Events

[FOLK] Melissa Ferrick is a music industry survivor. After a pair of discs for Atlantic followed by a trio for the indie imprint What Are Records?, Ferrick went rogue in 2000, founding her own label and taking full charge of her career. The aughts digital transition caught her by surprise, however, and she ended up making some costly miscalculations. Despite rigorous touring and a devout fan base, Ferrick refinanced her house twice to stay afloat. Letting MPress Records handle her last two discs helped her recoup, and now she’s re-launching Right On Records with a crowd-funded A&R plan and a disc of new material to drop this summer. As a former Berklee College of Music student, becoming an associate professor at the prestigious Boston school has also helped refresh her vision. She visits Buffalo this Saturday, March 21. at Babeville’s 9th Ward.

Why bring back the label now?
I just really wanted the complete control back—the full responsibility of making my own records. I know one thing for sure: I will do everything in my power to avoid getting in that level of financial debt ever again. It’s too stressful. I’m concentrating on keeping costs down by capturing focused, authentic performances, working with limited publicity, and embracing alternative streaming consoles. Maintaining artistic control has always been a priority, but I’m also an entrepreneur, so being able to act when I think the time is right is extremely important to me. I’ve always had my ear to the ground, in music and in business, so I’m excited to be a part of each new industry phase…it’s inspiring and challenging.

How has teaching at Berklee impacted this period in your career?
The students are incredible. The amount of talented young songwriters is mind boggling. They keep me awake, interested, and on top of who the important new artists are. They also keep me current in technology from a recording standpoint via the different digital audio workstations—i.e., Ableton, Pro Tools, Logic Pro, etc. Teaching has also been difficult to balance with touring and writing, but Berklee has been wonderful and supportive, so I believe as more time goes by, this will improve.

It must be exhausting—aging, teaching, recording, touring — and now the label again. What keeps you moving?
It’s hard, man! It’s tough to find time to myself at all, let alone for family and relationships. This, too, is all about finding some glimpse of balance. When you’re an indie artist at my level, I’m driving myself around, eating at your local grocery stores, sleeping on the side of the road by myself or with a friend who’s out helping me, and this way of life isn’t for everyone. For someone like me who needs structure, consistency and community, I have to find new ways of touring which will support and nourish my greater good. I’ll be searching for balance for the rest of my life, but at least I get the chance to work on it. I’m grateful to even still be able to do this. It’s a job of giving—a selfless, soul dumping, spiritual exercise every night—and I’m so glad I get to do it.