Over the past few weeks I’ve started to become increasingly frustrated that the music business seems to be obsessed with the likes of Justin Bieber and Lady GaGa, when so many bands who work hard and stick to their guns never seem to get the recognition they deserve.
I was chatting to my friend Andy during my rather long coffee break this morning, who is the lovely bassist for the rock band Failsafe (check them out www.myspace.com/failsafemusic) and we got talking about how the trends on the music scene are as interchangeable as the weather these days.
It got me thinking, do you need a stylist and some off the wall marketing technique to be able to make it in the music business these days?
We’ve always knows trends can be quite a fickle thing, what with shoulder pads, neon and dressing like your nan did when she was younger being in and out of fashion more times than I care to remember, but why is it so often the case with modern music?
After hearing the news that my friends in Elias Last Day have called it a day following years of hard work trying to dig their way into the industry, it really frustrated me to know that the bands who really deserve it, really work their nuts off, I mean REALLY work hard lose out to people who dress how Vogue says they should with one hit wonders.
Granted, there are labels out there who give boys like ELD and many of the other Hardcore / Alternative bands a shot, but after pouring bucket loads of their own time, money and heart into making a name for themselves, why don’t they just enter The X Factor and be done with it?
Frankly because half of the bands out there struggling to make their dreams a reality would get laughed out of the X Factor auditions, and I don’t just mean unknown local bands either – if Kids In Glass Houses or The Blackout had strolled up to Simon Cowell, do you think he would have given them a shot? Probably not.
The sad thing these days is that music has become an extention of the fashion industry. You go to a festival and there are celebrities tottering around in £100 dresses with ridiculous footwear, more concerned about the way they look than the epic line-ups on the bill. Why should they get a stage side view, when all they give a damn about is looking great in Heat / NME’s coverage of the festival?
Musical trends come and go just like fashions, and those artists out there who stick to their guns just don’t get the respect they deserve, so I cant make you a success story and I can’t make you a Twitter Trending Topic, but if you’re in a band and you want me to take a listen, post a link to a YouTube video below and I’ll give you a listen.
Ruth.x
