A record label wants to sign you.
June 26, 2012 6:09 PM
Is it a joke? Sure...except when it's not.
The folks from New Music Strategies (particularly Andrew Dubber, who has written and ranted comprehensively on the shifting/shifted culture of the music industry and its distribution methods) have started a record label, called Any and All Records, and they want as many "unsigned" artists as possible to join in, should you so please.
The underlying concept is that the very antiquated idea of "having a record deal" is, on the whole, completely unnecessary anymore, but there are still an awful lot of people and venues out there who won't give local, independent artists a shred of respect without one; somehow, having a faceless corporation backing your particular brand of noise is the only way to get it noticed at all by anyone who'll give you money.
With that in mind, this gives you a "Record Label" to which you can attach your name (for as long as you like--if you manage to come to some agreement with a "real" label, you're always welcome to do that), so you can stop calling yourself "unsigned," and get away from the stigma that comes with that particular adjective. It gives you a way to work within the system while simultaneously mocking and subverting it.
They've been in existence now since yesterday morning, and already have over 200 artists "signed." It strikes me as a great idea--so much so that we in Demons of Gyrophonia (as well as the two of us as solo artists) signed on with hardly a second thought.
If you're currently "unsigned," give the site a read, and (at the very least) don't ever call yourself that again. That's the biggest bullet point of the whole exercise.
posted by askmeaboutLOOM (5 comments total)
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The folks from New Music Strategies (particularly Andrew Dubber, who has written and ranted comprehensively on the shifting/shifted culture of the music industry and its distribution methods) have started a record label, called Any and All Records, and they want as many "unsigned" artists as possible to join in, should you so please.
The underlying concept is that the very antiquated idea of "having a record deal" is, on the whole, completely unnecessary anymore, but there are still an awful lot of people and venues out there who won't give local, independent artists a shred of respect without one; somehow, having a faceless corporation backing your particular brand of noise is the only way to get it noticed at all by anyone who'll give you money.
With that in mind, this gives you a "Record Label" to which you can attach your name (for as long as you like--if you manage to come to some agreement with a "real" label, you're always welcome to do that), so you can stop calling yourself "unsigned," and get away from the stigma that comes with that particular adjective. It gives you a way to work within the system while simultaneously mocking and subverting it.
They've been in existence now since yesterday morning, and already have over 200 artists "signed." It strikes me as a great idea--so much so that we in Demons of Gyrophonia (as well as the two of us as solo artists) signed on with hardly a second thought.
If you're currently "unsigned," give the site a read, and (at the very least) don't ever call yourself that again. That's the biggest bullet point of the whole exercise.
Hahaha, fantastic. One would hope, though, that a particularly savvy venue owner/manager would be savvy enough to realise that the Record Label concept is, in the current age, redundant at best, unnecessary most of the time, and downright counterproductive or even destructive to art at its worst. If they're smart enough to see through this bullshit, hopefully they're smart enough to see through that bullshit.
At least what's happening here is transparent bullshit--everyone involved in the actual contract is completely aware that it means absolutely nothing.
posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 5:22 PM on June 27, 2012
At least what's happening here is transparent bullshit--everyone involved in the actual contract is completely aware that it means absolutely nothing.
posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 5:22 PM on June 27, 2012
A *really* savvy venue manager would appreciate its point. :)
posted by kalapierson at 6:42 AM on July 2, 2012
posted by kalapierson at 6:42 AM on July 2, 2012
but there are still an awful lot of people and venues out there who won't give local, independent artists a shred of respect without one; somehow, having a faceless corporation backing your particular brand of noise is the only way to get it noticed at all by anyone who'll give you money
As an alternative, just....lie. One band I was in insisted we were on a major label - we'd get our bass player to say it though because he was from Liverpool. We were definitely on Vergin' - always verging on signing with a major, in other words..... Nearest we got was demos for A&M and RCA.
posted by MajorDundee at 11:44 AM on July 2, 2012
As an alternative, just....lie. One band I was in insisted we were on a major label - we'd get our bass player to say it though because he was from Liverpool. We were definitely on Vergin' - always verging on signing with a major, in other words..... Nearest we got was demos for A&M and RCA.
posted by MajorDundee at 11:44 AM on July 2, 2012
A *really* savvy venue manager would appreciate its point. :)
Precisely.
As an alternative, just....lie.
That's basically what's happening here, except that you're technically telling the truth. Though, I suppose if you had a Scouser sayin' you were "vehjin," it was close enough to be at least wibbly truth.
posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 7:50 PM on July 2, 2012
Precisely.
As an alternative, just....lie.
That's basically what's happening here, except that you're technically telling the truth. Though, I suppose if you had a Scouser sayin' you were "vehjin," it was close enough to be at least wibbly truth.
posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 7:50 PM on July 2, 2012
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That said, several years ago I got a paying gig to open for Cracker based on a completely fictional band that my friend made up on the spot while schmoozing the event coordinator at a venue in Park City. I still remember his phone call:
CASEY: Hey, man, how's it going?
ME: Pretty good! Wow it's great hearing from you, how long has it been?
CASEY: like a year since the band broke up.
ME: Wow. Time flies.
CASEY: ...yeah. So anyway, how would you feel about playing a one-night gig?
ME: Hmmm, that could be fun.
CASEY: we'd be opening for Cracker.
ME: Oh! That's pretty cool. How'd you manage that?
CASEY: Just chatting up the events coordinator. I told her we had a pretty rockin' band.
ME: but...we're not even in a band right now...
CASEY: I know, and we've only got three weeks to get one together and put together a set. But I think we can do it.
ME: Hmmm. WOW. Ok, yeah I think we can do it, but we'll have to practice a lot.
CASEY: For sure. Come over tomorrow night and we'll get started. The drummer's flying in from Seattle tomorrow.
ME: Crazy. By the way, what did you tell her the name of our band was?
CASEY: The first thing that came to mind: "Bruncle Jesse"
We played a set of mostly covers plus a few originals that each of us had kicking around in our heads. It was one of the best gigs I ever played, just a ton of fun. And to think it wouldn't have happened without an incredible amount of smooth-talking bullshit from my buddy Casey.
Good times.
posted by Doleful Creature at 9:51 AM on June 27, 2012 [2 favorites]