Hardcore tends to spit out a band every once in a while that seems to be somewhat different. Some call it “hype”, some call it “a band that hardcore’s been waiting and asking for”. I won’t join this dicussion, but it was EMPOWERMENT who brought the word authenticity back to my mind. Something you cannot force, reproduce or claim without a reason. You either have it or you don’t. It’s a question of personality, scene-authority, integrity and extrinsic respect. Hard earned values. Most people in hardcore are not willing to pay the price, leave the scenery before they even get close to it or simply give a f**k.

Bottom line? I talk to bands a lot, trying to answer their questions and help them sorting out their issues. But this can only get them so far.

THREE ANSWERS for “What’s coming up next when the CD is dead?!”

Short: Digital Downloads. Yeah, no big news, right, so let’s get a little more into detail. Digital downloads are definitely on their way to replace the Compact Disc as main music-media format. But this process is rather slow (especially in Europe) which can be attributed to the fact that most people (mostly the so-called “digital immigrants“) are still insisting on a certain “haptic” of their sound carriers. Still no big news, I guess everyone can follow me so far.

Talking to friends and familiy over the past months I had to answer the question mentioned above quite often (I wish they would ask me more questions about horror movies, though). My answer usually is pretty much like this (short version, of course):

• FIRST: Music will be primarily available in a digital format. The difference between what is currently available at iTunes, Musicload, Allmusic, etc. is the following: This digital format will include all kinds of (multi-)media bonus data such as fully readable booklets / lyric-sheets you can skim through, high resolution cover artworks, HD quality music videos and ‘making of’s’, various live- and band-pictures, fanart, wallpapers, aim icons, weblinks, download-codes, fanclub-registration information, etc. There’s basically no end to this list.

• SECOND: To “use” this new digital format in a satisfying way and also to make it accessible, affordable and most of all ESSENTIAL for 99,9% of all music-comsumers there will be a new media-player/-device that  will take a position comparable to the Walkman in the 1980s. Everyone (and I MEAN everyone) will own it, no exceptions, no alternatives. This new media-player will be the perfect amalgamation of functionality, usability and (life-)style combined with an intelligent pricing policy that makes it affordable for everyone.
• THIRD: Since the new digital format will by far exceed the 60-80 MBs a full album + small cover art  enquires these days (I expect it to be something between 1 and 3 GB per album), the “personal media library” will not be stored on the device. Every music-fan will own large or unlimited web-space (most likely purchased for a low price together with the device mentioned above) where he/she stores all their music and media. This web-storage can be accessed everytime and everywhere with the help of new and intelligent streaming and compression technologies and the ever expanding UMTS- & Wifi-Networks.

Sounds good, huh? The next question would be “How close are we to this ‘next generation of music comsumption’?” Well, I’d say something between 2 and 5 years. Regarding the fact that US ‘fruit’ mega-corporation has already established an audioplayer which can be easily connected to the internet and is a perfect blend of style, usability and technology, I doubt that it will be any other corporation but this one which will provide all three neccesities mentioned above.

UPDATE: I just rece

ntly read this article: “CMX gegen COCKTAIL” (sorry, german language only). It looks as if Apple also has already solved the FIRST point and partly the SECOND and THIRD one.

How to reestablish an image

I recently talked to a band who’s working on getting rid off an image damage they’ve been coping with since day one. I tried to focus on the band’s amenities (and there are A LOT) but whatever scenario I pictured in my head, nothing really worked out.

It seems as if the underground-music scene is way more “sensitive” when it comes down to reputation, externity and image than other music genres.

• GOOD because this fact encourages a kind of “natural selection” which is essential for any kind of subculgure.
• BAD because this band obviously has been misunderstood and misinterpreted a lot

From what I have learned it is nearly impossible to reestablish an image that has been heavily damaged. Sad but true.

I am NOT kidding! We receive emails which sound EXACTLY like this way to often. I just don’t get it…

I just uploaded this ridiculous Zero Mentality competition to the Let it Burn Website and laughed my ass off! I hope you kids out there have a similar humor as ZM and LIB…

Zero Mentality Shirt Competition

We receive a lot of promo packages here at Let it Burn and to be honest: most of the packages we receive already fail at the first sight.

Bands listen up: Sending out a promo package to a label is just like a job application (besides the fact that you will NEVER earn any money with music hahaha!), if there’s a lack of form or any other insufficiency, YOUR BAND – WILL – FAIL! Just keep in mind that there’s 6 gazillion bands out there trying to get signed and our time is limited. Thus we have to muck out radically and a bad promo package is definitely a knock-out criterion.

To not leave you completely hopelessness we decided to share our long lasting experience (infact we just want to decrease our daily grind):

Golden list of label promo ‘NO GOs’

1.) DON’T RUSH
(time is relative from a label point of view)

Just stay well grounded. Is it the time yet for your band to send out your music? Are your songwriting and musical skills sophisticated enough? Is the band image full-grown, strong and unique? Is the label you are addressing the right size for your band? If the answer to any of these questions is ‘no’ you’d rather keep your feet still and wait until your time has come.

2.) DON’T MASS-MAIL!
(and if you do, be careful!)

Every label knows that bands send out their stuff to various other labels, too but PLEASE make sure you adjust the cover letter and other papers that include the label-name. Also try to avoid things like “Deal record label”, “Dear madam/sir” (we’re not Warner! Even if you address Warner…) or other set phrases. Try to find out who is running the label and insert their namen and label in your cover letter.

3.) DON’T GENERALIZE
(if you have to, make sure everyone’s treated equally bad)

Sending out 50000 promo packages to random labels does not maximize your chance of getting signed, that’s for sure. Rather make a reasonable selection and try to convince the label that you as a band have chosen them for a GOOD REASON. Maybe because of the bands they already have in their roster, the way the do promowork or simply because you think the label owners’ girlfriends are utterly hot. Try to constitute your decision and most of all: be honest about it!

4.) DON’T SEND INCOMPLETE PACKAGES
(anything missing? Arrrgh, forgot to include the music!)

Sounds weird, I know, but it’s true: Some bands seriously forget to include a CDR with their music (or alternatively send a blank CDR…)! Almost equally as fatal: missing cover letter, bandbiography and bandpicture. Double-check your promo package before putting it in the mailbox.

5.) DON’T UNDERRATE DESIGN
(it’s not only eye-candy, well even if it was…)

The sizzle sells the steak! Everything that looks great draws the attention. In addition to that a thoughtful and inspiring design that fits your band/music shows the label that you are able to think further than “Are we gonna do another chorus after the moshpart or not?”. Take note: Usually ‘your good friend who does artworks’ is NOT a designer. Go for a real one. It’s worth the money.

6.) DON’T SEND RAW AND UNFINISHED STUFF
(a rough mix of guitars and drums and a lot of imagination…)

I know it’s hard but wait until your songs are truly finished. The complete cycle is: songwriting – demo’ing – recording – mixing – mastering. Each chain link drastically changes the overall impression of your music, so don’t rush into sending out demos, raw mixes or unmastered recordings. Labels don’t want to IMAGINE how a band sounds, they obviously want to HEAR it.

7.) DON’T FORGET TO PUT YOUR BANDNAME ON THE CD
(a ‘blank blank’ is for the garbage can)

Things tend to get a little chaotic at record labels’ desks from time to time. Just make sure you put your bandname on the cd-label in case the tray and/or promo package gets lost. A contact adress is helpful, too.

8.) DON’T SEND REGISTERED MAIL
(the label’s gonna hate it – no matter what)

There’s nothing more annoying than picking up mail at the post office. But it’s even more annoying when the package is not the highly acclaimed new rolex watch but a shitty promo by a shitty band (from an emotional point of view). Ttrust me, even if the music is good, after standing in the longest line for about half an hour and this huge disappointment NO demo in the world will make my day! 99,9% of all regular letters arrive their destination. If yours is not amongst them that’s bad luck, or karma. Or both. Your choice.

9.) DON’T BE ANNOYING
(If you want a quick answer, it’s ‘no!’)

There’s exactly 2 emails allowed in the whole process of applying for a label deal. The first one is to be sent out before you mail the promo package to the label to ‘warn’ them that there’s something coming. You can also use this email to re-confirm the label’s street adress if necessary. The second email you are allowed to send out is 2-3 weeks after you sent out your promo package to ask the label if they have received it. That’s it. Any email in addition to that drastically diminishes your chance to get signed. If you don’t receive an answer, your band most likely sucks quite a lot (or the label is busy with other things, a way more pleasant thought, right?)

10.) DON’T SEND BULLSHIT!
(calls for knowing what bullshit is…)

Sending out NO promo is way better than sending out music that sucks. If you’re not sure if your songs/recordings are good enough, just play them to someone who is honest and objective (NOT your close friends or crew members who celebrate every bit you do with your band anyway). It’s so hard to revise a first impression, so you must not f**k it up.

I hope this helps.

As some of you might know, Let it Burn Records have signed ZERO MENTALITY. Of course this is a great thing for the label but also to me personally this signing (in addition with the signing of BLACK FRIDAY ‘29) means a lot.

I totally love their previous albums and always admired the band’s strength to go their own way. However I must admit that I was VERY suprised when I heard “Black Rock” (their upcoming album) for the first time. With most songs it took me a while to get into it but as for now I think it is their best record so far. The first song they put on myspace (”Black Rock“) and the new band CI has already caused some rumble. I hope there’s more to come!

It feels kinda weird that my “real life job” finally made me dive into web 2.0. I attended an internet-congress in Berlin this week, basically all about web 2.0, social communities, etc. I had to face the fact that the internet is not what is used to be a couple of years ago (not even months…), a lot of things had changed and I felt quite outdated on a lot of things. This news blended perfectly with my desire to share some of the millions of thoughts on music I spend every day. Things with the music biz are pretty weird right now and the internet seems to be the perfect place to meet people who are equally affected from this.

So here I am, typing the first article for the LET IT BURN BLOG. I really hope this generates a certain value and in the end of all is good reading. I heavily encourage everyone to participate this project and make www.blog.letitburn.de an interesting and vivid platform for all kinds of underground music people. Let’s do it.

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