Earl Klugh – HuffPost 7.1.11

Mike Ragogna: With the wonderful career you’ve had so far, what advice would you have for new artists?

Earl Klugh: Oh boy. Practice and listen to all kinds of music. Buy whatever books you can find on the business of music so you don’t get ripped off.

MR: Donald Passman’s book is a good one for that.

EK: I’m down here in Atlanta, and we had a forum two or three years ago. I was on the panel with Ludacris, and that’s exactly where he went–telling everybody that the first thing you have to do is learn the business of music so you’re able to keep your recordings. I just found it very interesting that he was so in tune to that because when I was young, I had no idea of that. I was just lucky enough to record the songs that I wrote and still retain at least half of the rights to them. It was very interesting that between the ’70s and now, these guys are almost more about the business than they are about the music.

MR: I know.

EK: It’s a good thing in some ways.

MR: Yeah, but it’s just a little sad in as well. For years, we were telling everyone that the creative element is the most important element, but in this era you’d better know the business end too.

EK: Uh-huh.