Bypassing SXSW...and record deals

When you're a musician in Austin, everyone automatically assumes you participate in SXSW. After all, it's your hometown festival. Surely you've lined up showcases for every day, right?? Not necessarily.

Lots of Austin artists do exactly that. Some people even play multiple slots per day. And we have played several showcases over the years. In 2012, I wrote about our participation in the Fiesta Red Indie Fiesta - an unofficial showcase held in conjunction with SXSW. There are probably more unofficial showcases and events than official ones!

But over the years, we've realized that SX is not really our thang. I wrote in 2012 about what a hassle it can be, but more than that, it's a question of what you want to get out of it. When it started, it was an opportunity for local bands to get in front of industry tastemakers to try to get a record deal. Now tons of bands come from all over the world to play, and many of them already have record deals.

It's still an opportunity to get discovered, but without already having some connections, it's not terribly likely. And not only will you not get paid for your performance, if you're from out of town, it's probably costing you quite a bit in travel expenses. If you get a golden ticket from it (i.e. a record deal), the cost may be worth it. But that's a reeeeeeeally long shot.

Look out, Charlie. That golden ticket might be
more like gold-plated handcuffs.

We're local, so cost is not really an issue for us. The issue for us is that even if someone wanted to give us a record deal, we don't really want one.

For those who don't know, record deals these days aren't very advantageous to the artist (sidebar: they never have been). The record company gives you a big loan to make your record and tour, and you sign a contract giving them about 92% of your profits on everything (sales, publishing, merch - everything) FOREVER, and you don't get a dime until your 8% has paid off the loan they gave you up front.

I know - it's ridiculous.

You'd have to make the record company ALOT of money before you'd be living comfortably. And the record company wants you to make that money, so they work the hell out of you. Oh, and the record company has creative say over the music you produce, what songs you do, gigs you play, etc. You are an employee. No thanks.

Now, some people - mostly people much younger than us - don't mind the trade-off and really want to throw their hat in the ring, hoping they'll become the next Justin Bieber or Keith Urban. And someone will. There's always some new up and comer. So, to those people, we say "go for it and good luck." It's just not for us.

We'd rather make the music we want to make, play the gigs we want to play, and keep the money we make. It may not be millions, and we may not be as famous as someone plugged into "the big machine," but we do alright, and we're pretty sure we get more sleep. :)