Rant – Take That Up Your Tail Pipe!

When I read a posted opportunity (opp) at a particular site, I was so moved to post a message in the forum similar to this blog. But for some reason I put it off by a few days even though it was still on my mind, then I decided to post a blog instead. Maybe this will help some of you in the nick of time. When opps like this come up, sometimes I’ll read them just out of curiosity. Some of them are so ridiculous that I cringe or laugh out loud using colorful metaphors and quickly hit the back button on my browser or close out the page completely in disgust. This opp I’m going to take the pleasure in shredding is one such opp. Side note: One thing that really gets to me is the amount of paid “memberships” being pawned on musicians anymore. It’s sad. Not much difference between that and a “pay to play” scenario in most cases – which is also growing. Musicians for the most part can be quite vulnerable, gullible, are taken advantage of and often jump in with both feet only to be robbed and disillusioned.

This particular opp comes from a publication (physical & online) run by what I can discern as a bunch of elitist sods. They profess to critique your "demo" getting you worldwide attention. Oh my! So what you end up with is what someone else thinks basically. I checked out their website and looked at the grading scale they had given to about 6 artists of various genres, none of which received a score over 7 – may be justified, maybe not. Don’t know who the reviewer is and what makes this person an expert – but this isn’t an isolated case where reviewers are concerned. Reviewers can only give you their opinion based on their tastes backed by the illusion of a puffed up public image that their publication may have. At any rate, the thing that really stuck out for me and motivated me to write this blog was their perception of what constitutes "a demo". They claim (in their infinite wisdom I’m sure) that a demo is: “A "demo" is defined as any recording (even a full-length CD) that is NOT professionally distributed to brick & mortar stores through a major distributor. Online distribution does not apply.” OH PUKE ME! Where do they get off!?! You know, I laugh at this as it shows not only fear but an unprogressive stance and distain for Indies taking control. They want you to believe that YOU NEED THEM! Bull Crap! Let’s look at a bit of history shall we…vinyl was once the only method of listening to recorded music…then came the cassette tape - which created a lot of agitation to the “powers that be” meaning loss of control over how users would acquire and reproduce their music. Then came the CD which pretty much “nuked” both vinyl discs and cassette tapes….Now we have the digital revolution! Which is the future and the future is NOW! Sorry guys – better except it! Now digital downloading is slowly phasing out physical CDs. As a label owner, digital distribution is a God send. We don’t need to deal with external manufacturers and physical distributors where the likely hood of being ripped of by them by not getting paid, false reporting and the likely hood of them disappearing with out a trace is widely known and been known for years. Many have gone out of business where the label and the artist have ended up with f**k all! Music lovers who want our CDs can buy direct from us on our secure online store – no middle men needed.

I just want to say to musicians – be careful - proceed with caution. Don’t let the dream stealers infect you! They will try at every turn because they know most of you are desperate to get noticed and get your music noticed (for most of you it’s in that order – let’s be honest). Don’t forget that these publications with their “expert” opinions, A&R reps. and industry execs, etc. need those paychecks – as it is just a job for the majority of them. They aren’t artists! Not even close bud! I personally respect whole heartedly, first and foremost THE FANS. They’re the ones that matter ultimately. They’ll be the ones that buy your records (and yes, it’s mostly downloads according to reports), they remain loyal and will be honest and possibly critique your record unbiased – whether you ask or not. I always loved the one liners they give sometimes! Some can be very clever, quite witty and to the point.

Times they are a changin’ fast…so hold on to your pantyhose!