The larger than life legend that was Hunter S Thompson never actually said "The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." Never the less it is very easy to excuse people for their misguided use of it as it simply rings true.
It's a comment that encapsulates perfectly the sort of people who gravitate towards music and see it - and those who make it - as the cash cow waiting to be slaughtered.
I'm well aware of this sort as over the years I have come across my fair share of the fuckin' chancers.
The capitalist whores who have no affinity for music as an art form and simply see those who create it as the host that they can parasitically bleed dry.
These cocksuckers don't even take advantage of situations that arise, but instead go hell for leather to engineer them.
Part of the problem is that they have created a symbiotic relationship with anyone who wishes to be an artist in their own right.
Bands and solo artists alike misguidedly consider these middlemen to be essential to their survival, or at the very least people who can promote their career in one way or another.
It's bullshit.
Complete and utter crap being swallowed by individuals who really should know better.
Recently I've seen yet another battle of the bands contest popping up with the first prize being the support slot to a nationally touring artist.
It's not even for the tour, but for one night only.
At £6 all the friends and family - and there are many - of the bands and artists can trundle along and line the pockets of the promoters and the venue while the people who make and play the actual music sit with bated breath waiting for a crumb to fall off the table for them.
It's shit, and don't get me started on all the underhanded dealings that goes on with this sort of set up as well.
How many times does the best band really win?
More often than not this is just an event created so that the parasites can ascertain who can sell the most tickets so that they can then exploit them and swell the crowd on the night of the headline acts gig.
It has nothing to do with talent. It's about bums on seats and creating something that allows them to have two bites at the financial cherry.
...and that the best case scenario.
The worst - and I've seen it - is when a band who has the second cousin of one of the judges on bass win by performing a mediocre rip off of what's in vogue and a cover song played badly.
On the night I witnessed that I sat behind the judges and watched them chat inanely through all the sets played and then start to clap the winners as they took to the stage.
There was no doubt what the end result of that night was going to be and I'm pleased to say that the judging panel got a verbal mauling from the crowd for their less than honest appraisal of the acts, but then again I'm sure they didn't give a fuck as they profited from the mugs, including myself, who were baying for their blood.
When is this going to stop? When are the people who make the music going to grow a pair and stop colluding with those who would fuck them over?
I'm pissed off with it, and in saying so I'm probably limiting my options of enjoying a night of live music as I've already ruffled the feathers of one of the big players
I also seem to be making more enemies on a weekly basis from the pond life at the bottom of the pool to.
They know who I'm talking about and to use a second quote, and one this time that isn't a misquote 'Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.'
So what can be done here? Well to answer my own question what can be done is that YOU. The artist and punter alike can simply stop supporting this system.
Look for the venues and promoters who offer the good deals. The ones who want to work with people in a more ethical manner and understand that a fair distribution of any money accrued benefits everyone involved.
Ask about and the names of those who work in this way will come to you. Word of mouth is an excellent resource.
It really is that simple, and the upside is that the people and venues who are genuinely supportive of what you do will prosper, and therefore in time will be in a better position to help artists.
Lets all stop the shit floating to the top.
Why the fuck is anyone wanting to give a leg up and line the pockets of those who would exploit them I'll never know.
You're a bunch of fuckin' dafties laughing at the turkeys voting for x-mas while blindly ignoring that you do similar, and I say that with exasperated love.
