The Branding of Live Looping was: looping and the publicand categ.......

[Rick Walker <looppool@cruzio.com>]

AG asked about branding:

*/" @Rick - Why did you or what was the reasoning
for naming your Fest Y2K? I mean it's a cool name
and all. But, to continue branding the LL thing, would it not be better 
to include the word
in the title of your Fest?"

/*Hi AG,

I don't know how long you've been in the community, but if you've been 
on Loopers Delight for more than a
few years you probably would have noticed all the posts I made about the

Y2K9 INTERNATIONAL LIVE LOOPING FESTIVAL

which is the official name of the looping festival.      The first of 
this series of festivals was in
2001 but I started calling it the Y2K2 LIVE LOOPING FESTIVAL in 2002 and 
I believe
added the INTERNATIONAL part of the moniker in 2003 as people from other 
countries started flying
in to perform from other countries.

Next years 10th anniversary and last very large festival for me will be 
called the
Y2K-X 10th ANNIVERSARY INTERNATIONAL LIVE LOOPING FESTIVAL
which is really a mouthful, but I want the nature of it (particularly 
the fact that we made it to 10 years with
this festival) prominently in the first sentence of every press release.

We decided for the website to shorten the festival name  to 
www.Y2Kloopfest.com  for ease of memory when giving the URL
to someone but if you go to the website (have you ever been) it always 
clearly states what the name of the festival
is each year.

I have since day one,  in point of fact since you mention branding,   
really pushed the notion and the actual branding of Live Looping.

I've done so, specifically, because this community of musicians that has 
built up really do differ from the musicians (such as hip hop
and other eletronica forms)  who use static loops in their production 
and play them,  pre-recorded in their performances.

As a matter of course,  I turn down artists who don't have a significant 
amount of live looping in their content each year (much to the chagrin
of some artists who are dying for a gig).

I've been a stickler for this 'branding'  because it was the easiest way 
in my area to sell the idea to both the press, radio, venues and the 
public.

It was brand new so I had to really work hard to get that particular 
branding out there. Now, I'm happy to say, it is completely accepted 
where I live
(and the concept has spread to many different festivals that have 
occurred around the world since I started trying to promote this notion).

I've been successfully involved in the promotion of several different 
musical movements in my long career as a professional musician
and community organizer where I live.      What I've found is that a 
brand has to be very simple and require the least
amount of explanation in order for it to be accepted.   It's always best 
whether selling a product or a notion of musical community, style or genre
to include what you are doing in your brand.   Working with people with 
no knowledge of something precludes you being able
to reach them within one sentence I have found.     LIVE LOOPING as a 
brand has worked well for me in this regard.

That being said and done,   we have a universal community and people 
have different social customs and languages in their communities.
What works for me in my publicity or attempts to get this notion across 
to the populace  in Santa Cruz which is a very hip and sophisticated 
town, musically speaking  (hell, only 50,000 people and we've at various 
times had Universal Audio, EMU Systems, Antares, Cycling 74, Creative 
and many other innovative music companies located here) might not work,  
as Gareth pointed out,  in Wales where he lives.

Having the egalitarian approach to the festival also is a notion that is 
really accepted and favored where I live (close to the birthplace of the
original Hippy movement in Northern California).  I"ve found, in my 
travels and attempts at spreading this notion that a lot of Europeans
just don't resonate with this concept very much..............or the ones 
that do seem to be in a minority from my limited experience.

It's all good.      It's good for me to do this festival in an 
idiosyncratic way.  It's good for Matthias to try and get his 
livelooping.org and youtube live looping
sites off the ground and promote the way he wants to.  It's good for 
Sjaack to want a more exclusive and narrower stylistic focus for his 
wonderful
Antwerp festival.      Years ago,  when I was more idealistic and 
aggressive about spreading the Live Looping vibe,  I think I completely
alienated one European promoter because I took him to task for not being 
more inclusive for the really fantastic festival he produced.
I really regret that now,  because I realize that one,  I never wanted 
to alienate a fellow comrade in this work and two, because I realized 
that his
festival really galvanized the larger European live looping community 
and set up , in time, all the wonderful coordinated activities that are 
beginning to happen
in Belgium, Germany, Italy and the UK.

It's all good.     And quite, frankly,  instead of spending so much time 
talking about all of this stuff,
I would advise that everyone who feels passionately about it should get 
out and produce a regional live looping concert themselves
and advertise it in WHATEVER way you want.

The point is that we do something.  As it was said in 'Field of 
Dreams',.  the American magical baseball movie,
"If you build it, they will come"

So Check  out the Y2K-X International Live Looping Festival. Check the 
website out.  Check out the many videos on youtube and remember that 
Jim's touching tribute to the festival is
only one of many over the years and most of them were more thorough 
single artist and shot in hi fidelity with hi fidelity sound.

Hell, come perform at it.   You'll be happy you did,  I promise you.

respectfully, Rick Walker

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