ELLEFSON: 'Unless An Artist Is Actually Giving A Song Away For Free, You Should Pay For It'

Sonic Excess recently conducted an interview with bassist David Ellefson (F5, HAIL!, ex-MEGADETH). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Sonic Excess: You wrote a book "Making Music Your Business: A Guide For Young Musicians", but not from an on-and-off stage perspective or about bass technique. Can you explain?

Ellefson: The whole idea of that book was to explain what the actual business of making it in music is really about. There are many ways to take lessons, view DVDs, and other ways to practice your instrument, but there is really not that much out there that discusses how to actually "get in the game" of making music your living. Most of us have to figure it out as we go and while there are no shortcuts or magical secrets, I thought a book might help provide some insights that could be useful.

Sonic Excess: What is the question you get asked the most from an aspiring artist?

Ellefson: It's either "How do you get your tone?" or "How do I get signed?", and, of course, a bunch of everything else in between.

Sonic Excess: Not to be disrespectful, but early on in your career you were taken advantage of. Is this why you decided to write a book giving some great insights for aspiring musicians, so they will not make the same mistakes?

Ellefson: All musicians and artists get taken advantage of, on some level, in the business UNTIL they learn what the business side of the industry is really about, and that is selling products for profit. That is why record companies, publishers, merchandisers, energy drinks and the like exist, to make money from their products or intellectual property. Now, keep in mind that that's the business side of it, not the artistic side of it. That is why I wrote that book back in the mid 1990s, to help differentiate the two and to help young musicians grasp that concept. Myself, I had started to figure that all out pretty early on in my career.

Sonic Excess: Downloading has its pros and cons. With a band that is just starting out, it is great exposure, but for a band that has been working for 20 years and selling 20,000 copies less, I can understand how it is frustrating. What is your stance on downloading?

Ellefson: Any time a song is up for sale, it needs to be paid for — period! To give you an example, you can't just walk into a hardware store, grab a hammer, and walk out with it, before paying for it, just because you wanted it. It's called stealing, and you'll be arrested for it! Music is the same way. Unless an artist is actually giving a song away for free, you should pay for it. It costs someone money to make it. That is why they sell it, to recoup the costs and hopefully see a profit from it. There is nothing wrong with an artist trying to sell their songs to make a living, at least not in my opinion.

Sonic Excess: Why does the music business attract so many shady people?

Ellefson: I think there is the allure of making a quick buck without much work. Let's face it, the business is full of people who will do practically anything to not have to go out and actually get a real job; real snake-oil types. There are also some slimy business people, that you'd never be in business with in any other industry, yet somehow they claw their way into our industry. You need to be careful of them at all times.

Sonic Excess: If signed to a major label, how much control does an artist have as to how they write their songs, and also control, right down to the packaging? (Example: I asked an artist about playing a song live and he stated the label would not allow it.)

Ellefson: Most artists have a lot of control, especially if you're a rock and roll band. Some pop and country artists have to be sort of "manufactured and tailored" to suit certain markets. They are the most controlled by the labels, producers, etc. You have to realize that major labels want to sell major amounts of records, and the more fitting the songs are for radio, video, and those types of mainstream outlets, the better they will do. They are looking for exposure, which leads to sales.

Read the entire interview from Sonic Excess.