OFF: Survey for free music

[Steve Moody]

I agree with you entirely, I have quite a few friends who are professional
or semi-professional musicians who create and perform far better music than
the mundane drone cloned sound that emerges from radio these days but major
( and even minor ) labels refuse to touch it -  the real shame is a lot of
the material is excellent. Unfortunately, the major labels have essentially
locked things up by creating their own music label generated bands which are
not based on any real talent but a collection of trained chimps who are
groomed for a certain appearance, trained to dance, then have label written
garbage flood the airways constantly with media hype and promotion to
saturate and brainwash the mindless masses. The new millenium has taken the
old AM radio saturation concept to new levels of insidious design. The ONLY
way I can see how to make an impact is constant touring and exposing quality
music to as many people as possible. I can see no better justice than having
an opening act of quality musicians whose music and not image or appearance
blow off the big name, no talent, music show poodles. Was a DJ once, long
ago, how I wish I could be at the controls one more time to try and set
things right but most likely I would have some arranged fatal accident from
stepping on too many toes and costing some music Monguls too much money by
steering the mindless masses of society's sheep to the greener pastures of
REAL MUSIC,  God Bless Hawkwind!!!
                             Steve the Moonman


----- Original Message -----
From: ANDREW GARIBALDI <andygee at DIAL.PIPEX.COM>
To: <BOC-L at LISTSERV.SPC.EDU>
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2001 3:55 PM
Subject: Re: OFF: Survey for free music


> WOW!!!!!!
> A whole lot of points there you spark off, but let me just deal with one.
> THE main one revolves around 'being satisfied with the audience numbers'
> that the band has. Sadly, throughout most of the world right now, we live
> with a global media that doesn't give one earthly toss about anything that
> they don't construe as applicable for mass consuption or so friggin'
obscure
> that they feature it purely to further the 'one-upmanship' that keeps them
> sane. As a result, the only way bands can reach greater audiences is by
> throwing money at publicity. For a start most of the bands don't have this
> sort of money, and then the question of 'where'  - how the hell can yuo
> guarantee spending a few thousand on ads in Magnet or Classic Rock is
going
> to achieve greater sales. How the hell do you get over to a new audience
> unless some media gives you the time of day, and by that I don't mean a
> feature on Hawkwind that simply politicises the band - a new audience
needs
> to know what it's to hear.
> There's the internet, but it's mind-bogglingly vast, and people seek what
> they want - they don't know to seek out what they don't - after all can
you
> find the wheat among 170,000 examples of chaff. In short, I've recently
seen
> a musician throw a load of money at a media feature and it reached the
> so-called 'right audience' too and didn't make much more than a ripple -
> I've seen musicians who live with their limited audience but get round it
by
> releasing practically a new CD a month. But there are also up and coming
> bands who are trying to tour in the trad way too. The Dead had it made -
> they toured like shit and had a lot of other activities as well as being
> licensed (sort of ) to a major label and their stuff 'transcended' fashion
> so it got written about.
> In short, if Dave can keep the audience levels worldwide, and maybe add a
> few too, then he's actually doing darned well, and if he wants more funds
to
> roll in, the main way is to release more music to an audience that wants
> it - for too long audiences have demonstrated via bootlegs that they are
> willing to buy if it's there - but growth? Blame the state of the
> mass-media, and the idea that if something doesn't appeal to as huge a
> number of people as possible, then it can't make a profit.
> I had this idea a while back that I'd get Krel on the road - not in pubs,
> not in concert halls - but in schools - playing to kids - sound mad? Well,
> nothing can ever be written off.....
> Andy Garibaldi
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "K Henderson" <henderson.120 at OSU.EDU>
> To: <BOC-L at LISTSERV.SPC.EDU>
> Sent: Monday, October 15, 2001 4:26 AM
> Subject: OFF: Survey for free music
>
>
> > Hi Folks...
> >
> > OK, I been coming to the conclusion that we all are