-Brian Eno, Interview with The Guardian, 1-17-10.

I guess I’m always shocked when I hear a musician coming from the standpoint that they’re not making enough money with their music, regardless of the reasons they offer as the causes for their lack of revenue. If you’re not on some major corporate label why would you expect that you can use your music as the primary source for your income? Without a great deal of press – press that goes way beyond pissant little blogs such as ours – you’re never going to have widespread name recognition. And beyond that if you’re making noise Industrial you pretty much have to expect that the audience will be very small. The VAST majority of music listeners like a great melody, a good singing voice and beat that has a definite hook. Maybe that doesn’t sit well with you, and hey – I’m with you. Maybe you want to make instrumental rhythmic noise without melodies and harmonies and have progressive, ever-changing beats and perhaps you feel there should be a wider audience for such music.

Where I come from we have a saying; “Tough shit, asshole.”

Just because you bought all the equipment and learned how to use it, just because you put together a series of tracks and recorded them, just because you manufactured CDs and art-filled booklets to sell to the public does not mean anyone is obligated to buy your shit. There’s this sense of entitlement I’m seeing coming from musicians who seem to think that just because they’ve put an act together and recorded music people must buy their stuff. And they get all pissy and throw out all sorts of scapegoating when there are no – or very few – takers.

Well, guess what? If not many people are buying your stuff you’re probably not very good. That’s the long and short of it right there. And yes, I’m a dick for saying it but refer to the above saying as a reference. Maybe you found some blog to give you a good review and that served as a great ego stroke but when regular people hear your music they pass. Our site reviewed nearly 100 new albums in the past year from a variety of labels. 100 albums within 12 months. And we didn’t even come close to covering all the music that was released in the limited genres we cover. You want to scapegoat? Instead of blaming file sharing and YouTube and such try blaming your peers – all the people out there making and marketing music. They’re the ones making it less likely people will buy your stuff. It really doesn’t matter how big a fan you are of a specific style, buying hundreds of albums within a year’s time is highly unlikely. Just trying to keep all the acts straight is next to impossible.

But it doesn’t just have to mean you’re no good. It could be (and I guarantee you this is the exception, not the rule) that you’re too good and your forward thinking art is a bit much for people to take. Perhaps they’ll eventually catch up to you and there will be success later on but it might not be until after you’ve thrown up your arms and quit in frustration.

Back when I was making music I never expected to build a career out of it. I already had a career as a laborer, one that gave me regular, predictable pay, benefits and even a pension that will ensure I don’t have to work until the day I die. Music was, to me, a hobby. It gave me a chance to flex my creative muscle and “communicate” with people in an abstract way. That was the reward. When we recorded an album we would sell them at shows but we would always put on the back “Unauthorized duplication would be cool” because we recognized that getting our music in as many hands as possible was the key, even if it meant next to nothing in sales.

And I really didn’t want my music to become my career. Music was my art and my art was an expression of life. Once the art becomes your life you lose the capacity to view life in a relatable way to those who might respond to your art. It’s the daily struggles of going to work at the scheduled time every day, dealing with the authority figures hovering over you, paying your bills on time and trying to successfully maintain and nurture relationships with workmates, acquaintances, friends and family that make compelling – and yes, mundane – life experiences which are then expressed in art that speaks to people. Honestly, I’d rather have musicians poor and struggling just like me than gallivanting all over the country or world, climbing out of bed whenever they want and partying/drinking well into the wee hours of every morning. That ain’t real life and once you make it to that point you have no idea what real life is anymore. Hence, your art becomes less vital.

“A working class hero is something to be,” Lennon once sang.

There are going to be artists who won’t be able to accept the new paradigm in music distribution. Some are already threatening to quit since – in their minds – there’s no point in making music if people aren’t going to hand over a ton of money for them to do it. I say good riddance. We have far too many people making music and I’d rather have the people who have a passion for music regardless of financial compensation stick around than those who just want to make a fast buck. I don’t believe the music is going to go away precisely because there are plenty of people who have that passion to express themselves and it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make them rich and famous. What matters is the art. What matters is what is being expressed. That’s all that is relevant.

So am I saying artists shouldn’t be compensated in some way for what hey offer up for us to enjoy? Hell no. If you take something away from these gifts you should be willing to give something in return. I just don’t think the rewards should be so substantial that they remove the artist from the world that nurtured their art so effectively. That doesn’t adequately serve the purposes of great art.

Oh, and read the rest of the interview with Eno. Brilliant, brilliant man.

1) This is a small niche market. It seems somewhat doubtful that much of the music is meant (or will) appeal to a major listening audience. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be amused to no end if I could turn on the Top40 radio station and hear Winterklate… but even considering that prospect is utterly absurd. Other niche markets that I watch closely (academic publishing and martial arts instructionals) mainly work on charging absurd prices, because it’s assumed that sales are going to be extremely low but are guaranteed regardless of price. But while Death in June can get away with printing limited-to-100-pressing-super-expensive releases, this is not really a viable business strategy for industrial (etc.) record labels to follow. We can always make the speak-out-of-our-ass speculations on the scene dying or growing, but chances are it won’t get that much bigger or that much smaller. But until someone figures out a better way to indoctrinate listeners into the cult (it’s hard to use any other words), we’ll probably maintain equilibrium in numbers.

2) Over-saturation! You can’t stop people from making music (and there’s nothing wrong with that). Access to equipment and means to producing music are getting cheaper day-by-day, thanks to the digital revolution. All of it will eventually be released in some way, shape, or form — the tree can fall in a forest without anyone hearing it. This means a niche market is slowly being divided into smaller and smaller pieces.

3) Less free capital floating around to spend on leisure goods. This isn’t that complicated and maybe one of the rare cases where larger economic trends may have some baring on whatever the hell it is teh scene thinks it’s doing. Inflation – regardless of how you measure it – is going up. There’s currently a trend in the west to focus more on subsistence then leisure goods.

4) Who listens to cds? Don’t get me wrong, collectors have been the backbone of scene from the very beginning (we all knew that one guy that bought everything, and then dubbed or burned us copies). I know plenty of people, myself included, that still on occasions buy cds – they are quickly burned and placed on the shelf to gather dust.

5) Parasites! I use the words somewhat lovingly and ironically (we all know a Bowie fan sleep agent). I recall being at a warehouse party in New York a few years ago. I was having drinks with this guy that worked for a PR firm, which worked at trying to push major acts on what he called the “goth scene” and other alt niche markets. The guy might have been a schizophrenic or a liar, but regardless of the fact, it worked quite well. A small part of me dies every time I’m out at ‘da club’ and I hear Goldfrapp. When your industrial (etc.) night turns into an alt top 40 disco, it’s time to politely resign – your scene has been co-opted.

6) There is no capital and little to no infrastructure. The means of producing are always rented out as a service from someone else. While everyone in teh scenes from artists, to club nights, to promoters loose money, it gives out money left and right to everyone from cd printing presses to the alcohol vendors.

You can look to the above and keep ignoring them (there’s also a few tracts in economic thought that claim that intellectual property rights are inassimilable to market capitalism). But quite frankly, if you want to maintain the same level of operation, rely on advertising, and depend on markets to sell your product – you’re going to be shit out of luck fairly shortly.

Quite frankly, the only way to hope for survival and to not loose money is for closer association. We’ve all grown acustom to isolating ourselves, and calmly sitting in our own convenient private worlds. But we’ll probably need to start associating with those in and close to teh scene, on a much closer basis – it doesn’t mean you have to be friends or even like them, just be aware that if you want anything you’re going to have to co-operate. This isn’t just meant as an interpersonal statement. In the near future it might be helpful to look into co-ownership of club venues, cd vendors, hell maybe even microbrewing. But unless there’s some internal circulation of capital, this scene is simply unsustainable.

Yeah, Transylmania. Brought to you by the creators of such cinematic classics as Dorm Daze, Dorm Daze 2 and  Anaconda 2: King Cobra comes the next generation, no the next stage of evolution in the DNA of stoner comedy.  In fact, there is even a stoner trailer for it, a masterpiece unto itself. Enjoy it here.

Sarcasm aside, this movie is funny and since I haven’t seen it, I can say that with a straight face.  We only report the facts… or something we read in the internet.  Everything on the internet is true.

I know the masochist in you wants to know what this thing is about and so you should.  It has vampires, college students, coeds and hijinks.  Do you need more than that?  Yes?  Ok, foreign exchange students from the US (and not the kind of students who actually study abroad, how boring) head to Razvan University only to find it isn’t anything like they expected.  Vampires! OMG! Vampires!

Damn straight and guess who gets to tackle the blood suckers?  You know it!  Students!  Fuck the army, we’ve got coeds.

Sadly we had a pile of preview passes to hand out which means I would have seen it, but due to some really shitty circumstances, Castle DTC still has a pile of preview passes and no way to distribute them.  Next time!

While you’re waiting for us to get our act together, make a note.  The movie opens December 4th and promises to be full of butt jokes, pot jokes, hot chicks, bad acting and all the other stuff that makes these movies funny and if you don’t think this stuff is funny, you’re a liar.  I’ve seen your Monty Python collection.  You’re never going to grow up.

Regenmag just put up a KMFDM-related podcast for your enjoyment which can be found here. It includes KMFDM and KMFDM related tracks (from Skold vs. KMFDM, KGC, Lucia and they even threw in some Angelspit – how big of ‘em).

The bands will be hitting the Twin Towns Of Terror next Monday and if you want to film the occasion you can do so with KMFDM’s blessing. You just have to be willing to use their equipment and forfeit the footage immediately after the show you fucking tool. Details on the KMFDM FANKAM (notice the spelling) page. You may also whore yourself out as the band’s photographer by shooting pics of the act onstage during the show. Sascha and Co. insist that you use pocket-sized cameras only, no removable lenses and no use of flash. In cases where this violates a specific venue’s policy the venue rules will apply. Once you have taken your live shots to submit them to Fan Photos please email reasonably sized .jpgs to fanphotos@kmfdm.net. All photos must be submitted by the photographer. By submitting photos the photographer grants KMFDM the right to use them for promotional purposes only you fucking tool (emphasis added).

Oh, and enjoy the show!

Alfa Matrix launches a polling contest were YOU get to vote for your favourite ‘up and coming’ band ! This contest is a big part of the preparation for the 5th edition of the cult Endzeit Bunkertracks 4CD box compilation series for which Alfa Matrix is still accepting submissions until 15th October 2009 (send your material to endzeit@alfa-matrix.com ).

So I get my favorite (or favourite) local band to make a submission to AM for the next Endzeit Bunkertracks compilation and maybe they’ll get signed to the label. Cool.

Oh, wait.

Alfa-Matrix has already selected the 5 best up and coming (and still unsigned!) bands to appear on the new Endzeit Bunkertracks sampler. Now it is YOUR turn to make your voice heard ! You have the power to cast your vote and elect the best from these top 5 bands. Vote wisely, because the stakes are high! Top Prize is a record deal with Alfa-Matrix. Yes, that’s correct, the band that receives the most votes in the contest will have the opportunity to release their album on Alfa Matrix in 2010.

So I have absolutely no say in which bands are nominated. The choice has already been made for me by…someone at the label. Ah well. I wonder who these bands are.

The 5 bands are:

FREAKANGEL
ANTYTHESYS
STAHLNEBEL VS BLACK SELKET
TRIMETRICK
THE LUDOVICO TECHNIQUE

Horribly unfortunate names aside, a couple of these acts are pretty good. Antythesys is really fun though there seems to be a juvenile over-reliance on the word “bitch” with song titles like “Always Been My Bitch” and “Hellectrobitch” (ugh). Of course, Trimetrick has a track called “Bitch From Hell (extended).” Ludovico Technique seems to want to be Das Ich pretty badly. I dunno, these choices don’t really add up to much promise. I could have done better with our own local pool.

If you want more info on these acts and are intersted in participating in the vote you can do so right here. And may goth have mercy on your souls.

I kind of look at Rammstein the same way I view Insane Clown Posse. It seems inconceivable that there’s been this amount of longevity in such a one dimensional Nu Metal pop rock act that initially came across like a complete joke. I was introduced to the band from Reznor’s soundtrack to the David Lynch flick Lost Highway. I believe that was around ’96 or so. Yet the Neue Deutsche Härte sound, of which Rammstein are practitioners, was actually pioneered about twenty years ago by Oomph! who are a much more striking act. And recently a newer band called Eisbrecher takes the sound that’s been popularized by Rammstein and gives it some much needed intelligence and vitality.

So I guess it makes sense that, out of desperation, Rammstein would resort to juvenile sexuality and pornographic images in an effort to galvanize their base of fans. When you hear Rammsein in the club it’s typically because someone requested hits from over a decade ago like “Du Hast” or “Engel.” And I typically want to hunt down the person who requested those overplayed nuggets and punch them in the throat. Yet with those songs you recall the music and not their forgettable videos. Having sat through the video for “Pussy” (from the new album Liebe ist für alle da) a few times and then listened to the song without the visuals I can tell you that beyond the initial, cheap shock value the song is instantly forgettable. Sure, the video has gone viral on the web and everyone is giggling like schoolchildren over the graphic penetration and cumshots but once the hype subsides there won’t be a damn thing left of any substance to carry the recording even though the song was apparently written in response to the practice of “sex tourism” – booking a vacation to a specific destination for the sole intent of engaging in “relations” with the locals. It’s just a really bad song with even dumber lyrics than we’ve grown accustomed to hearing when Till Lindemann tries his hand at English.

But hey, I’m not going to sit here and piss all over Rammstein’s parade. They’ve managed to amass more “fans” than all the acts that do what they do so much better. Good for them. They’ve been able to sustain a career in music for a decade and a half. Congratulations.

Too bad they can’t get laid in Germany or, apparently, anywhere else without the assistance of CGI.

During the course of our chat we discussed a wide variety of topics; the etymology of “Electronic Substance Abuse,” Industrial vs. Metal, composing, increasing the fanbase for dark electronic music, criticism and how to take it, file sharing, the relevance of “Industrial,” record labels, God vs. Satan, The Sea, and many more topics.

Along the way he talks about the future (or lack thereof) as it pertains to ESA as well as the tantalizing collaborations he has on deck for the immediate future.

So check it out – Jamie Blacker of ESA: The DarkTwinCities Interview. Then spread the word. If you don’t have any of his music your collection is sorely lacking. If you have friends and acquaintances who don’t own an ESA disc you should be working fervently to rectify the situation with haste.

ESA on MySpace

ESA on Tympanik Audio

Ed. – I got this rogue email from Dan one night. I’m not convinced it was borne entirely out of sobriety. It was prefaced with the following exposition: (This is the) first in a series I plan on continuing called “van conversations” where I relay actual conversations that happened in the van while on tour. The bands may change, but the dialogue is all true. Roll on, Dan. Roll on.

Van Conversations, vol. 1:

SCENE: It is late morning. Four musicians are in a 15-passenger van, on tour. They just played a show in Ohio the previous night and are winding their way toward Pittsburgh for the next gig. By coincidence three of the four are computer programmers of some sort or another. Eventually conversation turns towards day job-related activities…

Musician 1: So what’ve you been working on lately?
Musician 2: Ohhh, I’m working on refactoring part of this codebase I’m responsible for now, just a library that needs tweaking.
M1: Yeah?
M2: Yeah, it’s this big matching algorithm -
Musician 3: What language is it in?
M1: Python, there’s this —
M3: I’m surprised something that big isn’t in Java.
M1 and M2: What?
M3: Yeah, see, the thing I like about Java is –
M2: NO! Stop, okay, just stop. Nothing good can possibly come out of any conversation that starts with those words.
M3: But I…
M2: No! Stop. Let’s talk about anything else.
Musician 4: …My cat’s breath smells like cat food…

Including DarkTwinCities there are only about ten quality sites devoted to dark electronic. Okay, we’re not exactly “quality,” so I guess there are only nine. People who are into Metal are totally devoted to it while people who dig Industrial, EBM and Dark Electro are lazy, self-serving do-nothings who complain about the fact that there aren’t many good shows and not enough people are into the music they like but have never done a goddamn thing to remedy that situation. Too harsh? Perhaps. But certainly not way off base. Metal grew to an enormous degree thanks to all the word of mouth while dark electronic languishes on in obscurity and the few people who do listen to it merely sit around and talk about how it’s all dead.

Great strategy.

Years ago it felt interesting to be part of a “scene” where the participants seemed far more intelligent and thoughtful than in any other. But I’ve been rethinking that idea lately because the people into these styles of music don’t seem all that bright, honestly. I mean, many of the artists come across as thoughtful, open, honest, hard working and vigilant. They’re tireless in their efforts to create and promote. But the “fans” come across as the equivalent of a limp dick. And you’re not going to impress anyone by trying to shove a marshmallow into a piggy bank, y’knowhati’msayin’?

These styles survive almost solely due to the fact that there are some great artists out there putting out album after album of killer music that no one is buying or sharing with the general populace. And they are supported by little independent labels and imprints run by fervent admirers of the styles who give everything to what they do, often taking a loss in the process.

Those goofy religions out there have a thing called “tithing.” It has something to do with a concept regarding giving up a percentage of your money to the church or god or whatever. In turn god will reward you with…I dunno. Virgins or something? Whatever. I’ve never fully understood the whole “save wayward souls collect valuable prizes” ethic but I do recognize that giving of yourself will reap some kind of reward. And by helping out the artists and promoting their material you’re making it more likely they will continue to create their music. And by getting more people into it you’ll build a larger audience making live shows/tours more frequent.

Anyway, you should support these artists we’re always writing about. Start expanding your collection. Go to shows, buy some merch. But more importantly start spreading the word for fuck’s sake. You’ve all got fucking Livejournals and MySpaces and Facebooks and Twitters and what-fucking-not. TALK about these acts you admire. Quit keeping it to yourself like a selfish prick. If someone makes music that inspires you inspire someone else to check them out. Make mix tapes, er…CD thingies. Start your own blog or website devoted to discussing music and reviewing CDs. It can be a great hobby. Just ask the residents of CastleDTC.

Okay, don’t ask any of us. We’re all pretty cranky and always have way to much to do to answer any of your stupid questions.

Bottom line: there are Death Metal bands out there landing on the charts. Regularly. If a brutal style of music featuring blast beats, barking vocals and speed riffing can land on the charts you would expect that a club thumper with some harsh vocals would be able to score five figure sales lickety split, nooo shit. And there is so much of this music coming out – a lot of it quite good – that we here can’t even keep up with it all. And that’s our job. It’s what we’re here to do.

It’s not enough to just listen and keep your mouth shut. That’s exactly what’s killing these styles. Not some goofy ideals about the way things were as opposed to the way they are now. Not file-sharing. Not the economy. It’s you. You’re killing it. You’re just turning your head and ignoring its death throes when you could be administering the life-giving boost it so desperately needs right now.

Start proselytizing. Don’t keep it to yourself. We need advocates. We need voices.

And we at CastleDTC would love more competition.

]]> http://darktwincities.com/dtcblog/2009/07/youre-killing-the-music/feed/ 23 http://darktwincities.com/dtcblog/2009/06/cagematch/ http://darktwincities.com/dtcblog/2009/06/cagematch/#comments Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:44:44 +0000 Christopher http://darktwincities.com/dtcblog/?p=1653 So yeah. Marilyn Manson. Train wreck. Do I even need to be posting about this? Because by reporting for those that haven’t been keeping up that Manson has been acting ridiculous as of late, apparently on some sort of drug-and-alcohol-fueled path to self destruction I’ll most likely be informed that I’m turning DTC into some sort of rumor-heavy tabloid or something.

But c’mon. Did you read the BBC Interview? Have you been keeping up with the man’s antics?

And then there’s Trent Reznor’s reactions to Manson as of late. They had a falling out some years ago, then they reconciled. Well things are obviously not kosher between the two again as Reznor has made many chiding (and childish) statements on Twitter and in other areas, leading Manson to make bizarre retorts on his MySpace Page.

From Manson I guess I expect little more, especially considering his shoddy musical output in the last few years. But I guess I expected Reznor to act considerably more adult. I mean, the guy is in his forties. And he’s “bringing the drama,” not just with Manson but with Chris Cornell as well. What an ass. I dig the guy’s music, but how embarrassing.

Hey, Manson! Stay away from reporters and interviewers (and social networks) for a while. You’re obviously in no condition to promote either your music or…yourself. And get some friggin’ help.

Now I feel dirty for even typing up this post.

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