Morning Metal – Metal Rant #3: Underground, Labels & “Fans”
Rockso Rants:
Underground Music, Record Labels & “Fans”
When I say “underground,” I mean so far under the earth that the core of the Earth is like “Bro, this is deep.” Some metal bands are known for their huge underground followings and their fans are notorious for being the most rabid pack of wolves in existence, partially because they feel like they are entitled to the band’s direction having “gotten” them somewhere and claiming they have the power to bring them down. Well, I’ll say this: fans are not entitled to anything. Nobody told you to listen to a band and nobody told you to buy all their merchandise and CD’s (who even buys CD’s anymore? What is this? 1999?). You have no right to complain a band does or does not “make it.” If you ask the average musician what their idea of success is, the inexperienced ones will go “fortune and fame,” and then go to a musician who has been around a few years, toured a little bit, released some records… got some groupies… They’ll say “There is no money in music.”
Yes and no, because you can make money off your music if you’re smart about it. (I should add that is only the case when your music has transcended past the point of boring.) The biggest way to make money is YouTube, it seems. YouTube has paved the career path for many awesome musicians like… Keith Merrow, Ola Englund, Rick Graham, and, unfortunately, Justin Bieber. YouTube knows no bounds as to what it can accomplish.
And no, you cannot make money because record sales are down, pirating has gone way up. Rely on those merch sales, folks! Everything is digital now, you can buy everything online. As soon as someone does some Futurama-type crap, you will be able to digitally torrent clothing and wear it. One day, I hope. As soon as that happens, where will bands get profit?
Hmm…
I think the idea of a record label is really cool. We Are Triumphant has done some really cool work with hardcore/metal bands since forming in 2012, but WAT Records are up against Rise Records & Sumerian Records. I won’t even consider the mother companies, because Sony and Warner Bros don’t exactly mind what WAT, Sumerian and Rise are up to. Rise and Sumerian have bands like Of Mice & Men, Upon A Burning Body, Asking Alexandria, Periphery, Memphis May Fire, Like Moths To Flames and many, many more. Unfortunately, these labels do not make exorbitant amounts of money. Well, at least the ones actually doing the work don’t. I understand the dynamics of running a record label and that there are a lot of moving parts, which is why We Are Triumphant are getting attention; they don’t have a whole team of specialists. They have a few people doing the research, actually working with the artists and promoting the hell out of them. WAT searches the underground for bands that show promise, and have actually found some really righteous bands, check some of them out below:
Wander – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=527dFx13o_4
Imminence – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKhbpoU7QZ8
Dealey Plaza – http://dealeyplaza.bandcamp.com/album/provoke-the-human
Dreamer/Deceiver – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Krrk_9peFTc
We Are Triumphant – https://www.facebook.com/wearetriumphant
The best thing about the underground are the aforementioned fans, though. I want to show you how bad it has gotten, look up Linkin Park on Facebook and read any of the comment threads. Back in 1999, Linkin Park got signed to Warner Bros. Records and released Hybrid Theory and were considered one of most commercially successful rock bands in the world. And then, they started releasing electronic influenced records and the fans COULD NOT be more pissed. What had happened to this rock band that sang about their feelings and genuine anger towards the system?
They grew up! Fans couldn’t understand that part, and expected songs like “In The End” and “Somewhere I Belong”, but instead were given “Leave Out All The Rest” and “Hands Held High”, which by the way, are incredible songs.
Now I know exactly what they were thinking when they claimed “We wanted to play something heavy”: “Shit guys, we’re losing fans > money > fame.” Linkin Park was and is still a great band, and I will always listen to their music, but holy crap do these fans betray a band quickly. “They’re doing it for money!”, “They don’t care about us!”, blah blah blah.
OF COURSE THEY DO IT FOR MONEY!
They don’t have day jobs that they go back to every time they finish a tour! Linkin Park IS their day job! As for the dismissal of fan worship… Well, that’s up to the band. I would hate all of those impotent warmongers, that’s for sure. And hey, guess what? Linkin Park has 64 MILLION followers on Facebook. So, some people still listen to their music.
This whole rant was for underground music. I promote as much as I can on Morning Metal, and I will reach out to you if I dig your tunes. However, you could have the most radical tunes but if I see a post on another band’s page or another band members page about how they suck, or “that design sucks”, or how their upcoming single is going to suck; I will dismiss you as a musician. You’re not being funny, even if you are their friend. I don’t like Skillet or Volbeat, but I don’t post on their Facebook pages about how their upcoming tour with Five Finger Death Punch is going to suck.
Today’s lesson – Be nice to other bands, you don’t know whose watching. Besides, promoting another band will make them far more likely to get out of the underground scene and into mainstream fandom, which is what we all want, right? …Right?
Final thoughts: Would you people shut up about the whole Danny Leal prank? It was a dick move, but if I see one more of those “Error 404: Vocalist Not Found” posts, I’ll throw a pineapple at you.
James Rockso – Host of CKCU 93.1 FM’s Morning Metal