What The Music Wants To Be: An Interview with Mike Doughty

Popshifter: Since you were talking about owning a piece of the back catalogue [of the artists on your label], talk a little bit about rights-management.

Mike Doughty: My deal with Scott is that he’s going to give the album to me forever. If I ever stop putting it out, he’ll get it back. I’m in a position to give this really boilerplate, pretty fair deal. My friend Andy’s doing publicity for me, but other than him and me, there’s no apparatus. We just have the gigs and my audience being exposed to [Scott].

It’s interesting because when I got started there was this culture of tour support, where big labels would sign bands that they didn’t necessarily think would have big singles. They’d pay for a band and a sound guy and they’d put you on the road. But that can’t exist anymore. There’s no money for it. There’s money for the Mariah Careys—as there should be because they have big hit singles—but if you’re a new artist, you don’t really have a lot of options. This is my idea of how to do things.

Walt Whitman does not have
his own reality TV show.

Popshifter: So where do you see yourself in sort of the rock star echelon? Because you’re not a Mariah Carey but you have this really tangible audience who just loves you.

Mike Doughty: I have an audience and I have a desire to keep making stuff, and God willing—knock on Formica—I’ll still be good as I continue to make records. I’m just a guy and I pay the rent and I dig the life that I have. If lightning were to strike and I’d have a hit single, I think most likely I’d have a hit single for a while and then I’d (laughs) go right back to what I’ve been doing. If lightning struck every time I put a record out and I became John Mayer and I wouldn’t have a problem owning a plane or something. But my career plan is just to keep doing this until my 70s

I actually went online and was looking at retirement plans. The thing about musicians is you don’t have a 401K because you don’t have an employer. So I was like, “Do I want to retire when I’m 62?” I don’t think I do. There’s nothing about my life where I’m like, “Fuck! I can’t wait until I get older and I don’t have to do this anymore.” So I just sort of see myself as a “professional,” I guess.

Popshifter: You did have a bit of a hit with the song on the Grey’s Anatomy soundtrack. Did that start a shift for a little while?

Mike Doughty: Some people came in and said, “I heard it on the Grey’s Anatomy soundtrack.” In terms of like, big single that’s inescapable for four or six months. . . things like that soundtrack: it wasn’t really a hit, it helped me out and brought new people to the audience but it wasn’t necessarily a huge financial boon or anything.

Popshifter: That reminds me: I wanna talk about your TV viewing habits. You reference a lot of reality shows and Sister Sister and. . . some of this is not cultural high point television.

Mike Doughty: (laughs)

Popshifter: Is it a release to watch bad TV?

Mike Doughty: I don’t think so, I think it’s just part of our cultural landscape. Walt Whitman wrote about ships and the Brooklyn Bridge and people selling oysters by New York Bay and (laughs) I write about Flavor Flav, what’s the difference? (laughs)

Additional Resources:

Mike Doughty will be playing at the Taste of Randolph Street in Chicago, Illinois on June 20. For more information, including tour dates, blog entries, and music downloads, check out Mike’s MySpace page and Official Site.

Click to read more from Mike Doughty on. . .

Song development and self-plagiarism
Words and war
Politics and parameters of the new album
Scrap, Pete, & John and “Small Rock”
Secret codes and Scott Wynn from The Panderers
The Rock Star Echelon and retirement plans

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