Canada Music Week happened. It's hard to be objective about it as I was intimately involved, volunteering as a Stage Manager at Free Times Cafe but here goes. I've read a few articles regarding the festival and I think I agree with most of what they say.
Fucked Up on CMW being the most interesting and truthful.
First off, the bands were great, the venues accommodating and the almost full access pass a definite bonus. But ultimately the organization of CMW is just...well they're doing it wrong. Disregarding the miscommunication behind official lines, I think we have to rethink who festivals are for and how they can better achieve their goals. Considering that the festival boasts the ability to create relationships between bands and members of the industry it seems to want to foster connections between music makers and listeners. Sure, industry folk are pretty much the fastest line dodgers when it comes to reaching a contract or any other promotional perks but the chances of locating and identifying these delegates is low.
The larger demographic for manufacturing fame and fortune includes The People; as in the people going out to see the shows. These are not paid delegates here on business to meet a select number of bands but the general public, hungry for music and willing to provide support. I've seen audiences stay strong past 2am on Sunday for the final performance of the festival. If bands were given more promotion and exposure and put in showcases that have some flow of coherency regarding their lineups more people would be able to recognize acts.
It can't be easy planning the schedules for the 900+ artists who play this fest and let's face it, March is really not the most ideal month to get people out to bars [cue personal university sufferings] but seeing the commitment and energy all the volunteers brought to their posts gets me really inspired. So whose to say the organization could not be improved, the communication made clearer and promotional focus turned to the showcases?
Cue, action!
Fucked Up on CMW being the most interesting and truthful.
First off, the bands were great, the venues accommodating and the almost full access pass a definite bonus. But ultimately the organization of CMW is just...well they're doing it wrong. Disregarding the miscommunication behind official lines, I think we have to rethink who festivals are for and how they can better achieve their goals. Considering that the festival boasts the ability to create relationships between bands and members of the industry it seems to want to foster connections between music makers and listeners. Sure, industry folk are pretty much the fastest line dodgers when it comes to reaching a contract or any other promotional perks but the chances of locating and identifying these delegates is low.
The larger demographic for manufacturing fame and fortune includes The People; as in the people going out to see the shows. These are not paid delegates here on business to meet a select number of bands but the general public, hungry for music and willing to provide support. I've seen audiences stay strong past 2am on Sunday for the final performance of the festival. If bands were given more promotion and exposure and put in showcases that have some flow of coherency regarding their lineups more people would be able to recognize acts.
It can't be easy planning the schedules for the 900+ artists who play this fest and let's face it, March is really not the most ideal month to get people out to bars [cue personal university sufferings] but seeing the commitment and energy all the volunteers brought to their posts gets me really inspired. So whose to say the organization could not be improved, the communication made clearer and promotional focus turned to the showcases?
Cue, action!
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