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Special Issue: Overview for 2002 - A look at last years featured artists, successes
and failures in the music business and a peek at what is to come in the 2002.
By Pat Ferris
2001 saw a lot of successes and failures in the online music
industry. Record companies consolidated power and shut down
Napster, the most popular
central based file-trading company in the world, but the rise in peer-to-peer,
gnutella type file sharing has the RIAA scrambling for new ways to counter music
piracy.
Microsoft, Real Networks and other media giants are placing their bets on copy-protected CDs and subscription based download services while hackers and proponents of free-file trading are creating an underground network of pirated software, movies and music.
A lot of online music companies cut staff, restructured, or folded during the dot-com crash, and the RIAA waged war on file trading companies;
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Dead sites: · MusicMaker.com · Total E.com · LocalMusic.com · LuxuriaMusic.com · MusicBuddah.com · StarzMusic.com · WallofSound.com · MP3dom.com · HitPlay |
Business restructures or purchased by
Majors: · Napster · MP3.com · Liquid Audio · IUMA · EMusic.com |
Where does this leave the independent artist and music consumer? As corporate giants in the record industry grapple with how to stay on top, a growing number of artists are turning to the Internet and file trading as a way to get their message out to the world.
In the eye of the hurricane, 2001 saw the release of a new website for HotBands.com. We essentially rebuilt our database of artists from scratch, gathering more than 1500 artists from all over the world. HotBands.com has also forged alliances in the Internet industry to provide these artists with a range of services to help artists promote their music online.
The response to our free services has been excellent, and I've had the opportunity to review a lot of excellent bands from all over the world. One of these days, I'll get around to creating a 'voter's choice' section for readers to vote on their favorite bands, but for now I'll cover our featured artists and some of the more memorable highlights of 2001. Click the month to read the issue.
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January - Carolyn Wonderland's 2nd time on our site. She was the first featured
artists of our website when I started featuring bands in 1999. Carolyn released
'Alcohol & Salvation' in 2001 and remains one of my favorite bands to see
live. Editors Pick: Best Live Show February - Chicago's Larry Ortega is one of the most accomplished all-around
musician's I've had the pleasure to hear. A studio musician and hired gun, Larry
is a full time musician, performing up to eight live shows a week as well as
doing recording sessions. His instrumental compositions are totally original
and take your mind to other parts of the world. His CD Planet Earth is
an amazing work of composition and arranging. March - Temptress from New York if nothing else is the most unusual artist
I interviewed in 2001. More of a 'gimmick' artist, than a strong songwriter,
Temptress packs shows with fans anxious to see a cross-dresser backed by female
dancers all delivering a high-powered show of non-stop energy. April - Los Angeles based Christian reggae band,
Christafari, was our first
band we featured to come out of our 'Religious music' section. I originally
saw them in Nashville in 1997 and was impressed that a reggae band could perform
a show without smoking herb! April also had Carolyn Wonderland on tour in Seattle,
which was exhausting to follow for 8 days! May - Featured artist? Nope! I finally got to interview myself by having an
interview conducted by nationally recognized music writer and editor, Kelley
Guiney. I ramble on about my vision of the music industry and predictions of
what is to come. Am I repeating myself? June - Portland's Duffy Bishop is not just one of the best-known blues singers
in the northwestern United States, but a long time friend and favorite band.
Overcoming cancer and playing the lead role in 'Janice' were some of Duffy's
biggest challenges, but she continues to put out CDs, tours constantly and routinely
pack rooms. July - From Gothenburg Sweden, Belltown was first reviewed in our February
issue. Scratching their way up the music ladder in Europe can be tougher in
some ways than in the US. Help from promoters in the UK and airplay for their
CD has helped them get international notoriety. August - Seattle Reggae band Jumbalassy has ebbed and flowed in the Seattle
music scene. Still in demand as the most requested reggae band in Seattle, Jumbalassy
saw changes in the band line up at the end of 2001 with an indefinite hiatus.
August is also the month for the Seattle Hemp Fest. 55 bands from all over the
world attracted an estimated ¼ million people for the two-day event.
September - This was a continuation of August more than anything. This month
I featured all female or female fronted bands. After a bout with cancer, Holly
Figueroa released a new CD that was featured on NPR's 'All Things Considered'.
Carolyn Wonderland and Melissa Reaves (our featured artist from September 1999)
were on tour together in the Northwest, and I was able to get the three of them
to play a show together in Seattle. October - Walter Trout and the Radicals from Los Angeles has got to be the
best blues guitarist I've heard in a long time. Former lead guitarist for blues
legend John Mayall, Trout has released 11 CDs in as many years since his departure
from the Blues Breakers, and tours the US and Europe regularly. November - San Francisco Bay area band Ten Ton Chicken is a growing phenomenon
on the West Coast. The hopped up jams, live stage antics, and open support of
the hemp movement have made TTC a favorite among Grateful Dead and Phish fans,
packing festivals and larger venues with sweaty, dancing, jam-band aficionados.
Guitarist Gary Morrell is also the owner of LMI, which is an ISP that has formed
an alliance with HotBands.com to provide Internet access to artists at a discounted
price. December - Cropduster from Hackensack NJ, was voted best rock band for 2001
by Musician's Atlas. Their distinctive sound, vocals, hooks and witty lyrics
set them apart as a band to watch in 2002. Tasting the first hardships of touring,
I think Cropduster shows promise for a long-term success if they can get past
the bumps in the road.
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My predictions for 2002 music industry:
- More lawsuits by the recording industry against peer-to-peer file traders. (maybe they'll figure out that it's time to re-think distribution, but I'm not holding my breath for any of the corporate types to have a fresh idea)
- The rise of new file compression to rival MP3. I think Microsoft will have a hand in this. MP3 Players will end up becoming obsolete and new players that play multiple formats will be created.
- Several versions of copy-protected CDs that hackers find a way to de-protect. This is the rise of spy vs. spy in the business sector.
- Britney Spears gets another boob job.
Thanks to all of the artists that have contributed to HotBands.com by adding your information. I look forward to listening to lots of great music this year. Use the services we offer! We'll be integrating the interactive calendars, mp3 downloads and advertising soon, so make it easy for readers to find you by filling in your artist info.
I'm very excited at what the new year brings and plan on releasing several new services that you guys and gals will dig, so stay tuned, check back, and tell other artists about us.
Happy 2002!
pf
