ATTN: Kayo Dot Members

[mindspell]

Please try this. I'll pay the twenty bucks if that gives you a small chance at an event like this in my town:

http://www.popmontreal.com/2004.htm


Please, please, please..

 

[FuSoYa]

That sounds neat.

 

[mindspell]

Cool..

 

[xfer]

it does sound neat, but i'm curious as to why they're making artists pay to have a chance to play?!

 

[mindspell]

I can provide a place to sleep if it works out....

 

[mindspell]

Probably not too be flooded with applications. That would be my guess.

 

[FuSoYa]

I'm always against fees for artists - it really makes clear the purpose of the event.
For example, if the event were intended to help artists, they would realize artists have no money and therefore making them pay would be totally retroactive to their cause.

 

[mindspell]

I agree. Last year that fest was almost the biggest thing after SWSX and the CMJ.I think it is a great platform and they honestly made the effort to put a bunch of Montreal acts on the bill, which I think is commendable.

 

[xfer]

i wonder if there's a way to be considered that doesn't involve the paying? like, two tiers of participants, one of which is "anyone who wants to submit"?

 

[mindspell]

CMJ was more artist friendly but still paying if you are slow:

If you apply by June 1, 2003, there is no charge. After June 1, the fee is $25US. Acceptance notification begins August 16, 2003.

SXSW and NXNW I couldn't find out.

 

[xfer]

actually, yeah, i kind of see it--it's like a nominal fee just to stop an application flood, and $20 isn't much anyway. it's kind of like the floated plan to charge onehundredth of a cent per e-mail--just to stop spammers, but not a real significant amount of money.

 

[xfer]

still, again, i gotta say i'm uncomfortable with pay-to-play stuff like this. it's kind of like how you can gauge the legitimacy of religions by their fund-raising techniques, from the voluntary-give-what-you-can model to the mandatory-and-expensive model (ahem SCIENTOLOGY).

 

[avi]

yeah, it's just a nominal fee to prove you're serious. at least, that's my interpretation. I wouldn't pay for a new festival (or something like metalfest with horrible organization), but something that's proven and guaranteed an audience is totally different.

 

[avi]

fwiw: SXSW doesn't charge per se, but it does cost money if you are doing a label showcase or whatever. how much, I have no clue.

 

[mindspell]

It shows who are really serious about their band I think. Considering the size and the quantity of shows that are going to be presented, it is no wonder. They really would be flooded by one-off bands that recorded a demo just for the occasion and have absolutly no intention of continuing.

Then again it also cuts opportunities to legitimate artists without a dime...

 

[xfer]

i think artists "legitimate enough" to play don't have a problem with scraping up $20, though. it's not like a hundred or five hundred dollars.

 

[minxnim]

they're not asking for a paycheck. they're asking for a few bucks. and i can see why. they probably would otherwise get tons of not-so-serious applicants to shuffle through before they found anything meaningful.

 

[xfer]

right. and i mean, consider that whoever it is would have to travel to Montreal to perform. even if you do it as cheap as possible, that's still many times over $20. they gotta know you'll be able to come.