By Manuel Silva. Photo by Nicole Ibarra.
(This article was originally published in POTQ Magazine by Manuel Silva.
Looking back, we realize that in the '90s, Chile was a haven for major labels. Year after year, these multinationals brought us pop music from big artists like Shakira and Alejandro Sanz, as well as local bands., such as Lucybell, Chancho en Piedra and Canal Magdalena. Besides these, we found other, less successful experiments, such as Stereo 3, Las Ketchup, Melody (the one with the gorillas, who went to the Viña del Mar Festival in 2002 and we never heard from her again), among others. It was also the time when The musicians were going to the Record Fair on Paseo Ahumada to sign their albums, and there were long lines to see them in person, and if we were lucky, we could also hear them sing a couple of songs for free.
All of this ended in the mid-2000s, thanks to the arrival of the Internet, but that's already well-known history: The major labels disappeared and a lot of independent labels emerged that today set trends in the national music scene., and that finally filled the void left by the multinationals that "succumbed" to the power of the network.
So what's the point of this report? Check the thesis of whether the aforementioned independent labels, those that are often perceived as highly profitable companies, They are actually collectives of artists who have regular jobs and that they can't dedicate themselves in a 100% to what they really like, just like many people who are reading this right now.
Why make music?
There's a song by Alejandro Paz, call Just for Money, whose lyrics contain a question that is on the minds of various national producers and musicians. “Where does art end and capital begin?”, Paz's house tune goes, and if we think about it, the line between both sides is extremely thin.
The author of this question himself, who isPeople's seals. Yours and others', whether by voluntarily giving up on artistic evolution (when you discover that a certain type of music is liked by many people and you stay there), or compromising on doing things you don't want to do, which is worse.".
Elias Leyton She's been working in the national record industry for a year and a half. Her name alone might not ring a bell, but if we say she's one of the people in charge of the Pilot Seal, the picture changes dramatically. “I buy everything Gepe makes, regardless of whether I like it or not. I believe him. Because of his sincerity. I really value sincerity in music. Sometimes, when you see an album with 20 songs and 18 of them have collaborations with amazing guys, well… something's fishy. You think, of course, it's designed to be a hit. But does that make it less artistically valuable? "I don't know. It has a different value, but I don't know if it doesn't. It's another way of seeing art," he tells us.
Despite the above, when we compare his answer with the one given to us by Sepúlveda de Cazador (Making music for yourself, or just to make money.), a third point of view emerges that demonstrates the authenticity and sincerity that Leyton speaks of. “I believe that in that case, the bands we manage don't fit into either of the two. I think the kids are just going to say 'because' for no reason. They haven't even worked those concepts out that much. I suddenly feel that way. I think that's the most beautiful thing about all of this (…) People might think 'damn, they're getting hyped up,' but if there's one thing that makes me proud, That's just how it is. It is what it seems.”, sentence.
The roles
“The role of a label is always changing. If you think back to the '60s or '70s, even in Chile, the seal was very protective of everything and controlled all matters. In the '90s it was almost like a bank, but from 2000 onwards, it transformed into a hueá that you don't really know what it is, ”nor what role does he play,” Sepúlveda says.
To be honest, The role of an independent record label today seems to be the same as that of the majors, but with fewer resources. Obviously we can't lump everyone together, however nowadays there are several entities that are responsible for publishing the work on the Internet, sending these releases to different media outlets, some are in charge of producing gigs (booking), others also act as managers, and a long etcetera of tasks which cause various work overloads for the owners of these labels, without generating the expected returns in many cases.
“I would say that A significant part of the work falls on the artist himself, Because, after all, the album, the work, the art, belongs to them and No one but them is called upon to value, promote and showcase it. Pueblo Nuevo is a showcase, and the more people who come to see it, the better for everyone. We, as a brand, also have the responsibility of constantly updating that showcase, so Sometimes the records don't get enough "exposure" time. Therefore, the artist's job also consists of making the most of that work over time. What the label does on opening day is not enough”,” says Mika Martini, head of Pueblo Nuevo Netlabel.
“This is a hueá That's what I always tell bands. You own your projects, not me., And you are primarily responsible for the project's success. (…) I’ve often had conflicts with the bands because they feel left out, or abandoned… And it’s not even like, ‘Come on, help me with this,’ but rather, having a presence. Being close to them, coming around, asking about things. They could stay here all afternoon, even without doing anything., "They're on their computers answering personal emails, but they're here, you know?" adds Diego Sepúlveda.
In the case of electronics, things work a little differently., because live performances are really parties. DJ sets become the ideal opportunity for national producers to showcase not only their own songs, but also those of others in order to propose trends.
“The label’s responsibility is to release material and promote it for a certain period of time. That’s all,” Alejandro Paz tells us. “Gambling gigs are the job of a promoter who wants to throw a party, And the artist's job is to play well whenever they have the opportunity., And hopefully, you'll do it so well that they'll call you back, but that's under ideal circumstances. Here, things are somewhat more complex. Obviously, an artist has to do their own gigs, or share two or three roles, But ideally, there would be people who fulfilled different roles.”"It concludes.".
The vile money
Nowadays, A good number of record labels release material from their catalog for free., Whether for a couple of days, or forever. When we realize this, the only other avenues left to generate revenue are live performances by their artists, or streaming services. The question, however, is: is it really a business?
“Most of the time, When things are free on the internet, it's thanks to the bands, not us. Now, that doesn't bother me, because I feel that the people who are going to buy it will buy it, and the people who are going to download it will download it. I do feel something is in my favor, and that is that nobody wants to own content anymore., because the contents are extremely fragile. Your computer could break down, it could be stolen, And that's why streaming has gained so much ground worldwide”,” says Diego Sepúlveda.
“There’s the digital distribution aspect, and The monetary impact on a label that's only a year and a half old is extremely small., for young bands that have a cool future, according to what is said, but only have one EP. The Comfortable One (Silence of Those Who Speak Little), who released an album last week, had one song and was already playing in a lot of places, so it's difficult to capitalize on that. It's difficult because we don't have resources. ”If this is done badly, it’s all because you want to and because you really like it,” Elias Leyton comments.
A third point of view is that of Mika Martini, who considers “It is valid to apply for state or private funding to finance creative projects that can bring resources for the label and the artists”.
We might think that record label owners in Chile are people with a lot of money or resources to develop their artists; however, upon learning about these cases, It is clear that this is not the case.
The lack of support for culture in Chile is an issue that has been discussed for many years, but which For some reason, it has not yet been completely resolved. The culprits for this situation appear to be the Government and possibly the SCD, but the latter is a private entity that only does its job (even though they handle close to $24 billion annually, as pointed out by the IMI Chile Node Project).
It is impossible not to frown upon realizing that all the interviewees featured in this report, They have a job that allows them to eat and pay the bills, However, what What drives them is to deliver the music we listen to and share every day. Finally, Raimundo Aguirre, secretary of IMI Chile and director of Eroica, He was right to tell us that was the truth., They are not thieving pigs, because it is definitely very difficult to make a living from music in our country, even though we know it's an export job.
