Re: What public is attracted by a Y2K Sampler Video?

[Sjaak Overgaauw <tcplugin@gmail.com>]

Interesting thread and I wanted to add my thoughts to the "Art vs
Process" remark of Miko because I have been thinking about this many
times the last year. The first thoughts which came to mind were: it
all depends on what your goal is, your interest and your role. What do
you want to achieve? Who's the public? Are you a professional musician
yes or no?

Btw: I'm speaking as a festival organizer now. It's my ambition to
show the "regular" public the power of live looping as an art form.
And let me be honest, my personal interest here is to provide myself a
platform to play and do my thing. Building a network in the music
scene is a 3rd element and that's something you need to get the most
out of what you do. But how do you sell a live looping festival to the
public?

First of all, you have to know what you are selling. For me,
personally, live looping is about sound sculpture, a great way to
create improvised music.

After the Antwerp loopfest of last May, I've done some research to
find answers on the very same question and others like "Who's
interested in live looping", "Who is going to watch a live looping
festival", "How do you sell live looping". In general, you are talking
about a niche, a technique not known by the general public or press,
only known by a small number of musicians and not related to any
specific genre or style. Most people who came to the festival were
personal friends and musicians, fans of musicians and people
interested in experimental music.

Not a surprise, my conclusion is that this concept is almost
impossible to sell ;-)  Why?

1) The public, at here here, usually is not interested in what gear or
techniques you use on stage, but what the result is of what you
do...the music. It's a cliche but people don't buy a ticket because
Mr. or Mrs. X is world champion the live looping of 2009, but because
he makes interesting music.

2) Live looping is not a genre like rock or jazz. So imo, if you give
your festival a direction in terms of the style/genre of your acts, I
think you reach more people who share a similar interest. That's why I
have turned Antwerp into an live looping festival with "Ambient" as
main genre and keywords such as soundscapes, drones and live
improvisation. I might even change the name in the future if that
serves the goal.

3) If you want to bring live looping to the masses, you need a few
known artists, with good reviews and a good reputation. Not
necessarily famous, but musicians with a fan base means there's public
out there for your festival. The thing here is how to finance it but
I'm seriously thinking about bringing a "big name" to Antwerp in the
future. It's simply a matter of "revenue - costs" so if you can find
someone to finance it, it can be done and you might be able to
organize an a event with 5 support acts + a big name. Everything is
possible and this might sell better than the current approach.

Stupid question: what would Fripp ask for a gig? ;-)
-- 
Sjaak Overgaauw
http://premonitionfactory.com/
http://livelooping.be/
http://euroloopfest.com/