BITS FOR BANDS 1 Advice and Programs Geared For Bands In The Digital Age
We've allways had a keen interest in music. Our teenage years were spent jamming in and out of various bands and projects writing lyrics and songs on a daily basis... anytime and almost anywhere. As any fluid songwriter knows inspiration arrives at any moment or can be triggered by any event, feeling or train of thought or sound. Yes, we would have loved to have had a number one hit, we would have loved to have done a world tour and been musical heroes to our generation - but life does not allways adhere to our dreams and ,even when we are clearly gifted and talented in our chosen artistic fields, recognition does not allways come.
Recently I've been quietly watching history repeat itself as my teenage son has started playing the bass and jamming with his friends. They've done a few gigs and despite their own self criticism ( they have already developed very high musical standards for themselves despite only being fourteen) they've played some excellant music and had their audiences going wild. But the music industry they now face is changing rapidly and the record giants they might once have sought after have been a bit lame in keeping up with the digital age.
The whole future of music as an industry is being precariously balanced on a digital knife edge so sharp that it's about to be split in two."Home taping is killing music" was the old 70's, 80's and 90's health warning for listeners and fans- we all knew it , but we still did it anyway; the record companies were making millions off the backs of artists who were millionaires anyway so back then it realy didn't seem to matter...or did it? But now times have changed drasticaly as those warning signs have were continualy ignored -but lets face it, if we've all been ignoring the threat of 'global warming' to the point of no return what chance does the music industry have? The sad fact of this is that it was our musicians in recent history whose consciences made the biggest changes into how our societies think and act and feel - even to the point of changing how our politicians set their policies. Musicians have found themselves becoming the prophets of our age with the ability to wake our societies from ignorance and apathy and call us to act. Despite the record industries past reputation for greed , avarice and talent swindling , the prospect of its imminent collapse could spell disaster for western culture. But it's new bands and new talent that face the biggest challenges, and it's the new talents that need to act now to secure their own and their industries future.
One of the biggest battles fought by new artists within the industry was the battle for ownership of themselves and their own artistic talents. Boybands and girlbands were renouned for selling their souls for a short burst of fame, a few bucks, some hormone induced screams and for singing songs written by someone else- the end result for most being a return to factory work and a lack of any real artistic credibility . The digital age has given artists -even one hit wonder boy and girl bands- the biggest opportunity ever to own themselves, their music and their talent and turn it into a real living , but!.. The opportunities are being squandered by both the record giants (whose attitudes are finally changing now that their very existance is under threat) and the artists( many of whom are throwing away their entire futures by sharing everything they've ever done or are doing for free - yes by all means share a song or two to give potential fans a taste of your talent 'but don't give all your pearls to pigs or you will be trampled underfoot!') .
So what do we do ? how can we keep hold of our artistic vision ? how do we make a name for ourselves and afford to live at the same time?
Well yes, the big contracts still exist, if you're offered one make sure you have someone with you who understands all the clauses of the contract( such as a solicitor/lawyer/agent/manager) and can interperet it for you clearly - better still make time to study entertainment laws yourself just incase your advisors turn out to be 'suited bimbos '- don't sign unless you understand it all clearly and don't undersell your gifts. Ask for a clause to protect your creativity and your copyrights for yourself and allways drive a hard bargain because to ensure the future of real artistic talent within the industry every artist has to learn to raise the standards and expectations as to how they should be respected within the recording industry and even more so in our digital age. Why? Because real talent is worth it, the big studios know it and because actors and other 'entertainers' have had high standards via agencies and unions such as equity for years and even 'indie bands' have rights.
No contract in the pipeline? Then build your own empire. Hold down your 9 to 5, start gigging and put your cash back into building your online presance. Use the social networks such as My Space or even IMVU to build links, fans and relationships and link in to your own e-commerce and music download ready sites with sitebuilders and hosting such as 'moonfruit'. Invest in password encrypted software to protect your work from file sharing and copyright theft (new gifted bands only realy begin to comprehend the damage done by filesharing programs when they see it done to themselves and their own work). Share a couple of whole songs on my space and maybe an extract of a couple more, but get the software and get it encripted and sell it on your own band shop site. Some ebook software can be highly valuable, many are now mp3 and 4 compatable, give the options for password capabilities( to offer a download to a specific isp address and say an i pod or mp3/4 player with encryptions to prevent it going any further and block filesharing),they can also include the scope for your own artwork/photos/lyrics and videos to be incorporated, so you can turn your downloads/cds/dvds or roms into collectable items and treasures. Siteshare, team up with other bands of similar or even opposing genres to reach new listeners and convert new fans from differant towns ,regions, counties or even nations- build your fan base for your first world tour.Use traffic builders and sites like ours to add to your venues so that, one day, when history starts repeating itself in your teenagers dreams, and wether you've reached the pinacle of your own dreams or not you will know that you held on to your ideals, never sold yourself short, and did the best you possibly could with the talents you had either learnt, inherited or were 'given', AND.. should your teenager choose to stick with the industry, you will also know that you did all you could to secure their future and carve out a safe path for them to follow before they were even born.
Now there are a number of fairly new bands out there - and you know who you are- who between the months of august and november might possibly remember getting the odd email full of the above and similar tips and advice, well I don't know if any of you watched the UK's Channel 4 Digital music awards in November (2006) but if you did, you might have been as shocked as I was at the acceptance speech for the Pioneer Award given by Peter Gabriel. He only went and said the same things- only he was alot more to the point and obviously in a much better position to be heard and taken seriously by industry and newbies alike. It was the first time I ever cheered at the content of an acceptance speech. If you missed it try channel 4.com and nag them for access or a copy -as soon as they give us a response /permission we are hoping you'll be able to access it here too. In the meantime, if you are highly talented-or even know someone who is but needs their confidence levels revived -then this site, especially in 2007/08/09 etc, could very well become a top class venue for YOU and your music.It might not look like it now, but this seemingly smallish site actually has some very, very big plans in the pipeline coupled with the determination to not compromise and to see it through. The clock is ticking and we are about to get very big so if you are talented, contact us and get big with us.
Stay Tuned For The Rest Very Soon.....
The Ryan O'Riain22 copyright Nov 2006
