Industry Insider: Billy Vera Discusses Navigating the Music Industry

In a 60-year career in the music industry, Billy Vera has heard, done, and seen it all. In that time, he has released over 20 albums, released dozens of singles, and found his way into other creative and commercial outlets. Some of the highlights of Vera’s illustrious career include his 1987 U.S. number 1 hit for the song “At This Moment.” That song was released with his band Billy Vera & The Beaters, with whom he has continued to tour. He even won a Grammy Award in 2013 for “Best Album Notes” for the Ray Charles boxset Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles.

Along the way, Vera has also written and recorded songs for films and television shows. He has gotten into writing and book publishing and released his first novel, A Dollop of Toothpaste, in 2020. Vera is living proof that it’s never too late to try something new. His whole career has been characterized by shifts and changes in his artistic focuses. He has proven himself capable of success in a wide range of artistic endeavours and, along the way, has never stopped challenging himself. That factor probably has much to do with the fact that he is still a productive artist into his 80s.

Vera joins us today for our recently introduced Interview & Feature column, “Industry Insider.” He shares with us valuable and interesting insights into his career, the decisions he made, and the success he has achieved. Discover more on Vera’s official website.

Billy Vera & Ringo Starr, photo courtesy of Billy Vera

“Being an old-school artist, most of your questions concern today’s music business and don’t apply to me or my career. So, I’ll pick the ones that might apply and probably answer them out of order in the form of an instant essay.

“The music business is vastly different from when I started in my late teens in 1962. Then, it was a cottage industry as opposed to the corporate business of today.

“Even then, there were major labels, Columbia, Decca, Capitol, and RCA Victor that put out ‘commercial’ records aimed at the largest audience, as well as the ‘indies,’ often one-man labels that concentrated on smaller markets, jazz, country, R&B and the teenage music called rock n’ roll.

“These indies ranged from little one-office operations with three or four employees to a more successful indie like Atlantic or Chess with a larger support staff.

“In all of these, it was possible to get an appointment with an A&R man or, in the case of a smaller label, the boss himself, and sit at the office piano and play your songs in hopes they’d record one with their artists or, if they liked your voice or your ‘look,’ sign you as an artist.

“Another approach was to play your songs for a music publisher. If they liked one or two, they’d give you an advance, maybe 35 dollars and pay for a demo, which they’d shop to A&R guys or artists. A larger publisher might offer you a gig as a staff writer. You’d come to work every day, he’d tell you which artists were getting ready to record and you’d write something with that artist in mind. For this, you’d get a weekly advance against future royalties.

“And that’s how the business worked, until the British Invasion and the rise of the singer/songwriters, in the wake of Bob Dylan. From this point, people who only wrote songs became less important.

“From this time, the business grew into an industry, as the major labels jumped on the bandwagon, discovering there was gold in them there hills of ‘rock’ music. The majors had the money to put behind new acts to promote and market them in a big way. The old way was to put out a single, and then, IF the single sold, you were allowed to make an album. By the late ’60s, well-funded companies could afford to allow a new act to begin with an album. This meant the investment, and the risk, were greater. Soon, some genius figured out that nine out of every ten new acts failed in the marketplace, so it became necessary for that one successful act to sell in huge quantities to pay for the nine that failed.

“This is the business model that exists to this day, only the costs are much greater.

Billy Vera & Johnny Carson, photo courtesy of Billy Vera

“There will always be indies, whether it’s fairly well-funded by investors or some kid recording his songs in his bedroom and streaming them online. The latter gives the artist more control over his music. He will sell considerably fewer than a major with national or international distribution. But, there are smaller amounts to recoup before profit comes in. So it’s possible to make more money on maybe 10 percent of the sales of a self-owned ‘hit’ than on ten times the amount of sales on a major label because, with major costs, much more must be recouped before the artist sees a dime.

“It’s a matter of which model the artist is more comfortable with. A major label will expect music with greater sales potential to earn back their major investment, whereas an independent has more control over the music he makes. Most A&R people use a formula of signing acts that sound like what’s already in the top ten, rather than take the risk of signing something different.

“I’ve written two number-one hits in my career, my own record of ‘At This Moment,’ and a number-one country hit, ‘I Really Got The Feeling,’ recorded by Dolly Parton. The latter I wrote with commerce in mind, intending to concoct a hit song. The former, I knew, was a great song, but I never dreamed would be a hit, because it had a lousy title, had no ‘hook,’ and didn’t seem universal enough to me. Obviously, I was wrong. It’s been covered by numerous stars and continues to earn a lot of money, and has become a ‘standard.’

“But, overall, making quality music has always been my goal, regardless of sales potential. I was less interested in going through the hoops of making commercial music than in being known as a writer and singer of great songs. I was willing to pay the price for this: not having a huge mainstream career. It is possible, but difficult and rare, to have both. Once you understand the hit formula, it’s not difficult to write a commercial song. You listen to the radio and copy what you hear.

“I think the first thing to look for in a team is a good attorney who specializes in entertainment law. He will guide you through the minefield of crooks and con artists and let you know the difference between a good deal and a bad one. In the words of an old timer who advised me, ‘You need a rabbi, kid.’

Billy Vera & Little Richard, photo courtesy of Billy Vera

“Like all too many artists, I had an accountant who robbed me. For the first two years, I watched him like a hawk and found no problems. But then, I had nothing to steal. When my record hit, and I had to tour, I needed to have him deposit my cheques and pay my bills, which I couldn’t do from the road, so I gave him power of attorney.

“One day, to make a long story short, I caught him. My lawyer called the police and had him arrested. He and his criminal attorney were active in the local Democratic Party and got the case moved to Santa Monica, a very liberal town. He did no jail time, and the only reason I got any money back was because I conned his stupid wife out of her inheritance. The crooked judge was of no use.

“Other thieves to watch out for are managers and agents. Your lawyer can direct you to the better people and will let you know what the right percentages are and keep an eye on your statements and royalties.

“Speaking of royalties, you’re less likely to be robbed by a big company than a small one. Why? Because the person writing your cheque has nothing to gain by stealing from you. She’s paying you with the company’s money. A small company is often on the verge of going out of business and needs to steal to pay the office rent.

“Another advantage to being with a big company is their ability to collect your money for you worldwide. They’re set up to handle this kind of thing. This is why I feel it’s better to have your songs with a big publisher than to keep 100 percent of the publishing yourself. You can’t possibly collect from the many sources yourself. A typical deal with a publisher can range from 50 to 60 percent to them administrating your publishing for a 10 percent fee. How much they want your songs depends on which deal you’re able to make.

“A lot of your questions apply to today’s music business, which I’m no longer a part of, so anything I say might be worthless on that subject.

“As to whether an artist ‘should’ pay more attention to making commercial or art music, it’s an individual choice. What’s more important to the person? His art or making big bucks? Clearly, if he can straddle the line and do both, that’s optimum, but few can.”