15 May Do Looks Decide?
There has always been an ongoing battle to get noticed in the music industry, especially today with the modern social networks that allow anyone to upload their music with no restrictions. The days of record labels finding unknown artists are gone and there is now even more of a struggle to find something brand new and unseen with everything almost imaginable being created and immediately uploaded online for anyone to view. In the last 10 years there has been a shift in everything to do with the music industry, there is no need for record shops and there is becoming less of a need for record labels and mangers as we have now entered a new age of self-management and producers. However, with all the changes and evolvement of the music industry there is one aspect that may be seen as going backwards, how important is your appearance as an artist in this industry?
There have been many cases where artists have been criticized or praised for their appearance, most commonly in pop music, it could be said that the overall look of the artist is equally important as the talent. Just be looking at shows like the X-factor you can see that people that have ‘made it’ all seem to have the same, eye pleasing overall image. One of the most frequent phrases during the auditions of the show is, ‘you have the look and the voice, the whole package, you look like a popstar.’ Even shows like the Voice where the point to be judged by talent rather than appearance have followed similar patterns. How much of a problem is this though?
Although mainstream media has the most obvious cases of changing and choosing the way people look to benefit the record labels it is also an issue in alternative genres. Record labels are faced with a battle to stay relevant, especially independent and alternative labels. In order for these labels to succeed they need the popular artist as much as the artist needs them, if not maybe more. Now the tables are turned smaller, alternative record companies need to be sourcing new, exciting music, however there is still a demand for the overall look to match the existing idea of what ‘rock and roll’ is. Is wearing a leather jacket and having long hair as important as having a genuine talent? Alternative/ indie music first began by shocking fans and critics and introducing new ideas, yet like most things there is now a uniform that has been formed and a set of guidelines for bands to folly hopefully guarantee success .
I spoke to the small indie/alternative band, Plastic House, from Manchester, arguably the birth place of British indie rock music, the band however have had a battel to get their music heard by wider audiences. Although a success in their home town the band is still looking to get signed and it has proved difficult for one main reason. Despite following all the codes and conventions of a ‘rock band’ one record company has an issue with one of the band members, lead guitarist James was told that he didn’t fit in with the rest of the band by Modern Love Records because he didn’t have the right ‘look’. I asked Robbie, Bass Guitarist for the band, what they did once they were told the news, ‘honestly we were all so shocked, we didn’t think that how we looked would even be an issue. I mean were not stupid and we know we have to make some effort to fit the stereotype but I didn’t know it came down to your physical appearance, we can all change our clothes and what not but it makes you question how much do you really want to be in this business when people are straight up telling you what to do and how to look.’ It was clear that the band were infuriated about what they had been told. Though the answer already seemed clear to me I asked if they considered switching James for a different member, ‘the thought didn’t even cross any of our minds, its proper annoying to even have put us in a situation like that. We don’t care how he looks, he’s bloody good on the guitar and that surly is the only thing that should matter. It’s ridiculous when you actually think about it, rock music used to be rebellious and gained popularity because it didn’t fit in with any of the social norms, so why should it matter what we look like’.
I phoned Modern Love Records to ask them about the incident and they out me through to the team member who when to the gig to scout upcoming new bands, Katie, and she told me that she did not tell the band that they had to change their appearance in order to get signed, instead she described it as advise improve their carer, ‘I know no one wants to admit it but looks do play a big part in this industry, especially when talking about a rock band, there obviously needs to be a core talent in order to go far but there also need to be a core fan base and the easiest and quickest way to get this is to gain a female following, the lead singer and lead guitarist are the two front members of the band therefore they need to have some sort of sexual charisma in order to get people to notice them. If the band didn’t already have this, we may have suggested that they would get a lot further if they did.’ Modern Love Records have denied that they ever told Plastic House to change their line-up, nevertheless the band have decided not to take any offer from the company saying, ‘I wouldn’t want to work for a company that tells us how to look or behave, even if they have said it was only advise’.
The issue that bands don’t have a commercial look can be a problematic for record companies because it creates a nesh target audience. I spoke to a couple more band to see how of an issue this is. The K’s, also a Manchester band was recently signed by Modern Love records. I asked if they were told to change anything about their image once they were signed, ‘I don’t think anyone told us to change anything, we were obviously advised but that’s the main reason of getting signed by a company isn’t it? If it’s only to help up. I’m not saying it’s okay to tell someone there not fit enough to be in in the band or something because that would be grim but sure telling someone what to wear is fine.’
So do musicians appearance sometime matter more their sound, in a 2013 survey conducted by University College London it suggests that it may matter more. Participants were shows a silent video of 3 artists and were asked which would sound the best, 83% said that the better looking artists would have sounded the best. I spoke to Aleah Gardiner who works for Loose Records, a London based independent record company to see if any other labels were altering artist’s appearance, Aleah said, ‘I would never directly tell someone to change the way they look, sure it’s easier if there was nothing that might need altering but it’s almost impossible to find the perfect artist. I know that the first thing people will notice is what they look but I try and fine exceptionally good bands and if the music’s that good it shouldn’t matter what hair cut they have.’ I asked how much first impressions really matter in the music industry, ‘I’m ashamed to say that they matter a great deal. The ironic thing is that a lot of the so called legendary bands that accidently generate this rock and roll image probably wouldn’t get signed today. It’s sad to say but now you know what the artist looks like before you hear them, everything has been flipped upside down and because of this first impressions are extremely important.’
