TMG Artist The Great Grandfathers Featured in Rolling Stone- Germany

We are proud of The Great Grandfathers who landed an article in Rolling Stone in Germany. Below is a link to the article. If you have Google Chrome you can have the article translated to English.
http://www.rollingstone.de/reviews/downloads/article332132/the-great-grandfathers-hysterics.html

What are TMG Artists Doing??

Here is a link to a new site that showcases a few thing we have going on with our artists. Want to see a snippet of what we do? Check out http://tmgupdate.tumblr.com/.

TMG Artist 20 Shades at ROT Fest, Austin

Congratulations to 20 Shades for a great show at ROT Fest in the streets of Austin, TX! Great work guys!

Words of Wisdom

Words of wisdom from a great artist and producer here at Tate:
"They ought to stop calling it "Recording Artist". Hardly anyone can make a living solely from recordings anymore-- how about just "Performing Artist"? Maybe that will help sort out people who are shocked that they still need to play shows after releasing a CD."

Artist Presentation Part 1

Your artist website or social networking site may be the only thing an A&R rep or potential agent will see to get an idea of you and your talent. In a way it serves as your resume. With that being said, here is my first installment of a few tips to keep in mind when you are setting up your site or updating the content.

Images:

Right or wrong A&R reps do care about image. In my case I am not too caught up on whether or not someone is pretty or handsome but more are they presentable. If an artist has a photo of themselves wearing a shirt that says “I don’t give a sh--!” (you can fill in the blanks) I don’t care how awesome their music is, they are not going to get my consideration. It sounds dumb but I have seen a photo with this. What you wear in your photos matters.

Another thing to consider when placing images on your site is that not everyone is a drinker and wants to flip through 20 pictures of you hanging at the bar. Are you interested in showing us that you know how to party or that you know how to play music and be responsible? The settings in which the photos take place is important. Go to your favorite artist's website and see where their photos are taken. They are all in a professional setting or performance based.

And finally, DO NOT put pictures on your artist web site with your or anyone else flipping off the camera. You might as well be flipping of the person that may want to sign you and help you. Besides that, it’s not as cool as you think and definitely not professional.

This things may sound like common sense to you but I wouldn't be writing about it if I didn't reject hundreds of artists a week based on these simple things. Save all the silliness for your personal social networking site.  Use your artist site to show how professional and serious you are about your music career. Your images tell a story about you. What story are you telling with your photos?

Industry Insight from Universal Records

For all you artists looking to get signed to a "major" check out page 50 of the current Variance Magazine article. www.variancemagazine.com. This gives great insight into what traditional labels are looking for and how they view the state of the industry through the eyes of Universal A&R. 
Without help and resources the typical unknown but talented artist doesn't stand a chance. But how do you get the help and resources? Tate Music Group. It's a shameless plug I know but this article is very revealing that what we do for artists is SO needed in the industry. We are doing things different but the industry needs different or new artists are going to continue dieing out and we will continue to see the same old recycling at the top. While you are at Variance Magazine check out the TMG artists featured. Another shameless plug but our artists ROCK.

Royalty Realities When Signed to a Major

Most artists want to get signed to a major label. What they don't know is the harsh realities of being signed to a major. There is a reason they are majors...they make big money. I commonly get asked questions about royalties and how our rates fare against the rest of the industry. The truth is a can confidently say that I haven't seen rates as high as ours anywhere. In the end it is up to the artist to decide if they believe me or not. Unfortunately most artists don't take the time to go to reliable sources to find out for themselves. The following link is to a great article that breaks down what an average artist on a major label makes on digital download sales. It is quite eye opening. Please keep in mind as you read this that these numbers do not take into account the artists that have not recouped (paid the label back for their investment) and are making far less and often times nothing. Compare these rates to the 50% TMG pays out.
http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2011/111103labelpays?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter