PLEASE GIVE THE INSTRUMENTALIST CREDIT

Most of the beats we hear in songs today are not made or were not produced by a single person but yet have individual signature on them claiming ownership to them. I have no worries over the claim of ownership, but my worry as an art writer is how these talented people are being kept in the dark side of business.

I know most of our sound producers employ guitarist, a drummer, and trumpeters or some instrument players especially when they want to record live instruments to work on the beats they produce but at the end of the day refuse to give them credit. Maybe I should remind you, back in the days when one buy music CD's or tapes (my father have samples of such tapes), you will find names of people who played the guitar, trumpet and so on and so forth just to give them some credit and exposure for business but today it is not found like that. All we hear today is the individual signature on beats as if most of these producers produce these beats all by themselves, limiting and killing the business side of this instrumentalist.

Most songs are enjoyed most because of the instrumental intro, some particular part of it or perhaps the whole beat itself. When the lyrics is bad and it have a good instrumental, the music flies sometimes but let's look at when the instrumental is poor. What happens? Simply instrumentalist plays a major role in music making and therefore must be treated very well in the music business and regard as professionals no matter how young or old the person is. We shouldn't see them as “wanna bees”. They shouldn't present themselves as if they are looking for favour from these sound engineers or on the music field. A good lyric alone can't make a good music but at a point a good instrumental can make a very good song.

Being an instrumentalist is a whole big profession creative or art industry and must be considered as such. Let's make it a bit attractive especially for the younger generation. We shouldn't forget that, just as it is every musicians dream to make it international or get a record deal with an international record company so can instrumentalist also be sign on by international record labels, international bands or event companies. So it is very important to consider their works as professionals and give them the need credit they need or for any piece of work they do. In showbiz, it is not all about “I have pay or sort him out”, sometimes it is about exposing that talented individual to business side of the game. They need exposure or that credit as recommendation to other companies so they can also enjoy big contracts. It is possible, put their names and contact numbers at the back of CD covers so they can also be contacted for business from other people or places just as the sound engineers get contacted for business when they put their signatures on beats or songs they produce.We need to take a stance now and appreciate instrumentalist for who they are— professionals.