Marc Broussard – HuffPost 6.13.11

Mike Ragogna: What advice do you have for new artists?

Marc Broussard: Well, I definitely have new artist advice. The truth of the matter is there are many pitfalls in this business. I think more often than not, we shoot ourselves in the foot because it’s very easy to relinquish all creative control to a record label. When you’re young, you sign a record deal and say to yourself these people have been in the business longer than me and they know what’s up, so let me trust everything they say and relinquish all of your control. The truth is that they sign you to a record deal in the first place because they wanted you, they wanted what you had to bring to the table, right off the streets of where you’re from. At the same time, I don’t recommend fighting and cutting them out totally. At the end of the day, it is a partnership between you and the record label–you are going to have to get them invested in the project. I’m kind of the mindset of if somebody wants to put their name on my record, if somebody wants to take some credit for making the record a success, is that really going to be hurtful to my career in the long wrong? My answer is no if it really is ultimately a part of the success story of your project then let somebody get the credit. Don’t fight so hard that you push everybody from the record label out and shoot yourself in the foot by not getting them involved in your project. Everybody in the building is talking about your record, and that takes getting people really excited about being a part of the project.

I think that it has some growing up to do, and I think that is still is a young business in that standards haven’t really changed over the years, whereas the business outside of those four walls in New York or LA has changed. The demographics have changed, and the purchasing has changed drastically over the years, especially recently. The business has some catching up to do in terms of the consumers. All in all, it’s a fun business and it’s a labor of love for us who’s out there doing it. Ultimately, before getting too long-winded about this story, I’m working on putting together a seminar for new artists that we are probably going to do in the next few years down in New Orleans. It will give young people a very clear picture of what’s to be expected from a manager and vice versa what managers expect from artists. We are going to have panels with different folks, everybody from Kid Rock to Ani Di Franco. I’m hoping to put this together because it could be a huge tool for a lot of different folks out there. If your listeners and readers are interested in that, I would love to hear that feedback.

MR: My feeling is if you work on it, you get the nod, not just the boss or hotshot executive. Everyone’s on the team.

MB: Yes, and the truth is that there is a big group of guys that made this record happen. There are seven guitar players and three or four bass players, two drummers, keyboard players, string players, and horn players. Had they not been available and had they not had the talents that they had, this record would not sound the way it does. You give credit where credit is do.