why keep good bands underground....????

[r/brey]

---

i think most bands on major labels have enough freedom. minor restriction apply though. thats when those corporate executives impose their dumb musical tastes on their artists songs.

[rasheed_d_weed]

wow... these are nice comments..... well i think it is true though that most bands want to be heard, famous and of course if they get money in the process that would be very good. i think it is smart for starting bands to master their craft, be good at it, get signed in a major record label, getting famous and then getting enough money to start producing your own songs.... dont you guys agree i think most of the artist if not all should think that way.... IF THE OPPORTUNITY COMES TO BE IN A MAJOR RECORD LABEL USE IT. but when signing in a contract, try to make ends meet.. ya heard?

[glassjawed_grrl]

Pero thing is... being backed by a huge label, a band will always feel the pressure of "selling" their sound or else they're gonna get dropped by the label....

so true! days ago, i asked someone who's IN a major label.
he said apart from the money, the really awesome exposure and "everything hassle-free" offered by their bosses, he feels like fading out of his art and that his intentions are out of proportion. to quote the guy "nasa tao lang pero no matter what we do, even if the material we come up with is super duper great or not, there is always the fact na we're doing these songs for the label. it must sell or else.."

[glassjawed_grrl]

huy rasheed_d_weed! it's so cool you came up with this topic! it is very tricky! it's like philippine politics. haha anyways..
i am pro-INDIE i have no beef on the pro-MAJOR people.. everybody's got their own goals and priorities..
for the pro-major.. they do what they love, which is making music, they get the fame, and of course the money! now what is wrong with this perfect picture? NOTHING! because it's their PRIORITY!!! to them it's a dream come true!
now on the pro-INDIE side of things.. we are also slaves mind you but only to ourselves.. and maybe our own personal demons too. haha.. we get total artistic freedom.. *yey* with a price of course, which is the money we spend on our craft.
see.. there's a black and white to both... and everything really is a personal choice...

so pleease answer this question:

why choose spending to make art over getting paid for making art?

my answer is:
major label=corporationÂ* Â*
signed artists=corporate slavesÂ* Â*
independent artists="we refuse"Â*

[level42]

if you think about it, this underground thing is fairly new. a product of the last decade, i've read somewhere. it said it started nowhere else than the place of grunge, seattle. and all this accussations of sell-out this sell-out that. its stupid. but you gotta agree there are sell-outs. but when you wanna have a band you'll want three basic things. you wanna be heard, first and foremost. you want money or fame to continue the band. lastly, you just wanna play music. this band i know has this emo indie things going on in their heads(influenced by current trends and what they read in music magazines) they discriminate against other bands a lot. its sucks hearing about it. all i can say is this, if you're good, most likely you're gonna be famous and lots of people will hear your music which is perfect in my opinion. I'm starting out a band and I want the world to hear our music. i dont appreciate bands who make music specifically for their own people. its selfish and its stupid. music should be enjoyed by all.

just wondering about this indie-sellout thing. you ever notice why no one is pointing fingers at the classic bands for being sellouts? lets say The Beatles or Lez Zep, those bands are in major labels, they are famous worldwide and they release one or two sometime more albums a year. why isnt anyone accusing them? one answer: because they're good and they're legends. they make good music and people love em. thats why.

sorry for the long rant. i'm gonna get the link of that article now.

sakto gyud ka bai, whats the point of making music if nobody likes it............
nothings wrong with being mainstream as long as it sounds great..........

pink floyd is the luckiest band in the world, they got so big without major criticisms......

pero daghan sab underground nga impressive, but the Major Record labels ignore this bands, which is really sad...

[r/brey]

i'm sorry if i may be dissing on the people who advocate "indie" and "anti-sellouts" philosophies here. i know where ur coming from, about the creative freedom and all those things that keep a band original and unstained. its truely a noble cause IMO. but the thing is, the corporations are gonna find a way to gobble things up again. see whats happening to "indie" now. its cool to be indie right? its cool to be free and unrestricted. so MTV and the record labels are gonna take that concept and market it again. i see a lot of "indie" musicians now on TV(though i hate TV and the concept of it) and on radio. and it doesnt only happen in music, you gotta look at the movies, hollywood. they market indie films like its the next best thing. the essence and meaning slowly fades away. but thats how it is. all things change. nothing is constant.

[tingkagol]

being underground is just an excuse for mediocrity

oh please, let's not go there.
i don't think this fairly applies to all. i'm not saying all the underground bands are great. but i know a damn lot who are SO MUCH better than those who went mainstream. the list if efng long, i must say.

gotta agree with you shak.

tingkagol: being underground is not being cool... common misconception na siya sa mga tao na wala gyud nag agi sa tinud-anay na underground. being underground. being underground is keeping ur music free from the taints of mainstream like pop culture-ism, money, ristrictions and fans u wants to appear that they dig ur music so that they'll look cool to ever watchful eyes of the alternative society.

some bands have an underground fan base who would listen to the lyrics, who would know and experienced and can relate to what the band is talking about... you just can't get that on a mainstream fanbase because with mainstream it's all about POP culture and pa cool. mao na ang pa cool bro... mainstream kay pa cool. dili ang underground.

Exactly my point. It's a misconception. A stereotype.

[r/brey]

well nowadays, anything new and whats on mtv is cool. being different is cool. almost everything can be cool. depends what cool is. as for me, f*** cool. whatever it is.

[shoeless_rebel]

i'm sorry if i may be dissing on the people who advocate "indie" and "anti-sellouts" philosophies here. i know where ur coming from, about the creative freedom and all those things that keep a band original and unstained. its truely a noble cause IMO. but the thing is, the corporations are gonna find a way to gobble things up again. see whats happening to "indie" now. its cool to be indie right? its cool to be free and unrestricted. so MTV and the record labels are gonna take that concept and market it again. i see a lot of "indie" musicians now on TV(though i hate TV and the concept of it) and on radio. and it doesnt only happen in music, you gotta look at the movies, hollywood. they market indie films like its the next best thing. the essence and meaning slowly fades away. but thats how it is. all things change. nothing is constant.

i dont think you can call bands "indie" if they appear on MTV though... major label can make you big but underground can set you free.

juz like what shak said i would rather "spend for my art than getting paid for my art..." because when ur getting paid there is an obligation along with the pay and that alone is synonymous to being a slave.

it's like being an employeer bein ur own boss.

[shoeless_rebel]

one more thing... there is a band that i know of in cebu and they're pretty good but they're underground... i ask the vox/bassist why he wanted to stay underground even if they already have a huge following in the punk scene. the guy told me that he make music for his own satisfaction and his own escape from the harsh reality of his life... infact sometimes he gets jealous when other people listens to his song. i asked him then why be in a band... people tend to hear his song... he told me that somebody out there might be feeling the same thing and might understand why he is writing. it took me sometime to understand what he meant... but later on it all made sense to me.