Q & A
Each month, MusicBizAdvice.com answers your questions about the music industry.
Why do people who can’t sing (and have to lip
synch) get record deals?
Q.
Why
do people who can’t sing get record deals? It seems like there are a lot of
people who have to lip synch because they can’t do it live.—K.H.
A. Coming from a rock, singer-songwriter background I don’t agree
with this methodology, but it’s economics. Sometimes managers or labels find
an artist with very little in the way of vocal talent but who has commercial
looks that would sell a lot of merchandise. Merchandise helps sell the
music, and vice-versa, so execs working under this methodology look for
artists who can sell more types of merchandise.
Also, it’s faster and less expensive to create an artist this way rather
than taking time to put together a band of compatible band members that have
the needed musical style. It’s less expensive than paying band members and
their travel expenses, and CDs are less expensive and faster to make when
there’s no band and Pro Tools is used instead of doing retakes on vocals.
Also, when it’s time to do a promotional tour (to talk shows, etc.),
production costs are usually lower when the artist lip synchs to a track.
The landscape has been changing for a while in favor of artists with real
singing voices, as well as for the singer-songwriter, but the popularity of
American Idol has made American audiences more appreciative of
artists who can really sing live instead of lip-synching. If the audience
votes with dollars and buys music by artists who can actually sing live,
labels will sign more of them.
Good luck!
Randi Reed
Editor-in-Chief / Founder
MusicBizAdvice.com
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