Quote:
Originally Posted by kane
In any industry there are always those that survive and thrive outside of the industry standard. They do things differently and are successful at it. The Dead struck a chord with certain people and were able to create a counterculture movement around themselves. Other bands have followed that idea with varying degrees of success. An example would be Blues Traveler. They built a fan base touring and putting out records on an indie label for years before they ever had a hit song.
You could make the argument that Pearl Jam doesn't really fall into the same category. They didn't build slowly from the ground up, they did it in reverse. They exploded on the scene and went from being an unknown band to the biggest band in the world almost overnight. They then worked hard to develop a grass roots fan base and treat those fans well. They used the less is more tactic. Instead of inundating their fans with products to buy they offered next to nothing. Instead of trying to sell fan club members a dozen different things they gave them free music and the ability to get concert tickets early and at reduced prices. When the huge fame disappeared those core fans stuck around. It also doesn't hurt that they are one of the best live bands you will ever see.
What I am getting at is that for every Grateful Dead, Phish, Blues Traveler etc out there there are dozens, if not hundreds of bands who have tried to do the same thing and failed. Large scale success in the music business is something that is nearly impossible. Just because a marketing tactic worked for one band does not mean it will work for all of them. Think of it like this. McDonald's is one of the biggest companies in the world. They got there by selling burgers and serving the food to you quickly. Does this mean if I open a place that sells burgers and I serve them to you quickly that I will have success? Not at all. Often times it is as simple as being in the right place at the right time with the right song.
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Most of those bands fail due to follow through, not any measure of talent.
Pearl Jam literally came and studied the Dead to figure it out. They succeeded because they created a community, which is what the Dead did, and that had nothing to do with being a 60s hippie act. The Dead were small fries in the 60s compared to their peers from SF. Sure Pearl Jam started at a place with chart success the Dead didn't hit for 30 years on the same charts, but they finished in the same space almost 30 years later - playing their hearts out to their live audience and cultivating their community.
NOFX/Fat Mike took his inspiration of label and ownership from the Dead and created community too; albeit in an entirely different niche of music.
Louis CK, while I can't say he was inspired by the Dead's model, he sure has cultivated a similar approach.
Most bands want a big label to come in and pay the bill for looking cool. They don't really care about their fan base. They make music hoping someone will come along but they don't work to build a live, real connection with their audience, which is at the center of what all those I listed above have done.
Think Insane Clown Posse. Most people HATE their music, their style, everything about them, yet they continue to have one of the most devoted followings out there.
This whole thing is comparable to the adult web biz. Everyone bemoans that things are not as good as it was in the halcyon days gone by but forget how much those days sucked too. They want to blame everything but their own lack of foresight into building, maintaining, and sustaining an ever greater fan base.
As I learned playing hockey, the old adage "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" plays true here too.
"Once in a while you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right" - Robert Hunter