You hear their songs on the airwaves or at the clubs. You get to see them in entertainment magazines and even here on Time Out. But before they become popular, a lot of preparation has to go into the making of an artist. This week we take a look at one of the big players in the making of local artists.
Even from afar, Massie is a quiet guy. This quiet demeanor is not what one would expect from a hardnosed producer, manager, distributor and record label boss. As head of So Hype Records he sees the industry as a lucrative one to be in. “If you make it, it’s very profitable. But most of them don’t make it; they’re just known, they’re not superstars,” said Massie.
With studios packed daily with people hoping to be the next Chris Manto 7 or Stompie, how do you know who to work with and spend time nurturing into a force to be reckoned with? According to Massie, there are three types of artists: those who do it for the fame; those who do is as a hobby; and those who are passionate about it. He chooses to work with the last two and the process of taking the artist from the pre-studio sessions to the airwaves and stages, he said, can take up to a year.
Having worked with the likes of T-Joint, Kast and Shanti Lo, the former graphic designer who quit his job to focus his energies on his artists said that from grooming and public drunkenness to pocket money and school work, he gets involved in every area of his charges’ lives. “Especially school! If I notice that an artist hasn’t been taking school seriously, I’ll make sure I pick him/her up everyday and take them to school.”
For a good artist, Massie will go as far as hiring a voice coach to fine-tune the artist’s voice. After a well laid and thought out album has been recorded, the marketing of the artist begins. “And this is a slow process that actually starts during the recording phase. I don’t want them played out before they release an album.”
During this period the artist gets taught about his/her rights in terms of copyright, royalties and show fees. Since local artists make more money from shows than from album sales, Massie and So Hype Records, based on the terms of the contract, would take 15% off the artist’s show earnings. “If we have to book shows for the artists and manage them as well, we take 15%. In terms of sales, they get 10%.” Massie also said that poor sales can be countered with regular shows, “through which artists get to have some money in their pockets.” The downside to making an artist, said Massie, is that after investing time, energy and money in an artist, “some of them, after making it big, forget us and move to bigger stables. But that’s part of the risk!”
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