Blog: The Times They Am A Changed

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The only thing wrong with being as PUNK ROCK and INDEPENDENT as what I am is that it isn't half a lot of WORK. For instance, at the moment I'm having to curtail my usual activities (riding harley davids into paddling pools, taking cough syrup etc etc) in order to spend time updating my PRESS LIST ready for when the new Validators album comes out. Other, LESS PUNK, International Rock Stars, would have a MANAGER to task a PR PERSON to do it, but then they would not learn the things what I have learnt.

For instance, the main thing I have learnt thus far is that Things Have Changed. We last put an album out in 2012 but that was Dinosaur Planet and much of the PUBLICITY was through sci-fi/geeky sites rather than conventional music types - the last proper actual full-band INDIE record we did was Regardez, Ecuotez et Repetez in 2009 i.e. almost SEVEN YEARS AGO! Back then there still WAS a physical music press you could send things to. BLOGS were just a few people talking about records, and you had to send out Actual CDs to everybody months in advance if you wanted any chance of getting a review. Also, you didn't have to PAY for coverage, at least not officially.

NOW it seems that everything is online, and it's all downloads and PDF press releases. There's hardly any magazines left, and music review sites CHARGING you to have a review is all open and acceptable. I'm also told from various WISE sources that the main avenue of promotions these days is to PREMIERE an exclusive track/video/something on a website as a way of getting TRAFFIC.

It's all a bit confusing and NEW so I thought I'd have a look at the places I USED to send our music to, to see how many of them are still going. The answer is "Almost none of them" - an hour spent checking my old list of review sites is an hour spent reading MANY variations on a final "Thanks for all the interest, I just don't have time to keep up with this anymore" post. While I was busy with dinosaurs, it seems, nearly everyone else packed it in!

So it looks like I'm going to have to be a bit creative when the album comes out and maybe try and sidestep (what's left of) The Media and maybe try and do some VIRAL videos again, or Utilise Social Media or... oh I don't know. Maybe I should just HOG the work photocopier for an hour or so then head out into the NIGHT with a bucket of wallpaper paste and a pile of POSTERS. That's still a thing, right?

posted 1/3/2016 by MJ Hibbett

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