The Death of the Music Publicist

bandcamp_logo4There was this one time, at Band Camp… BandCamp. No, not the one that our beloved American Pie has made infamous. A new BandCamp. The kind that will give artists a new power and sense of ownership over their music. A shiny way to upload, publicise and sell your work without the aid of a publisher.

The music business and the evolution of technology resulted in the production of music changing rapidly over the past ten years. We have seen the decrease in production of vinyl, the death of cassette tapes and the decrease in sales of CDs.
It is not just the medium in which we buy our music that has seen an evolution because of technology. There was a time where prospective artists would wait to be called into a room with a suited man in a leather chair called a ‘publisher’ to have their image, repertoire and sound scrutinised. It was he who would decide if it was worthy to meet the eyes and ears of the public and, if so, would provide them with the means of doing it.

This was made less exclusive with technology. The boom in popularity of YouTube has allowed prospective artists to upload their stuff with a small promise of getting viewed and noticed, not just by the public, but also by scouts of the suited man. Depending on the popularity of said artist, they would then have more means to ask for aid with the production and publicising of their music… which is excellent.

However, the Americans have devised a way to cut out the publishing middle man with the new website, Bandcamp. With its tagline ‘Discover amazing new music and directly support the artists that make it’, it essentially does what it says on the tin. With handy tutorials available, it has a unique accessibility to artists, allowing them to upload their work with a price and a format tailored to how they want it. They have ultimate control and ownership over what is theirs.
Now, I’m not saying that this is going to take over publishing companies by tomorrow, the market for it is still niche. It is certainly a revolutionary way for artists to promote themselves and will definitely see a rise in the next few years. Totally worth a look. Check out what all the fuss is about at www.bandcamp.com

2 thoughts on “The Death of the Music Publicist

  1. You clearly know nothing about the record industry whatsoever, it’s embarrassing. Aside from the fact that Bandcamp has been around for nearly five years now, and the fact that it’s arguably now been supplanted in large part by other methods of releasing music, this is hideously incorrect in almost everything else it asserts. You haven’t even used the right terminology.

  2. This article is not only wholly factually incorrect and clearly unresearched, but also bizarrely structured and self-contradictory. Unfortunately I haven’t got time to pen a full objection.

    The title of the piece is “The Sad Death of the Music Publicist”. Firstly, this ought to read “Music Publisher”, because that is the phrase used in the article – “publicist” appears nowhere. Secondly, the article does not argue at all that the “Music Publicist” has died a “Sad Death” – it concludes that BandCamp is not “going to take over publishing companies by tomorrow, [as] the market for it is still niche”.

    Which brings me on to the (strange) term “Music Publisher” which is used throughout the article: I can only assume that you mean, but have never heard of, the organisations called “Record Labels”. Incidentally, the caricature you give of what you call “Music Publishers” is hackneyed and inaccurate (“a suited man in a leather chair… would decided if [the music] was worthy”) – are you actually at all familiar with independent record labels?

    Labels in themselves are not evils that ought to be eliminated from the music business – many bands prefer to work with them as it means they can get on with making music, without having to worry about balancing spreadsheets, liaising with printing companies and so on. BandCamp is a useful way for bands to promote themselves without the use of labels, but it’s not going to replace them – in fact, many “music publishers” collaborate with BandCamp as a promotonal tool for their artists.

    You make continued reference to “technology” – this is annoying and vague. Cassettes are technology. CD-Rs are technology. To say “The medium in which we buy our music… has seen an evolution because of technology” is frankly vacuous.

    A crucial inaccuracy is your claim that “over the past ten years… we have seen the decrease in production of vinyl”. This is not true AT ALL: vinyl is in fact making a massive resurgence. With the ubiquity and convenience of mp3s displacing CDs, music fans are getting their hard-copy fix by buying records – go to any gig and you’ll see the merch stand packed full of them! Although, I am led to wonder whether you’ve ever been to a gig, since you don’t seem to have heard of record labels.

    A couple of final points, as I have to go to work:

    BandCamp has been going for 5 years now and there is no “fuss” about it – I’d be staggered if any self-respecting music fan hadn’t heard about it. A weird choice for page 2 of Scene.

    There is constant reference throughout to “prospective artists”, which is a very strange term to use indeed – are you not an “artist” unless your music has been accepted by the leather-chair loving “music publisher”?

    Weird article.

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