Stay Tuned: Interview with Bernard Baur

A few weeks ago I spoke with Bernard Baur, a journalist, A&R reporter, creative consultant and instructor for the Music Business Program at the Musician’s Institute in Hollywood, CA. Having worked in the music industry for over 25 years, Baur's client list includes Guns N’ Roses, System of a Down, Butterfly Boucher, Matchbox Twenty, Rob Zombie, P Diddy, Lil Kim and many, many more.

Additionally, Baur was named one of the “Top Music Business Journalists” in the country by the National Association of Record Industry Professionals. Pretty impressive.

Bernard was nice enough to talk to me at great lengths about the constantly changing music industry as well as advice for up-and-coming bands and those looking for a career in the music business. Here's just one of his answers:

Do you feel it’s easier for bands to breakout today?
If there was a blueprint or a simple map everyone could follow then everyone would be successful. Obviously there isn’t one because everyone isn’t successful. The beauty of it is that today there are very few rules. In fact, we all know a lot of the old rules don’t apply anymore; they don’t get results they used to. You can practically make up your own rules. I encourage my students at the Musicians Institute to be as creative and innovative as possible. It’s the people who are going to think of a new way to do things that are going to get attention.

I would really recommend any artist that they be as creative in their promotions and marketing as they are with their music. Don’t just follow same old template. If you can think of something unique and new and exciting you might get the attention and actually do break out. Some of the bands I’ve seen break out have had opportunities presented to them because they created those opportunities. They’ve done something unique and different that stands out enough and sets them apart from everything else. That’s another problem nowadays, there are so many other artists and you have to make yourself stand out somehow and the only way you can do that is to find what’s unique about you and think of some creative and imaginative way to let the public know you exist and hopefully once they know that and take a look at you, that you have goods to back it up.

For more of my in-depth interview with Bernard, be sure to check back next Tuesday!