Service to Local Musicians or Fleecing of Artists?
If you're in a local band, you may have already payed your thirty-some bucks to have your lovingly home-recorded demos heard by some mysterious panel of suits, patiently awaiting the day they got back to you and either said, "You're in" or "Thanks for the money, now get lost!" For those of you who don't know, though, the Florida Music Festival is coming around once again.
What exactly is the Florida Music Festival (or "FMF", for those of you who value every spare second of your life)? Well, it purports itself to be the end-all be-all, the final word on what in Orlando (nay, all of Florida) matters, musically speaking. Pay some cash and you'll be allowed to check out the chosen bands as they play across multiple days and multiple venues downtown. Pay some more cash, and you'll even be allowed to give your press-kit to the sundry industry reps strolling through the event.
But if this is truly the real deal, how do the local musicians feel about it? Due to things like high fees just to submit material and the major label affiliation, there is certainly a high level of distrust and distate at the artist level. "I have no respect for this thing," commented The Ocean Floor. They went on to state that they would not pay such high ticket prices "for a show [they] could see later that month for half the price." "Besides," they added, "the bands are paying to play, so that money is disappearing into the Disrespect the Idea of Music Fund forever."
Some bands' opinions differed, however. Band Marino, for instance, recalled fond memories of their showcase last year. "We made some contacts and friends, and new people saw us," they said. "The crowd was super ridiculously fun, and we had a great time." They will be playing again this year. Local hip-hop group Caveman Theory, who performed in last year's festival as well, shared similar views. "Overall the festival is great. It is very organized. They have a bunch of open forums to go to with people who are in the industry already and can pretty much answer any questions you have." They did, however, think that FMF could have shown more respect for the hip-hop acts. "We would have liked it if hip-hop was taken more seriously in the festival instead of cramming every hip-hop act into one night and venue."
Whether you like it or not, the damned thing's coming May 17th (through the 20th), and there's pretty much nothing you can do about it. If you want to see the official schedule, check axismusicportal.com.
interview by Jack Cusumano
If you're in a local band, you may have already payed your thirty-some bucks to have your lovingly home-recorded demos heard by some mysterious panel of suits, patiently awaiting the day they got back to you and either said, "You're in" or "Thanks for the money, now get lost!" For those of you who don't know, though, the Florida Music Festival is coming around once again.
What exactly is the Florida Music Festival (or "FMF", for those of you who value every spare second of your life)? Well, it purports itself to be the end-all be-all, the final word on what in Orlando (nay, all of Florida) matters, musically speaking. Pay some cash and you'll be allowed to check out the chosen bands as they play across multiple days and multiple venues downtown. Pay some more cash, and you'll even be allowed to give your press-kit to the sundry industry reps strolling through the event.
But if this is truly the real deal, how do the local musicians feel about it? Due to things like high fees just to submit material and the major label affiliation, there is certainly a high level of distrust and distate at the artist level. "I have no respect for this thing," commented The Ocean Floor. They went on to state that they would not pay such high ticket prices "for a show [they] could see later that month for half the price." "Besides," they added, "the bands are paying to play, so that money is disappearing into the Disrespect the Idea of Music Fund forever."
Some bands' opinions differed, however. Band Marino, for instance, recalled fond memories of their showcase last year. "We made some contacts and friends, and new people saw us," they said. "The crowd was super ridiculously fun, and we had a great time." They will be playing again this year. Local hip-hop group Caveman Theory, who performed in last year's festival as well, shared similar views. "Overall the festival is great. It is very organized. They have a bunch of open forums to go to with people who are in the industry already and can pretty much answer any questions you have." They did, however, think that FMF could have shown more respect for the hip-hop acts. "We would have liked it if hip-hop was taken more seriously in the festival instead of cramming every hip-hop act into one night and venue."
Whether you like it or not, the damned thing's coming May 17th (through the 20th), and there's pretty much nothing you can do about it. If you want to see the official schedule, check axismusicportal.com.
interview by Jack Cusumano