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Rod Halling & John Etchells

Article from Recording Musician, November 1992

Rod Halling and John Etchells discuss the producer's role in promoting new acts.


Can the long-term future of music in the UK be trusted to the record companies? John Etchells and Rod Halling have their doubts.

The record industry is always bemoaning its own decline, but the truth of the matter is that there are lots of good acts around that are just not being signed up. The business is currently in a state of flux, and the big companies seem reluctant to invest in any long-term acts, preferring instead to opt for short-term gains requiring little financial outlay. If the record companies won't take it upon themselves to safeguard the future of their own industry, perhaps the time has come for producers and studios such as ours to actively seek out new talent with a view to promoting it ourselves.

We don't believe that most A&R men are as good as they ought to be, particularly with a view to the long term.

On the other hand, you also need to look and see if music is really such a driving force in young people's lives any more. At one time, the most important thing in a teenager's life was music, but perhaps that's not the case today — music isn't the be-all and end-all of teenagers' lives; it has to compete with computers, videos and other forms of entertainment. Music even has to compete with computerised music!

You no longer have to learn to play the drums to put down a drum track — you can do it all with a computer at any time of the day or night. Maybe this means that people aren't as dedicated to being able to play an instrument as they once were.

The situation is illustrated by an act we've had in here to record, a 40 year-old guy who writes really good songs, well recorded and well produced — we thought it was definitely hit record material. But the record company involved didn't want to know, and chose not to release his record at all. If we had the resources to pick that up and sell it, it would be wonderful — the age of the artist doesn't matter. It's good music that counts.



"The industry should he producing music for the 25-50 age group who are simply not being catered for — the musicians are still out there."


We've done a lot of research into who buys what kind of music and in what age group, and it transpires that record shops such as Our Price target the 16-24 age group — they're not interested in anything else. People in the 25-50 age group usually end up buying back-catalogue material because there's little else to buy. The industry should be producing music for the 25-50 age group who are simply not being catered for — the musicians are still out there.

We are being forced into the position of having to record and produce artists at our own expense, but marketing the records is more difficult. Either you have to get an act that tours extensively, or throw a lot of money at promotion. There are alternative outlets, such as direct mail, but that's quite expensive to operate and not particularly efficient in the early stages. What's really needed is airplay, and for that we need more in the way of AOR radio stations. But most independent stations have turned into Radio 1 clones in an attempt to appeal to the teenage market. There's a huge gap between Radio 1 and Radio 2 that needs filling.

Maybe people like us will end up having to set up our own radio stations! Whatever the answer, a radical change is required if the British music industry is to retain its position of strength in the world market.

Rod Halling is co-owner of The Mill recording studio, as well as being a guitar player and record producer. John Etchells is chief engineer at The Mill and is a member of the British Record Producers' Guild.



Previous Article in this issue

Electronic Projects for Guitar


Publisher: Recording Musician - SOS Publications Ltd.
The contents of this magazine are re-published here with the kind permission of SOS Publications Ltd.


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Recording Musician - Nov 1992

Donated by: Mike Gorman, Colin Potter

Scanned by: Mike Gorman

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