That little bit of luck, or is it something else?
Have you ever wondered what makes a band mainstream? Of course, this label 'mainstream' is debatable. But I think that most people will agree if you would call those bands mainstream if they are under the attention of a broader audience. This usually is combined with being on a 'bigger' record label, selling many copies of the albums, being in the charts, being played on the radio, doing gigs in big venues, being on television, interviews in all kinds of magazines and papers, etc. But what does it take a band to get there?Obviously, not every kind of music is suited for being adopted by 'the masses'. Some bands produce music that can only be appreciated by a very small amount of people. Some albums need a kind of experience in certain genres, some kinds of music need an explicit (dis)taste for specific features. I bet the proverbial girl next door won't be a big fan of grind core or underproduced raw black metal.
It is obvious that the extremes in music will never make it to the mainstream, be it gabber house or black metal, because one of the characteristics of mainstream would be that it has to be acceptable by a general majority of people. Leaving out the extremes is not sufficient though. If a band is completely unoriginal and untalented, chances are slim that they will be embraced, leave alone supported, by a record company or by 'the masses'. Although some might disagree there of course.
And still, if we look around the music scene worldwide, we can find several great bands, talented musicians, overflowing with great and original ideas, making beautiful songs, but not being recognized as such. Even in our own, small scene, we can find such bands. If we look at Anathema, The Gathering, Katatonia, Paradise Lost, etc. we see musicians who perfected their skills during the years, releasing album after album and, although getting further away from the doom metal they produced in the beginning years, they are still writing great music.
If you consider the latest albums of those aforementioned bands, you might objectively conclude that they could fit into the mainstream scene. Some of them tried, but none of them was successful. That raises the question: what went wrong?
On a recent occasion I had a little chat with Sharon (vocals) and Ruud (guitar) of Within Temptation, a band that seemed to be lucky enough to 'make it' to the mainstream. Ruud made an interesting remark: "If you watch television or movies today, it cannot be shocking enough. You see violence, gore, blood, soldiers who have just been killed, sometimes even soldiers who are being killed in front of the camera. People can't be shocked or surprised with violent images anymore. But if there is a song on the radio, with a little aggression in it, or a little distortion on the guitar, people are turned off immediately". What kind of switch do people have in their head to make such a distinction between pure shocking violence on television, which they seem to find acceptable, and a track on the radio that contains violence in guitars or beats or vocals for that matter?
Many theories could be raised and discussed, but eventually it is probably a combination of many factors that influence the perception of music. The influence of media and promotion cannot be underestimated. If something is on television or on the radio a lot, people seem to have that mindset that it is acceptable, or even 'good'. A matter of habit, so to speak. Hence, they are getting interested in that particular artist, buy the album, go to the concerts, read their interviews and so on. This results in an even bigger interest of the media in that particular band or artist. But how does something get on television or on the radio in the first place?
This can be realized in several ways. Often, record companies take their artists to the radios and magazines, distributing promo copies, and forcing air play. As this is a way in which a lot of influence, time and pressure is needed, only the bigger record labels can afford this. I can easily imagine someone from a small label, trying to push their artist, being laughed away by the people of radio or TV stations, or by the publishers of magazines.
Another way is voted lists and stations. Some TV stations and some radios have programs or charts in which the featured music is voted by the audience. Sometimes those programs are dedicated to a certain style of music, or sometimes they have the label of being 'alternative'. Like this, the fans of a particular artist can start voting on a certain clip, song or album, resulting in the thing being played, thus drawing attention from other people and possibly gaining more interest and fans.
As an example of this 'way to fame', I think I can mention Within Temptation. After their album had been released for over a year, they made a video for their, in the mean time well known song 'Ice Queen'. Their fans voted it in 'The Box', a Dutch TV station, and a new 'hype' was born. Soon, the flame set the neighbouring country of Belgium ablaze too. People who watched 'The Box' or followed other Dutch media, saw the success of this track, and soon it was being played on several Belgian radios too. Not only the 'alternative' voted lists, but also the commercial and local radio stations this time, where the band was previously totally unknown (resulting in often hilarious comments by the presenters of those radio shows who obviously have no background on the metal scene at all, let alone this band in particular - comments like 'integrate double bass drum in medieval music and sing as if you wish to scientifically determine the pain treshold').
More recently, Music For Nations, the record label of Anathema, tried to push the video 'Pressure' to be played on MTV. They failed, even after a call for help to the fans. Apparently the people at MTV didn't see much in this video and refused to play it. Was the pressure -pun not intended- of MFN too low? Is MTV right and does Anathema have no chance? Who knows… Of course Vinnie hasn't got the looks of Sharon (no hard feelings, Vinnie!).
So obviously exposure is important for a band to be embraced by the majority of the people. Bands without exposure don't get there; or they get forgotten again (the so-called one hit wonders).
But how can you get exposure? Apparently there are many working forces here too. Record labels are important, but also the perception and appreciation of your music by magazines, and by the people who build the radio and TV playlists. This is where a big part of the problem lies, I think. The people on those places are more or less the ones who "make of break" a band. If they put you on the playlist, you're the lucky one. If they have a bad day when they hear your demo, so sorry… Apart from the fact that their personal taste is an important parameter in their decision (don't tell me that you can objectively decide on matters of music, where it is only the subjective feeling of taste which matters), they are not thinking about the quality of the music but about the chance that this particular song is going to be liked by most of the people. This fact results in a certain genre being popular at a certain time, and thus only music in that genre being allowed to be put on the playlists because it's a low risk choice. Only seldom do we get a brave playlist compositor who takes the risk to do something differently and promote a new and original thing, instead of the same run-of-the-mill kind of music again. Because, let's be honest: the recent flood of nu-metal on the radio is not because of a sudden boom in talent in that particular genre, but because nu-metal is "in" at the moment.
Apart from having the luck of the right timing (if several "big" names released a new single or album in the last weeks, your new and unknown band is not very likely going to be put in the picture), you have to have the luck of being judged and reviewed by the right people too. In that sense, bands coming from the metal scene have a disadvantage. One of the big prejudices of people towards metal is that it is noise, not music, and people often think that talent and musicianship doesn't apply to the metal scene. A band that ever made a metal record, will be stigmatised until the end of days because of their origin. Anathema, The Gathering, Paradise Lost,… are not playing metal anymore, yet still they are associated with the metal scene because of their history. Probably only a change of bandname, combined with a change of record label, could reverse this.
Of course, practically all of the bands in our doom scene are not likely going to be mainstream ever. A "big" doom band sells a few tenthousands of copies of their albums. That's peanuts compared to a midrange mainstream band, or sometimes even a low quality local band. So what would we be caring about the mainstream scene anyway? Well, of course the fact that a band is mainstream, has several advantages - and disadvantages.
First off: hearing your favourite music on the radio is a nice thing. Not getting irritated by a terrible repetitive noise when your clock radio wakes you up in the morning, is invaluable. Being able to find the music you like in your local record shop at a normal price is another thing. How many of us need to go to that one particular very specialized shop to be able to get the newest release of, say, Skepticism? I'm not even talking about online or mail ordering yet.
And imagine at next year's family dinner, that noone is looking strangely at you when you say that metal is your favourite genre, or that you bought the new album of Funeral without having them think that you bought a CD with Chopin's Marche Funèbre.
For the bands, there are advantages in it too. Being sure of a certain public and a certain minimal number of copies being sold (at least bigger than 3: my mom, my granny and my girlfriend. Oh damn! I don't have a girlfriend!), the negotiation position for record deals and also for the recording of the album can be a little better. Record labels would more easily be tempted to put some effort into the promotion too.
For instance, if a tour would not mean a serious digging in the budget for sure, maybe America (North and South) would get to see My Dying Bride, and Evoken would be doing a great headlining tour through Europe, with Avernus or Novembers Doom or Morgion as support act, or something. Now before you start drooling, also take in mind that them bands being mainstream would mean that you would have to be quick to get your tickets for the show. Having to be quick can count as a serious disadvantage for a doomster.
More serious now, mainstream bands get flooded with questions for attention, interviews, performances, actes de présence, etc. This means inevitably that they take distance from fans and other people in general. The fact that many band members are on our forum and on our irc channel proves that those people are still open for the fans and have the time and the possibility to keep in touch. Bigger bands often lose contact with the fanbase because they isolate themselves.
To conclude, I would like to send out a call to all of you. Being underground is inevitable for the bands in our genre. But being underground does not necessarily mean that every single band of them has to suffer from financial problems, play for 3 man at every venue they come etc. So: go out and support them. If there is a gig near you, go and see those bands (even though they're maybe not your most favourite ones, in the worst case you can still drink some beers at the bar and try to seduce that great gothic girl sitting at the left). If you can organise something yourself, do it! My (thus far rather limited) personal experience tells me that even a few small things like parties and gigs of a few lesser known bands can turn out to be a success. And especially: buy those albums! Vote Anathema on MTV, vote My Dying Bride in the alternative charts. Things are possible, but they ask for a little effort. Things don't happen on their own.
I wrote this article because I'm rather fed up to see (good) bands play for empty venues and because I find it a pity that a young band with great potential has a few nice tracks ready but has no possibility at all to ever record them. Three local bands playing at the local pub does NOT necessarily mean that it is going to be a second class gig. Remember, every band started with pub shows and gigs in small venues. Small bands become bigger. There is potential everywhere and you'd be surprised to see how many good things are out there. Most of the times you can have interesting chats and drinks with the band members too. So move your lazy ass away from your computer and go support your scene NOW!
- Heiko Isselee
(22 June 2002 )
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