Vol 2, Conclusion: Counting Down the Top 20 Sins Committed Against Musicians By the Music Biz

First off, I’d like to thank all of you for sticking with me for another year. I hope that reading my column proved to be an educational and insightful experience. Although I bitch a great deal about the music industry, there are a lot of amazing people out there working on all aspects of the business to make it more artist-friendly. I urge you to follow your dreams if it’s music that is truly in your heart, I simply hope that my column has been able to provide you with a more realistic perspective in terms of what you will encounter. As you follow your path, and begin to gain success, you’ll learn soon that it’s really a love/hate relationship, and it’s definitely not as glamourous as the media would like you to believe. Irrespective of this, there’s something about rocking out on stage to a sea of thousands of people that is untouchable in terms of the euphoria it produces.

To help you along your journey, I’m happy to announce that I’ll be returning “back in black” to charm you all a third time come September, and “So You Wanna be a Rockstar?” is promised to be bigger, and better than ever.

Last week, courtesy of Henry Rollins, you caught a sneak peak of what is to come with my new monthly featurette interview series, “Hear it From the Pros”. To further help me cater my topic selection to areas about which you’d like to learn and/or if you have suggestions for potential interviewees from whom you’d like to hear, please visit my myspace page (www.myspace.com/soyouwannabeinarockband) and fill out the readership survey. I would love to hear from you!

Without further adieu, to end off the year in an must-read obligatory countdown, I’ve compiled a list of the top 20 sins that the music industry has committed against artists over the years. My intention in doing so is to not only inform you of these atrocities, but as well, hopefully compel you to speak out against them.

In the current climate of the music industry, indie musicians have the ability to take back the power, but this can only be achieved if we unite together, and fight for what we deserve: that is, to be treated as professionals. I once read that the first step to change is through enlightenment. I’ve given you the power, so now let’s see you use it.

In order, based on YOUR ratings, starting with the #1 voted most “sinful of the sins”, here goes:

1) The media’s commitment to focusing more on the personal mishaps of celebrities, rather than remembering them for their artistic contributions

2) Allowing lipsynching and advances in technology to make up for a lack of talent

3) The creation of reality TV karoake contests to discover the next popstars

4) The music biz’s emphasis on marketability over talent

5) The government and music industry’s creation of misleading grant programs that fail to fulfill mandates to provide indie artists with necessary funding

6) The lack of governance over bogus battle of the bands contests and "pay to play" scouting events

7) The music industry’s ongoing attempts to maintain a closed network based on who you know, NOT how talented you are

8) The allowance of our standards to drop so low that cliche love songs, and raps full of profanities which fail to inspire and rather encourage degradation, violence, and discrimination receive airplay

9) The lack of implementation of pay equity scales for touring bands

10) The “successful” separation of music from the people

11) The employment of musically uneducated and ill-researched staff to conduct concert and album reviews

12) The creation of double standards for acceptable sexual expression among male and female artists

13) Radio payola scams

14) The commodification of music

15) The perpetuation of the "overnight success" myth

16) CTRC's refusal to implement legislation regarding illegal downloading

17) Allowing "artists" to illegally sample music

18) New artist campaigns that overmarket their artists so excessively that we end up hearing the same song(s) on the radio upwards of five times per hour

19) The music industry’s belief that they (the labels) can dictate to the public what music is worth listening to by throwing money at it

and finally...

20) The ridiculous amount of legal battles that exist between bands trying to earn a decent buck for their talents, and record labels trying to rape them for everything they’re worth

About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry is the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.

Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/

Vol 2, Issue 17: "Hear it From the Pros" Pt 1: Teeing Off, A One on One Discussion with Post Modern Philosopher Henry Rollins

Though a man of infinite words (and calculated profanities) in the public limelight, in private, as my one-on-one discussion disclosed, Mr. Henry Rollins is unassumingly nonchalant; something I can only attribute to the fact that he clearly prefers to be the one holding the microphone. As an industry veteran notorious for his wild stage antics in both Black Flag & The Rollins Band, his hard hitting and unabashedly honest spoken word performances, his countless written works including several volumes of poetry, fiction, and prose, and most recently, his incredibly entertaining weekly talk show, The Rollins Show, hosted on IFC, it only seemed fitting to begin my new featurette interview series, “Here it from the Pros”, with the man himself. In conjunction with his latest worldwide spoken word tour, “Provoked”, I had the amazing opportunity to interview Mr. Rollins. Here’s what he had to say:

Growing up as a teenager in Washington, DC., Rollins’ musical awakening transpired when a friend of his first lent him a copy of a rare Ramones’ album. Finally finding an outlet for his pent up animosity, and aggression, Henry discovered punk, D.I.Y. ethics, and never looked back. Fast forward several decades later to present day, and I’m sure it’ll come to no one’s surprise that, “Do it Yourself” remains his mantra. As depicted by the numerous accessories including iron-on patches, and stickers worn by his kind: punk is for life, and it will never die.

When asked about his current outlook on the music industry and whether he felt the damage that ensued (and continues to unfold) from all of the illegal downloading could be repaired, Rollins indicated clearly his disconnection from that world. Though a seasoned performer and top selling artist himself, he’s never been one for the big business side of things, and to that he noted, “that even if it [the music industry] fell over tomorrow, most of the bands he checks out would be still be doing their thing. DIY keeps you from some of the dangers of the bigger parts of that mechanism”.

Undisputedly, a supporter of indie rockers, Henry feels that the biggest sin committed against musicians by the industry, was the disconnection between music and the people. In the heydays of the hippie era, prior to the commodification and commercialization of music as nothing more than a product for sale, music used to mean something to the people - it wasn’t merely a form of entertainment, but rather a voice for the generation. Like myself, Henry wonders when art will be restored to this dying form of expression?

Sticking true to his unconventional nature, Henry Rollins is a man who is very difficult to characterize. Perhaps he intentionally safeguards himself from others as a means of self-preservation, or more likely, he enjoys keeping people guessing. Not one to personally advocate the use of labels to describe himself or his friends, though Rollins, himself, purports a rocker identity, he is a striking example of why it is bad to assume.

Contradictory to the sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll lifestyle promoted by all too many rockstars, commendably, Henry Rollins is against substance abuse - just another reason as to why he’s such a great role model. In fact, amidst all of his ongoing endeavours, the only part that he finds truly fulfilling is interacting with his fans. His chronic workaholic nature is something that he chalks up to the fact that he doesn’t ever want to find himself submitting to “the man” and forgetting all that he has to be grateful for.

Though this may come as a surprise to some, as a music listener, Henry doesn’t pigeonhole himself simply to punk. A devoted admirer of the late greats James Brown and Miles Davis, Henry supports any artist so long as he/she is hard-working and his/her music has meaning (I hope you guys are taking notes here). In fact, an artist he advised me to check out was Dax Riggs (http://www.myspace.com/daxriggs ), a dreary blues-rock musician from Louisiana, who seems to combine a more sophisticated version of Kurt Cobain’s emotional angst with Jimi Hendrix & the Experience’s solid blues backbeats infused with a modern take on the British garage band sound. Very strange, but cool - cool enough to reaffirm my belief that there is still good music out there somewhere (Thanks for that Henry! I especially liked the acoustic tracks).

Understandably, someone in his position is indefinitely bombarded with opportunities for exposure, and though this is the kind of lifestyle most of you crave, Henry applies one fast and simple rule to dealing with these offers that I think all of us ought to embrace: not to consider something an opportunity, if it requires you to sacrifice who you are or what you believe in. Rollins proudly admits that IFC has never instructed him to “tone it down”, and if they did, I can state with absolutely certainty that he’d have something to say about it (or better yet, someone’s ass to kick).

Though I know it can be difficult to reject a offer because it may just be “the one to make or break you”, I’ve got to side with Henry’s view on this, because I truly don’t believe in “selling out” just to become the next flavour of the week. As both his and my hard work demonstrate, earning your accolades of success through your own dedication and merit is not only more rewarding, but as well, you will earn respect for “sticking to your guns” in the long haul, from both fans and industry professionals, alike. In his own words, if an opportunity requires you to change who you are, “then it’s not really an opportunity, now is it?” To this he adds that, regrets are not something he feels he can afford.

In the space of the three hours of his performance, Henry compelled a packed house of a widely varying demographic to intense laughter, tears, and serious contemplation. His performance came to its finale with the only possible conclusion: an obligatory standing ovation. If one man has this much of an impact, just think of what we all could actually do. A man of humble roots, but great ambition - someone I admire that I think all of you could learn from.

The most intriguing moments of his lengthy soliloquy revolved around re-tellings of his own “starstruck” moments in which his defiant powerhouse persona crumbled when in the presence of the likes of Iggy Pop, and numerous other childhood idols of his. Though his exterior is lined with layers of thick skin, I appreciated his willingness to expose his vulnerable side; something you rarely see from men, let alone rockstars. Additionally, appealing to my personal sentiments, Rollins offered a seal of approval “shout-out” to feminists and equal rights activists further affirming how much he truly is a man for all people.

To hopefully leave you on a comic note, taking a page from the man himself, if you asked me why I love Henry Rollins, my response would be quite simple: because he’s exactly the kind of asshole that this world needs. Oh yeah, and if he were elected president, aside from kicking Bush’s ass, he says that he’d basically undo everything that has occurred over the past eight years - something for which, he thinks he’d get shot.

To learn more about Henry and his never ending list of accomplishments and the causes that he advocates, check out his official website http://www.henryrollins.com/

From the bottom of my heart, thank you Henry - I needed that.



About the Author:

Rose Cora Perry is the frontwoman for Canadian hard rock band ANTI-HERO known as “The 21st Century Answer to Nirvana”, as well as the sole owner and operator of HER Records, a management company in which she offers marketing, promotion, publicity, tour booking, and artist development services.

Her band ANTI-HERO has toured extensively across North America playing notable festivals such as Warped Tour, Canadian Music Week, NorthbyNorthEast, Wakefest, and MEANYFest.Voted “Best Rock Act of the Year” by numerous industry publications, their critically acclaimed debut album, "Unpretty" is available worldwide for purchase.

Rose Cora Perry is a dedicated promoter of D.I.Y. ethics, and an avid supporter of independent musicians.For more information on Rose Cora Perry and her band's accomplishments, please visit http://www.anti-hero.ca/ or http://www.rosecoraperry.com/