IndieReportGuide

"Canadians have no sympathy for rich artists who gather at galas to whine
about their grants."

"I think when ordinary working people come home, turn on the TV and see a
gala of a bunch of people at, you know, a rich gala all subsidized by
taxpayers claiming their subsidies aren't high enough, when they know
those subsidies have actually gone up – I'm not sure that's something
that resonates with ordinary people."


In a manner of speaking, Harper does have a point *ducks from incoming
slings and arrows*. Factor, VideoFact, and most other grants geared
towards promoting emerging artists in Canada are, in my mind, somewhat
of a crock. The majority of the funding available for pop music goes
towards national artists signed to major or prominent indie labels.
How is that forwarding the development of underprivileged emerging talent? 

It's easy to say that most demos received are sub par as a means to defend
the practice currently in place. For something as difficult to judge/quantify
as music, the very subjective nature of taste allows industry execs to blurt
the common mantra and continue as pigs at the trough.

CanCon is another issue that bugs the shit out of me.  For all it was meant
to be, all it does is put artists like Kim Mitchell, April Wine, Bryan Adams,
Celine Dion et al, on even higher rotation. How is that forwarding the
development of emerging Canadian artists? 

I may not have the answer to what may help the system but I sure as hell know what doesn’t. Most
of the tax grants and CanCon as a whole is definitely not the answer. In my honest opinion, these
artists who gather at gala functions may not be rich but they are indeed privileged. 

On the other hand, Dion’s comments that most who attend such galas earn on average $23,000 per
year and have to rent their suits and dresses, makes a valid point as well. 

If Dion was talking about artists signed to record deals and have management in place, not to
mention an agent working on their behalf, then perhaps we need clearer laws governing such
relationships as it always appears that those surrounding the artist and hover in their periphery
seem to collectively earn the lion’s share of the artist’ cut, leaving them with very little if
anything. Providing more money for developing artists via grants and such will only serve to line
the gatekeepers' pockets only further. 

As an example, I was once approached by an individual who puts grant applications together for
hopeful artists... for a fee. In short, it's spawned a cottage industry whereby individuals are
taking advantage of artists who may not understand or know how to navigate the waters of composing
and following up on a grant application. That's sad.

So with all due respect, although I believe Harper’s tax cuts to the arts in general is wrong, I
understand what he is trying to say. 

My belief is that until such time when the system that molds and shapes new artists is completely
overhauled with gov't checks and balances firmly in place, grants will not be the ultimate answer
and would be better spent feeding the poor.

Allocating grant money towards educating and supporting "real" emerging talent in ways that cannot
be manipulated and taken advantage of would be a much more productive plan that would surely bear
fruit in the near and distant future. But that would only occur in a Utopian world and we all know
that doesn't exist here on this planet, let alone Canada.  

In response to many requests for advice…

It appears that a recent post of mine on a musicians’ forum had garnered much attention. So much so, that my post ended up getting deleted along with the post I had criticized and exposed for being a sham. As a result many individuals had e-mailed me seeking info or advice on what to do in this current climate of the music industry. Rather than respond to each individually as that would have been too time-consuming, I chose instead, to write a general response and post it back on the forum.

Much to my surprise, I had been banned due to my actions therefore I have decided to take things a step further and created a blog in order to delineate what the various options are for an indie act.

To begin with, my pen name is Y. Lee Sardonicus. *pause* Who, you ask? Well, to be rather blunt, I can pretty much guarantee that you’ve never heard of me. My professional background is in score composition for film, TV, Video, although I do that under my real name and not a pseudonym. I also own and operate a recording studio (business to business based) and a multi-media production company based in Toronto, Canada. I also develop, promote and produce artists.

Rather than bore you and clutter up my first page with a bio and list of credits, I will post that as a separate link in the near future as this site develops.

So with all introductions aside, here goes…

Many bands get stuck in a rut after working their asses off, rehearsing and writing, producing a kick-ass demo or even a finished full CD, and have even managed to have a CD release party in a fairly well known venue… now what?

The problem in most cases is as simple as being an issue of objective. Many feel that the completion of their CD is the end and not the TRUE beginning that it really is. Many feel, and in some cases rightly so, that if they only got a chance to be heard, the powers that be would hear the brilliance and quality of what was produced. But alas, it really never ends (or more correctly, begins) that way.

First of all, the vast majority of those who cling tightly to the old paradigm of the star making machine will most certainly fail miserably. It’s a time and place that can/will never be duplicated and was born out of a fortuitous opportunity where product technology collided with pop stardom in ways that were unimaginable to the preceding generation or the one that’s doomed to follow it, to say the least. The birth of the CD was both the saviour and the slayer of what we once used to know as the music business.

Fast forward to today and we see an industry in shambles. Labels no longer have the budgets to facilitate artist development in the old school sense and the domino effect has had a resounding impact on what is currently emerging from the pile. Translated, this means if your first shot at a release does squat diddly on the market, your act is history. You no longer have the luxury like your forefathers did and be able to develop your craft over several releases while eating off the labels dole in the form of artist advances.

It’s gotten so bad now that labels aren’t even providing production funding let alone tour support to help sell the album. You’re lucky if they provide the cash to effectively market the CD in the form of media buys (web, print, radio, TV) and grease the respective PD’s at the stations that can do something for your career.

So why would you wanna cling to the dream of getting a major label deal? The consumer base themselves shun the majors like the plague with all the lawsuits being levelled at Joe American. And with all the legacy acts still signed to the big boys, you’re lucky if you get a moments attention from the labels’ pluggers and trench players desperate to knock one out of the park to save their own asses at a job that will soon become redundant. It’s a downward spiral and it’ll get much worse before it gets any better.

But if you’re bound and determined, there is a way and you don’t need the majors to do it.

The web is your friend if you know how to use it and if you approach your career like it was any other business enterprise, you can succeed.

To be continued…