Releasing Music Yourself -versus- Not Unless We Get a Deal (1 Viewer)

[Buckrake]

Can you explain this to me please, Johnny?
And why is that guy at the back of the picture on the right familiar?

I wish this would end

ha lookat

 

[Corey]

HERE WE GO....





WANT A JOB??

HOW'S YOUR FLASH AND ANIMATION SKILLS THESE DAYS? I'M LOOKIN' FOR A COUPLE OF HEADS. THAT UNDERLINED AND BACK THERE IS TO SIGNIFY THAT THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ANIMATION DONE IN FLASH AND FLASH ANIMATION. THE LATTER BEING THE SHIT ONE THAT MAKES ME SICK, THEN VIOLENT.

MAN-AQUAANNNDO!!!

I'm pretty flash at the moment, but i dont move around much anymore. Have your people talk to my people, they'll chop it up a bring us a bottom line prior to next weekends orientation meet.

That Noel Edmonds picture is utterly terifying.

 

[therealjohnny]

Can you explain this to me please, Johnny?
And why is that guy at the back of the picture on the right familiar?

Long ago, must be nigh on 2 year, the evening herald did an article on Independent music in Dublin

This very picture appeared on Thumped that day courtesy if someone who had access to a scanner

i just found it in my pictures folder today

who's the girl?

 

[RSJ]

Is that anthony mound in the middle at the back?

 

[Buckrake]

Is that anthony mound in the middle at the back?

Thats what I was thinking...!

 

[snap-apple]

Stephen, Anthony, Clodagh, Rhona. Great days. Well, maybe not.

 

[Charlie Bucket]

Long ago, must be nigh on 2 year, the evening herald did an article on Independent music in Dublin

This very picture appeared on Thumped that day courtesy if someone who had access to a scanner

i just found it in my pictures folder today

the print is too small to read - ya got a bigger version of it?

 

[nlgbbbblth]

Long ago, must be nigh on 2 year, the evening herald did an article on Independent music in Dublin

This very picture appeared on Thumped that day courtesy if someone who had access to a scanner

i just found it in my pictures folder today

who's the girl?

two years?

more like five.

http://www.thumped.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=170&highlight=herald

 

[nlgbbbblth]

the print is too small to read - ya got a bigger version of it?

here..

Things What You’re Missing
By Andrew Dennehy

Young rock star hopefuls have been given reason to rejoice as a new umbrella group offering an avalanche of resources for independent Irish bands was recently set up.

“Things What You’re Missing” is the name of this curious collaboration of bands, independent record labels and a number of people with experience in the gruelling world of the independent music industry.

“We’re a group of people who want to help bands along the way,” said Stephen Doyle (24) from Carlow. “It’s very easy to put on gigs, it’s very easy to release records, it’s very easy to book tours but it’s very difficult if you don’t know how.”

Over 30 established independent bands nationwide, including Witnness veterans Redneck Manifesto and Joan of Arse, are pooling their experience, abilities and contacts in an effort to help bands on the road to success. So far, approximately 200 Irish acts have benefited from the service and become involved in the periphery.

“’Things’ is primarily an umbrella group for all the independent bands, labels and promoters in Ireland,” said Rhona (19), whose experience includes organising music festivals in Cork and her home town of Clifden.

“There are a number of very good independent labels around the country all working separately, but all basically doing the same thing – wanting to release records for bands who have no interest in signing to a major label; who are just doing it for the love of music,” she said.

The people who are actively involved with ‘Things’ utilise all of their individual talents to help promote the group. The umbrella group covers all types of music from guitars to computers. With such a cartel of media skills, ranging from website and graphic design to marketing and administration, independent acts will have more support than ever.

“You don’t have to go into a recording studio and spend 500 quid making a demo to give to a record label. You could release that yourself. It would be just as good and there are ways of getting just as much attention as you would with the label,” said Stephen, who has been booking and promoting gigs around the country for the last two years.

“Things What You’re Missing”, named after it’s policy of promoting bands and gigs the public generally don’t hear about, manifests itself in a number of guises. There is an email sent out every Monday detailing the events of the next week including gigs, clubs and releases by independent bands. Almost 1,000 people have subscribed to the mailing list in the four weeks since its inception.

The idea arose from a discussion in the forum of Thumped.com, the on-line Mecca of the independent music scene.

“The main thing that sparked the discussion was how to advertise gigs. The same 100 or so people were turning up to all our gigs,” said Anthony Mackey (30) who works in design and print.

“But when some American band comes over the place would be packed. The question was how do you get to those people? How do you get them to realise that there are equally good bands locally that you can see for much cheaper?

“One simple idea is that every Monday we send out an email listing what is happening over the week. Posters in shops just don’t work as well as they used to,” said Anthony, who used his graphic design skills to create the ‘Things’ advertisement, which depicts the album covers of 16 Irish bands.

“My own band is one of the bands on the ad,” he said. Anthony is a guitarist in Dublin-based rock outfit, Large Mound. “We’ve an album coming out and we certainly couldn’t afford to take out an ad for that. Everybody else is in the same boat. If we all chip in 20 or 30 Euro, that then makes a few hundred euro so we can buy some space.”

The website offers a vast array of contacts around Ireland and the UK to help bands book tours as well as important information and advice including the cheapest places to get CDs pressed, how to book a tour, how to print posters and even how to get your first gig.

“If you’re in a band and you think, ‘what do we do now? How do we do a gig?’ there’s an article on the website that takes you from going in to a venue and introducing yourself to walking out the door with your money at the end of the night,” said Stephen. “ There’s also an article on how to feed nine people on a fiver, which helps when your touring and money is tight.”

The immediate aim is to establish decent distribution channels so that ultimately it will be easier for independent acts to make a name for themselves around the country and abroad.

“One thing that annoyed me was that Joan of Arse spent a lot of their own money last year to make an absolutely amazing record, Distant Hearts, and for what? It’s been pretty much ignored by the press and the radio,” said Anthony. “I was listening to it the other day and I was thinking ‘this is such a huge album, why isn’t this on the radio all the time?’”

‘Things’ intends to provide the necessary advice, resources and promotion to quash this lack of exposure for local bands with real talent.

For more information on ‘Things’ go to www.thingsyouremissing.com.

 

[Gino Padula]

so.. what film did you watch last night?

That's not a funny thing you've changed your name to Billy. Seriously, it's sick. Why not just call yourself Hitler if it makes you feel good?

 

[killy kill]

That's not a funny thing you've changed your name to Billy. Seriously, it's sick. Why not just call yourself Hitler if it makes you feel good?

Here here! .|..|

 

[billygannon]

That's not a funny thing you've changed your name to Billy. Seriously, it's sick. Why not just call yourself Hitler if it makes you feel good?

Maybe it's because I get called Cromwell around these parts.

You know... because I live in England.

 

[mr pharmacist!!!!1]

That's not a funny thing you've changed your name to Billy. Seriously, it's sick. Why not just call yourself Hitler if it makes you feel good?

lighten up biddi.
cam?

 

[Gino Padula]

lighten up biddi.
cam?

Alright Georgie.

Fair enough. It's not my business, but if anyone called me after a murderer, I wouldn't be cool with it and I'd say it to them.

In fairness, I will admit that some English people really get on my nerves with calling Irish people "Paddy" and other shit like that. It's partly a bit of an anger management problem I have.

Anyway, I'll leave it at that. You can say whatever you want now.

And, er, for what it's worth, I'd probably go for the middle ground re. releasing music. Probably best to create a label and sign yourself to it.

Slán!

 

[lympog]

Originally, my opinion on this was if you don't have a deal there's a reason you don't have a deal. Why would you go pouring your own (borrowed) money into releasing a single if the industry has not taken notice of any demo or gig to date?

I've seen a number of decent but not ground breaking bands release singles and some albums on their own bat. Inevitably, most fail. Some make it into the charts, usually on the strength of 5 purchases each by every friend/relation the band have. But after they fall back out of the charts, have they gained all that much?

But lately, it seems to me that the days of gigging and demoing, meeting the right people and getting a deal are gone. It's been pointed out to me that there's no excuse these days for a band that isn't organised enough and willing to take a chance and put something out. The recording, printing and promotion resources are there and much more accesible than ever. It's not that big an investment to put out a single, split 4 or 5 ways.

So if a label is presented with two good bands with equl potential, one band who flits between Crawdaddy gigs and TBMC basement rehearsals and another band who's saved up, recorded, promoted, organised launch gigs, got their mates, nieces, nephews, grannys etc to buy their single and got it in at number 14 giving them the beginnings of a fan base, which are they going to choose to invest in?

I completely change my mind on this bi-weekly.

dude,
a decent number of the people on here are in bands' that have released music independently or via a record label
believe it or not, there are people who actually want to release stuff themselves (i've done it too...) - why do you assume that's a bad thing? record labels aren't everything
i quite like being independent too for another reason - it means that i can keep track of where money is going and where it's coming in more easily
sorry, but i just don't buy your argument on the basis that it's complete tosh

- leigh

 

[lympog]

Waterfall sent me that list of failures, no big surprises here really...

1. Vinnie
2. Sankybus
3. Jane (though I'll argue this point, her last spoken word album was classic)
4. Pantone247
5. Vinnie
6. Vinnie
7. Billy Gannon

i wanna be a failure too...

- leigh

 

[lympog]

Here, is this actually the case though? Surely the way it works is - record company forwards advance of X amount to band. This is used to pay for everything .... bulk of money that band makes goes towards paying this back .... band doesn't do well so it doesn't happen and then band get's dropped ..... but then it's game over. The band are not then indebted as individuals to the record company. If they continue as a band then maybe they are indebted in this way... but not as individuals, right?

you sign contracts as individuals and not as a band, unless it's a strange contract

 

[Unicron]

Is the general concensus then, to release music yourself, as economically as possible?

Always jam econo

 

[Flux]

Just out of curiosity, have any members of Thumped actually turned down a record deal?

 

[Unicron]

I think that when the Frames got dumped for the first time they were let off the debt. In reality, it's hardly worth chasing the debt unless you think the band is going to make money for someone else.

I think when they got dropped the second time ZTT were far less forgiving then their first label.