There's been some interesting pieces written concerning the new era of the recording industry and how consumers are purchasing and getting music from their favorite artists ... or their not-so-favorite artists.
I saw that 2010 will be the official tipping point in the music industry -- where digital downloads will surpass the sales of music from traditional activity. You know ... like heading down to your favorite record store and picking up a CD from your favorite artists.
So, what's the problem? So artists aren't selling as many records as they used to and are making their millions from the downloading public.
Well, it's not quite that simple. First of all, if record companies can't sell records they wont' be around ... record labels are after all in the business of selling records it would seem. And, if CDs don't sell like they used to sell, it would seem that the big checks written by record labels signing artists to record deals won't be as big as they used to be.
Secondly, it was a little easier back in the day to safeguard against people stealing music when buying tunes involved heading down to the record store. Sure, there were those who might be inclined to put a CD in a coat pocket and shoplift the thing out of there.
But it's much easier to steal music these days when it involves pulling it out of cyberspace. According to an industry report, downloads of singles increased 10 percent in 2009 to 1.5 billion units.
Number one downloaded artist of 2009? Anyone?
Lady Gaga. Seriously. I would staked my house and most worldly possessions on the Jonas Brothers or Taylor Swift for that honor.
Moving on.
The recording industry is attributing an overall slump in sales to pirates. People are just flat stealing music from artists. In broad daylight in some instances.
So, the recording industry isn't necessarily tasking itself with bolstering record sales and finding new ways to market CDs. It is instead tasking itself with stopping piracy and finding ways to cater to those who want to consume and purchase music legitimately.
Some countries have even adopted legislation -- that's right, the government is involved -- where people are warned first if they are attempting to download music illegally, and if the process continues, the would-be pirates have their Internet service and connection suspended.
Sounds a little extreme and it appears to be a system that can be easy defeated.
Meanwhile, Ticketmaster and LiveNation continue to steam toward a merger that would in essence monopolize the concert industry. Ticketmaster would control 90 percent or perhaps even more of the tickets to shows and events and LiveNation would control the venues and the artists.
In fact, there are many artists who are signing exclusive promotion deals with LiveNation to perform a certain number of shows in LiveNation venues. LiveNation is big player in routing the tours.
The latest on that front sees LiveNation trying to sell of some of its venues to a rival company, while Ticketmaster is stating it may divest of its sister company, TicketsNow.com.
What does all of this mean? Well it continues to add evidence to the theory that the dominant revenue stream for artists will be touring -- kind of like it was in the old days.
For this reason, LiveNation and Ticketmaster merging might be a bad thing for the concert going public. If LiveNation is controlling venues and dictating tours, and Ticketmaster controls the ticketing, the concert going public may pay the pipers.
Have you priced top concert tickets these days? The top grossing concert in the week ending Dec. 31, 2009 was Mariah Carey's show in Madison Square Garden where top tickets went for $321 a shot.
Here's the hook folks ... if those reading this don't glean anything else from this drivel other than the following statement, well, that's fine.
It just can't be denied that our event ... the Real. Texas. Festival. is a tremendous value by today's standards. Pre-sale tickets will be launched the middle or end of February. Those who buy early will only pay $10 to see Kevin Fowler or Cross Canadian Ragweed -- or $12 to see both on a two day pass.
They'll also get a chance to stop in and see the Mesquite Championship Rodeo.
And, we won't even charge you to park.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
It won't be long now
In a little more than a month, tickets will go on sale for the Real. Texas. Festival. Hard to believe. It seems like we just finished this thing a couple of months ago.
The festival is shaping up to be the biggest ever. First of all, Cross Canadian Ragweed is the headliner. That should do it right there.
But we also have Kevin Fowler signed, as well as Mark McKinney, Granger Smith, Stephanie Fix, Grupo Vida, Zack King, Railhead and Steely Dan tribute band Naked Lunch.
And, don't forget about the battle of the bands. The battle of the bands is something we believe has tremendous potential. Last year's winner, The Neckties, will be performing at the festival this year. The boys used the battle of the bands at the festival to somewhat launch a pretty full gigging slate throughout the year.
They've played for motorcycle events such as the Garland Police Department Toys for Kids drive this Christmas. They are also on the bill at the Dallas International Guitar Festival two weeks before RTF.
Here's the way it works. Eight bands are selected from an audition process -- which is all spelled out on the RTF Web site (www.realtexasfestival.com) -- to compete in a winner-take-all competition. The prizes include $500 in cash, meet and greet passes to the festival headliner as well as a guaranteed performance slot at the 2011 event.
That's important. There are a lot of bands who compete in these things and even if they win, they break up for one reason or another. Things happen.
Bandmates move away to college.
They just generally lose interest.
They decide to pursue other things.
With the battle of the bands winner getting a guaranteed performance spot in the following year's festival, it is our hope the young bands will stay together. Or, even if one of the members moves away to college or decides to pursue other interest, the remaining members will find a replacement and keep playing.
The Neckties are a good example of this. They implemented a suggestion made by the judges from last year's event to add a bass player, which gave the band a fuller, thicker sound.
The bands are judged on four key points in their performances ... vocal quality, overall musicianship, stage presence and overall performance. Judges score the bands from 1-10 with 10 being the best. The scores are added up from judges and the average of the total is the band's final score.
Hopefully, eight bands will be whittled to four which be pared down to two for the championship round.
The battle of the bands at the festival isn't new. It is a continuation of an event launched by Mesquite Youth Services back in the day. When Mesquite Youth Services went away, the battle of the bands event was mishandled. It was somewhat of a disservice to the people who developed that event ... which was very successful and continued to grow in it's four-year run.
It was assumed by the folding of MYS that the battle of the bands was just going to die. Well, it hasn't. The festival wants to continue this event ... at a different time, in a different month and on a grander stage.
Please -- any high school band, where the majority of the members are in high school or even younger, send in some material and audition for the battle of the bands. It's a good time. What else would you rather do on a Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1:30 or 2 p.m.?
The application and audition process is open. Don't wait until the last minute and come experience rock star treatment. We'll have a backstage area for you to store your gear, hang out, have a few beverages (non-alcoholic of course parents) and hopefully, all of you will video and photograph your backstage experiences for your Facebook pages.
And, although the event was excellent in the past, the festival ramps it up a bit. Bands will perform on a 20x24 foot stage with a roof and a corporate sponsor. In fact, the battle of the bands event may have a title sponsor.
Perhaps most important, the same company who is mixing the house and teching the sound for Cross Canadian Ragweed and Kevin Fowler will have representatives on site teching the battle of the bands event. There will be people to help load in and load out whatever gear you have -- that's right, actual roadies.
Load in and load out should be a breeze because we'll provide complete back line -- Fender twin reverb guitar amps, Drum Workshop drum kit and Ampeg bass rigs.
Check it out ... it's gonna be great.
The festival is shaping up to be the biggest ever. First of all, Cross Canadian Ragweed is the headliner. That should do it right there.
But we also have Kevin Fowler signed, as well as Mark McKinney, Granger Smith, Stephanie Fix, Grupo Vida, Zack King, Railhead and Steely Dan tribute band Naked Lunch.
And, don't forget about the battle of the bands. The battle of the bands is something we believe has tremendous potential. Last year's winner, The Neckties, will be performing at the festival this year. The boys used the battle of the bands at the festival to somewhat launch a pretty full gigging slate throughout the year.
They've played for motorcycle events such as the Garland Police Department Toys for Kids drive this Christmas. They are also on the bill at the Dallas International Guitar Festival two weeks before RTF.
Here's the way it works. Eight bands are selected from an audition process -- which is all spelled out on the RTF Web site (www.realtexasfestival.com) -- to compete in a winner-take-all competition. The prizes include $500 in cash, meet and greet passes to the festival headliner as well as a guaranteed performance slot at the 2011 event.
That's important. There are a lot of bands who compete in these things and even if they win, they break up for one reason or another. Things happen.
Bandmates move away to college.
They just generally lose interest.
They decide to pursue other things.
With the battle of the bands winner getting a guaranteed performance spot in the following year's festival, it is our hope the young bands will stay together. Or, even if one of the members moves away to college or decides to pursue other interest, the remaining members will find a replacement and keep playing.
The Neckties are a good example of this. They implemented a suggestion made by the judges from last year's event to add a bass player, which gave the band a fuller, thicker sound.
The bands are judged on four key points in their performances ... vocal quality, overall musicianship, stage presence and overall performance. Judges score the bands from 1-10 with 10 being the best. The scores are added up from judges and the average of the total is the band's final score.
Hopefully, eight bands will be whittled to four which be pared down to two for the championship round.
The battle of the bands at the festival isn't new. It is a continuation of an event launched by Mesquite Youth Services back in the day. When Mesquite Youth Services went away, the battle of the bands event was mishandled. It was somewhat of a disservice to the people who developed that event ... which was very successful and continued to grow in it's four-year run.
It was assumed by the folding of MYS that the battle of the bands was just going to die. Well, it hasn't. The festival wants to continue this event ... at a different time, in a different month and on a grander stage.
Please -- any high school band, where the majority of the members are in high school or even younger, send in some material and audition for the battle of the bands. It's a good time. What else would you rather do on a Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1:30 or 2 p.m.?
The application and audition process is open. Don't wait until the last minute and come experience rock star treatment. We'll have a backstage area for you to store your gear, hang out, have a few beverages (non-alcoholic of course parents) and hopefully, all of you will video and photograph your backstage experiences for your Facebook pages.
And, although the event was excellent in the past, the festival ramps it up a bit. Bands will perform on a 20x24 foot stage with a roof and a corporate sponsor. In fact, the battle of the bands event may have a title sponsor.
Perhaps most important, the same company who is mixing the house and teching the sound for Cross Canadian Ragweed and Kevin Fowler will have representatives on site teching the battle of the bands event. There will be people to help load in and load out whatever gear you have -- that's right, actual roadies.
Load in and load out should be a breeze because we'll provide complete back line -- Fender twin reverb guitar amps, Drum Workshop drum kit and Ampeg bass rigs.
Check it out ... it's gonna be great.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
