Weekly Rant: I with ….Promotions!:5/17/2009

This week we dive into a topic, that I have been dealing with for some past winter and now ramping up into spring and summer. People who are with band promotions and this week, I may tick some people off and burn some bridges and tick some people off. However with that in mind, grab the gasoline and let's pour bitches! I have been involved in this media and band biz for awhile. I have saw all the different versions of people and different incarnations come along. You had people doing Internet radio and alternative media like on line magazine's and now it seems to be people with web only or low budget local cable shows. The big thing right now seems to be band promotions. I have talked to many of these clowns and just sit back and ask, What is it that you do?

Everyone has a purpose and they contribute to the Indy and unsigned band from people who serve as the street team. They put up flyer's and they put up things on line and spread the world about the band or concert. The on line magazine's who write reviews and put out pictures of the performance and motivate people to go to the next event. The radio stations, from local who embrace the scene and promo the venues and bands to the on line radio shows that interview and play their music. The promotion people for the life of me, I do not get their place, I do not understand who they are?

The photograph people with the badges and cheap cameras, wait you mean....FREELOADERS? Come on, how many people in the world do what these people? These clowns are worse than Bernie Madeoff . For instance let's start at the top of the list, You have the guys with the magazines about Heavy metal music. Who I have never saw their issues on the newsstands or at venues or clubs? They supposedly have budgets and can get into events and are shooting pics? However I do not see them anywhere except in on line photo albums or on my space accounts. Then you have guys who get into events to shoot pictures, then I never see them anywhere and they toss out their business cards. Not of their photo or magazine but of their day job, which relates nothing to the photos. Every clown with a badge and a 100 buck camera calls themselves media?

Wett Hox Promotions and the rest of the promotion people? Who are these people?{as Jerry Seinfeld would say} You have people who get into events and do things for bands? What? Your basically a glorified street team? I see these promotion people at all sorts of events and they tell me, they do promotions for bands? What, what do you do for bands? Do you basically get free stuff from bands and add them to my space? What I believe these people are a street team, nothing more, nothing less.

What do they do? What purpose do they serve....and if you put up flyer's..your a street team, now I am not bashing these promotion people. I just do not understand what they do? I just think it's great that these people exist and they are everywhere. They all have badges and they all have biz cards and are a BIGG DEAL. I just am just me, I am just in a book, I am just in and have been around the music and entertainment and media biz for 16 years. However, I am not a big deal. Because I do not have a badge.

My take on all the band promotion people and the my space band promo people is simply this. Where were these clowns before My space? I never saw these clowns on IUMA and Mp3.com? I just think it's great that people like me and others are not taken seriously and not given credibility However any ass clown with a badge and a 100 buck camera are given the world. However at a certain point, I sit back and laugh at them. I see the people that think their cool. However, I know that in the end, the one's that are going to be around in 4-5 years are the ones, who want to help the industry and not just looking to build their scrap book and get in to shows for free.

Finally next time you grab your badge and head for the back door of a local music venue, think about the fact, you do not have a clear cut job in this business. Think about helping out the scene and actually doing something. Because at this stage of the game, I do not understand where you came from and god lord when will you go back to where you came from.

Jiggy Jaguar
jiggyjaguar.com