People Call Us Promoters: A Wheel Wells Original
It’s no secret: the entertainment industry is changing. The lines that separate roles within it are getting increasingly blurred, and often, even washed away completely. This change isn’t stopping at how we produce our cd’s (or if we even produce cd’s at all) – the way artists integrate themselves into every medium through which we experience their music is getting overhauled… this includes our nightlife.
If you throw a party, you’re a promoter. If you make music, you’re an artist. That’s how it used to be. It was a necessary divide during a time when massive network management took a lot of effort – and so too did the complex process that was music making. But as networks begin to manage themselves and the tools for making pro-quality tunes become more accessible to artists, we are seeing the split between promoter and producer blur.
Control of the music industry will be increasingly in the hands of the artist. Because without the artist, the promoter has a tough sell… but without the promoter, the artist has a pretty good product still. They just need a way to spread the word. And nowadays, they’ve got one. Or many.
We’ve seen this same pattern, for the same reason, happen with the demise of the record label and the rise of a DIY approach to music creation and sharing. And the trend will continue. Why? Because each time a middle man is removed from the supply chain of sharing music, profitability goes up… and in an industry with shrinking margins, this just makes sense.
So, artists, what are we doing to expedite this process? Here’s our experiment:
To create a platform where we can share our own music, polish off our skills, test out new songs, showcase producers from all around the world, play music that we think is great and, ultimately, give our friends and fans a sweet party at a fraction of the price. In summary, it’s like a DJ residency, except we are the promoters, booking agent and managers (and sometimes the security guard). We wanted our Toronto friends to enjoy something new, so enlisting the help of ‘promoters’ was discouraged from the beginning. We wanted to see all of these amazing international acts come to Toronto, so we just booked them ourselves, instead of waiting on fate for them to come to town (and then hoping that the promoter would choose us to play with them). As the artist, we are effectively deciding our own fate. We aren’t waiting to be chosen, we are choosing ourselves. Now we have much more control over what gigs we play and who we play with. And it’s great.
It isn’t new. Check out this Zeds Dead interview with Scott Willats where they talk specifically about Bassmentality and how it started out of dissatisfaction for the gigs they were getting. It’s happening all around us… and it results in great things!
