Maurice Ali
Joined: 14 Nov 2003 Posts: 7858 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2011 2:41 pm Post subject: Canadian Music Week 2011! |
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Canadian Music Week 2011!
By Maurice Ali
Shameless promotion at CMW at the Royal York!
Just finished up Canadian Music Week (Toronto, March 9-13, 2011). A mix of happiness being among people like myself and a bit of a downer as the industry is still tanking and I and everyone else is in on the ride.
A table of business cards and CDs at the Royal York!
But what the hell, tomorrow I send Corey Johnson's music to the masses and now I know who in the industry I really am dealing with. That is wild as we are so small but through attrition we have a reach I would never have thought possible. Wow!
Broadcasters promoting at CMW!
That being said, I still enter this venue through the back door and not the front. FOF RECORDS Inc. was probably the only real Canadian record label (certainly the only Canadian corporate record label) schmoozing the floor this year that I could see, how depressing is that, but we are there and still standing and pushing our business model to the music world. I can't really complain as we are - when I stand back and look at this - in a very enviable position. I guess I will not know what we have here till I am out of it looking back. So I won't complain too much.
A shy lady at War Child!
Everyone had an iPhone there. And yes, I did not see anyone wearing a suit. Funny that I have to look younger but not dress too young for the music industry with other "uniform" items like an iPhone - but - I have to look older and suit/tie/Blackberry with the outside music business crowd. Yes, I have to carry different cell phones for different crowds; it has come to that. And that is sort of the Achilles heal of the music industry. Sure it is nice to be laid back and cool while you do business. But we are in the "dark ages" of the music biz and maybe we need to get into the traditional business "mind-set" and work the bottom line.
Artist Lounge - what artists!
Look, almost everyone on earth listens to music, some live by it. How in hell can this industry not make money? This is insane and we are the "laughing stock" of the business world, and yes they actually make jokes about it.
What is the future. Well broadcasters will shrink due to the move of advertising dollars to the Internet. It will be harder for bands and individuals to make it big in the music industry. Speaking of which, how has the Internet worked for all those small aspiring bands and musicians. I think I am confident in saying it has done little for music or musicians. Sure it has lead to huge intellectual theft and the loss of money to the industry and has killed record labels for the most part. Only the largest and the most innovative are still around.
Juno awards coming up!
You all know about the largest, but FOF RECORDS is still around and we are still doing new things and excited for the future. Record labels have a part to play. They guide artists in their careers and provide a stable and structured environment to artists, many of which have problems functioning in society. The loss of record labels has thrown many musicians out on the street to make whatever they could make of themselves outside of music. The result on all counts is a smaller more depressed music industry and a loss for musicians and their fans. Our model is based on the all-in-one shop label including music videos and reality TV shows. That has a chance and it is my goal to return to Canadian Music Week and give a lecture on how we made it and how this business model is the one to set the industry back on its feet!
FOF RECORDS: CUTTING EDGE MUSIC! |
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