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

["Stephen Goodman" <spgoodman@earthlight.net>]

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From: "Sjaak Overgaauw" <tcplugin@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, December 11, 2009 3:15 PM
To: <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
Subject: Re: What public is attracted by a Y2K Sampler Video?

> 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? ;-)

Hm, I dunno whether you'd ask DGM or Toyah, or RF himself via the Myspace 
or 
DGM channels.

> Sjaak Overgaauw
> http://premonitionfactory.com/
> http://livelooping.be/
> http://euroloopfest.com/