I dropped by the Convention Center earlier today to see the panel Indies and Artists, mainly in the hope of talking to Jonathan Poneman, one of the founders of Sub Pop Records (Nirvana, Shins). Poneman was a no-show. Guess he was too busy setting up Sub Pop's new sub-label, Hardly Art.
Ugh! What a lifeless panel it was; I'm not sure Poneman could have rescued it. The "hungry" musicians in attendance mainly wanted to know how to get their music into the right hands at a label. The best the panel had to offer was tour endlessly, maintain your MySpace page religiously and make solid contact with bands that have already been signed. The idea being that they can then give those precious demos to their label lords, who are are more inclined to take time out of their busy schedule to listen if it comes via someone they already have a relationship with.
The funniest (and most depressing) moment came when unsigned musician Brandon Patton (www.brandonpatton.com) stood up, said he'd just inherited $30,000, and wanted to know how he should ideally spend it to attract a label. Josh Rosenfeld, president of Barsuk Records, quickly shot back, "Invest it in mutual funds."
With that kind of advice, who even needs these guys? Especially when everything from recording and distribution to PR and advertising can be done on a shoestring with ever-cheaper technologies and a proliferation of online services.
