Why is Metal struggling? A view from the media...

[ThunderGod]

I've been presenting an internet radio show by the name of The Wyrd Ways Rock Show for more than 5 years now. For the first three years or so, I had a regular slot called Shock Of The New, where new bands would send in their demos, and I'd play a track from them. There'd be five on each show. These demos would come from all over the world. I'd like to think that a few of them managing to get signed was in some small way helped by them being on WWRS. Thing is, over the last couple of years, that torrent of demos has turned into less than a trickle. I want to get Shock Of The New going again. I want to help new bands gain exposure, but I can't do all the work myself. Being a Dad, I don't have the time I used to have to go trawling across the internet looking for bands. It's also getting harder because the bands don't seem to be around so much. They're certainly not as easy to find. I'm really not being arsey. Over the last couple of years, people in bands seem to have got lazy when it comes to promotion of themselves and their music. I've noticed it in the press area at Bloodstock, for example, as well as other festivals I've covered. So it's not just because certain websites have gone tits-up. Anyway, blaming that sort of thing is just poor. Up until a couple of years ago, there would be loads of the bands playing the New Blood stage hustling for interviews. The last two years? That supply has virtually dried up, despite their being more bands on the New Blood bill than ever. In the media area, we WANT to interview you. We WANT your demos, why aren't you coming to talk to us? We're there to help you find a bigger audience, and the only way you're going to do that easily is to COME AND TALK TO THE MEDIA! We all know each other. I personally organized extra interviews for at least 3 or 4 bands just on the Saturday, which will increase their audience. I'm not the only one who does that. We ALL do. We want you to succeed and help keep the scene going. Unlike in the mainstream music media, we in the Metal media love the music. Most of us do this for free. There are very few who get paid. Help us to help you. That's what we're here for. Let's face it, not much beats the buzz of finding your new favourite band.

[Ghouly]

This is a great post. I hope some of the new blood bands see it and take it in!! It could be perhaps the bands are skewing younger and younger in age, and thusly are less familiar with traditional grassroots methods of self-promotion, and are relying more on sending out digital demos, uploading music to their soundcloud or youtube, and promoting themselves via facebook. And then, having been a many-year veteran of Bloodstock, it can be a bit chaotic, though it's getting better, but these new blood bands might not be given the right information to know that they can be interviewed and put their demos in the hands of radio producers. And I think a random idea -- don't know if it's been done already, but Bloodstock itself could showcase a promotional area on their website where new bloods can post their soundcloud links or a brief bio. Something more digital that connects with youth.

[NTNR]

The media thinks a certain way and it's whatever pushes the agenda of those in power. Politics aside however most people in bands from all walks of life are giving up on the dream of making a living from music. Many don't bother putting out material because people will just steal it. Music is expensive to create, from monetary to emotional to general time it's a very involved process and more people are saying 'screw it'. I honestly didn't think much of the downloading craze as we went past 2003. Most of the bigger sites were either in their infancy and/or people had to be more advanced with computers to steal. As a metal head the music means everything to me. One of the biggest reasons I picked up the guitar in the first place was because I wanted to record. I wanted to make albums and sell them just like my heroes. There's NOTHING wrong with making money off music, unless your punk. Any idiot can make and upload a song but it takes a LOT more to dedicate the aforementioned not necessarily renewable resources into creating an actual album. I figured that pop music and the like would die off in a wave of theft, I thought metal was above this as we tend to go nuts for CD's. I was wrong. I'm so ashamed and disgusted with how many people I know download music; legally or not it removes so much from the culture. The fact that stealing media in any form is socially acceptable and practically expected shows just how far we've fallen as a race. Mediocrity is celebrated while exceptionalism is frowned upon. The concept of ownership is lost to a generation of people who just don't care. Music has become as disposable as fast food and you wonder why you're not getting demos? (Not blaming you obviously). I've said all this before but with posts like this it just reaffirms my words. At some point there will be no more new music because there's no reason to make it if you can't get anything out of it. Art is only it's own reward to a extent.

[ThunderGod]

I think you're being needlessly pessimistic. There's a lot of new bands and new music out there, but the bands don't really promote themselves (maybe they don't know how) and there is a wave of promoters who seem to think putting an event on Facebook counts as promotion. That needs to change. If you look around the media area at a Metal festival, the vast majority there are not in the employ of any kind of media empire. I'm certainly not. Of the people doing interviews, I would say there would be around 10% being paid to be there. The rest of us are there because we love the music and want to support it. Don't tar us all with the same brush, especially when we probably put in as much work as you do as a musician to run our websites/podcasts/stations/zones. The grass roots media and the grass roots bands are strong. We just need to get them together. The reason Metal is struggling is because that connection is not there. I personally have appealed for demos on many different forums over many years. I've emailed bands and managers directly and got precisely nothing back. What some people need to understand is that if they want to get out there, they need to take opportunities when they are offered, especially free or very cheap ones! So... My message to anyone in a band reading this: PM me. Tell me about your band and give me some music to play. I've got an audience. I know venue owners. I know label owners and managers. I know other DJs who would also be interested in playing your stuff. I can review your stuff, then pass it on to someone at another site who will do the same. You just need to type a few words and press send.

[BlutAusNerd]

Re: Why is Metal struggling? A view from the media... I don't really disagree with anyone here, as I have seen both sides of this. I have seen the dedication from bands, labels, promoters, websites, fans, and I've also seen the same level of laziness. There are plenty of theories as to where the disconnect is between those who are dedicated and those who are casual at best, I don't know that any one of them is totally correct. I think a lot of it does come back to how entitled modern society feels toward many things, and almost always people will choose something free to something with a cost, despite concepts like value, worth, support, etc... It could also be how plentiful and readily available music is, in this day and age (especially with the internet), music is everywhere, which may diminish its value in the eyes of some because of how abundant it is. As a band member (in 2 bands now), we've tried the promotion routes of websites, interviews, gigs, posting samples on forums, sending promos to labels, and it honestly hasn't amounted to much. This could have lots to do with many different things, and while I'm less gung ho about putting my name out everywhere than I used to be, I'll take you up on your offer. There's nothing to lose, so I'm game. Expect a PM from me tomorrow. Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2

[NTNR]

That's another thing it's very hard to reach your target audience because there are only a billion places to build fan sites: facebook, twitter, bandcamp, etc... some people only use one and 9/10 times it's probably not what you use. If anything the web has made it immeasurable harder for a band like ours to reach the ears of potential fans due to this. That's why I'm a fan of the traditional website. People come to you, not the other way around. That also goes for podcasts and radio shows. Ya you'll reach people but only those who follow you regularly. We've had our stuff played on the Crestfallen Podcast a few times and more people did take notice but that guy only has a few followers. The same goes for the few radio interviews we've taken part in. And no, I'm not being needlessly pessimistic, I'm being realistic.

[FatherAlabaster]

ThunderGod - I've sent you a PM as well. I've seen a lot of promoters come and go over the years, and I think it's good that you're committed to providing a stable platform for emerging artists. Like BAN and NTNR, I've run the local treadmill for years and I've seen it amount to, eh, not much. Unlike BAN and NTNR, I listen almost exclusively to mp3s and streaming music. While I think that the ready availability of digital media can have a corrupting influence, I don't think it's inevitable; the key to avoiding it is a decision to listen in a dedicated way, and to really give the music time to sink in, rather than appreciating it purely for its immediate entertainment value. I'd rather have one person download my albums for free and grow to love them, than have 10,000 people buy a hot track on iTunes, listen for a week, and forget about it. I really do mean that. And thankfully the first thing has actually happened. My love for music, for its own sake, has kept me writing despite the loss of band members and promotional outlets, and the lack of outside support. Unfortunately, this attitude has also led to my continuing cluelessness with regard to promotion. Even mid-level labels seem to require a lot up front. Videos, pro photo shoots, slick packages. They say it shows "dedication". I've read interviews with A&R guys, where they refer to Facebook likes and YouTube hits as being "all-important". I don't even have a Facebook page... but the focus seems to be on what the band - this young, hardworking, passionate group of kids - has to offer. What do they have to offer to a company who's concerned with survival and profit, in the face of a glut of other groups who do exactly the same thing? I hate that question. I'm working on my fourth Black Harvest album; I've written or co-written two other albums and an EP, as well as numerous one-offs, for other groups. I've been a recording engineer/producer for other bands' demos. I've done album art and t-shirt design. I'm not lacking in either talent or dedication. So my question to you is, what does the industry have to offer to me? I don't have an image or a "lifestyle" to sell. I love playing live, but not enough to want to spend the next fifteen years on tour hawking t-shirts and missing my son's childhood. I love exposure for my music, but not enough to consciously water it down for the sake of palatability. I want to write and record albums and play shows and I'm no longer in a position to lose money on the endeavor. What place is there for someone who really means it when they say it's all about the music? If that seems self-aggrandizing, well, take it with this grain of salt - despite whatever efforts I've made thus far, I haven't had a solid band lineup, a stable collaborative process, or any financial success at all with my music to date. So there's a lot to listen to, but not much else to see. I know people with far more musical ability, and I also know people who have had far more success. I want that too. I have to start somewhere.

[Leon Chiang]

I'm also promoting indie bands. I believe most indie bands are struggling not because they're lazy, but because they lack differentiating factors. They simply need to figure out some creative things and add these to their music, their music videos, their merch, their everything. Not only metal is struggling, but many artist in many genre are struggling. Music is very important, but the more important thing is to make yourself different. If Susan Boyle was 20 years old, she wouldn't have any success. Her differentiating factor is her age (of course she's a great singer). I suggest that all musicians figure out their differentiating factors. Focusing on music is good, but there must be something more.

[FatherAlabaster]

I'm also promoting indie bands. I believe most indie bands are struggling not because they're lazy' date=' but because they lack differentiating factors. They simply need to figure out some creative things and add these to their music, their music videos, their merch, their everything. Not only metal is struggling, but many artist in many genre are struggling. Music is very important, but the more important thing is to make yourself different. If Susan Boyle was 20 years old, she wouldn't have any success. Her differentiating factor is her age (of course she's a great singer). I suggest that all musicians figure out their differentiating factors. Focusing on music is good, but there must be something more.[/quote'] I disagree. Not to say that bands shouldn't work as hard as possible to promote themselves, but relying on marketing gimmicks because their music doesn't hold up is shallow and pointless. The things that get a band signed aren't necessarily the same things that will help them in the long run. If the music's not compelling, they aren't going to have long-term success anyway. If you mean that bands should spend a lot of time listening to other bands and then coming up with something musically that sets them apart from the pack, well, I still disagree; measuring yourself by what everybody else does is a great way to get stuck in a creative rut and never really find your own voice. Far more important to be sincere in your writing and openly grateful to the bands who have influenced you, than to keep shouting about how different you are.

[BlutAusNerd]

Re: Why is Metal struggling? A view from the media...

I disagree. Not to say that bands shouldn't work as hard as possible to promote themselves' date=' but relying on marketing gimmicks because their music doesn't hold up is shallow and pointless. The things that get a band signed aren't necessarily the same things that will help them in the long run. If the music's not compelling, they aren't going to have long-term success anyway. If you mean that bands should spend a lot of time listening to other bands and then coming up with something musically that sets them apart from the pack, well, I still disagree; measuring yourself by what everybody else does is a great way to get stuck in a creative rut and never really find your own voice. Far more important to be sincere in your writing and openly grateful to the bands who have influenced you, than to keep shouting about how different you are.[/quote'] Indeed. Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2

[Hooligan]

there are a shit load of bands now that are using social media and social networks more to promote themselves but however, it has become a major bitch lately since places like facebook are trying to make a buck to make any post more viewable. twitter is a different ballgames but the problem there is fill with clusterfuck of bullshit swamping the real people. I have internet radio station called chainsaw radio. I do try to put in some unsign act from time to time but man do I hate getting halfass demos. Btw, thunderGod, it funny you mention demos. I used to get some mp3 files from bands and often are shit quality. I've notice the laziness in quality in terms of sound and production. yeah I know a lot of bands are cash strapped but C'mon, at least an effort is fair and nice. because my station is a hobby. I don't accept psychical copies because I didn't want my home mail box be jammed pack with packages. I can't have P.O. box because I can't drive due to my vision impairment.

[deathstorm]

I just think mainstream media. Doesn't give a shit about metal. In my view

[Leon Chiang]

I disagree. Not to say that bands shouldn't work as hard as possible to promote themselves' date=' but relying on marketing gimmicks because their music doesn't hold up is shallow and pointless. The things that get a band signed aren't necessarily the same things that will help them in the long run. If the music's not compelling, they aren't going to have long-term success anyway. If you mean that bands should spend a lot of time listening to other bands and then coming up with something musically that sets them apart from the pack, well, I still disagree; measuring yourself by what everybody else does is a great way to get stuck in a creative rut and never really find your own voice. Far more important to be sincere in your writing and openly grateful to the bands who have influenced you, than to keep shouting about how different you are.[/quote'] First, adding more creativity to your work doesn't contradict with producing good music at all. Second, it's not necessarily about telling people that you're different from the other bands, but showing something that would surprise them. If you can bring more than playing songs to the audience, it's different. Many unsigned artists go viral on YouTube because they have creative presentation of their music. Is there any other new elements that could be added to your music, videos, life, anything that communicates well with people? I think this is important.

[FatherAlabaster]

What about those of us who don't want to "go viral on Youtube"? There's a meaningless statistic. I've read your argument elsewhere. Sell songs rather than full albums! Let people buy autographed personal memorabilia! Make videos thanking fans by name for contributing to your group-funded project! Not to say that people are wrong to pursue whatever marketing strategy they feel like; but it's not something I would want any part of. I have nothing against good packaging and strong performances, but that should go without saying. It still sounds like you're advocating gimmickry and the creation of a cult of personality. What exactly do you mean by "elements that could be added to your life"? What do you mean by "adding creativity"? Underneath your argument, there's the assumption that "the audience" will go for whatever is new, bright, and shiny. I don't think you're giving people enough credit. I personally would rather listen to 30-45 minutes of music with no visual accompaniment; I often feel that videos detract from my listening experience. And I try to hammer albums into the ground, just like I did when I only had four tapes to choose from, because that's a great way to fall in love with music and get all you can out of it. A lot of new stuff just doesn't give back. It's still the listener's choice, whether or not to enjoy music in a deeper and more engaged way.

[Leon Chiang]

What about those of us who don't want to "go viral on Youtube"? There's a meaningless statistic. I've read your argument elsewhere. Sell songs rather than full albums! Let people buy autographed personal memorabilia! Make videos thanking fans by name for contributing to your group-funded project! Not to say that people are wrong to pursue whatever marketing strategy they feel like; but it's not something I would want any part of. I have nothing against good packaging and strong performances, but that should go without saying. It still sounds like you're advocating gimmickry and the creation of a cult of personality. What exactly do you mean by "elements that could be added to your life"? What do you mean by "adding creativity"? Underneath your argument, there's the assumption that "the audience" will go for whatever is new, bright, and shiny. I don't think you're giving people enough credit. I personally would rather listen to 30-45 minutes of music with no visual accompaniment; I often feel that videos detract from my listening experience. And I try to hammer albums into the ground, just like I did when I only had four tapes to choose from, because that's a great way to fall in love with music and get all you can out of it. A lot of new stuff just doesn't give back. It's still the listener's choice, whether or not to enjoy music in a deeper and more engaged way.

You're quite right that it's all up to listeners to make the choice. My observation is that many people are indeed attracted by new things, so perhaps you and me just have different observations. Of course, a lot of people would just pay attention to the music itself, but there are also a whole lot who would look at something else. I also respect you for focusing on music alone. When I listen to music I also pay very much attention to the music itself, but my observation tells me a lot of people are different from me. They would prefer more exciting, creative experience. Again, I want to note that this is my observation. I believe my observation and your are both correct because you can always find people who prefer either way. I'm not promoting any marketing ploy. I just want to say that an artist could be creative in connecting audience better, and this can be achieved by adding new elements to his/her work or through a creative presentation. Certainly, he/she can choose to just focus on music. That's pretty much different choices we all have to make.

[Scott Andrew Morris]

Great post I too try to promo new bands and play them on my radio station I use twitter mostly to connect and find new bands. I wake up everyday to at least 10 or 12 bands sending me there stuff to vet and play. Twitter can be an awesome tool to find new bands and promo yourself. \\m//