Giving away all of my music for free.

[steevio]

Always follow the principle if it's good they will come. If your music is really good then they will come but if it's not then you wont make any money. Labels or distribs won't care.

It's that simple. How you deal with this reality is up to you. Lol.

you know this has always been my philosophy too, but there are things which make it not so simple in the end.

recently i have been talking to a lot of 'pro' musicians in my capacity as a festival organiser, i have become quite close to a lot of these guys, and the story is often the same, 'why am i not making much money even though i'm successful in the scene ?'
i think the answer is there isnt enough money to go round in the 'scene', a tiny few very successful artists grab a disproportionate slice of the pie, and everyone else fights for the scraps. whether these very successful artists deserve their advantaged position or not is open to debate, i for one am perennially disappointed by many of the big names who dominate the techno-house scene when i go to their gigs, many of these guys are living on past glories, and imo are easily outstripped by the up coming fresh young talent around. (of course this is a generalisation, there are stillplenty of the old guard who are actually still doing the business)
i think its starting to become more noticeable, the difference between the old guard and the energy of the new guys.
but we need more promoters to support the new talent and to stop relying on safe bookings at events.

there isnt really a 'music business' almost every form of music has its own scene, some of those scenes can support many more artists than others, usually the more leanings toward mainstream popular music, the more money available.
our music is still very underground and while it may be easier for an artist to be visable, it's harder to make good money.

[oblioblioblio]

It's quite depressing but often it comes down to having a good brand and an image. It seems like sometimes very pointless attributes make the difference between being popular and being unknown. Maybe you're associated with someone who is a big name and that gets people interested, or you get a review, or you're part of a scene that is recognisable or new. You get booked becuase a promoter wants a piece of that.

Timelessness is always the mark of great music, but it isn't always recognised. Lots of journalists are lazy and unwilling to put the hours in. They're riding the same popularity waves as everyone else.

Maybe I'm fed up and totally bitter about it all.

I watched the film Anvil again yesterday on BBC iplayer, good but depressing. They're nice hardworking guys and whilst I don't love all the elements of their music and personalities and I don't hink there's that much which seperated them from the guys who sold millions.

Haha actually I heard a good quote from someone yesterday that is related, "the present will unfold in such a way as to produce the maximum amount of irony in the future" .

(thanks to Cary Grace for that one)

[Dal-Tech]

i for one am perennially disappointed by many of the big names who dominate the techno-house scene when i go to their gigs, many of these guys are living on past glories, and imo are easily outstripped by the up coming fresh young talent around. (of course this is a generalisation, there are stillplenty of the old guard who are actually still doing the business)
i think its starting to become more noticeable, the difference between the old guard and the energy of the new guys.
but we need more promoters to support the new talent and to stop relying on safe bookings at events.

You have to make things happen. That means throwing your own events. Find out how much it cost to land a venue and put out a kick arse flyer by a pro graphic designer and go from there. You'll either crash and burn losing money or you'll gain momentum and things will start to happen. If you're sh!t is wack then people will let you know by the floors being cleared or no draw.

In order to draw an audiance you may consider booking talent or locals that already have a following and put yourself on the bill or you could just gamble and make it your own event.

[Dal-Tech]

It's quite depressing but often it comes down to having a good brand and an image. It seems like sometimes very pointless attributes make the difference between being popular and being unknown. Maybe you're associated with someone who is a big name and that gets people interested, or you get a review, or you're part of a scene that is recognisable or new. You get booked becuase a promoter wants a piece of that.

Timelessness is always the mark of great music, but it isn't always recognised. Lots of journalists are lazy and unwilling to put the hours in. They're riding the same popularity waves as everyone else.

Maybe I'm fed up and totally bitter about it all.

I watched the film Anvil again yesterday on BBC iplayer, good but depressing. They're nice hardworking guys and whilst I don't love all the elements of their music and personalities and I don't hink there's that much which seperated them from the guys who sold millions.

Haha actually I heard a good quote from someone yesterday that is related, "the present will unfold in such a way as to produce the maximum amount of irony in the future" .

(thanks to Cary Grace for that one)

I read somewhere a good way to get signed to a label is to establish a relationship with that label through support purchasing their music and then feeding them demos for feedback. It's kind of like going to a record store with your own music and not buying anything. It's better to buy records from the store and get to know the employees and then ask if they'd be interested in carrying your record, maybe a trial run. They'd probably be more open to that since you are a loyal customer.

The other thing is talk is cheap. A good brand image I guess is helpful but nobody gets big by making tracks in their bedroom and going to forums or soundcloud. You have to make things happen like I stated in another response by throwing events if no one from your scene will book you.

[steevio]

i for one am perennially disappointed by many of the big names who dominate the techno-house scene when i go to their gigs, many of these guys are living on past glories, and imo are easily outstripped by the up coming fresh young talent around. (of course this is a generalisation, there are stillplenty of the old guard who are actually still doing the business)
i think its starting to become more noticeable, the difference between the old guard and the energy of the new guys.
but we need more promoters to support the new talent and to stop relying on safe bookings at events.

You have to make things happen. That means throwing your own events. Find out how much it cost to land a venue and put out a kick arse flyer by a pro graphic designer and go from there. You'll either crash and burn losing money or you'll gain momentum and things will start to happen. If you're sh!t is wack then people will let you know by the floors being cleared or no draw.

In order to draw an audiance you may consider booking talent or locals that already have a following and put yourself on the bill or you could just gamble and make it your own event.

i think things are totally different in the States bro, you cant really compare it with the scene in the EU/UK.
this is my 30th year of putting on successful events, never had a no draw or a cleared floor, and ive always focussed on up coming / local and underground talent from abroad.
There's a very well developed EDM scene in the UK with lots of small clubs /events/parties, a huge network of interconnected people thats been established since the 1980s throughout Europe, there are many dynamics which mean that your model would not necessarily be relevant here.
you need to have a foot in the door so to speak, some thread of connection to it all. Its very complicated.

saying all this, your DIY suggestion is exactly what ive been doing all this time, but its much harder to establish yourself in this way without that thread of connection and an understanding of the scene as a whole, if you go out totally on a limb here you will crash and burn guaranteed. In the UK no-one will pay money to go to an event if they havent heard of someone on the bill, the secret is to find the quality artists who at least some people have heard of and are currently active but who are not the expensive, over-hyped, and over-rated 'he'll pull a crowd' brigade.

you dont need a pro-designer flyer here either, word of mouth does a much better job in a small country like the UK.

[Dal-Tech]

i for one am perennially disappointed by many of the big names who dominate the techno-house scene when i go to their gigs, many of these guys are living on past glories, and imo are easily outstripped by the up coming fresh young talent around. (of course this is a generalisation, there are stillplenty of the old guard who are actually still doing the business)
i think its starting to become more noticeable, the difference between the old guard and the energy of the new guys.
but we need more promoters to support the new talent and to stop relying on safe bookings at events.

You have to make things happen. That means throwing your own events. Find out how much it cost to land a venue and put out a kick arse flyer by a pro graphic designer and go from there. You'll either crash and burn losing money or you'll gain momentum and things will start to happen. If you're sh!t is wack then people will let you know by the floors being cleared or no draw.

In order to draw an audiance you may consider booking talent or locals that already have a following and put yourself on the bill or you could just gamble and make it your own event.

i think things are totally different in the States bro, you cant really compare it with the scene in the EU/UK.
this is my 30th year of putting on successful events, never had a no draw or a cleared floor, and ive always focussed on up coming / local and underground talent from abroad.
There's a very well developed EDM scene in the UK with lots of small clubs /events/parties, a huge network of interconnected people thats been established since the 1980s throughout Europe, there are many dynamics which mean that your model would not necessarily be relevant here.
you need to have a foot in the door so to speak, some thread of connection to it all. Its very complicated.

saying all this, your DIY suggestion is exactly what ive been doing all this time, but its much harder to establish yourself in this way without that thread of connection and an understanding of the scene as a whole, if you go out totally on a limb here you will crash and burn guaranteed. In the UK no-one will pay money to go to an event if they havent heard of someone on the bill, the secret is to find the quality artists who at least some people have heard of and are currently active but who are not the expensive, over-hyped, and over-rated 'he'll pull a crowd' brigade.

you dont need a pro-designer flyer here either, word of mouth does a much better job in a small country like the UK.

I know about politics in the UK but people often make a huge mistake thinking they have to go through others. I can see someone, even in the UK being a relative unknown and throwing a fun themed event that people would want to attened. The first party may be light but if you are really good then word will catch on like wildfire. Think outside the box, promote where others wouldn't. Target a new audience and not those types that been in the scene since 1980. Screw'm. It all depends how good you are. It's that simple. Unfortuantely, that's not a very common thing. Someone who truns heads.

Edit: On flyers. A nice looking flyer or graphic promotion will go a long way. A wack do it yourself looking flyer or graphic promotion will give the wrong impression like the amature hour.

[steevio]

I know about politics in the UK but people often make a huge mistake thinking they have to go through others. I can see someone, even in the UK being a relative unknown and throwing a fun themed event that people would want to attened. The first party may be light but if you are really good then word will catch on like wildfire. Think outside the box, promote where others wouldn't. Target a new audience and not those types that been in the scene since 1980. Screw'm. It all depends how good you are. It's that simple. Unfortuantely, that's not a very common thing. Someone who truns heads.

i think you missunderstood my post bro, i'm not referring to types from the 1980s, i'm saying that there is a huge infrastructure of techno and house in the UK which doesnt relate to the US situation, although you guys had a huge bearing on the invention of EDM, you havent had the strong techno scene we've had in EU for 25 years.
I wasnt putting down the UK scene in any way, its a strong healthy scene, there isnt really the politics as such that you are referring to, i'm not saying its impossible to put on an event, just that it has to relate at least partially to the existing structure for it to have any chance of success. This is natural evolution, nothing wrong with it.
youre preaching to the converted with me bro, if you knew me you'd know that i'm a huge advocate of DIY, i promote where others wouldnt and totally think outside the box etc.. but i'm also a realist and know that things arent quite as simple as you suggest.
remember i am totally talking about underground music here, not the established mega clubs etc..

i fully relate to where you're coming from and partially agree with everything you are saying, but i also know the scene here very well and know what works and what doesnt. this is a very small island.

[ray parry]

the whole scene is a load of bollox. once you realize that one can move forward. you got bods who cant make music, playing all over the world getting big bucks because they have an engineer. you have people that made a track 20 years ago and still getting paid tons because of that. you have people that dont want to pay for music anymore and think the artist should make money from gigs even though there are not many and in most cases a bloody wedding dj would get paid more money!. you have this uncontrollable fascinations with certain locations (Detroit) and then like some people said already a tiny pot of money that’s meant to be shared between loads of artists. I find there are a couple of groups of people in this scene when it comes to producers. They either come from money or they do naughty things to get money so they can focus on their passion. Either that or they are just lucky and get a breakthrough, but even that doesn’t really seemed to be controlled by quality. There are a few that have a certain quality, but tons of others that are just lucky.

lucky for us (people in the uk) the scene is so big and split into so many different little scenes that we can avoid all that sh!t if we want too.

rant over.

i hope you enjoyed it as much as i did.