Music Blogs

They say there are two industries that will always survive tough financial times - the entertainment business and the necessities trade. People will always need toilet paper, soap and high-speed broadband. That's just a fact. But people also need a good laugh when the purse strings are taut; and this is where the entertainment business is bullet-proof. From Civic's $1 movie Tuesdays to pay-what-you-want album downloads, the appeal of art's escapism has never been wider.

But how do the stars hold up when the money's too tight to mention? Pretty bloody well, because they too, understand the basic tenets of survival in hard times and they employ them every day to ensure that the music is truly recession proof.

                Reason 1: The Costumes Are Cheap

With the natural exceptions of Kiss and Marilyn Manson. Rock stars have clued onto cheap costumes pretty quick; although in some cases, thrifty threads have always been in play. Take Angus Young for example, who after a few dalliances with glam duds settled for his school uniform - cheap, practical and iconic in it's own bizarre way. Lady Gaga, the newest costumed super-songstress on the scene takes the penny-pinching even further, by making her own costumes out of cardboard boxes from the studio's bin out back. A little metallic spray paint and bam, it's Xanadu all over again. It's also worth noting that Gaga makes the savings go further by never wearing pants, or normal people clothes. Ever.

                Reason 2: Free Marketing

Thanks to YouTube, some bands will never have to make a music video ever again. Do a search on Coldplay and quicker than your browser can say "Have you thought about upgrading to IE9?" you'll be swimming in a veritable ocean of cell phone camera footage from YouTube user HUSTLER.FOR.LIFE, who was standing at the back of the GA section behind a 6-foot something accounts manager from Napier. The Beastie Boys elaborated on this concept and proved their entrepreneurial genius in 2006 when they gave camcorders to 50 audience members and used the footage to make their own live DVD. Hello Nasty, Goodbye overheads.

                Reason 3: The Rise Of DIY

Back in the day if you wanted to be huge in the music business, that meant putting a mortgage out on your parent's trailer park and heading into the studio to cough up a few G's to record a decent demo tape. Well, 21^st century just called and he said "Bollicks to that" - THIS IS THE TECHNOLOGY AGE, which has given rise to what uber-geek Andrew Keen calls the Cult of the Amateur. Now any aspiring muso with a home computer and microphone can cook up an award-winning album in their soap opera ad-breaks. Worked for Dizzy Rascal's bedroom tape, and it can work for you too. This aesthetic has become so popular that record executives are calling it the Next Big thing. It ain't an indie record unless something was recorded in your basement, complete with the background thrum of Mr Boon's lawnmower next door.

                Reason 4: Remixes: Re-money

So your album didn't sell well, but you cant be fagged coming up with a new batch of songs? It's gonna be a long time between albums and that crack addiction won't pay for itself. The solution? REEEEEEEEMIX! Get the same album, chop it up in protools; put the chorus where the verse should be, get a black man to insert a stock Ebonic in between verses and boom, good as new. Better still, save even more money and sweat by asking fans to remix your songs for you. FANMIX! For free. Many bands have found this the perfect way to turn one-album revenue into a supreme double-spinner. Some bands are cheeky enough to do it for every album. (see: Party, Bloc.)

                Reason 5: Solo albums.

This one's especially good for lead singers. The music world can be as brutally corporate as your blue collar jobs sometimes. When the money gets tight, perhaps it's time to take a good hard look at the band and say "Do we REALLY need two guitarists?." This concept is what we like to call the great Rock N' Roll Downsize. Some bands take it to the extreme - let's face it, a lot of bands are all about the front man, and if so, why should he have to split the profit 5 ways? Wouldn't make sense in the boardroom. Enter the ‘solo album', a chance for the Scott Stapp's of our world to take 100% of the goods, every time. The downside of this approach is that the solo artists becomes solely responsible for the abysmal Hindenburg that is their solo effort. Again, Scott Stapp.

And seriously, if I was the Mars Volta's fifth percussionist, I'd start getting a bit sweaty...