What Can a Tech Startup Do to Help Artists Survive in a Messed Up Music Industry?

It is incredibly hard to carve a path in today’s music industry. Artists need all the help they can get.

Of Montreal guitarist Bennett Lewis wrote us to say that he’d been using our mastering platform and loving it.

Frequent Misconceptions and Boat Loads of Money

The 25 year-old Florida native is carving his way into the music industry, touring and recording as a lead guitarist and backup vocalist.

I caught up with him from Nashville, and he was quick to point out frequent misconceptions people have about making music in today’s industry. We listened and definitely learned a few things:

Listen to Lewis’ work on Of Montreal’s Fugitive Air

“People think that if you are in a bus, or have played on a late night show, you are making a boat load of money, which isn’t always the case. Different bands have different structures on the business end, [regarding] how things are divided up.”

Bennett explained the reality that even if you are in a well-known band, that doesn’t mean that you are making a decent living, or a living at all. As this Forbes article points out, most musicians supplement their passions with jobs in the industry.

“Everyone is trying to figure out how to make it, especially in this ever-changing music business. It’s getting harder and harder, musicians have to wear many hats and cover many bases. That’s what I am trying to do.

I play guitar in a relatively well-known band—yeah that’s cool—but I am also but I am trying to write my own music and get involved in things like commercial music, and music scoring. You basically have to try your hand at everything.”

What Can a Music Tech Startup Do For Artists?

It is incredibly hard to carve a path in today’s music industry. Artists need all the help they can get. That’s why we do what we do in the first place: to help musicians.

“I am not the only person trying to be successful in the music industry. There are tons of musicians and most of them are better than I am. It’s really important if you are pitching a song or demo, to make it sound as best as possible.”

Lewis continued:

“If you have a computer you can make a decent recording. It’s really competitive, using any tool necessary to deliver a sonically amazing product is well worth the effort. That’s where you guys kick ass, I don’t have to spend $150 dollars to get a song mastered that’s going to be a gamble as to whether it gets used or not.”

Be the Industry: Work From Anywhere and Everywhere

In order to keep busy and stay connected with fans, bands must spend a lot of time touring. One can imagine that when cramped up in a tour bus, it’s hard to be productive, not to mention creative.

“When the time does come, it’s nice to be able to whip out a song, mix it down and get that kind of quality and refinement that easily. That’s super convenient, it’s like having a fully functional mastering studio wherever you are.”

“You are rarely in a position where you can sit down at home and work on something, so it is important to be productive when you are on the move. To have tools for that is amazing.”

Removing the Blanket

Before giving away what exactly is going on behind the scenes of our algorithm, I asked Lewis to describe what he thought about the sound and experience of our mastering.

“The tracks really open up, it’s almost like it takes a blanket off and brings everything to life. It definitely enhances the stereo image and gives depth, sparkle, clarity and obviously the volume levels are adjusted and raised.

He continued, philosophizing joyfully:

“You create this song, mix it the best you can and you get it to a point in which you say ‘this sounds good’ I am going to send it to LANDR and let them do their thing’. When you get a master back you realize ‘oh wait, it was a long way from done.’

That is what’s coolest about your website. You do the A/B comparison and it goes back and forth, you listen to the master and then revert back to your mix and you can’t help but go ‘wow!’ when you realize your mix was nowhere near as good as the master.

Big thanks to Bennett for sharing this story with us. Go check out his site, go see him on tour. Make sure to say hello and remember to support artists!

If you have a story like this you want to share, don’t hesitate, we’d love to hear from you. Let us know what else we can do to help musicians, that’s what we are here for.

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Rory Seydel is a musician, writer and father who takes pleasure in touring the world and making records. Creative Director at LANDR.

@Rory Seydel