Can an unsigned band get noticed?\u00c2\u00a0 And, do we even bother to use that term anymore, "unsigned".\u00c2\u00a0 Do you want to get signed?<\/p>\n
I mean what are the chances that the cognoscenti are going to care about your band when R.E.M. and even Van Morrison are shilling for attention.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh, it makes you feel good, to rent a U-Haul, sleep four to a room and perform a set no one cares about.\u00c2\u00a0 The same way it makes you feel good to send a CD to me!\u00c2\u00a0 It’s amazing what people will do to make themselves feel good, make them believe they’re making progress.<\/p>\n
The new music business isn’t at SXSW.\u00c2\u00a0 Why should it be?<\/p>\n
Think about it.\u00c2\u00a0 If Yahoo and Google sprung up out of nowhere, what makes you think the powers-that-be in the music industry are going to rule in the future?<\/p>\n
So you’re gonna make a deal with a major, a 360 deal, because that’s all they want.\u00c2\u00a0 You’re gonna put yourself in the hands of the old generation, lock yourself up completely, because it seems easier this way, you can sleep at night, knowing you’ve got a signed contract locked up somewhere.\u00c2\u00a0 But when your record stiffs since the label is chasing the product of the good-looker who recorded the songs they wanted them to, the radio-friendly stuff, and you’re tied up forever, who you gonna call, GHOSTBUSTERS?<\/p>\n
The one person you might want to hook up with at SXSW is an agent.\u00c2\u00a0 But an agent is first and foremost impressed with your Pollstar numbers.\u00c2\u00a0 An agent wants to see your track record.\u00c2\u00a0 Where you can draw people.\u00c2\u00a0 Actually, an agent doesn’t give a shit WHAT you play as long as people want to come hear it.\u00c2\u00a0 The agent won’t tell you what to record and what to wear, they’re just interested in selling tickets.\u00c2\u00a0 They don’t even give a shit if you’ve got a record deal, just whether you’ve got an AUDIENCE!<\/p>\n
And it’s harder than ever to gain an audience if you’re playing with the usual suspects.\u00c2\u00a0 All they know is radio.\u00c2\u00a0 How come you’re going to sign with these guys when YOU have contempt for radio?\u00c2\u00a0 All you bands playing SXSW, you abhor Top Forty radio, but that’s all the majors are interested in.\u00c2\u00a0 And chances are if you’re a good-looking automaton, ready to go the Jessica\/Paris\/Lindsay route, you’ve already got handlers in New York or L.A. with a pipeline to the old guard, you don’t have to go to SXSW to get noticed.<\/p>\n
Or you could go to the panels at SXSW.\u00c2\u00a0 To learn that fewer people have jobs at less money.\u00c2\u00a0 I’ve debated Net monetization at these conventions for NINE YEARS and nothing has happened.\u00c2\u00a0 Everybody’s just reacted to what some college student, not in attendance, ultimately has done.<\/p>\n
Everyone’s looking for a shortcut.\u00c2\u00a0 Everyone’s looking for answers.\u00c2\u00a0 Everybody wants to get PAID!<\/p>\n
Music isn’t about money, but passion.\u00c2\u00a0 If you’ve got the passion and are willing to work 24\/7, you might ultimately get money.\u00c2\u00a0 Probably long after your friends who went to law school do, if ever.<\/p>\n
The whole scene is warped.\u00c2\u00a0 With MTV’s "Cribs" and rappers extolling their high-rolling lifestyles.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t you watch VH1?\u00c2\u00a0 The lifestyles of the one time rich and famous EVAPORATE!\u00c2\u00a0 And then, if you’re lucky, you can be television fodder, for the public to laugh at.<\/p>\n
All that MTV-era bullshit is done.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not about your look.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not even about following trends.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not about signing on the bottom line for a zillion bucks.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s about making music.\u00c2\u00a0 Constantly.\u00c2\u00a0 Not on a one album every three year cycle.\u00c2\u00a0 The Net audience wants new tunes all the time.\u00c2\u00a0 A steady stream.\u00c2\u00a0 Your hard core fans anyway.\u00c2\u00a0 If you’re playing to the casual listener, you’re abusing your hard core.\u00c2\u00a0 Let the casual user find you VIA the hard core.\u00c2\u00a0 A single on the radio for nine months may generate cash once, but it turns a hell of a lot of people off.\u00c2\u00a0 Like Taylor Swift.\u00c2\u00a0 If I hear about her fucking teardrops on her guitar one more time, I’m going to VOMIT!\u00c2\u00a0 Just shut up and make another record.\u00c2\u00a0 I was a fan, now I just see a young girl being raped by the system.\u00c2\u00a0 A system that doesn’t care about the fans, but only about the short term money.<\/p>\n
Don’t worry about the short term money.\u00c2\u00a0 If your music is good, if you play well live, the money will come.\u00c2\u00a0 But sending me a CD or schlepping your equipment to SXSW isn’t going to make your music any better.\u00c2\u00a0 If it’s good, put it on the Web, energize your fans, they’ll spread the word.\u00c2\u00a0 But you probably suck and are looking for the easy way out.\u00c2\u00a0 And crying that you just can’t make any money.\u00c2\u00a0 Boofuckinghoo.<\/p>\n
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