[FA Worldmusic] SXSW musings

[Stephanie P Ledgin]

Hello,
Although extremely pressed for time, I felt I had to jump in here for a
moment. Dmitri has touched upon something I have all but "screamed out" to
the general folk and bluegrass communities within which I work primarily.
That is, the statement he made re: "change the views of mainstream America"
etc., but also expanding that statement to "change the views of mainstream
media."  I have often said it is from within our own folk worlds that we
need to break out of the "I, me, mine" mentality and learn how to market the
music to the mass, mainstream audience, but specifically to the media. I
feel it is the media that holds us back when they resort to or rely upon
words that continue to pigeon-hole or stereotype the music. For example, the
"hillbilly" image of bluegrass and country music. Or the dollar value of a
folk music concert vs that of, say, rock music.

We (the folk community/folk media) must learn to market in a language that
is enticing to those outside our box. With my first book, Homegrown Music:
Discovering Bluegrass, I did just that, kept it very open-minded and
accessible and it sold out its first print run within three months of
release, unheard of. Yet I find it very interesting that there remain those
within the music who scoff at it BECAUSE it embraces a whole other approach
and audience. For me it has proved that a niche music can appeal to a
broader audience and that marketing is key. It's all in perceptions.

Thanks for listening. Just my two cents.

Stephanie P. Ledgin
Music Journalist-Photographer
"2005 Intl. Bluegrass Music Print Media Person of the Year"

http://fiddlingwithwords.com

PO Box 628 / Pittstown NJ 08867 / 908-735-7925 / ledgin at ledgin.com

Author/photographer
--Homegrown Music: Discovering Bluegrass. Foreword by Ricky Skaggs
--From Every Stage: Images of America's Roots Music. Foreword by Charles
Osgood

COMING SOON!!!
--Discovering Folk Music (Praeger 2008)

Member, IBMA Board of Directors
Member, EBMA
Founding Member, The Folk Alliance