Un-filtered

I was talking to a music promotion today and found the conversation quite interesting. It was not so much what she was saying that I found interesting but rather the conclusion I came to during the discussion.

The biggest impediment to growth on a community level is the lack of filters. When I say filters, I’m refereeing to the apparatus that makes sure the music you are exposed to in real life doesn’t sap your will to live.

You go to a bar featuring live music. You know the experience is not going to be horrible because no bar owner hires someone that is going to drive off customers or affect sales. This is a filter.

In second life the filters are non-existent. As a matter of fact it seems you are far more likely to see a horrible act then a good act because it seems to serve venue operators best to hire as many “For tips only” players as possible and hope they have enough friends to keep things hopping.

While things do hop as tradition dictates, there is no growth there. I actually wonder if the majority of people emoting like crazy monkeys even have the stream on.

If you don’t have a vested interest in horrible music (and yes some people do), you really don’t want to waste your time listening to some jack off play Rockstar for an hour. This is why live music represents such a narrow niche of the Second Life population. Most people have a horrible first experience.

Whenever you see a pile of promo images, you can rest assured most of them suck ass. Because of this I’ve come to the conclusion is probably in my best interest to avoid piles.

In a more music friendly Second Life, there would be an established filter system could count on. Venues where you could rest assured you could avoid the Kite Loomings, Lou Mannok, and Bosco Constantine’s of music. You could also expect to be free of the jack offs that play with back up tracks. In my humble and 100% right opinion, unless the music is preformed live, it’s not live music.

No I’m not suggesting these kinds of performers vanish from the face of the earth. No matter how much I wish that could happen it won’t. But if you sing with back up tracks you should be in a separate Karaoke listing/venue. The “D” list live talent could also play in there own venues.

There are some venues very particular about whom they book. Those are the venues I need to be playing at. Bay Vista, a relatively new venue to me has been impressing the hell out of me lately. Before they booked me both operators came out to see me play, and when I suggested they hire POL and myself to do a back to back show, they didn’t jump at the idea. Instead they went to a POL show, checked him out and then said yes.

While there are venues that care, unless you know about those venues you are shit out of luck. Most people wondering about will more likely see a crap show then a good one, and that in a nutshell is the major impediment to growth.