On the Backs of Artists

Well, today seems to be the day where things I've had on my mind for awhile come out the door into wide open spaces. Today's point of view is the use of SonicBids.

For those who aren't musicians SonicBids is a service to the music industry that offers electronic networking between the musician and the talent buyer. I have had an account with SonicBids for a number of years and what that means is that an artist essentially has an electronic press kit for talent buyers to peruse.

There are inherent problems with SonicBids.
#1:
The first problem is that one has to pay approximately $100 - $200 per year just to have your site up and running. On top of that for each talent buyer you want to have peruse your material it costs anywhere from $5-$40. A modest year of submissions to 'competitions' for which you have a good chance is approximately $400/year.

#2:
The second problem is that some talent buyers will not accept any submissions from any other sources other than SonicBids. This situation creates a monopoly and in a free market this is an ethical dilemma. For some reason though whenever I try to address this issue in the industry there is no room for discussion.

#3:
The third problem is that the money the artist submits for the 'competition' is shared between the talent buyer and SonicBids itself. So, the more money gathered, the more money that goes to the talent buyer and to SonicBids. I know first hand that SonicBids pitches the idea of generating income for the talent buyer as the hook to monopolizing the EPK market. And guess who pays...the artist.

My strong opinion is that SonicBids is scheme to bilk struggling artists with both the USA based business and the talent buyers profiting.

I come from the school of thought that whenever you have an criticism one should also have a solution. My solution...that talent buyers receive electronic press submissions from multiple sources not one monopolized out of country business. I beleive that I should be able to send my EPK link (which has all the necessary information to make a decision about hiring me) from my website and save myself literally hundreds of dollars each year.

It shouldn't cost the artist to be considered for a gig. Period.

Soap Box Kat

Masters in Ethnomusicology Here I Come!!

Hey All,
Man, oh, man what a week. Everything from having an electronic grant application I'd worked really hard on get wiped out of cyberspace to frustrated people critiquing my work. But hey, what can you do. All a part of this wild ride.

Good news though, I received the final, final confirmation that I'll begin graduate studies this coming Fall. I'll be working on my Masters in Ethnomusicology and I'm definitely up to the challenge. I look foward to expanding my ability to think critically and to engage different processes that will expand my world view. It's been 20 years since I've been in University so that will be a steep and welcome learning curve. More music...less Social Work sounds like a recipe for reduced stress to be sure.

On a performance front I've been performing this past weekend at the University of Alberta Graduate Music Students Conference. I had a terrific time and was exhausted but in a good way at the end of it all. I did a presentation on "Images, Pen & Performance: Inclusion of the Listener in New Works of Art". It felt good to share my musical life in that setting and thank Micheal McDonald for including me.

Because I love performance and writing so much it may be hard to share space with demanding academic work but I feel like my developmental flow is to learn about music and the interface with culture that shapes it. And, it'll definitely accord me the privaledge to study about blues and grassroots music at a deeper level. I'd better love big words and complex thoughts :-)

I hope you are well. Rock on...Kat