Ray,

I am a little interested. How many record labels have you started? How many millions in promotional dollars have you put into something only to see nine out of ten fail? See, I have heard that my whole life too. I hear the songwriters gripe and moan about how unfair everything is. I have also seen them waste their lives being lazy and waiting on everything to come to them.

I have seen artists complain that they have to ride a very luxurious tour bus to play in front of thousands of people who buy their tickets and CD's and t-shirts and hats. I have heard and seen older country artists complain they are being pushed out of the industry while propping their feet up on cases of their personal brand of Salsa and food products. as they are fitted for their latest $10,000 suit to get ready for their upcoming Vegas $100,000 week of shows.

I have heard about everybody complain about everything Ray. I have heard radio complain about getting substandard songs. I have heard labels complaining about no one giving them airplay. I have heard older artists complain about younger artists getting airplay and younger artists complain about being pushed off by older artists.

I have heard producers complain about publishers and publishers complain about producers. I have heard agents complain about managers. I have heard managers complain about agents. I have heard tons of general people talk about they hate the "old twangy country." I have heard the old people complaining that country is not what it was in "their day."

I have heard inside writers complain that they can't get anything heard and I have heard outside writers complain they can't get anything heard. I have heard people complain that "everything in country sounds the same" and in the same breath say everything sounds too different. I have heard a non ending stream of complaints from everybody about everything coming from and going every where. That is the only constant there is in the music industry.

I have heard six week old puppys and anyone in the music industry and I know the differences. After about six weeks, the puppy generally stops whining. Anyone in the music industry or thinking about the music industry never does.

But there are some people that don't complain. There are people every single day, every single year, that just get out there and do this. They get out and ride a bus, get out there and go to a studio, those that get together on writing appointments. They just do their job and they are not always complaining about it.

And guess what. Many of them succeed. While everyone else is complaining, they just go through and line up fan base, they write some pretty amazing stuff, they develop a contengient of very important people inside and outside the town who help them develop a pathway to success. Then they get out there and sell records. utilize the internet so it works for them. They make themselves and others money while maintaining creative control. They become forces to be reckoned with. They then become the powers that be and the complainers who were complaining can't understand how they got there because they were so busy complaining it all happened before they even know what happened.

My artist knows this. Because he is one of the guys who don't complain. He just does the things he does well. And that is what I do. I don't sit around and complain about what I have no control over. I try to attend forums and help when I can. I try to point out things that I see that works and things that I see that don't. The one thing that I see that never works? Complaining about anything.
There are basically two kinds of people when it comes to problems or complaining. Those that don't care, and those that are glad YOU got the problems. At the end of the day, the complainers keep doing just that. Complain. The rest do stuff.

MAB