As some of you know I spent 35 years as an agent for musicians, between
my 2 stints with the LSA - a lot of this time was working on building
careers and salability for folk and Celtic musicians. I see a few things
missing that other genres of music have used to grab toe holds in the
ladder toward success (or just keeping the heads above water).
- web pages. This is the first place where potential employers (concert
promoters etc.) look to find contact information. There are more than a
few "names" in the lute world who do not have their own web sites. When
you Google them all you get is links to buy their CDs.
- email lists. I have yet to see a paper out at a lute concert where the
players is collecting emails for his own mailing list. Concert promoters
have a hard time getting audiences out and need all the help they can
get. Musicians who help them fill the seats get booked.
- the lute world seems to be made up of players of all levels, but
completely empty of people who are just fans. Take a look at the
audience base for Irish music - there are tons of people who have never
played an instrument and never will, but who love going out to hear live
music.
- a common comment from concert and festival presenters is that they are
looking for performers who can connect with their audiences. This is all
the other communication besides playing the music and what they usually
mean is talking to the audience between the pieces.
Nancy
Brilliant! Lute lobbyists are the answer, as demonstrated by Mr.
Dubrow's experience. For the cost of one nuclear sub, the entire lute
world could carouse in luxury.
Mark
From: "theoj89...@aol.com" <theoj89...@aol.com>
To: lute@cs.dartmouth.edu
Sent: Tuesday, August 6, 2013 9:02 AM
Subject: [LUTE] Re: general public Lute awareness
How does one get others interested in lute? Marketing.
All lute players should contribute to a hollywood lobbyist fund where a
lute 'product placement' could be made in the next historical film that
utilizes swords and corsets. Better yet,let the hero seduce the heroine
with a lute song, and re-establish the lute in popular culture as the
seduction tool that it was meant to be.
Look at what the movie "Doctor Zhivago" did for the popularity of the
Balalika (seriously). Maybe a lute tax could be tacked on to every
lute purchase and lute string purchase to pay for such a lobbyist.
Marketing takes money.
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Nancy Carlin
Administrator THE LUTE SOCIETY OF AMERICA
http://LuteSocietyofAmerica.org
PO Box 6499
Concord, CA 94524
USA
925 / 686-5800
www.groundsanddivisions.info
www.nancycarlinassociates.com
