Poison Pandemic

jakesonaplane:

earnityourself:

by Sarah Saturday

I have had many debates in recent years about whether or not bands following the Warped Tour to promote themselves in the parking lot is “right” or “fair.” From my first summer on the tour until now, I have fought hard to prevent “leech bands” from sucking the lifeblood out of…

To elaborate on Alexa ‘s well thought out comments on this ridiculous excuse for a professional music business opinion, I have this to say: 

I’m in a tiny band:  Not tiny like 4 teenagers in basement, playing high school battles, a tiny band that wants to go somewhere. We have aspirations, at least, of being able to tour the US, and not starve or go broke. We’re determined, to make a name for ourselves and show people that we have what it takes to be a national act. With Warped Tour being what it is: The biggest alternative music tour in the US, it is inevitable that bands will gravitate towards it as a method of self-promotion. We’re all familiar with it: small bands outside big shows asking for a second of your time, just a chorus, or a verse, so that you might be “hooked” enough to remember their name. What’s so wrong with that? Besides being slightly annoying, part of the time (it’s all about approach fellow band dudes, approach) it’s understandable, commendable, and often a welcome way for people to discover new music. The Vans Warped Tour is a proven juggernaut of musical stardom, many bands have ascended the ranks from playing small stages like the “Kevin Says Stage” & “Ernie Ball Stage” to the main stage over a period of years. What’s more important to note is the success of Tallahassee Florida group Mayday Parade who is probably one of the bigger names in the pop punk music today, who got their start, by doing exactly what Sarah claims is stealing. Can you blame bands for doing this so militantly after seeing what happened to Mayday Parade?  No. Every band want their shot, If this same argument applied to everything and not just warped tour, that would mean Every band, that has EVER promoted their own music outside a show, are thieves. The whole concept of promotion is undermined upon using this argument.  Shouldn’t bands be commended for their efforts? Most bands wouldn’t bother taking such a financial risk. If you take 3 months out of your life to follow the entire tour, or even half of it, you must really be serious about it. Bands that follow warped tour aren’t vultures, they’re musicians that really want to fulfill a dream. It’s not exactly like these little bands are outside of warped pedaling high price merch, most just have stickers and $5 EP, how much do you really think that effects the spending inside? little to none, kids will still buy their favorite bands merch, and will probably only buy the little guys stuff if they have extra cash, or if they really like it (what a concept!) 

To suggest these little bands should pay for each individual show they attend is absolutely absurd. Most of these bands do not attend the actual show, and if they do, good for them, it’s not exactly like waiting in a 90 degree parking lot is exactly glamorous or fun.  Bands rarely have any sort of savings, and to imply that each member to should pay to just to be in the parking lot is insane. that’s at least $100 per show, and that’s a four piece. Now multiply that by 43 dates of the tour, and you roughly have about $4300. No small band could ever afford that in addition to gas, food, and lodging (if it all). Thankfully, I have faith no one will take this “Sarah Saturday” seriously. How do you respect an organization that has staff members that don’t understand how independent music works?  What a heartless bitch, mean I know, but she earned it. 

I respect the bands that do this. It takes a lot of courage to ask strangers to listen to your music and it must suck when people don’t stop or say they don’t like it. But how else are bands supposed to get out there? Warped is a great place to do this. I may not have bought any music from an unknown band this year but that’s just because none of it caught my attention. I did stop and listen to some of it and I’m glad I did. I’m a big supporter of the local music scene (mind you, local to me is anything from Michigan and the surrounding areas like Chicago, Cleveland, etc.) and I think it will be a sad day if bands stop asking people to listen to their music on their way to a show. Please, by all means do what you have to do to get more fans and attention. And if you’re brave enough to do so I hope nothing but the best for you.