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Big Andy’s Book Review #1

Daylle Deana Schwartz got her start as a school teacher who started rapping because her students told her she couldn’t. Because of her determination and tenacity, she eventually started a record label called Revenge Records and has her own music industry seminars. American Dream, right?

Schwartz’s book “The Real Deal: How to Get Signed to a Record Label” starts off by basically telling you that if you want to get signed to a label, don’t worry about getting signed. Don’t try submitting your demos to a hundred different labels and hope that one signs, as if this will be the answer to all your hopes and prayers. What you should do is hone your craft, become an amazing performer, amass a huge fanbase, and become so popular that the labels come looking for you.

I have to admit, it’s a great concept, and one that I can get on board with. If you start trying to get a label’s attention before you’re ready, you may lose your shot with them later down the road when you are ready.

Much of the book is Schwartz giving advice about the steps to take towards getting signed, such as: getting a manager, agent, attorney; developing a good business attitude; making the right presentation with your press kit and image; etc. Then, later in the book, she goes over the ways of getting the labels to notice you and consider you and your music. This is somewhat anathema to the original thesis; however, it makes sense considering the title of the book and that Schwartz knows that this is what the readers want and what they really paid for.

There are a few main flaws with the book. One is that it is outdated. You can’t really fault her for this. Any book more than a year old about the music industry will be outdated, considering how fast the industry is changing right now. There is definitely not enough content in the book about the internet and its crucial role in getting bands signed today.

Another flaw of the book is that it doesn’t delve deep enough into being a band. She’s coming from more of a songwriter/indie label background, so many readers looking for more of a band outlook may be disappointed. She puts in a chapter about sampling, even though it’s entirely irrelevant to most musicians.

It’s because of books like that that I started this blog. Yes, there is much great advice to take away from this book, and I do suggest that you read it. However, it doesn’t delve into the nitty-gritty day to day toils of musicians and bands and all of the obstacles that must first be overcome before the idea of getting signed can even become a tiny speck of reality off somewhere in the distance. That’s what StuckInMilwaukee is for.

There was also one moment in the book where I found myself completely disagreeing with Schwartz. In chapter 14 she implies that college-aged people are more important to market to because they have more expendable income and are more likely to support new trends and unknown bands. In my experience, college is a very important market, but not nearly as important as teens. Again, this could be because I’m coming from the viewpoint of a hard rock band. But I’ve seen that teens are far more supportive of lesser known bands, and are far more willing to shell out their dollars for CDs and merch. College students are a lot tighter with their money than Schwartz seems to think, and tend to do more illegal downloading. And when it comes to buying your merch, it’s been my experience that teens are much more anxious, because they don’t have bills to pay. They have allowance and part-time jobs which give them money to do whatever with. College students are often more concerned about having enough money to get drunk at the bar than shelling out 10 bucks for your CD.

Schwartz has other books related to the music industry; one about starting your own record label, which is also a good read but equally outdated, and another book about being a DIY-er and saying no thanks to labels, which I haven’t read because it seems like a rehash of the first half of “The Real Deal”.

Schwartz now writes self-help books for women. Her latest book is called “Straight Talk with Gay Guys.” Um…

3 out of 5 Big Andy Powerslides for this book.
*Update* Check out the author’s response in the comments!

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