It seems Cut Copy and Empire of the Sun have had yet another lovechild this past year – Goldfields.
Young at heart and bursting with a danceable synth-pop energy, this Aussie-teenage quintet is on the rise. Their debut EP ‘Treehouse’ was released through UK’s Young & Lost Club just three months after the band’s formation in 2010. The ensuing buzz has been absolutely impossible to ignore.
Driving rhythms, dreamy vocals and catchy melodic synths hit a serious touchdown with the listener in a way we’ve come to expect from the Aussies at the moment. As some much needed summer weather begins to appear, Goldfields offer some GLORIOUS sunshine – and we want more!
At the close of an honest day’s work the majority of nine-to-fivers are given their first chance to find solitude in their homes, eat dinner and put their feet up in front of a television. For Stephen Docker and Gerard Sidhu, this common scenario could not be further from the truth. The night holds an alternate world for the two members of Melbourne based – Strange Talk. As I arrive at Sidhu’s quaint, Victorian-style house he escorts me upstairs where the faint music that was audible from the street gradually intensifies. I’m shown to a bedroom and then further on through a back door. I arrive at an impressively equipped home-studio where Docker sits mixing a track still in his suit from work earlier that day. For these two musicians, this ‘night job’ may not yet pay the bills, but it is certainly just as honest and relentless as any other. At the conclusion of my interview with Stephen and Gerard, I had borne witness to what I believe to be the fundamental and organic traits to success. The members of Strange Talk demonstrate a tenacious dedication to their art that has led them to explore alternative business models available to artists thriving in today’s music industry.
Strange Talk at The Esplanade Hotel
In an age where advancing technology has become synonymous with music production and promotion, it is possible for performers to “have international reputations without having to leave their shores,” let alone their bedrooms (Simpson 2006, pg. 269). This paradigm brings to question the very nature of musical identity and connection to a sense-of-place. To address this issue it is imperative that we examine the emergence of an entirely new musical culture evidenced by changing methods of artistic creation and distribution via technology. Strange Talk, as an entity, offers a quintessential representation of the model in which the progressive music industry now operates. Their business acumen, humble nature and savvy industry knowledge provide the essential framework for success in today’s music market. It is, therefore, no surprise that just seven months since forming, they have received extremely positive reviews, been selected as a Triple J Unearthed ‘featured artist’, and even secured a spot at Parklife Music Festival (Triple J Unearthed 2010).
This article documents the musical culture in which Strange Talk function. It will identify their industry model and illustrate the importance of their loyalty to Melbourne as a critical component of their identity. Furthermore, in connecting these elements, we will come to understand that the cultural identity and industry model mix demonstrated by Strange Talk’s members not only serve to resist disposability, but more importantly, fuel success. However, the question remains: how, in just seven months have Strange Talk managed to achieve such notoriety and, furthermore, come to be described as “Australia’s version of Phoenix” (Happy Music 2010)?
Strange Talk at Northcote Social Club
Stephen (the vocalist and classically trained violinist) teamed up with Gerard (a bassist and music-technology aficionado) in 2009 and began producing music in a rented room above a panel beater in South Melbourne. They have since relocated their studio to Sidhu’s house in Camberwell and acquired the skills of Travis Constable on drum kit and Gillian Gregory on guitar (Docker, S & Sidhu, G 2010, pers. comm., 20 September).
At the beginning of 2010, Strange Talk graced the Melbourne music scene with a conservatively small repertoire attesting to quality over quantity. Their sound quickly spread boasting “emphatic vocals [unfolding] effortlessly amidst a perfectly rehearsed repertoire of pretty, electronic pop” (Mason 2010, para. 3). Despite a consensus amongst media circles, who have placed them within the ‘electro-pop’ genre (ibid), Stephen and Gerard describe their music as a “multi faceted sound” that breaks into many categories from electro-pop to indie and even rock (Docker, S & Sidhu, G 2010, pers. comm., 20 September). Likened to bands such as Phoenix, Gyspy and the Cat and Cut Copy, one reviewer digresses, “Whatever the mix, it’s a catchy (and marketable) sound” (Sound Doctrine 2010). It is evident that Strange Talk’s music confronts the listener with music that is not only current, but also comparable to many successful artists both nationally and internationally. Like many of these musical practitioners, Strange Talk belongs to a new generation of artists pioneering the music scene with new-found recording capability and online dissemination capacities. In turn, a new musical culture has formed courtesy of a symbiotic relationship between music and the Internet that, “are ideally and uniquely suited to one another” (Mewton 2001, pg. 16).
This demonstrates the new opportunities that exist for musicians with a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) attitude. With their musical ability and technological knowledge combined, Stephen and Gerard’s success is indicative of a new generation of artists. Moreover, they are a direct representation of a new musical culture that has been shaped by technological capability.
It is no longer necessary to rent a fully equipped studio at exorbitant hourly rates to make music. To the contrary, given the “technology to create high-quality recordings, [musicians] will now be able to achieve a moderate level of success, creating a middle class of professional entertainers that has been missing in the previous decades” (Hutchison 2008, pg. 10). For the Strange Talk quartet, their home studio and access to the Internet has provided the production and dissemination capacities needed to share their music with the world. This is further testament to the emergence of a new musical culture as Gerard exclaims:
“It’s a current culture. It’s the way music is being written, developed, produced and marketed. It’s a very ‘now’ way of doing things. Very different to what it was 10 years or 20 years ago. Everyone’s self-producing, everyone’s self-writing, everyone’s self-engineering… and self-marketing. It’s a very independent structural beginning for any band now… With technology being the way it is… everyone’s getting their up-start… by putting all the hard yards in themselves in every area” (Docker, S & Sidhu, G 2010, pers. comm., 20 September).
Throughout the interview most impressive was the pair’s strong sense of loyalty to their Melbourne roots and furthermore, a strong connection to their Melbourne fans. The formation of an artist’s identity is commonly attributed to a connection between an artist’s community and the underlying music that link both artist and their community to a shared sense-of-place (Duffy 2000, pg. 51). Despite the possibility of grandeur on Strange Talk’s horizon, they remain connected to their identity as Australian musicians, Stephen asserts:
Stephen Docker on stage at The Esplanade Hotel
“I think Australian music in general is very underrated… there are a lot of industry people overseas looking at Australia now because there is a general vibe that we are not five or six years behind… [But rather] in front of the 8-ball… I think Australian music is very important” (Docker, S & Sidhu, G 2010, pers. comm., 20 September).
The pair began writing dance loops that naturally progressed into lyric lines and song structures. Before an industry plan was even set in place, music was being written in their studio not for the purposes of commerciality and fame, but rather dedication to their passion. This then developed into the natural phase of sharing this music with their friends on MySpace. However, they were also weary of the fact that record label’s are always on the prowl for new acts to add to their roster:
“It’s always going to be something we love, business is one thing but at the end of the day the creativity about writing music is always going to be there and the passion for it. It’s a thin line between making it too much of a business and losing all creativity” says Stephen.
Gerard goes on to add. “But once it was done we knew that the basic framework for us was [to] get it on MySpace, get in contact with the blogs, and we researched people who worked at labels overseas and here… [we] tracked down people’s MySpaces and added them and networked through the Internet… added other bands that had similar pages, added their friends, because we knew we wanted to get as many responses and as much buzz around similar acts” (Docker, S & Sidhu, G 2010, pers. comm., 20 September).
We may be witness to a changing of the guard in the dissemination of artistic endeavour, and it is creating controversy. Richard Moffat, booking agent for various Melbourne venues contends, “When people get noticed, they get noticed really quickly and they don’t have to pay their dues” (as quoted in Blackman 2010, pg. 8). Moffat hit out at another Melbourne-originating band Gypsy and the Cat (who have since moved to the UK and signed to RCA Records) stating, “I actually went to see Gypsy and the Cat play live last week… I enjoyed it but I would respect it more if they had played another six months of gigs” (ibid).
With A&R (talent scout) representatives from record labels scouring online artist profiles, it is no surprise that artists are often discovered even before they have played a live show (Blackman 2010, pg. 8-9). Guy Blackman’s article The Fame Formula in M Magazine states that, “in Australia in 2010, there is virtually no more powerful avenue for new bands to find an audience than Unearthed” (2010, pg. 8). Strange Talk originally uploaded their track ‘Climbing Walls’ to Triple J Unearthed – a website where unsigned bands can have their works rated for a chance to gain radio airplay. After four weeks, the track was selected as Triple J’s ‘featured artist’ and they received substantial airplay across the country.
The Fame Formula article describes artists who take a modern path to fame. More specifically, it details artists who find fame by uploading their music to websites such as MySpace, Bandcamp, Tumblr, Soundcloud and wait to be recognized (ibid). When asked to comment on this, Gerard retorts:
“The Internet is just a marketing tool… you [still] have to have a good product… it is just a different way of getting in contact with people… it is how technology has progressed” (Docker, S & Sidhu, G 2010, pers. comm., 20 September).
Strange Talk at Northcote Social Club
Both Stephen and Gerard remain firm that musical fame and fortune is no coincidence. The success of an artist is determined by their ability to deliver a quality product. This is only possible by paying your dues, whether it be years of instrumental practice, years of studio production, or in their case – and artists like Gypsy and the Cat – both.
Strange Talk are now represented by Parallel Management, sharing the roster with other big Australian acts, namely, The Presets. Although currently unsigned, they seem content on taking each day as it comes and focusing on producing music and performing live.
For the electro-pop quartet, their industry model places emphasis on timing – more specifically not rushing into the next step. Their keen sense of calculated movements is a reflection of pride in the music they create and their commitment to making it available. I asked them, “How does an artist resist disposability?” to which Stephen replied,
“Don’t rush… if you’re looking at doing this as a career like anything [else] whether it be a lawyer or doctor, these people study for years to get to where they want to be and it’s exactly the same for music. There’s no easy path… there is [however], a lot of luck [involved]” (Docker, S & Sidhu, G 2010, pers. comm., 20 September).
Stephen and Gerard’s impressive display of candor gives hope to the future of the Melbourne music scene. Strange Talk’s methods of production and dissemination are representative of an emerging generation of artists that operate as a DIY culture as a result of new technological capability. Although often the victim of scepticism and criticism, there is no doubt artist’s like Strange Talk are delivering a high-quality musical product resulting from the amalgamation of musical skill and technological adeptness. This new breed of musical culture has a strong identity and allegiance to their roots and loyalty to their fans. If Strange Talk’s thought process, business attitude, and loyalty to Australian musical culture is any indication of the broader industry, then we, as Australians have a fine chance of competing with the rest of the world.
References
Blackman, G 2010, ‘The Fame Formula’, M Magazine (The Sunday Age), 22 August, pp. 8-9.
Duffy, M 2000, ‘Lines of drift: festival participation and performing a sense of place’, Popular Music, vol 19/1, pp. 51-64, Cambridge University Press, London.
Happy Music 2010, ‘Strange Talk?’, Happy Music, weblog post, 22 August, viewed 6 September 2010, <http://happymusicblog.wordpress.com/2010/08/22/strange-talk/>.
Hutchison, T 2008, Web marketing for the music business, Elsevier, Burlington.
Mason, N 2010, ‘Alpine, Strange Talk & The Jerabombs’, Beat Magazine – Everything Melbourne, weblog post, 1 September, viewed 6 September 2010, <http://www.beat.com.au/content/alpine-strange-talk-jerabombs>
Mewton, C 2001, All you need to know about music & the internet revolution, Sanctuary Publishing, London.
Simpson, S 2006, Music business, 3rd edn, Omnibus Press, Derrimut.
Sound Doctrine 2010, ‘Strange Talk’, Sound Doctrine, weblog post, 26 August, viewed 6 September 2010, <http://sounddoc.blogspot.com/2010/08/strange-talk.html>.
Triple J Unearthed 2010, Triple J Unearthed, Australia, viewed 6 September 2010, <http://www.triplejunearthed.com/competitions/default.aspx?TripleJCompetitionId=124>
Bibliography
I Think I love It 2010, ‘Strange Talk’, I think I love it, weblog post, 31 August, viewed 6 September 2010, < http://ithinkiloveit.com/2010/08/strange-talk/>
Kusek, D & Leonhard, G 2005, The future of music, Berklee Press, Boston
Lansky, P 1990, ‘A View From the Bus: When Machines Make Music’, Perspectives of New Music, vol. 28, no. 2,Summer 1990, pp. 102-110 (online JSTOR).
Discography
Strange Talk, ‘Climbing Walls’, Offspring (Music from the Original Series), Level Two Music, 2010
When I was 11 I developed my first real appreciation for music and talented musicians through this 7 minute piece – “From Within” on Calle 54. It has since been an anchor and, at times, the only thing to remind me why I’m in this industry. Transcendence through music is key to my realisation of purpose…
If there’s one thing New York City knows, it’s music.
Late last year, I had the pleasure of seeing just what goes on inside a show called Fearless Music. Filmed in New York City at Crash Mansion, I witnessed something way ahead of its time. Fearless Music gives up and coming talent a chance to showcase their hit singles on a television show which airs in over 200 U.S cities. Viewers are given the option to vote on their favourite artist and in turn, give the artist a chance to return to the show.
The concept may not be new, but finally someone has found a way to give up-and-comings a chance without all the disgusting commercialization you find on television these days. Better yet, you can watch everything online!
I happened to turn up during the filming of ‘Stick Up Kids’ by The Bad Rabbits. Another band worth checking out.
All in all, I just wish they would syndicate to Australian television…*sigh*
I don’t proclaim myself to be a music-marketing expert. Nor do I completely understand the inner workings of Web 2.0 as yet. I would happily call myself the average Generation Y punter.
I’ve grown up in the Internet age and have a fairly good idea on how websites like MySpace, Facebook and YouTube work.
This article does not aim to give advice. I am not here to tell everyone how the music industry works. There is plenty of media out there that does just that. On the contrary, I am here to demonstrate my understanding of the music industry as I see it. In doing so, perhaps I can show how the average person perceives this industry and, to an extent, give some insight into how my generation can work towards repairing the industry, itself. After all, it will be our turn next to take over, and if we don’t think carefully about it now, there’s no hope for the future generations.
After the last few weeks of sifting through various websites and books, I sat down and frantically began scribbling a whole bunch of words and arrows. These diagrams are by no means something new. I’m sure the ideas contained within were concocted a long time ago. But being a very visual person, I needed to reproduce what I understood in a way I could understand it.
Figure 1
Figure 1 depicts the music industry in the past; when major record labels ruled the planet and they could almost dictate what kind of music the general population was to consume. It was a model that worked, but the question is, for whom did it work?
It’s quite obvious from the diagram just how much control the record label had over the connection between the artists and their fans. They had the ability to instantly create untouchables of celebrity status. This was done through clever marketing and a push to place the artist on a magical pedestal.
Life was great for the record labels, they were making plenty of money, and for the artists also, a life of luxury and fame ensued. We mustn’t forget, however, a crafty concept devised by the record labels called recoupable loans. On whose money were the artists living? That’s right… the record labels’. All the money spent pushing artists up on that pedestal was contractually obliged to be paid back once they started making an income.
It was actually an ingenious business model, although morally corrupt, as it was very profitable for those within the record label conglomerate. (That’s not to say the artists had it all that rough). It is, however, clear that the record labels held too much control over the industry. Despite the poor distribution of wealth, the greatest injustice was the enormous space created between the artist and the end users: their fans.
Figure 2
I guess it could be argued that Figure 2 has been the reaction to the control held by major record labels. Unfortunately, it too has several downfalls. The Indie labels were created on a model that coincided with the launch of the Internet. It really did become a small world after all. Suddenly the distance between artists and their fans disappeared. With Web 2.0 came not only incredibly helpful marketing tools for artists, but also incredibly damaging tools for those wishing to exploit them. Programs such as Napster and Limewire and the concept of Peer-To-Peer (P2P) networks created suitable environments for consumers to find artists’ work free of charge. Suddenly albums were being leaked even before they had left the studio. In response to this, many artists convinced themselves that any exposure was good exposure. We now find artists compromising on remuneration just for a tiny bit of this exposure.
In this model, we can see that – unlike the major label model – the artist has too much control and responsibility, which they are relinquishing to the World Wide Web. Although they can spread their music halfway around the globe in a matter of seconds, there is very little financial reward.
Let me reiterate at this point that I am not trying to give a lecture on the history of the music industry or on what must be done in order to save it. I’m rather giving an account of what I understand to be history and a general consensus on how to remould the music industry for the future.
Figure 3
Figure 3 illustrates what I understand to be the most viable way of running the music industry in the future. The model features collaboration between the artists, record labels, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and collection agencies. In this situation, consumers should be allowed to stream or download whatever music they like on certain conditions; either the viewer/listener pays no up front fees but is subject to sporadic advertising (wherein the artists can recoup losses from advertisers), or there is a subscription fee for the service that allows for an advertisement-free experience.
In this scenario, what is now considered ‘illegal downloading’ becomes a legitimate and legal way for consumers to obtain music and remunerate the artist. For this system to work, governments, themselves, must place the pressure on ISPs to carefully regulate the model. Legislation must be put in place to ensure money is directed from the consumer back to the relevant collection agencies.
Furthermore, there must be a great deal of collaboration between record labels and the artist in order to maintain a sense of ‘closeness’ between the artist and their fans. This ‘cross collaboration’ or ‘shared control’ over online distribution of music, videos, tweets, etc. places emphasis on keeping the artists in tune with their fans and not on a pedestal, as in the past.
I see great benefit in the record labels maintaining a majority of control over merchandise, live touring/performance and mechanical reproductions. However, pushing record labels to relinquish some control over past economic avenues (such as TV, radio and online presence) will ensure some sort of business ethic and provide a welcome place for them in the future of the music industry.
An impressive new music video from OK Go. Everyone may remember the sensational clip for ‘Here it Goes’ in 2006 filmed on treadmills. Well here’s their new video ‘This Too Shall Pass’.
In terms of concept development, you could only imagine the amount of planning that would need to go into something like this.
