sorry if this is incoherent rambling, but...
i've definitely had the "there's something good going on here..." vibe with regards to the music community for some time. i've also had the same thoughts about all those bands listed above, even adding a few like Templeton and Grafton, that are really coming into their own. artists like O.A.R., The Sun and RJD2 all getting national press (and mentions for Columbus) seem to create the inklings of awareness in people, not just locally but regionally and nationally. i know for a fact that when we play Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, etc., the other bands we play with from those towns always talk about about how many great bands there are from Columbus that come through their town on a regular basis.
the question is, what's it gonna take to build a Saddle Creek/Dischord/Barsuk/Matador/Sub Pop type label that's going to help grow the scene? i guess my take would be that you have to do it slow and deliberate, meaning you don't just find 15 bands, start a label, and release a whole bunch of shit to see what sticks. it really matters that you are focusing on one, maybe two projects at a time, and putting the full resources (re: freetime) of everyone involved into the current priority. from our end (being reverbose), we're trying to carve out a certain niche that we refer to as "indie rock and relevant pop." the "relevant" part is meant to distinguish between pop in the underground sense (ours) vs. pop in the market driven corporate radio sense (not ours). i'm definitely not professing to know anything or everything about this, just pulling ideas and fashioning models from various sources, related experiences, etc., but this is what we're going for in an effort to define who we are and what we're all about.
in a lot of ways it's an exciting time because the major labels are dropping the ball in so many ways it's laughable. indie labels that are smart and cost-conscious can put out a release, and with the right promotion and commitment from the artist to tour consistently, sell a hundred thousand to half a million records. like in the case with Interpol and Matador, who just hit the 500,000 mark, it's primarily based on the strength of touring (3 US, 2 European), college radio support and positive press. there is no reason why any number of Columbus bands couldn't be in this same position in 3-5 years after the groundwork has been laid with a strong label to create and maintain the support system (distribution, promotion, etc.).
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