The following article is from the DiscMakers.com. Spring 2005.

From major label to independent: lessons from the Mayfield Four

Bassist Marty Meisner is keeping real busy these days teaching bass and playing with Annie O'Neill, Holfiller, and two-time NAMMY winner Jim Boyd. As a member of The Mayfield Four, Meisner signed a lucrative multi-album deal with Epic Records and got to tour with Creed, Everclear, and Fuel in pursuit of nationwide success.

In this Fast Forward interview, Meisner talks candidly about his experiences being on a major label and some of the pitfalls The Mayfield Four experienced – ultimately leading to their opting out of their contract after their second album.

How did the Mayfield Four form? How did you know each other?
We all went to the same high school in Spokane, Washington. We were playing in various bands when (vocalist) Myles Kennedy called and wanted to get a band together. So we started Mayfield.

When was that?
That was '95-'96. We did a five-song demo on tape and it was about four or five months later that we started to get courted by major labels. We had put the demo together to get local shows.

So you hadn't been playing live?
We had a few shows. Maybe 12 before we started to get courted. It happened so quick.

Did you chalk that up to being in Seattle when the grunge thing took off?
We were coming in after that. We weren't grunge, we were influenced more by Motown, early Zeppelin, and The Police. I think it was just because of the soulfulness and creativity of the songs.

Did you have any input in negotiating the record deal?
As far as the negotiation of the contract, we had hired a lawyer down in L.A. We did interview lawyers. We interviewed three attorneys. We really liked Lisa. We liked her approach. She had a dry sense of humor, very smart and witty, and she understood us and what we wanted.

What were you looking for in a lawyer?
We wanted somebody who could be a tough negotiator, but who could also represent us as a group as not just being money hungry. We definitely weren't in it for a huge paycheck, even though tons of musicians who were signed told us, “Get everything you can up front!” We got a really good contract. We couldn't complain about the way everything was set up.

You got a multi-million-dollar deal. How did you determine how you were going to split the money up?
We had a guaranteed three-album deal, so we figured we were okay for three to six years, financially. I set myself up on a budget of $2,000 a month. We took a small advance but we put a lot of money into recording and touring. We bought a van and a trailer rather than going to a bus – we just didn't spend $1,000 a day as an opening band for Fuel and Creed and Everclear. We wanted to be able to last on the road and improve our show and by doing that we saved a lot of money.

So all this is going to be paid back to the label via record sales? If you don't make the numbers are you personally liable for the money you spent?
Oh, no. The money that's given to you as an advance is money you're supposed to live off of. Everything that's put into the record and into the tour, and everything that's advanced to you, that money doesn't have to be repaid. That money will just keep getting recouped off record sales. And if they discontinue your album, it's a tax write-off for the label.

So what about playing live? Is that money going back into the tour fund or are you keeping that?
That money could go to us, but we put it back into the tour budget. We paid ourselves per diem, so if you could live off of $5 a day at Taco Bell, kudos to you.

How were your record sales?
We were selling a tremendous amount of product at the shows. We would pay the merch person for the headliner to help sell our product.

So what were the problems you had with the label?
There were a lot of CDs that weren't in stores that were supposed to be, there was a lot of press that wasn't happening. We weren't getting any of the publicity we were supposed to get.

What else was a problem?
We had two videos in our contract and we never did any. At that point, in the late ‘90s, videos were a large source of exposure. If someone saw your video, it could massively jump you up to another level. We didn't have that. The label said they wanted to see how the song did on radio. That seemed backwards to us, so we knew we were getting a shuffle. At that time Macy Gray was signed, and they were really pushing her and a couple of other acts, so a lot of baby bands got held back.

Unfortunately that seems kind of typical.
Yeah. A friend of mine signed to Epic. They toured for three months and then were off the label. That's how quick it happened with them.

What else?
A big part of the reason we signed with Epic is that we knew we had the support of the president of the label. Well, he left Epic while we were recording Fallout, our first record. In the midst of that, the people we were working with got shuffled around or left, so we had to be reintroduced to the people who were now going to work our CD.

You had a three album deal, you ended up doing two albums. It was you guys who wanted off of the label. How did that go down?
We finished our second album, Second Skin , but we were just not happy. We were seeing a repeat of how that first album was worked and it just wasn't fair to have a better album and basically have it fall through our fingers again. So we had to start negotiating to get off of the label at that point.

You just went to your lawyer and said we want out of this, they're not fulfilling their end of the deal?
Right. Since we weren't going to do a third album, it becomes a negotiating stage where we have to go back to the table.

The label owns your masters, you're just trying to get out of the contract for the third one?
Correct. Unless we went with another label. Say Interscope wanted to sign us, they would probably start negotiating with Sony and say, “Look you lost money with this band, we'll give you $100,000 for the master, so you make some money back.” Then they'll take that and release it.

So did another label step up and show some interest?
Well, by this time we had a band member who had gone his own way, and our new management team was supposed to work some other labels, but to be honest with you I only talked to them a couple of times. Myles was going through a really hard time with tinnitus, and at that point we were all just so burned out. How could we get together and start writing more music? Everything was just falling apart, we had just gotten off the label and made a little bit of money, but we didn't really have anywhere to go.

So you did get to pocket a little money at least?
We had actually incurred quite a debt between attorney fees, business management fees, and management fees – all those percentages. So the three of us ended up getting not very much, but it was something. I'd probably have made more money selling cars. We did have a publishing deal, too, so BMI gave us a substantial amount of money which helped quite a bit.

So now you're very active, you have three bands concurrently and you teach bass.
Well, for eight months I didn't even pick up my bass. I have flown to LA, I have auditioned for some touring acts, but I'm happy where I am right now. I'm making money as a musician.

Any regrets?
I have no regrets as to what I've accomplished and what I've done, and if the circle comes back around for me to be on a major label, it's not something I wouldn't do, as long as it's right. But now I have a better understanding of the music industry. I've learned a few things. Out of hundreds of people I've met, there are only a handful I trust.

Check out Marty's bands at http://www.annieoneillmusic.com , http://www.holfiller.com , and http://www.thunderwolfrecords.com .