Selling Out???

Read and interesting article that for some reason I can't link, but it was about the every changing music industry and how tough it is for today's musicians. I won't comment on the entire article, but one interesting fact talked about bands "selling out" to advertisers and how, not to mention it is happening so often that it is no longer an honor and the benefits are smaller, but also the song used to sell a product is forever attached to that product.

My question, what happened to individual identity? Years ago advertisers paid for jingles to support a product and everyone would go around singing the jingle and think of the hamburger, pop, whatever was being sold. Today a car is no longer a Ford, Chevy, etc, it's Vampire Weekend, Muse, etc. and quiet frankly songs used in advertising get old real fast and can make the listener run cold on the musician. If the advertisers like what the musicians are writing why not have them write something specific to the product? It might boost the products image when a song loops in peoples heads and it's directly related to the product. It could also give musicians/song writers another avenue to help support their passion that seems to be more and more difficult to live off of.

ENOUGH WITH TRYING TO PROVE YOUR IN THE KNOW. . .

Is anyone as tired as I am of watching TV shows and at some random point music is slipped in and that music is an alternative band that you know the majority of the population have no clue who they are?

DJ's??????

For my 15 year old sister to show me a video and then question the music industry, something must be up. I'm not going to mention the artist or give you a link to the video because that would be promoting what I think is an embarrassment to the many musicians, including myself, who's passion is music. What has the music industry come to? Understandably in this economy and the demise of the music industry there isn't much money to go around to promote new bands, etc. But a girl off of YouTube? Is everyone looking for the next Justin Bieber?

And it wasn't only my 15 year old sister that was astonished. What promoted me to write this blog is that my 46 year old father called me from his car after hearing it on XM radio. His exact words "What is this world coming too? I was switching stations and on Hits1 they were playing that song from ??".

All week long I've been watching YouTube videos of some pretty amazing bands coming out of SXSW and haven't heard one of them on the radio  - Where's the disconnect??

Sleeping during second period

New to blogging and I couldn't think of anything to write at two a.m. but I put some mean chords down on the keyboard. That's the way it is I come up with the music but rely on Dylan for the words. I should get him to write this blog. 


Can't wait for rehearsal tonight. Actually, if it wasn't for the mandatory school day I'd be behind a totally different keyboard. My band - Third Semester - has a show in Wisconsin this weekend. Our first out of state gig and we haven't confirmed a set list. We have four original songs so that means three covers are needed to fill the twenty minute set time. I'm thinking maybe stick in a Christmas song, have to bring that up to my bandmates. 


Speaking of gigs or lack of, it's  unbelievable how tough it is to get promoters to book a band. How the hell are we supposed to guarantee ticket sales if we can't build a fan base?