Americana finally gets some respect...

[kludge]

Well, if not respect, then at least a whiff of money in the air from industry types...

Americana seeks success on its own terms, says the article in the Tennessean. Industry analysts noted that XM's Americana listeners have the second-highest income of any market segment. "Americana listeners tend to lean left politically, shop at Whole Foods, drink bottled water and prefer Volvos and Porsches over Chevys and Fords", said the study. Oh, and they're predominantly male, unlike the target market for the wretched dreck coming from Nashville these days.

The XM Radio Americana director gets it. "Scott said the bright line that ties her audience together is a respect for well-crafted lyrics as well a desire for a certain level of honesty and authenticity that runs through the music." The charts guy for the "adult album alternative" segment, however, does NOT get it. "There's a certain amount of tightening up and a commercial veneer that's needed," he says.

One person's lack of "commercial veneer" is another person's "authenticity", dude. And "tightening up" is generally no different from "brickwall-limited, pitch-corrected, soulless garbage" to, say, me.

Just thinkin', y'know?

[txspreacher]

Originally Posted by kludge

Americana listeners have the second-highest income of any market segment. "Americana listeners tend to lean left politically, shop at Whole Foods, drink bottled water and prefer Volvos and Porsches over Chevys and Fords", said the study.

Ooooweee!!!!! I'm likin' this! Even in the outcast society of Americana, I can be the rebel within the rebellion. Second-highest income? Bwahahahahaha!!!!! Politics? Got my views - don't care about if it fits in the right or left! Shop at Whole Foods? PPFFFFFFTTTTT!!!!! Get real! Volvos and Porsches? Nope, I like my Chevys and Fords. Like I said, I like that study....I get to go against the establishment and the anti-establishment - or maybe I'm just a big ol' horse's a$$??????

[kludge]

Originally Posted by txspreacher

Ooooweee!!!!! I'm likin' this! Even in the outcast society of Americana, I can be the rebel within the rebellion. Second-highest income? Bwahahahahaha!!!!! Politics? Got my views - don't care about if it fits in the right or left! Shop at Whole Foods? PPFFFFFFTTTTT!!!!! Get real! Volvos and Porsches? Nope, I like my Chevys and Fords. Like I said, I like that study....I get to go against the establishment and the anti-establishment - or maybe I'm just a big ol' horse's a$$??????

Heh, yeah!

I don't drink bottled water if I can avoid it - it's environmentally unsound! Just more garbage and more transportation fuel wasted.

But yeah, it sure looks like someone is spinning this toward the "Volvo liberal" segment that, as far as I can tell, doesn't exist outside of Washington's imagination. Most of the Americana fans I know are poor and working-class folk. Maybe it's because too many of my friends are musicians!

Really, though, I think it's all about authenticity. What's on the radio, what gets major-label promotion, is mostly homogenized and fake and otherwise rendered harmless. I think what these industry types don't get is that "Americana" musicians don't WANT their help! We have a tradition going back to Robert Johnson and beyond, telling us the price for dealing with the devil. If the marketing machine wants to take something Americana and run with it, good for them, but do NOT try to polish it! That's missing the entire point.

[ruger9]

Man, I don't know how accurate their market research is, but from my experiences with "Americana listeners", they are way off base. The Americana ARTISTS might fit some of those descriptions, but the listeners? I don't buy it.

(As I climb into my Ford Pickup, on my way to the local grocery store, listening to conservative talk radio, while I figure out where the money is coming from to pay for the truck... )

[txspreacher]

Originally Posted by kludge

Really, though, I think it's all about authenticity. What's on the radio, what gets major-label promotion, is mostly homogenized and fake and otherwise rendered harmless. I think what these industry types don't get is that "Americana" musicians don't WANT their help! We have a tradition going back to Robert Johnson and beyond, telling us the price for dealing with the devil. If the marketing machine wants to take something Americana and run with it, good for them, but do NOT try to polish it! That's missing the entire point.

This is it in the proverbial nutshell, kludge. Authenticity. That's the appeal of true Americana music. I read "Cash" and I don't recall it word-for-word , but Johnny wrote about how back in the day, most artists' music was shaped by the life they lived, and now it seems that people shape their lives around what music they play/listen to. Everything is so planned and prepackaged and spun. I don't guess that's all that new, though.

[getbent]

Originally Posted by kludge

But yeah, it sure looks like someone is spinning this toward the "Volvo liberal" segment that, as far as I can tell, doesn't exist outside of Washington's imagination.

other than the Volvo/Porsche part I think they know a big segment of the demographic. It describes a huge portion of the folks that love this stuff (me included) That demographic totally exists... I know because I live in it as do many of my friends.

[Reno Sepulveda]

Originally Posted by txspreacher

Ooooweee!!!!! I'm likin' this! Even in the outcast society of Americana, I can be the rebel within the rebellion. Second-highest income? Bwahahahahaha!!!!! Politics? Got my views - don't care about if it fits in the right or left! Shop at Whole Foods? PPFFFFFFTTTTT!!!!! Get real! Volvos and Porsches? Nope, I like my Chevys and Fords. Like I said, I like that study....I get to go against the establishment and the anti-establishment - or maybe I'm just a big ol' horse's a$$??????

I know what you mean Preacher. I don't fit in hardly anywhere. I'm a demographic non-entity. I drive a Toyota, but it's old and has a rifle rack.

[morroben]

Well I think I fall somewhere in between you guys and these industry analysts. I drive a Ford truck. But it's a 4 cylinder Ranger and gets pretty good mileage. I find the local health food store appealing, but mostly because it's local and not some national chain. I guess I drink bottled water, but I've been refilling that bottle at my faucet for six months. And as far as left and right politics go, I'm not too fond of either at the moment.
I think that one of the great things about Americana artists and listeners is that we can have this type of forum and realize that we all have something in common. No apparent need for ClearChannel or cable television's music channels.

[getbent]

Originally Posted by morroben

Well I think I fall somewhere in between you guys and these industry analysts. I drive a Ford truck. But it's a 4 cylinder Ranger and gets pretty good mileage. I find the local health food store appealing, but mostly because it's local and not some national chain. I guess I drink bottled water, but I've been refilling that bottle at my faucet for six months. And as far as left and right politics go, I'm not too fond of either at the moment.
I think that one of the great things about Americana artists and listeners is that we can have this type of forum and realize that we all have something in common. No apparent need for ClearChannel or cable television's music channels.

well stated!

[Keifer]

What would a 'marketing anylyst' know about anything...to start with, they wouldn't know Americana music, if they heard it.

[kludge]

Originally Posted by getbent

other than the Volvo/Porsche part I think they know a big segment of the demographic. It describes a huge portion of the folks that love this stuff (me included) That demographic totally exists... I know because I live in it as do many of my friends.

I think they misunderstand that demographic. I know, I fall into it to some degree too... upper middle class, politically liberal, try to eat better than whatever is on sale at Cub Foods... and yes, a lot of friends in similar economic/political situations are also into Americana music. But such people aren't the blind "Volvo and Porsche" consumers the, ahem, marketing department would like to make them out to be. They ARE pretty much an ignored segment in marketing, true, but that's because they have some pretty high standards, which goes against the whole lowest common denominator approach the marketing people want.

Middle-class people with taste are, unfortunately, a niche market.

And again, most of the people I know that are REALLY into Americana are pretty poor, although I suspect that goes hand in hand with so many of them being musicians.

Part of it is what they're selling, too. I figure I buy 5-10 cds a month. That's not the most I can afford, but the most I can really listen to with the attention good music deserves. Most people can afford a $100/mo music habit, really. So they're not trying to sell me MUSIC, because there's not enough money in it. They're trying to sell me bottled water and fancy cars, which are MUCH more lucrative than music.

More news for the marketing department... I expect as much authenticity from my car as I do from my music! I drive a Subaru Outback because it WORKS, not because I can't afford something more expensive! I eat organic, but I eat local more than organic when I can. I'm just not a good marketing target, I'm afraid.

This is good news, because it means maybe they won't be selling us prefab "authenticity" anytime soon.

[getbent]

Originally Posted by kludge

I think they misunderstand that demographic. I know, I fall into it to some degree too... upper middle class, politically liberal, try to eat better than whatever is on sale at Cub Foods... and yes, a lot of friends in similar economic/political situations are also into Americana music. But such people aren't the blind "Volvo and Porsche" consumers the, ahem, marketing department would like to make them out to be. They ARE pretty much an ignored segment in marketing, true, but that's because they have some pretty high standards, which goes against the whole lowest common denominator approach the marketing people want.

Middle-class people with taste are, unfortunately, a niche market.

And again, most of the people I know that are REALLY into Americana are pretty poor, although I suspect that goes hand in hand with so many of them being musicians.

Part of it is what they're selling, too. I figure I buy 5-10 cds a month. That's not the most I can afford, but the most I can really listen to with the attention good music deserves. Most people can afford a $100/mo music habit, really. So they're not trying to sell me MUSIC, because there's not enough money in it. They're trying to sell me bottled water and fancy cars, which are MUCH more lucrative than music.

More news for the marketing department... I expect as much authenticity from my car as I do from my music! I drive a Subaru Outback because it WORKS, not because I can't afford something more expensive! I eat organic, but I eat local more than organic when I can. I'm just not a good marketing target, I'm afraid.

This is good news, because it means maybe they won't be selling us prefab "authenticity" anytime soon.

Nicely put. I grew up in very tough circumstances and I am by no means wealthy, but what you wrote describes me... I like stuff that is cool.... I don't look at the tag, I look at how 'authentic' and real it is... I had a good upbringing as far as not liking flashy junk.

I'm sure I'm some kind of marketing target, but like an earlier poster alluded "the marketing analysts these guys are talking about wouldn't know authentic if it bit them"

Elegant design, for me, is simplicity. I like my instruments that way and I like my music that way. Plaintive, simply arranged and told straight. There are lots of good folks like us that want the straight truth, who root for the little guy and who are fiercely independent in their thinking and big believers in providing for the community and for everybody getting a fair shake...

Whatever demographic that is.. that is the one that I belong to.

[alotas123]

My main band plays Americana, but that doesn't mean that anyone knows what that means. We have: 3 vocalists, one Tele, one double-neck 8-string lap steel, one acoustic guitar, one drum kit, one bass rig, one banjo and one saxophone. Some people account for more than one of the above list. I account for two of them. Whatever music comes out is pure American, and it may be Americana.

I hope we can make some headway. It's no fun mining the low end of the market. I've been close to breaking through and close to the bottom in my musical career. We are again close to breaking through, but through to what? We will see.

[tiktok]

I'm getting a chuckle out of this idea of the "purity" of Americana artists. The ones I keep running into in my neck of the woods learned about roots music from listening to CDs and reading about it, not from some shared folk life experience at the weekend hoedowns. Sort of like the British blues musicians in the 60's, or anyone playing bebop today under the age of 70. I'm not saying that they don't make good music, but it's generated via a different process than the original thing.

[getbent]

Tiktok- Purity? I agree, if anyone tries to talk about purity... it would be pretty funny... I love the power of words, but labels rankle me. What is Americana anyway? The nice thing about being an american is that you cannot be 'pure' anything... you are by our very immigrant nature from somewhere else married and spawned from a zillion different backgrounds.. and the music is a stew of all kinds of things.... the only bonding factor I've found in the Americana thing is the pursuit of being plain spoken and telling it straight.

I know one thing... if Americana gets too popular it will be taken over by marketeers so they can sell stuff "The Jayhawks eat Wheaties!" On the other hand for the guys out there close to 'making it' I hope they do...

I hope I can't ever define Americana or country rock or country or even rock n roll. once you can define it, it ceases to surprise.

[David Barnett]

Originally Posted by kludge

The charts guy for the "adult album alternative" segment, however, does NOT get it. "There's a certain amount of tightening up and a commercial veneer that's needed," he says.

Yeah, tell that to The Gourds.

And prepare to get laughed out of the room.

[kludge]

Originally Posted by tiktok

I'm getting a chuckle out of this idea of the "purity" of Americana artists. The ones I keep running into in my neck of the woods learned about roots music from listening to CDs and reading about it, not from some shared folk life experience at the weekend hoedowns. Sort of like the British blues musicians in the 60's, or anyone playing bebop today under the age of 70. I'm not saying that they don't make good music, but it's generated via a different process than the original thing.

A friend of mine says, "If you can fake sincerity, you can fake anything!"

American music IS a synthesis of influences. It started when the degenerate African polyrhythms of negro work songs collided with the instruments and harmonies of European marching-band music, back in New Orleans in the late 19th century. And once records and the radio were introduced, it REALLY took off. Where'd the steel guitars in country music come from, anyway? Hawaiian music! Rock and roll itself came from white country kids hearing R&B on the radio. So I don't see today's Americana as any less pure than, say, Ernest Tubb.

To me, the point is to make a musical statement that's personal and new while acknowledging and honoring those who came before. Like what Unclue Tupelo did when they named their first album "No Depression", after a Woodie Guthrie song. It's not like they learned at Woodie's knee in some dust bowl farm town! And it's not like they SOUNDED like Woodie Guthrie either, but you could hear that they'd listened to him.

And as a counterexample, look at what Fairport Convention did in the 1960s. They felt that, being British, it was insincere of them to build rock music off of American blues, a la Cream et al. So they built rock off of British folk music instead. They created something new that was still essentially British and built from deep tradition.

The purist traditional music I ever heard was recorded in small villages in northern India by a professor there. He was trying to capture the true folk songs before the villages got their first radio, because once radios and tapes showed up, people stopped singing the traditional songs.

At any rate, that's why I use the word "sincerity", not "purity". NOBODY makes pure music anymore. Nobody in America has made "pure" music since well before WWII.

[Dano]

But Volvos (and Jaguars and Land Rovers) ARE Fords these days.

[Indiana]

Originally Posted by alotas123

Whatever music comes out is pure American, and it may be Americana.

I like to listen to American music and I wind up playing (not as good as) the stuff I listen to.

Seems to me that the world really is getting flatter. Americana music really started when people in different areas could hear each other's regional music styles on record.

Nowadays the best Americana artists are in Europe.

The majority of all the musicians that interest me have some respect for traditions and the history of those that came before.

As for marketing and commercialism, that is just part of American society and it always has been. Heroes like Leo Fender have proved that old fashioned common sense and good design will sell more stuff than all the marketing b.s. in the world. Americana artist will sell CDs and concert tickets because their music is good.