A Rant from Ivan

Time for a little rant from me...

The sheer volume of information on the Internet is overwhelming to say
 the least. The number of opinions about life, liberty and our pursuit
 for fame are as plentiful as beads during Mardi Gras. Throughout our 9
 year ride as Florida's best kept musical secret, we have encountered
 many critics, pundits, consultants, hipsters, jokesters and industry
 insiders that all seem to have "the answer" for us to succeed.

Does anyone really have the answer? Do critics? Is their flowery
 reductio ad absurdum of all things unhip, and the blind zeal for all things
 that are on the fringe, right? Does a good review grant you access to
 success' tightly kept secret grotto? Although some critics are very good at
 what they do, they merely react and advise.

Do pundits and industry insiders? Is their vitriolic criticism of the
 way things are and should be the catalyst for change? Are their personal
 agendas getting in the way of their subjective interpretation of the
 status quo or the trends? Most likely. A man's soul is his greatest
 repository of personal pollution.

But despite all these naysayers and disinformationeers, someone does
 have the answer. The fan. That's the only opinion that carries any weight
 in the end. If people don't come out to a show, or buy merchandise, or
 tell their friends about the awesome new band they just discovered,
 then no amount of press or media saturation can create a career for you.

Notice I said create a career, not make you famous. Fame doesn't exist
 anymore. Not in the neo-classical sense instilled upon us by the 80s
 and early 90s. Thank MTV's lack of video showing and radio's closing of
 their playlists for that. Not Napster or Limewire or Kazaa. The fan
 controls the distribution channel and the technology path. All we need to
 do is follow it.

We all are fans. We all love music to some degree or another. That's
 why we do what we do. That's why Disqo is in a car to Chicago today to
 attend a music conference. That's why we send out 100 bulletins asking
 you to check out our new vides and vote for us for a radio contest. We
 want you to know your help does impact our life directly and we thank you
 for the time you spend helping us succeed. We wish we could do
 something for you in return. Just let us know.

To finish this little rant, I would like to ask you a few questions:
 What do you want? Or maybe more importantly, what don't you want? Do you
 want a hit single? Do you want an album full of singles? What's an
 album to you 7 songs? 10 songs? 20 songs? Do you want a CD or an MP3
 download? Do you want a new album every year? Do you even know what you want?
 Does it really matter? Not knowing is OK too.

You don't need to have the answers, but you do hold the key to making
 sure that we keep asking the questions. If we stop asking, then we
 aren't doing this altruistically. The music business needs to change to
 become about passion and expression not about branding and selling the most
 units possible.

Let's make it happen together.

Ever so devoted,

Ivan,
Soulfound

View Author's Page