Defunct Virgin MegaStore photo credit: Rich Zerbo h/t: Dave “Write my Eulogy†Qualm Calm Quam
We all know the “indsutry†has collapsed. Not that most interesting music was ever fucking with the major label models anyway- but everyone ate their share of the largess of the recording industry. Now everything is in disarray. We are sorting through the pieces. We want to be fulfilled human beings making a living. Like some sadistic Rube Goldberg device we are fitting together a bunch of ill fitting widgets and hoping that in the end cash will trickle down. We are not a trust fund project or anyone’s hobby. We eat off what you give us.
The big agreement initially was this- recorded audio sales are down – now CA$H will come from touring revenue, merchandise, and licensing. But what if your Shadetek and have a family to take care of and can’t be gone every other week to Europe. Or what if you dont have the capital to invest in a big merch inventory (DA branded prayer candles coming as soon as I get back from Africa on my moms). Or what if your not in with the advertising/film/video game world and havnt had the 1 in a million opportunity to be featured on a itunes spot. It’s dope to have 4k facebook friends and twitter followers- but monetizing hype and goodwill is hard, especially for electronic musicians that don’t fit the standard indy band management model. We are hustlers though. We are never gonna stop.
But I want to make sure our extended family understands what moves we are making, and why. This isnt abo’ut selling more albums then mad decent, or having hyper raves parties then trouble and bass. We are creating a sustainable business model that allows for our work to reach the world AND provide us with the resources to continue pushing beyond ourselves. Major changes are in order- and I dont want any of you- our extended DA family – to be left behind. One of the most important tenants we follow is transparency. WE ARNT TRYING TO HIDE BEHIND BIZ3RRE MARKETING AND EXPENSIVE GRAPHIC DESIGN. WE JUST DO THIS FOR OUR PEOPLE SO YOU KNOW Y’ALL CAN HAVE IT.
With that in mind we are starting a new interview series “#realtalk†– where we explore some of the dark arts and reality underpinnings of music/art worlds. Shadetek is going in on his solo blog– but expect to see the most relevant content cross posted. We are gonna pull back the curtain a bit more, but do not be scared. We want everyone to be rich. First up we are gonna explore the shady as fuck (/powerful) world of PR in the digital era (primer here). But from the perspective of one of the good guys- Leeor Brown, 1st employee of Terrorbird and founder of Friends of Friends.
We are also bringing on to the team some new voices holding things down on tips as diverse as Up 2 the times UK bashment to QR code generation and all sorts of shit we have no idea about but wish we did. So hold tight. We in this together.
(PS basically wrote this whole post to have a reason to post that image)
One of the juiciest aspects of “music/art worlds” is that there *ISN’T* any “reality underpinning”! that’s the FUN PART, that’s the margin we exist in.
Utterly contingent value – cultural capital or bill$ – is exactly what myths of transparency dissimulate. (What is less transparent than a blog post in 1st person plural?)
That said, I obviously like & advocate talking about music/biz structures & hierarchies in public, demystifying the dumb shit — while remystifying that which needs remystifying. I just don’t see it as an inside/outside viewpoint thing w/ obscure on one side transparency on the other, Modernist clarity metaphors #fail ; pull back the curtain but Oz is still scripted, made-up, projected, as is our response to his debunking.
FILE UNDER: ADVANCED BANJEE REALNESS
#publicistsallthewaydown
#mudd
fuck transparency. lets go with integrity and honesty then. but that doesnt sound very cool.
we need a future visual vocabulary for being dope as fuck
such a cool image. Tally why you always say my name is Qualm? I like it maybe i will change it, I have a lot of qualms.
dave don’t take it personally, his grammar is poor too.
it’s YOU’RE not YOUR. this issue is even addressed in Friends.
to think your (sic) touring the world on some sort of academic scholarship, ever likely the USA’s finished
looking back on it what i wrote was a bit harsh sorry. i think it’s jealousy saying “what? this kid is travelling the world doing this awesome shit. dude’s spelling and grammar is poor though, so i’ll make myself feel better by ripping into him”
no stress. they just words
Strunk & White, bitches!
when does #realtalk comienza?