Re: sxsw - doggin
Many of you have not gotten the point that I had tried to make. I agree with all of you that you have to make your own opportunites, network, exposure, bla bla bla... SXSW is great. Go home and tell em you went. Make contacts. bla bla on and on. The point is simply this. SXSW seems to have a good racket going with the ticket price, registration price, hotel deals bla bla bla. Damn they have got to make a lot of money. SOmeone is making a lot of money. DO they have to keep all of it. Can any more of it go back to the bands somehow? All I am hearing are the stories that it was great, but stressfull, we ate peanut butter for a month afterward, etc SXSW would not be jack shit if bands did not show up. It would be nice if the bands could actually be compensated better than they are right now. Seems to me that whoever is in charge is worried about "putting on a good show" and "going to the bank afterwards." Again I say, if bands did not show up SXSW would not be jack shit. My redneck-hate-to-see-musicians-get-used opinion.
Re: sxsw - doggin
Nancy: The point is simply this. SXSW seems to have a good racket going with the ticket price, registration price, hotel deals bla bla bla. Damn they have got to make a lot of money. SOmeone is making a lot of money. DO they have to keep all of it. Can any more of it go back to the bands somehow? All I am hearing are the stories that it was great, but stressfull, we ate peanut butter for a month afterward, etc Damn, they *do* make a LOT of money and the bands see squat. You don't have to persuade me, I agree with you wholeheartedly. Obviously the players are getting screwed and everyone knows that. It's just that many people are happy with this status quo or rationalize it in one way or another. That's the way the music industry works, actually. Thinking about popular music from a labor-managment perspective is a very depressing and/or eye-opening practice. I've often wondered if there's any real possibility of change in this area, but I suspect there's not. Making music is literally a labor of love for the vast majority of people who do it. And as we all know, virtually all bands operate at a loss. I don't begrudge any successful act their hard-earned money, but it just ain't true that hustling for exposure is "paying dues" that may some day pay off in this particular industry. It's a way to maintain enough visibility to be able to perform at a loss for a longer period of time. Promoters and labels have all the cards, financially speaking, and 99% of performers do it until they can't tolerate the financial and work deficit it puts them under any longer. So Nancy, Amen and keep testifyin'!! g --junior
Re: sxsw - doggin
That's the way the music industry works, actually. My last comment on the subjest, and I promise I will shut up. I am really sorry if I have stumbled upon a touchy subject for many of you. It just seems like we all love music so much, and I am not just being selfish when I suggest that we try to give something more back to the musicians who give so much to us. SXSW is a good thing for the bands that get to play. The whole experience has got to be great. Just playing in Austin is cool. I have never been accepted to SXSW, I quit send them shit in the early 90s. But it would be a good gesture on their part to at the very least give all band members passes to everything so no one is left out. It would also be cool to have a cafeteria catering set up so thebands can atleast get a couple decent meals a day, for free. With all the sponsorships, don't you think someone would want to make sure the musicians are fed. Hell, tell someone to call Fred Smith at Fed Ex here i Memphis. I bet HE would want to make sure they all eat. And last, if SXSW did these things, then the bands would be much happier, probably play much better, and may not feel so bad about how much income they lost in travel and hotel to do it. I bet if Elvis were still alive, he would not play for SXSW unless they fed him.
