Since February 1st this year, Yuri Naumov, a blues guitarist and performer of his own songs, has been offered a Saturday night gig at the Speak Easy club. For those privy to the secrets of the backstage life of the New York theater and concert scene, this means that the musician, who emigrated from the former Soviet Union just two years ago, is making a successful career in America.
Little has changed since the days of D’Artagnan, who was purposefully puzzled by the conquest of Paris: a newcomer is given opportunities in the capital, which he can successfully use after a few attempts. In the capital of modern art, New York, there are plenty of chances for D’Artagnans to achieve success in music. First of all, there is the open mic system (microphones provided to anyone who wants them). Several well-known clubs set aside a day a week (usually Monday or Wednesday), and from a certain time, usually from eight in the evening, anyone who wants to can take a risk and give out something from their own “immortal” in front of the microphone. That is, to occupy the audience for no more than eight minutes (such is the strict regulation) or to perform no more than two songs. Often, the club manager likes one of the musicians. In this case, the favorite is taken aside and unobtrusively asked, “how about playing one more time.” To begin with, they offer the least prestigious days: Monday or Sunday (since in America the calendar week begins on Sunday, the evening before work Monday is considered unsuitable for late entertainment).
After the performance of open mic, Yuri Naumov was offered Thursday. Six months of concerts on Thursdays at the club “Speak Easy” led to the appearance of an audience that began to come specifically for Naumov. Which, of course, increased the musician’s rating and significantly affected the always cold-blooded manager: Yuri Naumov received an offer to perform on the most visited and most prestigious Saturday evenings in the system of music clubs in Soho and Greenwich Village. What’s next?
My first question to Yuri Naumov is precisely on this topic:
Yuri Naumov: As of today, there are several offers. Filming a documentary by a group of students from New York University. They have already received the go-ahead for their project. In addition, we have received a contract from a large company that has specialized in commercial TV clips for the last two years. They are considering me as one of the potential artists they are going to bet on. In principle, we are talking (and this is a compromise that is being offered to me) about instrumental projects. They are very positive about what I do with the guitar as an instrumentalist. But they said that at first they are concerned about whether my songs in Russian will work: they do not see a market for them in the near future.
What do you mean: an instrumental project? In total, I have up to 25 numbers of purely guitar-instrumental music. These are independently conceived compositions that I planned to include in albums with songs back in Russia. But here you just have to start with this.
No. All projects in the Soviet Union that were somehow connected with this — like “Intershans”: overseas merchants came to look at the goods and choose something for themselves — hemp, furs, a couple of lousy musicians. This did not inspire confidence from the very beginning. What is happening here is a difficult-to-calculate option, but nevertheless optimal and several orders of magnitude higher and more reliable. After all, here I exist in a real situation, and although I am also chosen to some extent, but with a greater approximation to real results.
I can say that my first contract will most likely bring me a name, but will not bring money even in case of success. That is, up to 65% of the total amount will not end up in my pocket. In principle, this contract is not slave-like, but moderately serf-like. Even during the first negotiations, I was told: you are an honest artist and can do whatever you want and wherever you want. But when you want to make money on your music, this already implies a compromise.
Here, these deals have existed for almost 40 years and have settled down to certain standards, described in detail. And if a manager claims the maximum amount from the artist’s income, then this is the degree of his indecency, limited by the upper standards of the industry. He cannot go higher, since this is already robbery.
Since there are few decent studios in Russia and the business is just forming now, local Moscow-Leningrad mafiosi can spin completely predatory contracts. That, in its own way, unhappy, but also independent time in which I grew up and entered Russian rock of the 80s - that time has passed. Back then, it was enough to have an average quality album released underground and distributed from hand to hand around the country to make your name. Now a generation is growing.