I have been playing music in melbourne for a few years now and the scene really isn't as grand as people tell me. Maybe when you are standing in the eye of a musician's social scene it is hard to see how big or small it actually is.
Nevertheless, the good times have been laced threefold with bad ones. Getting gear to a venue, lending and borrowing at the cost of friendships and reputations and of course making around $40-50 per show between 5 band members. It is something we do for the love of it, without passion the difficulty and competitive nature of it would make it a tiring experience indeed.
We were recently approached after a gig in St Kilda by a man who claimed he was something of an artist developer, who saw potential in the set which we had played earlier that night. He called us in for a meeting the following day and told us we had marketability but our songs were a bit too out there for the Australian radio stations. 'They are looking for chips and gravy, not seafood platters and colourful sides' he repeated several times.
This is a constant issue for musicians. They are reminded often of the need to sell their music not just create it. And to sell it you need to know whether or not people actually like it. In my opinion you can find a nice medium where you let a little go and take on some 'commercial' appeal for the sake of a career opportunity.
It is an interesting idea which I have heard many different opinions on and would love to hear more if you would like to add your comments :)
I also found this article pretty interesting, perhaps a tad bleak:
http://www.pedestrian.tv/features/music/australian-commerical-radio-we-dont-want-to-play-a/57728.htm
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