Official Post From Hawkwind.

[Ted Jackson]

On 11 Dec 2002 at 13:36, Paul Mather wrote:

> In the nascent days of records, bands earned their income through live
> shows.  Records were seen, at best, as a promotional tool to attract
> people to come to those shows, but not as a reliable income stream in
> itself.  When records became more popular and entrenched, and
> recording technology more sophisticated, there was a migration of
> emphasis into the studio.  Live shows became a "necessary evil"---a
> promotional tool to sell the latest album.  So long as the means of
> production and distribution channels were well controlled, bands could
> reap potentially large reward for less effort in the studio.  But now,
> as those means of production and distribution channels are being
> undermined by new technology and superdistribution channels such as
> the Internet, many bands are finding that live performance is, once
> again, where their steady income lies.  Bands that perform well live
> have a distinguishing advantage---something to attract fans time and
> again.

And we will see, in this day of instant gratification and fickle fans tastes, alongside
cowardly record labels that dump bands quickly insead of working with them long-
haul, that the bands that can put on a good show will do okay, and even prosper,
wheras the manufactured, jump-on-the-bandwagon groups with no talent, will help
provide convenience stores and rapid-service restaurants an uninterupted flow of
new employees...

 (There's also more "repeat business" to be had through regular
> live shows than through occasional record releases.)
>
That's why BÖC always did fine without new product on the shelves:  they toured a
lot, and put on great shows...

> As someone who will attend all Gov't Mule gigs within an ~5 hour
> driving radius, I can personally attest to the allure of a great live
> show!  (The availability of freely traded live tapes from those gigs
> does not make me want to attend them any less---quite the contrary!)
>
I purposely didn't mention GM because I knew you would!  Now I suspect that GM's
official releases sell decently--why wouldn't they, it's good stuff--but those dudes
pack in the audiences live, and that's where the money is...

> The shame is that Hawkwind really is a band that needs to be
> experienced live.  I keep hearing that Dave isn't much a fan of
> live touring any more, though, which doesn't bode well. :-(
>
Then Dave, sadly, deserves what he gets.  Obviously he's clueless about the way
things work, or unwilling to accept the truth...

theo