“Jazz or progressive do not sell, what does sell is the music of famous artists who have a lot of promotion on social media, and are well present on platforms such as Spotify, Songlick and Bandsintown.
It does not matter what the quality of the music is, only the online presence counts. The musicians who belong to the “old school” of jazz or prog, unless they are names that fill theaters, do not move significant numbers, in terms of record sales or concert audiences. There is also the mistaken belief that labels, managers, agents can work miracles and artists often have great expectations in this sense.
Of course the work team counts a lot, but the main factor for success, unless there is a gigantic financial availability that makes many things possible, for the artists and those who manage their activities, is to promote, promote, promote until exhaustion, with the musicians who are at the forefront of this process. And, despite this, there is no guarantee of commercial success.
We live in a cruel world and as a label manager and promoter I know I have to face very demanding challenges. I have been perhaps too romantic or naive in managing these activities so far, but I am still alive and determined to continue, even if 2025 will be a year of changes in everything I do. There is still hope for progressive and uncompromising music, but we all need to change our attitudes.”
These thoughts come from Simon Sarg, promoter of several bands in the jazz and progressive field as well as owner of Jazz Blues News, a label he has run as a one-man band since 2001.
These are worrying considerations, especially considering that they come from one of the most volcanic and enthusiastic operators in the music industry, ready to face a nomadic life in order to follow on tour.
One of BRIC’s premiere performing arts programs, BRIC JazzFest is an acclaimed marathon Jazz music festival that brings together legendary figures, groundbreaking artists, and newcomers from across the genre. The 2024 BRIC JazzFest ran from Oct 17-19 at BRIC House.
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