[Dixielandjazz] The New Ambassadors to the USA - Indie Rock & Roll Bands from Europe and Oceania

[tcashwigg at aol.com]

Hi Steve and all:

The USA does have such a program , based out of New York,  but lots and 
lots of competition for it too.  Tons of paper work to discourage most 
who won't take the time to deal with it all, and you must be invited to 
International Festivals to qualify, and most OKOm small time festivals 
would not qualify.

Tom Wiggins

-----Original Message-----
From: barbonestreet at earthlink.net
To: dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
Sent: Sun, 12 Nov 2006 7:22 AM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] The New Ambassadors to the USA - Indie Rock & 
Roll Bands from Europe and Oceania

    Perhaps we (The USA) should export some OKOM to Europe and Australia 
via
government grant money?

Hey Bill Haessler, what's this about Australia granting $1.8 million 
(USD)
to Rock Bands to come here? (See article). And who are the Wiggles? :-) 
VBG.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone


The New Ambassadors

NY TIMES - By JEFF LEEDS - November 12, 2006

The Figurines, are in New York as part of a tour partly financed by the
Danish government. Crammed in a van loaded with guitars, a drum kit and 
a
couple of Fender amplifiers, and driving from one American gig to the 
next,
the four scruffy musicians in the indie-rock band the Figurines tried
mightily to enjoy themselves. They snapped pictures of one another, ate 
junk
food and drank Red Bull, which is barred from sale back home in Denmark.

It might be a typical war story for a rumpled rock band on the road. 
But the
Figurines, who played at the recent CMJ Music Marathon in New York, 
aren¹t
just a rumpled rock band on the road. They¹re part of an unusual class 
of
cultural ambassadors and trade envoys, hand-picked by their government 
to
represent their nation to the rest of the world.

The Figurines, who received more than $18,000 in financing through 
Denmark¹s
export agency this year, are just one of hundreds of bands that occupy 
this
odd dual status: on the one hand, road-weary independent musicians; on 
the
other, appointed emissaries of their homelands.

In a little-understood chapter in the history of cultural exchange, 
nations
 from around the world have been choosing musical outfits and sending 
them to
the biggest music markets abroad in hopes of raising their international
profile and generating export sales. In a way, it makes perfect sense.

Can would-be music stars really be put to this new use?

³It ultimately comes down to what one thinks of activity of the state on
behalf of art or commerce,² said Brent Grulke, creative director of the
annual Austin festival South by Southwest, which along with CMJ has 
emerged
as a bazaar of internationally financed talent. ³Clearly one of the more
inexpensive things that we can produce that potentially has great 
financial
rewards is our culture. For nations that have any kind of forethought 
into
the future of their economies, it¹s a no-brainer.²

One way or another, between the musicians who are representing their
countries abroad and the government officials who are seeking out and
signing new talent, the international trend has forced all parties to 
invent
new rules, and new roles, in situations that none of them could have
anticipated.

In Canada, which has one of the most established programs, artists can 
apply
for an array of grants or loans to finance up to 75 percent of recording
costs, advertising, marketing or touring expenses.

In Australia state and federal governments offer a series of programs. 
The
country¹s main export program offers to cover up to 50 percent of an 
act¹s
costs above the equivalent of $11,600. Over the last year trade 
officials
provided roughly $1.8 million in grants to 80 recipients aimed at 
exporting
their music. Past recipients included the Wiggles, the phenomenally 
popular
music group catering to children.

To many artists, even to many bands involved in these programs, federal
financing may not initially seem very rock ¹n¹ roll. After the Hives 
took
Sweden¹s money, the band¹s lead singer, Pelle Almqvist, fumed that
tax-financed rock was ³like working for the Man.²

Andrew Wilson, the lead singer of the New Zealand art-rock band Die! 
Die!
Die!, said that when he and his chums received approval for their first
grant ‹ about $3,300 in United States dollars for studio time and a 
producer
to help record a demo single.

The band later applied for, and received, more financing ‹ about $4,000 
‹ to
return to America for another sweep. That tour included a stop in 
Austin for
South by Southwest, several East Coast dates and a visit to Oakland, 
Calif.,
where Mr. Wilson smashed his white Stratocaster guitar and leapt onto a 
fan
at a club called Grandma¹s ‹ a moment in cultural diplomacy now 
immortalized
on YouTube.

Alas, the band broke up. But does it make sense ‹ is it even really 
possible
‹ to apply a cost-benefit analysis to the export of indie rock? It all
depends on what the purpose of these programs is, beyond broad 
platitudes.
Most export officials say they are trying to gin up acts that can 
achieve
commercial success ‹ steady concert ticket sales and, potentially radio
airplay ‹ without sounding like copycats of existing United States 
acts. ³We
don¹t want to bring sand to the Arabs,² said Gary Fortune, a former
executive at BMG who now heads New Zealand¹s fledgling export program.

Last year Australia¹s trade commission hired a former talent executive 
from
BMI, which represents songwriters in the United States and collects 
their
royalties, to help introduce their musicians to American listeners. Now 
you
can listen to an all-Aussie podcast or visit an Aussie singer-songwriter
show every other month. And whether coincidentally or not, this year the
music establishment has been abuzz over the Led Zeppelinish rock trio
Wolfmother, which despite selling 300,000 copies of its American debut 
will
still apply to have the government reimburse its travel expenses.

The more such successes these early experiments produce, the more are 
likely
to be undertaken. Which will result in more frequent-flyer miles, and 
more
strange encounters from the world of government rock.



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