There is much weeping and grinding and gnashing of teeth throughout all corners of the music industry over the growing problem of piracy.
In this case, piracy is not copyright infringement where artists are upset because other artists are ripping off their stuff. Perhaps they should be concerned about this type of piracy though ... I mean, have you listened to the stuff on radio these days. One song sounds like the next which sounds like the next which sounds like the one played five minutes ago.
More on that later.
Rather, piracy is the plentiful sources out there where folks can get their favorite tunes from their favorite artists for free. Nobody sells records anymore ... folks hear a song they like or their buddies tell them to check out a song. Those folks dig it so they go find it on Limewire or some file-sharing server and download it for free.
Apparently the problem is rampant in Europe where nobody seems to pay for music.
So the industry is crying foul. It wants federal regulations and legislation. It wants punishment for pirates.
Rather than find a way to embrace the trend and build a better mouse, the industry wants outside sources to come up with the better mousetrap. It refuses to do next to nothing to fix its outdated business model.
Instead, it finds something that works and tries to mass produce it. It tries to American Idolize new artists by forcing them down the throats of consumers and proclaiming, "This is the next big thing ... you will love them."
Or, it finds something that works, rides it as long as it possibly can, then moves on to the next big thing.
Quick ... tell me. Who is the great American pop star who started a career in the early 90s and has built a sustaining career that exists today?
There aren't very many of them that's for sure. You might make a case for Green Day. Beyonce, but even she really hit the scene with Destiny's Child in the late 90s, not the early 90s.
Of course, Madonna comes to mind, but she built her empire in the 80s. U2 has been around since the late 70s.
Punishment for pirates is going to be a tough nut to crack, if not impossible. It's very difficult to enforce a penalty for downloading music off the Net. It would seem the trail of evidence would be paper thin because in order to really prosecute.
Perhaps instead of looking for the Internet service providers to come up with the answer, or getting the federal government involved, what if the industry took a good hard look at itself and rethought the way it does business?
After all, the Internet service providers really don't owe the music industry, or anyone else for that matter, a darn thing.
As fans, most are getting tired hearing the same song with different lyrics. Take Carrie Underwood's new tune for example. Miranda Lambert's "Gunpowder and Lead" was a pretty big hit. Rockers and country lovers alike banged their collective heads to that one.
You can sing the words to the chorus of "Gunpowder and Lead" right along with Carrie Underwood's "Undo it." Oh, and Blake Shelton had a hit with a song with a stutter in the chorus of "Hillbilly Bone." So, let's copy it with a stutter in "Undo it."
For years ... particularly in Country music ... the major players find a hot new artist they believe can be the next big thing. They take all of that artist's original material ... if he or she has any ... and put it in the hands of Nashville songwriters who work it over. Or, they tell that artist, "Here's a bunch of stuff we want you to sing."
It's a get-rich-quick scheme. If the labels really want us to stop stealing music, how about they not be so quick to wrest all creative control away from the artist and force them to fit the formula. And, artists need to fight for that control and be true to their music and not be so quick to sell their souls.
The problem is that there's this meteoric rise in some cases and there's no chance for the artist to grow. All of the albums sound the same. All of the songs sound the same.
I realize this sounds a little contradictory to our last post about not forgetting your favorite artist when they start making money. But really, when you stop and think about it, the artists that are being downloaded for the most part appear to be the fresh new stuff ... music that shifts outside the normal paradigms.
I'm of the belief the people will support their favorite artists and will pay for their music ... as long as those artists are continuing to push the envelope and remain creative and innovative. If they truly do sell out, well, then that's a different story.
Case in point: Look what Radiohead did a few years ago. They released an album for sale completely on the Internet. They told fans and music lovers they could pay as much or as little for it as they wanted. If they wanted to download the entire thing for free, they could.
It was an interesting experiment in that the average price for that Radiohead album was $10. People paid for music they loved and supported Radiohead. Speaking of Radiohead, their latest efforts sound completely different than their early singles such as "Creep."
If the industry really wants to stop piracy, it will re-examine it's business model, stop looking for everyone else to fix its problem and stop forcing songwriters and artists into their formulaic box.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Remember your Texas artists
I heard something from a radio talk show host the other day that sort of ticked me off ... but the more I thought about it, the more it made a little sense.
He was discussing the supposed farewell tour being planned by the Rolling Stones. After 50 years in the business, they are hanging it up. The tour will no doubt be a multi-million dollar production and from what I understand, it will almost take two years to complete.
He said he would probably attend -- not because he's that much of a fan of the Rolling Stones anymore, but because he owes it to them.
Wait. He owes them?
At first I thought, "Time out. That's backwards." If anything, the Stones owe us as music fans one final kick you-know-what tour where they play a two hour blistering set per night of their best stuff. They need to come out and play an unpredictable mix of their mainstream hits as well as some of the hidden gems that only true Stones fans appreciate and love.
Besides, if anybody owes the fans something in the way of a killer farewell tour, it's the Rolling Stones. Let's face it. That bunch has been mailing it in for the past 30 years. That performance ... if you want to call it that ... for the Super Bowl halftime show a coupe of years ago was one the most uninspired, disinterested displays I think I've ever seen.
But the talk show host further explained himself. He said he owed it to the Stones because as a young boy and young teen, the Stones provided a lot of great songs and a lot of great memories for him.
So, I began to ask myself about some of our Texas artists that we feature at the festival ... or those we'd like to feature.
It's been a common fan reaction to move onto something else when their favorite band or artist starts to hit it big ... if they land a major label deal or get picked up on a major artist's tour. All of a sudden, that favorite band or artist starts getting paid ... which was the dream in the first place. They all go into the business to land that big deal. They want to be rock stars. They don't like starving and wondering where the next paycheck is coming from.
But once these artists realize their dream, they are labeled as a sell out ... or they "forget where they came from." In some instances, that may very well be the case.
Still, it got me to thinking about "owing" artists and bands something for the memories and great times they provided for us. Although the two bands have next to nothing in common, owing the Rolling Stones on this farewell tour drew comparisons to the recent announcement of Cross Canadian Ragweed.
As everyone is probably aware, Cross Canadian Ragweed announced an indefinite break from touring. Speculation is that once this final rounds of shows concludes, CCR may just call it quits and go their separate ways.
What if that happens? I've seen a where a couple of venues have booked Cody Canada for some acoustic shows. Are people attending? Are the CCR fans supporting Cody in this endeavor?
Or, are they basically taking the stance that without CCR, Cody Canada fails to maintain relevancy?
I hope it's the former because like my radio host example, fans of Texas music and CCR owe Cody Canada continued support ... or Grady Cross or any of the other members of CCR who may or may not become involved in other projects. We're not saying CCR is breaking up, but we hope folks will continue to support them collectively or as individuals.
After all, CCR helped shape the current the Texas music culture and in time, will probably be considered one of the most influential bands of the Texas Red Dirt scene.
So, I agree with the radio host. The Rolling Stones should be supported on their farewell tour when they roll through Cowboys Stadium as they invariably will.
I "owe" the Stones myself -- just not at the $300 or more ticket price this thing might command. But I won't get on that soapbox again.
He was discussing the supposed farewell tour being planned by the Rolling Stones. After 50 years in the business, they are hanging it up. The tour will no doubt be a multi-million dollar production and from what I understand, it will almost take two years to complete.
He said he would probably attend -- not because he's that much of a fan of the Rolling Stones anymore, but because he owes it to them.
Wait. He owes them?
At first I thought, "Time out. That's backwards." If anything, the Stones owe us as music fans one final kick you-know-what tour where they play a two hour blistering set per night of their best stuff. They need to come out and play an unpredictable mix of their mainstream hits as well as some of the hidden gems that only true Stones fans appreciate and love.
Besides, if anybody owes the fans something in the way of a killer farewell tour, it's the Rolling Stones. Let's face it. That bunch has been mailing it in for the past 30 years. That performance ... if you want to call it that ... for the Super Bowl halftime show a coupe of years ago was one the most uninspired, disinterested displays I think I've ever seen.
But the talk show host further explained himself. He said he owed it to the Stones because as a young boy and young teen, the Stones provided a lot of great songs and a lot of great memories for him.
So, I began to ask myself about some of our Texas artists that we feature at the festival ... or those we'd like to feature.
It's been a common fan reaction to move onto something else when their favorite band or artist starts to hit it big ... if they land a major label deal or get picked up on a major artist's tour. All of a sudden, that favorite band or artist starts getting paid ... which was the dream in the first place. They all go into the business to land that big deal. They want to be rock stars. They don't like starving and wondering where the next paycheck is coming from.
But once these artists realize their dream, they are labeled as a sell out ... or they "forget where they came from." In some instances, that may very well be the case.
Still, it got me to thinking about "owing" artists and bands something for the memories and great times they provided for us. Although the two bands have next to nothing in common, owing the Rolling Stones on this farewell tour drew comparisons to the recent announcement of Cross Canadian Ragweed.
As everyone is probably aware, Cross Canadian Ragweed announced an indefinite break from touring. Speculation is that once this final rounds of shows concludes, CCR may just call it quits and go their separate ways.
What if that happens? I've seen a where a couple of venues have booked Cody Canada for some acoustic shows. Are people attending? Are the CCR fans supporting Cody in this endeavor?
Or, are they basically taking the stance that without CCR, Cody Canada fails to maintain relevancy?
I hope it's the former because like my radio host example, fans of Texas music and CCR owe Cody Canada continued support ... or Grady Cross or any of the other members of CCR who may or may not become involved in other projects. We're not saying CCR is breaking up, but we hope folks will continue to support them collectively or as individuals.
After all, CCR helped shape the current the Texas music culture and in time, will probably be considered one of the most influential bands of the Texas Red Dirt scene.
So, I agree with the radio host. The Rolling Stones should be supported on their farewell tour when they roll through Cowboys Stadium as they invariably will.
I "owe" the Stones myself -- just not at the $300 or more ticket price this thing might command. But I won't get on that soapbox again.
Friday, July 23, 2010
On the right track
Although some things will change at the Real. Texas. Festival., there is definitely one thing that will hold steady.
Ticket prices.
We believe we are really on the right track with the ticket prices for this thing. We were polling the ticket prices for some of the highfalutin music festivals around the country. It was shocking.
There is a new music festival at Churchill Downs featuring some huge names -- Kenny Chesney, Dave Matthews, Bon Jovi and others. The single day ticket price once all Ticketmaster fees are factored in is more than $300. Now there is a multi-day pass available for $250 or more.
Know what a multi-day pass to the Real. Texas. Festival. is? $25.
That's it.
If we are able to sign Eli Young Band to headline ... and we're hoping this is the case ... the two-day pass for the entire festival will be slightly more than the ticket price fans expect to pay for an Eli Young Band show. According to pollstar, EYB average tickets are a little more than $19 per show.
And remember, that two day pass will include whoever we get to headline Friday ... which could be Kevin Fowler, Stoney Larue, Jonathan Tyler and Northern Lights or maybe even Pat Green.
The tickets for the festival also include the car show, the Mesquite Championship Rodeo and even general admission parking.
Concert tickets have been a point of contention in a lot of circles these days. The industry has changed under the avalanche of on-line music options.
The general opinion in all facets of the industry is that it's difficult to make dreams come true as an artist by selling records. I didn't used to be that way. At one point in the not-too-distant past, artists would release an album then try to back it up with a tour. The album provided the impetus for the tour.
Now it's the other way around. Artists will announce a tour to promote the album.
And, with record sales not providing the revenue they used to, artists and their managers are asking for higher and higher performance fees. For the most part, concert promoters and venue managers have paid those higher fees.
Well, something has to give. Someone who used to pay $50,000 for a performance fee who is now paying $100,000 is going to have to find ways to increase revenues to make the concert salient. The natural and easiest increase is the ticket price.
So, as artists continue to demand and get higher and higher performance fees, ticket prices continue to soar. Enter a less-than-stellar economic situation and you get what's been happening across the nation right now.
Shows are being cancelled. Entire music events are in jeopardy. Artists are dropping out of their commitments (see Lilith Fair). Big time promoters like Live Nation and AEG can't sell out their own venues and they are citing weak ticket sales as the reason for the cancellations. The fans just can't take it anymore. It's very difficult to shell out close $500 or so every month to go see your favorite artist in concert.
Those in the know tell us that the shift may come soon when managers and artists take less money to perform shows and the fans can get back to their concert-going habits because they can again afford the tickets.
And, that day may be here sooner than later. Less than 1,000 people attended the headlining concert of an event benefiting the Oregon Trail Days organization -- a concert featuring Julianna Hough.
So in essence, the Real. Texas. Festival. is ahead of the curve -- featuring quality entertainers and artists and striving to provide the best bang for the concert and event-going buck.
Ticket prices.
We believe we are really on the right track with the ticket prices for this thing. We were polling the ticket prices for some of the highfalutin music festivals around the country. It was shocking.
There is a new music festival at Churchill Downs featuring some huge names -- Kenny Chesney, Dave Matthews, Bon Jovi and others. The single day ticket price once all Ticketmaster fees are factored in is more than $300. Now there is a multi-day pass available for $250 or more.
Know what a multi-day pass to the Real. Texas. Festival. is? $25.
That's it.
If we are able to sign Eli Young Band to headline ... and we're hoping this is the case ... the two-day pass for the entire festival will be slightly more than the ticket price fans expect to pay for an Eli Young Band show. According to pollstar, EYB average tickets are a little more than $19 per show.
And remember, that two day pass will include whoever we get to headline Friday ... which could be Kevin Fowler, Stoney Larue, Jonathan Tyler and Northern Lights or maybe even Pat Green.
The tickets for the festival also include the car show, the Mesquite Championship Rodeo and even general admission parking.
Concert tickets have been a point of contention in a lot of circles these days. The industry has changed under the avalanche of on-line music options.
The general opinion in all facets of the industry is that it's difficult to make dreams come true as an artist by selling records. I didn't used to be that way. At one point in the not-too-distant past, artists would release an album then try to back it up with a tour. The album provided the impetus for the tour.
Now it's the other way around. Artists will announce a tour to promote the album.
And, with record sales not providing the revenue they used to, artists and their managers are asking for higher and higher performance fees. For the most part, concert promoters and venue managers have paid those higher fees.
Well, something has to give. Someone who used to pay $50,000 for a performance fee who is now paying $100,000 is going to have to find ways to increase revenues to make the concert salient. The natural and easiest increase is the ticket price.
So, as artists continue to demand and get higher and higher performance fees, ticket prices continue to soar. Enter a less-than-stellar economic situation and you get what's been happening across the nation right now.
Shows are being cancelled. Entire music events are in jeopardy. Artists are dropping out of their commitments (see Lilith Fair). Big time promoters like Live Nation and AEG can't sell out their own venues and they are citing weak ticket sales as the reason for the cancellations. The fans just can't take it anymore. It's very difficult to shell out close $500 or so every month to go see your favorite artist in concert.
Those in the know tell us that the shift may come soon when managers and artists take less money to perform shows and the fans can get back to their concert-going habits because they can again afford the tickets.
And, that day may be here sooner than later. Less than 1,000 people attended the headlining concert of an event benefiting the Oregon Trail Days organization -- a concert featuring Julianna Hough.
So in essence, the Real. Texas. Festival. is ahead of the curve -- featuring quality entertainers and artists and striving to provide the best bang for the concert and event-going buck.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Let;'s get caught up
Well now ... it certainly has been a while.
I remember not so long ago, I made the claim that I was really going to try to do better at maintaining these posts and keeping up with the official blog of the Real. Texas. Festival.
Failure ... big time.
So I'm going to make the same commitment at this time. I'm really going to try to keep up with the official blog of the festival. And this time, we are going to call everyone's attention to the operative word in that statement.
That would be "try." I can try to do a lot of things ... I can try to run a 3 and half hour marathon this December. That certainly doesn't necessarily mean it's going to happen.
So, off we go ... let's get caught up.
Big Doings
The Real. Texas. Festival. was certainly big doings in 2010. There were 25,000 people who attended this year ... the biggest crowd ever. And, that might be a safe estimate as our "kids-get-in-free" promotion seemed to be a very popular feature. It's one that will undoubtedly be back for 2011.
Is this the line for the shuttle?
Talk about your popular phrases ... This one was heard a lot. As has been the case for the Real. Texas. Festival. since the beginning, we battled some rain. This year was perhaps the most rain we've ever had to deal with. In 2008, we fought rain on Friday night, but it was gorgeous on Saturday. Now, Sunday was brutal with a nice 45 degree day with a 30 mile per hour wind straight out of the north.
Still, it was dry.
At the 2010 Real. Texas. Festival. in April, it rained hard ... and I mean hard ... for several hours on Friday and it rained substantially Saturday morning. The rain took out our general admission parking areas in the grass to the north of the main stage just outside the fence perimeter.
So, it was all shuttle all of the time. Well, actually, some decided they would brave the wet ground and park in the grass anyway during the Cross Canadian Ragweed concert. But for the most part, it was shuttle only for rodeo patrons and festival attendees.
And the shuttle service wasn't the ideal situation for ingress and egress. People let us know about it ... boy did they let us know about it. And, rightly so.
But I cautioned one festival attendee who was particularly angered about the shuttle service and the long waits in line (sometimes more than an hour). He said he doesn't intend on ever coming back to the festival because of the poor fan experience he sustained because of the shuttle.
It never was, nor will ever be, our intention to shuttle every single person who attends the festival. That was a Plan B and in large part, Plan C, execution. I asked the person not to judge us on the activation of contingency plans. That's what they are ... contingency. They are plans you hope you never have to use because they are not as ideal Plan A. That's the one you put in place to get the job done ... it's why it's called Plan A.
All things considered, the shuttle service did exactly what it was designed to do ... bearing in mind, it was never designed to accommodate all festival guests.
Friday Night
The rain hurt us for Kevin Fowler's headlined show. Saturday it wasn't so bad. I have a theory.
Friday night, folks got off work and checked the weather forecast. It called for up to an 80 percent chance for rain and thunderstorms throughout the night. As it turned out, it didn't rain one drop on us all night and it was beautiful. It was a little damp and soggy, but gorgeous.
Baseball and Weather men -- I'll take names of professions where you can only be successful 30 percent of the time and still keep your job for $400 Alex.
Rain was in the forecast all weekend long, but it's different when you get off work, look up at the sky and see nothing but clouds. Folks aren't as apt to head out to an outdoor concert event when they see nothing but gray clouds and skies.
Saturday, when everyone rolled out of bed around 9 or 10 (and that might be a little early for most) the rain had stopped for the day and they saw nothing but blue skies and sunshine.
And, it was Ragweed after all.
800-lb Gorilla
Cross Canadian Ragweed is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world when it comes to the Texas Red Dirt music scene. There is no question.
We thought they would be a great draw, but we had no idea. Of the 25,000 people who attended the festival, there is little doubt that 20,000 of that number was on Saturday.
And, as it turns out, CCR may be retiring on top as the champ of the Texas Red Dirt music scene.
They announced earlier this summer that they were taking an indefinite break from touring. After being on the road constantly for more than 10 years, it was just time.
They will be doing a show in Lewisville this September as part of Western Day and it might just be their last one for a while. What a lucky break for Western Day, huh?
In fact, we had already made the determination to bring them back for next year's event, but that's not going to happen.
What's next
Real. Texas. Festival. 2011 is set for April 29 and 3o. If those dates sound familiar to you, the MS 150 Bike Ride is that weekend as well. We're starting to talk about sponsorships and headliners for the event.
Who would everyone like to see? And remember, let's be realistic. We're not quite ready to go booking George Strait, Paisley, Chesney, Underwood or Rascal Flats.
And, I'm a little disappointed that my first two draft picks are already off the board. Miranda Lambert just keeps on with her meteoric rise. She's more than a little rich for our blood.
Ragweed has taken itself off the board with the announcement of a break from touring.
So we are pondering several names to fill our top four spots at the festival ... among them at present are Eli Young Band (perhaps the leader in the clubhouse on our wish list), Pat Green, Kevin Fowler (always a favorite) and Jonathan Tyler and Northern Lights. We're also looking at bringing back Mark McKinney and Grupo Vida from last year as well.
Let us know what you think. Check out the festival on Facebook and as always, stay tuned to the blog.
I remember not so long ago, I made the claim that I was really going to try to do better at maintaining these posts and keeping up with the official blog of the Real. Texas. Festival.
Failure ... big time.
So I'm going to make the same commitment at this time. I'm really going to try to keep up with the official blog of the festival. And this time, we are going to call everyone's attention to the operative word in that statement.
That would be "try." I can try to do a lot of things ... I can try to run a 3 and half hour marathon this December. That certainly doesn't necessarily mean it's going to happen.
So, off we go ... let's get caught up.
******
Big Doings
The Real. Texas. Festival. was certainly big doings in 2010. There were 25,000 people who attended this year ... the biggest crowd ever. And, that might be a safe estimate as our "kids-get-in-free" promotion seemed to be a very popular feature. It's one that will undoubtedly be back for 2011.
Is this the line for the shuttle?
Talk about your popular phrases ... This one was heard a lot. As has been the case for the Real. Texas. Festival. since the beginning, we battled some rain. This year was perhaps the most rain we've ever had to deal with. In 2008, we fought rain on Friday night, but it was gorgeous on Saturday. Now, Sunday was brutal with a nice 45 degree day with a 30 mile per hour wind straight out of the north.
Still, it was dry.
At the 2010 Real. Texas. Festival. in April, it rained hard ... and I mean hard ... for several hours on Friday and it rained substantially Saturday morning. The rain took out our general admission parking areas in the grass to the north of the main stage just outside the fence perimeter.
So, it was all shuttle all of the time. Well, actually, some decided they would brave the wet ground and park in the grass anyway during the Cross Canadian Ragweed concert. But for the most part, it was shuttle only for rodeo patrons and festival attendees.
And the shuttle service wasn't the ideal situation for ingress and egress. People let us know about it ... boy did they let us know about it. And, rightly so.
But I cautioned one festival attendee who was particularly angered about the shuttle service and the long waits in line (sometimes more than an hour). He said he doesn't intend on ever coming back to the festival because of the poor fan experience he sustained because of the shuttle.
It never was, nor will ever be, our intention to shuttle every single person who attends the festival. That was a Plan B and in large part, Plan C, execution. I asked the person not to judge us on the activation of contingency plans. That's what they are ... contingency. They are plans you hope you never have to use because they are not as ideal Plan A. That's the one you put in place to get the job done ... it's why it's called Plan A.
All things considered, the shuttle service did exactly what it was designed to do ... bearing in mind, it was never designed to accommodate all festival guests.
******
Friday Night
The rain hurt us for Kevin Fowler's headlined show. Saturday it wasn't so bad. I have a theory.
Friday night, folks got off work and checked the weather forecast. It called for up to an 80 percent chance for rain and thunderstorms throughout the night. As it turned out, it didn't rain one drop on us all night and it was beautiful. It was a little damp and soggy, but gorgeous.
Baseball and Weather men -- I'll take names of professions where you can only be successful 30 percent of the time and still keep your job for $400 Alex.
Rain was in the forecast all weekend long, but it's different when you get off work, look up at the sky and see nothing but clouds. Folks aren't as apt to head out to an outdoor concert event when they see nothing but gray clouds and skies.
Saturday, when everyone rolled out of bed around 9 or 10 (and that might be a little early for most) the rain had stopped for the day and they saw nothing but blue skies and sunshine.
And, it was Ragweed after all.
******
800-lb Gorilla
Cross Canadian Ragweed is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world when it comes to the Texas Red Dirt music scene. There is no question.
We thought they would be a great draw, but we had no idea. Of the 25,000 people who attended the festival, there is little doubt that 20,000 of that number was on Saturday.
And, as it turns out, CCR may be retiring on top as the champ of the Texas Red Dirt music scene.
They announced earlier this summer that they were taking an indefinite break from touring. After being on the road constantly for more than 10 years, it was just time.
They will be doing a show in Lewisville this September as part of Western Day and it might just be their last one for a while. What a lucky break for Western Day, huh?
In fact, we had already made the determination to bring them back for next year's event, but that's not going to happen.
******
What's next
Real. Texas. Festival. 2011 is set for April 29 and 3o. If those dates sound familiar to you, the MS 150 Bike Ride is that weekend as well. We're starting to talk about sponsorships and headliners for the event.
Who would everyone like to see? And remember, let's be realistic. We're not quite ready to go booking George Strait, Paisley, Chesney, Underwood or Rascal Flats.
And, I'm a little disappointed that my first two draft picks are already off the board. Miranda Lambert just keeps on with her meteoric rise. She's more than a little rich for our blood.
Ragweed has taken itself off the board with the announcement of a break from touring.
So we are pondering several names to fill our top four spots at the festival ... among them at present are Eli Young Band (perhaps the leader in the clubhouse on our wish list), Pat Green, Kevin Fowler (always a favorite) and Jonathan Tyler and Northern Lights. We're also looking at bringing back Mark McKinney and Grupo Vida from last year as well.
Let us know what you think. Check out the festival on Facebook and as always, stay tuned to the blog.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Best vocal performance?
The Grammy awards went about as expected.
Beyonce won a bunch of awards.
Taylor Swift won for Fearless.
Lady Gaga wore a bunch of weird outfits.
Lil Wayne acted a fool.
I must stay I've never understood the Grammys. It's been said the Grammys recognize excellence in the recording industry and the awards have nothing to do with album sales, video requests, downloads and so forth.
However, if that's true. How does Taylor Swift win best country female vocal performance for "White Horse?" Vocal performance ... that means singing and oh, I don't know, the ability to sing on pitch?
I guess that's the greatness of the Grammy in that the engineers and production value of the recording is rewarded.
Seriously, did everyone hear Swift perform at the Grammys with Stevie Nicks? C'mon. The key of J sharp was definitely prominent in that performance.
In fact, I would dare say it was the worst performance in Grammy history. There was an interesting hypothetical posed on a morning radio show this week -- if Taylor Swift appeared before American Idol judges, would she advance through the first round or would she be sent home?
Not that American Idol is the be all end all of the music industry ... far from it. These are the people who brought us Fantasia Barrino, Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks.
Still, according to the Academy of the Recording Arts and Sciences, Taylor Swift is a better singer than Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, LeeAnn Womack or Martina McBride. Really?
Those engineers and producers on Fearless deserve all of the awards they can muster if they can make that sound good. Anyone familiar with Taylor's song "You Belong with Me" knows that the arrangement was altered for the performance at the Grammys. I believe the arrangement was changed to keep Taylor from switching back and forth between vocal registers -- full voice versus falsetto.
I will give her this -- she writes her own stuff. Taylor Swift wrote and/or co-wrote every song on that Fearless album. Carrie Underwood hasn't written a song in her life that I know of. What does she stand for. We're supposed to believe Carrie Underwood is prone to go on a drunk binger in Vegas and end up marrying some dude where she doesn't even know her last name?
Really ... the Jesus Take the Wheel girl? Oh, right ... and before that, she was smashing up someone's pretty little souped up four-wheel drive and carving her name into the leather seats?
Taylor Swift may be exactly what has been the standard bearer for the music industry as a whole. When it comes down to it, the singer/songwriter always wins out. Carole King, James Taylor, John Mayer, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan ... none of these folks have the greatest singing voices in the world. But all of them have enjoyed tremendous careers.
It was good to see fellow Texan Miranda Lambert nominated for a couple of Grammys. I'm not an industry expert, but I believe "Revolution" is the album that will define her career. In a few years, we will all look back at "Revolution" and say that is where it all started for her ... even though she's put out two other albums before this one.
Hopefully, the Real. Texas. Festival. will be able to have Miranda headline one of the nights. She is greatness.
Speaking of Texans, there were another couple of Texans nominated and one group actually won.
Jay Perez (RTF alumni) and Los Texmaniacs were nominated in the best Tejano album category. Los Texmaniacs won.
Good for them and good for Texas.
Beyonce won a bunch of awards.
Taylor Swift won for Fearless.
Lady Gaga wore a bunch of weird outfits.
Lil Wayne acted a fool.
I must stay I've never understood the Grammys. It's been said the Grammys recognize excellence in the recording industry and the awards have nothing to do with album sales, video requests, downloads and so forth.
However, if that's true. How does Taylor Swift win best country female vocal performance for "White Horse?" Vocal performance ... that means singing and oh, I don't know, the ability to sing on pitch?
I guess that's the greatness of the Grammy in that the engineers and production value of the recording is rewarded.
Seriously, did everyone hear Swift perform at the Grammys with Stevie Nicks? C'mon. The key of J sharp was definitely prominent in that performance.
In fact, I would dare say it was the worst performance in Grammy history. There was an interesting hypothetical posed on a morning radio show this week -- if Taylor Swift appeared before American Idol judges, would she advance through the first round or would she be sent home?
Not that American Idol is the be all end all of the music industry ... far from it. These are the people who brought us Fantasia Barrino, Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks.
Still, according to the Academy of the Recording Arts and Sciences, Taylor Swift is a better singer than Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, LeeAnn Womack or Martina McBride. Really?
Those engineers and producers on Fearless deserve all of the awards they can muster if they can make that sound good. Anyone familiar with Taylor's song "You Belong with Me" knows that the arrangement was altered for the performance at the Grammys. I believe the arrangement was changed to keep Taylor from switching back and forth between vocal registers -- full voice versus falsetto.
I will give her this -- she writes her own stuff. Taylor Swift wrote and/or co-wrote every song on that Fearless album. Carrie Underwood hasn't written a song in her life that I know of. What does she stand for. We're supposed to believe Carrie Underwood is prone to go on a drunk binger in Vegas and end up marrying some dude where she doesn't even know her last name?
Really ... the Jesus Take the Wheel girl? Oh, right ... and before that, she was smashing up someone's pretty little souped up four-wheel drive and carving her name into the leather seats?
Taylor Swift may be exactly what has been the standard bearer for the music industry as a whole. When it comes down to it, the singer/songwriter always wins out. Carole King, James Taylor, John Mayer, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan ... none of these folks have the greatest singing voices in the world. But all of them have enjoyed tremendous careers.
It was good to see fellow Texan Miranda Lambert nominated for a couple of Grammys. I'm not an industry expert, but I believe "Revolution" is the album that will define her career. In a few years, we will all look back at "Revolution" and say that is where it all started for her ... even though she's put out two other albums before this one.
Hopefully, the Real. Texas. Festival. will be able to have Miranda headline one of the nights. She is greatness.
Speaking of Texans, there were another couple of Texans nominated and one group actually won.
Jay Perez (RTF alumni) and Los Texmaniacs were nominated in the best Tejano album category. Los Texmaniacs won.
Good for them and good for Texas.
Friday, January 22, 2010
The revolution in the evolution
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.
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.
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.
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