Originally Posted by
Tributary Records
So by the time the major record companies found out about Seattle for instance, that scene had already happened. By the time copy cat bands popped up everywhere, and the Seattle bands took off on national tours etc, that local organic scene was history.... but it did produce some good visceral rock bands that propelled them to the national level and beyond. Some survived, some didn't as we all know the story for there. The bigger record companies distributed the music to a larger audience with radio contacts and press influence basing it on "if it worked there, it can work on the bigger level". Same formula for the 80's underground goth scene in London, The Smiths, The Cure, Psychedelic Furs etc... and again in LA with the glam rock bands. Local fan base, direct interaction with bands and fans, local record shops, indie or pirate radio.
Internet radio is not FM radio. FM radio by nature is localized and limited station space which assured a viable voice to the broadcasted area. It you started a station, you WOULD be heard. There would only be a dozen or so stations so you had a voice. People would always spin the dial from one end to another and if you played good music, people would stop at 101.4 or whatever. Word spread quickly about a cool new station and the DJ's would talk to you if you called in, and they would be seen at venues and treated like rockstars themselves.... why? because they were in positions of power and influence. Internet radio means nothing. You have to search and find it, it's impersonal, it's not live, it's not happening and there is no localized scene.
Humans are humans, and the old way that worked still works. This new way doesn't work, and the proof is in Phil's previous post. Phil's band did everything right. Great music, touring, festivals, distribution, but it couldn't support itself on the road without major label support. Too much work, too little money, not enough fans to pay the bills and became a negative drain.
I feel that the solution would be to use the old model. There needs to be a local scene first. Not just one band, or two, but enough to where there is variety to keep things fresh, genuine local support and interaction, and a concentration of energy right at home with local press, radio etc... that would feel appreciated by locals, and not trying to throw your music out there into the cyber wormhole where few will care or pay attention.
I would certainly rather sell 10 CD's or vinyl records at a local show than have 100 downloads of poor quality MP3 files to disconnected fans in a remote place that I will never meet or interact with at a show or tour.
A thriving local scene is the best thing in the world for a musician and it's fans. Ask any successful band that came up that way and their best memories will always be about those times. Ask the fans as well.
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