 State of the
Industry
Ready to record his
fourth album, Los Angeles singer-songwriter Eric Anders reflects on life
as an independent artist in a mainstream music world. -
By Kristi Singer -
©
2005
The music industry continues to become a
mega-mystery for independent, and even signed, artists to navigate.
Major record company mergers, online downloading and promotion, piracy
and the increase in independent releases leave artists wondering what
exactly is going on. And how they can survive.
Take Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter
Eric Anders. With a sound comparable to the likes of Coldplay, David
Gray, Chris Isaak and R.E.M. and a catalog of critical worship (CD Baby
founder Derek Sivers called Anders’ 2003 debut Not At One, “One
of the best CD’s I’ve ever heard”) it’s a surprise that to this day – no
labels called and sales were disappointing.
While independent labels continue to pop
up as quickly as MTV comes up with another reality show - could it be
that, in the end, they’re just hurting themselves? Are there just too
many releases flooding the market?
Eric Anders might say there are.
“Not At One did very well
critically but it didn’t sell very well,” Anders said matter-of-factly.
“I was very disappointed. I was really confident in it and just amazed
by people (who) would say ‘I love your album’ and then ‘I’m going to
copy it for my friend.’ You could buy it!”
Since Not At One, Anders released
Songs For Wayward Days, a three-track “political” EP from which
Howard Stern chose “A Man For No Season” as “one of the best political
songs of the Bush-Kerry election season.” He also released his second
full-length, More Regrets, which the
Orange County Register depicted as
"dream-pop and modern rock in the spirit of Pete Yorn and Jeff Buckley."
But although More Regrets is an
album of radio-worthy tunes, Anders won’t be able to afford a “major
release” since he’ll be doing it all on his own.
“For artists like myself who need help
with getting CD’s made, manufactured and released – it’s just so
expensive,” Anders said. “I’ve got another career, so I don’t know how
other artists do it. I’m 40, a psychoanalyst and I used to be a
University teacher. I’ve done other things. I don’t see how a young
artist would be able to do it with the kind of money it takes to do
these things well. It’s just sad to me.”
“I feel a little frustrated - more than
a little frustrated,” Anders admits. “The industry right now is going
through some serious changes. And I think a lot of the major labels are
misguided. Of course that’s a self-serving idea to think, but I feel
that there’s a lot of people who aren’t being signed who are really
good. And, (there’s) a lot of people are being signed that I
don’t understand. There seems to be a strange, lopsided world.”
Anders points to the fact that most
major labels don’t focus on artist “development” and signing talented
songwriters, but rather try to find “performers.”
"You have people like Avril Lavigne who
gets her songs written for her,” Anders said. “Those are more like
performers. The industry seems weighted towards these types of
performers and not towards people who are writing their own stuff -
people I consider recording artists.”
“There are a lot of great artists out
there,” he adds. “A lot of really exciting, good music coming out.
Still, I just get frustrated. I don’t even listen to radio anymore.
That’s one of the major problems with the industry right now. Radio is
so messed up.”
Some that Anders does consider
“artist” worthy are Matt Brown (who produced his third album) and his
band Trespassers William, Anna-Lynne Williams, Jesse Sykes and Mark
Lanegan (of Screaming Trees fame).
While he would love to find commercial
success with his music, Anders still maintains a day-job teaching a
course on Freud at the Los Angeles Analytic Institute. He holds a
doctorate degree as a clinical psychoanalyst from The Institute of
Contemporary Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles, a Ph.D. in English from the
University of Florida and a Master’s in English from Harvard.
Although he only discovered his love of
songwriting in his late 30’s, Anders is still giving music a chance.
With three albums released and a fourth on the way, Anders may be jaded
– but he isn’t giving up.
Eric Anders is the son of
former astronaut/Air Force Major General William A. Anders (Apollo 8).
Eric served as an Officer in the Air Force. For more on Eric Anders, or
to purchase his albums, log onto
www.ericanders.com |
