maybe riding other people’s coattails is really the most efficient way to be able to show you can be extremely original, if given the chance?
These are all things I’m exploring right now. In addition to hoping to find answers to those questions, I want to see if this can be a successful method outside of rap and hiphop. If it is, I definitely don’t want to say that bands pushing out 100%, their own material is actually fighting against the grain (because I believe that to be the truest form of musical artistic integrity), but maybe the process needs to be updated to give the new, young, serious groups, a fighting chance in a faster amount of time? With money and jobs being the way they are in this day and age, it seems the average artists’ window to become successful closes faster and faster with each new wave of up and coming talent. If it doesn’t happen in a timely fashion, you’re doomed to face the decision of being the starving, struggling, debt-laden, artist OR setting it all aside, entering the workforce, and hoping to find a job that gives you something close to the same amount of satisfaction the dream of being a professional artist gave you.
There’s a ton of room for all of this to be debated, and it already has been between myself and multiple other people. Regardless, this is my experiment. I will release a mixtape EP that is comprised of rock-style vocals and lyrics that I write, but over music that is remixed and 100% not of my own. If nothing more, I’ll create new music that sets me out of my comfort zone and possibly new music that you’ll enjoy listening to. I’ll announce more songs as they finish and I post them.
Enjoy!
