Topic: Poll: What topic would you most like to see addressed in our next educational workshop series?

Another topic idea I would like to see...

How to attract the industry at large to what's happening in Maine.

Although I believe the PMF is a brilliant first step in organizing the local music on a grass roots level within the Maine community, I wonder what people's thoughts were on how this attracts the industry as a whole to say "Hey! Look at Maine and all the great music they have!"

Please feel free to let me know if this topics been touched upon.

Actually from my years in music retailing and working at radio stations (and selling my own shit), I have found that the outside world talks to retailers and radio people more than anyone. Putting together a national compilation could be worked. Especially if there is a budget to promote the hell outta it. Fund raiser for a "It came from Maine" compilation with a Stephen King forward on the sleeve?

You know in my experience I've developed the opinion that the industry pays attention only to individual acts, not markets or scenes. Once in a great while a handful of acts from the same area gain recognition at the same time and the press or other media anoint the market as a scene. As for the public, I think it's about the same, it's all about the individual artist, not where they are from. Just not sure it's all that possible to "create" the recognition of a scene. I guess I'll pose this question... when was the last time you spent money buying a compilation from somewhere instead of an individual artist's cd? Maybe you'd listen to one if it was given to you, and sure, we could spread around Maine artists by making one, but it's more likely that what comes of that is someone discovers one act they like, buys their cd and they gain a new fan. That's a good outcome for a Maine artist and something we could be happy to help with, but I don't think it's going to create a "scene" platform that's going to make things any better for other artists. Every act will have to do it on their own merit.

maine artist & resources needs to visit other cities within new england & tristate to really stand out. i think alot of the artist don't know where to start to push the barrier from their homestate into new waters. thats where collaboration and support from local resources can help our state stand out as a solid scene.

Hi folks;

There are some great ideas and strategies here;

I talked to Rod Picott about this (and there's an excerpt from that conversation in a news story about just this subject, on MaineFolkMusic.com here: http://mainefolkmusic.com/member/news/2008/20080416_news_nashville.php )

Rod related it to the way Nashville developed as a regional and national music center. It was all about radio back then - there was a strong signal out of WSM, which carried great country music programming to a wide audience area; the whole southeast US came to regard Nashville as the place where music was discovered and developed.

That doesn't apply these days, of course, the radio airwaves are much more crowded, and radio stations have a much smaller geographic reach. Not to mention the decline (but not complete disappearance) in importance of radio as the manner in which people discover new music.

I think these days, the concept that Rod describes could still work, but the medium is the World Wide Web. Most music websites on the web are not closely identified with a particular city - the same can be said for satellite radio. The music is branded on the basis of the website itself.

But what if there were a website, or several, which offered music that originated everywhere, but had a core offering of local talent, and which branded the music in the context of a particular city or region (i.e. Portland). The world would consume this content, and associate it with the city, and the reputation of that city would grow as a music center; the music industry would sense opportunity, and begin to gravitate there.

thoughts ?

thanks,
Bob McK

As a late addition to this...

This idea stems from a discussion at a PACA event (which I'll post about separately).

I would like to see something directly for the fans. How can I, joe beer-drinker, be a better fan.

I want to get more of ______________ from my music. How do I share my taste of [obscure-music-type] with people who like similar stuff? How do I give feed-back to a band? Why I should write a letter to the editor.

The fan wants a certain something from the music scene. What can we tell the fan that will help him/her better communicate their wants/needs to us. How to be more than just another guy at the bar show.