Messages

1

THE FUTURE OF THE MUSIC BUSINESS / Re: Promotional Work

« on: February 08, 2012, 04:48:57 am »

You're bringing up a very important point here, Bojanix, since whether or not a mag or blog is going to write about a release isn't necessarily related to the quality of the music - in some cases not even to whether or not they like something or not. There's a multitude of reasons at work here: Temporary swings in taste (the reviewer may simply not be in the mood for drones/death metal/disco/dub at this particular point in time), time issues (the reviewer may have some pressing deadlines in his dayjob) as well as trying to keep a balance between different styles and between well-known and new names, for example, between following one's instincts and trying to cater to the tastes of readers.

For me, when I decide to review a release, I make a commitment to the artist and the music and this usually involves an intensive period of spending time with the work, reflecting about it, doing research and then penning, editing and correcting a review. During this period, all new music arriving on my desk is on hold, even if it's absolutely fantastic. My working process is particularly time-consuming, but in the end every journalist has a limited amount of disposable time. So if a reviewer tell you he or she is interested in an album but then doesn't write about it, there's no contradiction from my point of view. There's an element of luck to getting a review in the sense of contacting a reviewer at the right time with the right release. I missed out on the releases of German artist Field Rotation at the time of their first release, for example, but may write about them now, as they're being re-released on vinyl.

2

THE FUTURE OF THE MUSIC BUSINESS / Re: Promotional Work

« on: November 22, 2010, 04:57:00 am »

As this is something that has to do with labels as well I thought to start a topic about promotion of releases.
This is because so far I have been having a hard time to get magazines, blogs and such to review material I have released on my label and I guess I am not the only one.

Do you have special tricks?
Do you have certain contacts?
What are your thoughts about how some zines work with this?

And so and so on.

I know just how hard this is, because I am actually on both sides of the debate - as a writer and occasional label-curator. A personal approach is definitely helpful, but it is just a tiny part of the equation. If there were a single advice I would have to give it would probably have to be persistence. If the music is interesting enough over a long stretch of releases (which I definitely feel is the case for Moving Furniture), results will come in time. Establish personal contacts and then keep asking them whether they'd be interested in covering future releases - even if they haven't in the past. One of the labels which has been really good at this is Dragon's Eye, whose albums, for different reasons, I was unable to review for a while. But Yann just kept sending me stuff and eventually, I picked up the pieces again. That really installed trust in both sides, which I feel is essential.

For print mags, I'm afraid, you will almost always have to go the route of a promoter, further raising costs.I'm not sure if these costs are really worth it, that's something Taylor may have some experience with - which I'd actually be interested in a lot.

I'm actually writing a series of workshops for one of the mags I work for on this exact issue, which I intend to port to tokafi at one point. I'd love to meet over coffee, too, in Amsterdam, to talk about these things in person - I'm sure to pass by from time to time 

3

THE FUTURE OF THE MUSIC BUSINESS / Re: are record labels relevant anymore?

« on: November 11, 2010, 04:56:35 am »

I completely agree with those saying that labels are certainly as important as ever. Their role, meanwhile, has again changed. If, in the 80s, they were mainly money machines who could brutally push an artist's career, the focus has been more on their curatorial function in the 90s and early 00's. Today, I see them rather as assuring quality and acting as partners of the artists on their roster:  They provide quality standards in terms of the sound quality of recordings and the artwork. By aggregating various artists, they can secure distribution as well as better deals at pressing and printing plants. And they can provide for a social context for the music. Denovali records recently organised a festival over here in Germany, bringing together the different acts from their catalogue and blending audiences from Post Rock, Electronica, Metal and Experimental Music to great success.

In short: Labels assure the highest level of professionalism and act as small-scale communities. I see a lot of that over here at 12k, for example: The mere fact alone that we're discussing these questions here at the 12k forum means that the label fulfills a function webzines or traditional forums can not.

4

THE FUTURE OF THE MUSIC BUSINESS / Re: CDs are dead (almost)

« on: November 10, 2010, 01:20:12 pm »

As to your question of what a label should do, Taylor, from my perspective it's not so much a question of format - even though that definitely is an important issue as well. From my personal experience, what no longer works is to operate exclusively via mailorders and other distributors. I think a label, just like artists these days, also needs to take its music on the road as much as they can. I don't believe in this myth of "live will save music" hyped by trendy journalists, but I do know that a lot of artists are selling vast quantities of records after their performances - up to 10-12 vinyls plus merchandising on just one night. It is the combination of traditional promotion (press, ads) with live work and social media that seems to be the key. How on earth a single person is supposed to do all that, I have no clue - and, just as in journalism, I'm pretty sure it takes away a lot of the pleasure and satisfaction of this job...

5

OTHER MUSIC / Re: mille plateaux relaunch

« on: May 21, 2010, 01:24:18 am »

I think it's only natural for fans of the original Mille Plateaux to be sceptical about this new launch, especially since Marcus has openly admitted that it will be as much a break with tradition as a continuation. He's looking at things from a different angle and even though he's fallen out with Achim, that need not be a bad thing. I'm actually more open to this fresh approach than a simple rehash - from what I've read about Marcus' plans, they are ambitious and show a great deal of enthusiasm. Things could be worse.

I've actually heard Wolfgang's Voigt upcoming "Freiland Klaviermusik" on Profan. Now THAT is some really experimental stuff - atonal Piano sonatas and a bass drum in the first half of the album and just the Piano in the second.

6

12K + LINE / Re: Giuseppe Ielasi "Aix" [12" / Minority Records]

« on: April 24, 2010, 04:02:48 am »

Oh wow, I had no idea this was coming out on Vinyl. Looks incredible, too. Probably my favourite Ielasi-album...