The phrase toss in the towel, or throwing in the towel is a reference to boxing. It’s generally done when a fighter is had too much of a beating and their trainer/coach says it’s time to call the fight. I have been working on a deal for essentially 2 years now. However, at this point in time it’s become such a drag to deal with being that I’m being insulted with the offers that I’m finally going to throw in the towel. I can’t be entirely upset, it was the progression of the deal that got me started on creating my library.
In chatting with several associates in the business, the general consensus is that the deal is joke and the amount of money being offered is insulting. So I’m not the only one feeling that way about the offer. It does suck to have put so much effort together on a single deal, but it happens. I can look back on the last 2 years and see that I put a lot of effort into several facets of life that unfortunately have all been in need of being let go in the past month and a half.
The good thing is, the burden will be gone and new things are crossing my desk as we speak and I’m doing the deals up front rather than putting so much work into something to see what the result will be after the work has been done.
Robert Johnson sang about fair deals. Unfortunately the music business is not riddled with fair deals. No, often the musician is shafted, unless they get great representation in their corner – or they know how to negotiate for terms that don’t screw them.
The master of the blues who infamously made the ultimate deal for his life. You know, the one where he sold his soul to the devil to be the greatest blues player of all time. It must have worked Robert as many musicologists would certainly agree that he captured the essence body and soul of what the delta blues would be. A single man and his guitar. Now mind you there’s not a lot of concrete proof on Robert. The best that we have is the recordings he had made. Much of the story is now myth.
Is selling your soul to the devil a fair deal? I wouldn’t know. I’m not partial to things that represent that. I do know that I spent countless hours playing guitar, which is probably similar to selling my soul. Now I spend countless hours writing and recording. The bonus is, I’m arming myself for making better deals with the power of knowledge.
Go forth and make your day! Then explore a little more Robert Johnson. There’s a massive life in that story related thru his lyrics and melodies.