UK: Every day all over the world musicians and artists are working hard in their rehearsal rooms with fame as their ultimate goal, with ambitions to play the club circuits and later big festivals. For the majority of these bands and singers the road to the much-coveted audience is long and complicated and filled with compromises and faded hopes. For the fortunate minority the lengthy struggle in the rehearsal rooms with writing, composing, practicing and playing their music ends up with success stories.
The way these bands and artists are achieving success is individual, but for many it’s a question of being in the right place at the right time with the right material. Nevertheless – the global music industry needs new talent in order to keep the wheels turning; great efforts are now being made to secure a new generation of bands and artists.
13-Year Cycle
In the last three articles published on this newsletter we have focused on the economic and physical environment for live music in some of the Scandinavian countries. Different elements have their effect in those countries, with strong arranger organizations in Denmark and Norway and among other things money from the state supporting the live music scene. In Sweden commercial interests dominate the bigger part of the live music scene, although efforts are now being made to change things.
In the UK the search for new musical talent has been intensified this year in order to secure a new musical generation. Two months ago the most influential people in the UK music industry were gathered in Manchester in order to participate in the conference "In The City," and search for new talent among hundreds of performing bands.
In The City is the main music industry get-together in the UK, and this year it celebrated it’s 10th anniversary. During the past ten years Oasis, Stereophonics, Coldplay and Catatonia are among others, which have been discovered. Now new rock stars have to be found in order to keep the industry rolling.
In connection with the In The City conference held in September, organizer Tony Wilson said in an interview with BBC, that there is a 13-year cycle in British pop culture:
– If there is a 13-year cycle, then 2002 is the next year. The trend has been seen in the breakthrough of underground movements to mainstream with The Beatles in 1963, punk in 1976 and acid house in 1989, said Tony Wilson.
Unsigned Bands On The Net
Only time will show how many future talents were discovered at the conference in Manchester in September this year. But it is a fact, that everyday in the UK talent is being searched for on a voluntary lower level. A visit on the internet discloses a whole community of organizations, groups and websites, which have been formed in order to help unsigned, and young bands, to get on stage with their music and get in contact with record companies and agencies.
"You know your band is great, now it's time to let the world know newvibes.co.uk could help promote your band!"
"We are here to help those musicians who are striving to traverse that path with the ultimate aim of achieving success!"
The quotations above can be found on casual sites on the internet, and they are examples of how the newest media, the internet, is being used by musicians and people related to music in order help new talent in the UK to find their way to success.
On another website it is difficult to misunderstand the message to the young and unsigned part of the British music community:
"The rock and pop genres are the most successful part of the music industry, and as such are major players in the UK's economy. Overall the major labels are responsible for approximately 73% of all sales of material in the UK with the independents totaling a respectable 27%, so isn't it about time that you got a share in that rather attractive 27%?"
In the coming articles about the musical environment in Europe we will focus more on the live scene in the UK, on the activity on the internet, and on the live scene in Norway and Germany.
