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Anything to say about looping? --- Andre Lafosse <altruist@altruistmusic.com> wrote: > O list, > > With the talk about media, inclusiveness or > exclusion to or from "the > music biz," labeling, et al. I have a couple of > thoughts... > > 1) I once had a (very nice) email exchange with a > critic who had > (positively) reviewed my CD in a well-known, > nationally-distributed > magazine. > > The critic's email address was @starbucks.com. > > Not exactly a domain name that suggests a > "self-appointed" critic, > firmly ensconsed "within" the industry, enforcing a > bastion of > exclusionist, gatekeeper-mongering elitism. > > 2) If I'm not mistaken, Wes Montgomery worked a day > job until the day he > died, or at least throughout the vast majority of > his "professional" > existence. A great many music writers, promoters, > managers, and (of > course) musicians who are very much a part of "the > biz" derive some or > all of their income from sources other than those > which are 100% based > upon music. > > It can be an easy psychological trick for a person > to feel like they're > on the outside looking in if they're not paying all > their bills with > music, but it's simply not an accurate or realistic > assessment. It's > not as if you one day cross into a threshold > forevermore seperating you > from the mere mortals. > > Mr. DT/S-C sums it up nicely (as usual) when he > remarks that EVERYONE > who's doing their music at whatever level is, in > some way or another, > part of "the biz." > > Just one example: many (probably most) of the > 120,000 + artists on > mp3.com are not full-time pro musicians. But get > enough of them in one > place, and suddenly they're comprising one of the > most visible and > important indie music resources around. > > 3) With regards to the age-old lament about labeling > or categorizing > what one does, and the "evils" of putting music into > specific genres... > > Here's a quote from Derek Sivers, who runs CD Baby > (and who is himself a > veteran of successful marketing and selling of indie > music): > > ============================================================== > IF YOU DON'T SAY WHAT YOU SOUND LIKE, YOU WON'T MAKE > ANY FANS. > > A person asks you, "What kind of music do you do?" > Musicians say, "All styles. Everything." > > That person then asks, "So who do you sound like?" > Musicians say, "Nobody. We're totally unique. Like > nothing you've ever > heard before." > > What does that person do? > Nothing. > They might make a vague promise to check you out > sometime. > Then they walk on, and forget about you! > Why??? > You didn't arouse their curiosity! > ================================== > > You don't need to take this as gospel, but it does > raise a good point: > very, very, very few people are doing things so > utterly obscure and > unheard-of that they have no existing points of > reference whatsoever. A > lot of musicians have a hard time describing what > they do (myself > included), but it's a very good idea to try and get > over that obstacle. > > Why? Well, how are you going to differentiate > yourself from the other > 120,000 people on mp3.com? Or the other 5,000 > albums at CD Baby? Or > the other 200,000 CDs at a giant record store? Or > the other 1,000,000 + > files on Napster? > > Or the other hundreds of people on the Looper's > Delight List of Artists? > > Yes, of course your music sounds different, and of > course people are > going to hear that once they find you. > > But getting those people to hear you in the first > place... aye, there's > the rub. > > Anyway... > > Andre LaFosse | Disruption Theory | > http://www.altruistmusic.com > ================================================================ > "A spectacular collision of manifold musical > thoughts and patterns... To > call Disruption Theory a futuristic album would be > an understatement." > (20th Century Guitar Magazine, February 2001) > > "His six-stringer is pumped up with energy, creating > a firestorm of > pyrotechnics and burning sounds, but with a > sensitivity to weirdness and > experimentation. Disruption Theory reveals the > difference it makes when > a player knows what he is doing. Here is one that > deserves the title > 'unique'." (Expose Magazine, October 2000) > > "Fripp and Zappa, step aside." (MOJO Magazine, May > 2000) > ========================================================= > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices! http://auctions.yahoo.com/