Why does music have to have an image? Why do musicians have to look or act a certain way to get a record label? What is with the stereotypes that rock stars have to do drugs, and have lots of sex, or the stigma that all country artists wear cowboy hats and the whole cowboy, lone ranger shebang? This concept is one of the most annoying things I see when I see how record labels sign artists; by their "image."
Musicians should be judged based on their merits. How well they can play, not just as band, but as individuals. How well the drummer can play his beat, or how well the guitar or bass players play when a string snaps. They should be judged on how well they play it, and how much energy or a crowd they can draw. If a local band is drawing a huge crowd of people that want to watch them, why should it matter how they look? Why should it matter if they look like the belong in Led Zeppelin or Avenged Sevenfold? Last time I checked, people like good music, music that they are interested in or that they can relate to, looks should come second. I understand that if a musician looks good, a fan might be more drawn to the band, but that should not play a large factor if the person like the act or not.
I know bands that look like they do not belong in the "scene" they claim they are part of, but they sound amazing and sure as hell belong in that "scene". Those bands, those groups of people writing music in someone's basement or in a big recording space, those are really people. We were always told as kids to not judge a book by its cover, why should we do so when it comes to bands and signing then. I thought it was the content of the book that mattered, not the pretty looking digitally remastered cover that was done with Photoshop. I remember hearing how record labels signed bands, and maybe they still do it this way... I recall hearing how record labels would send out a representative into a club where they had local bands playing. They would dress how they chose, whether it be casual or professional. Then they would watch the full set, all the bands and groups that performed. If they liked what they see, they might go to another show or two of the bands of interests, and then if they still like what they hear, they will give them card as an offer and from there it is up to band. Why can they not do things like that anymore, listen to the music, feel the energy, hear the crowd signing these local songs as loud as they can.
Music is something that should be limited to how one looks. I look like a guy that listens to post hardcore or "emo" music (kind of), but I fucking love Rage Against the Machine, System of a Down, 311, Paramore, Foo Fighters etc with every fiber in my body and would kill to see any of these bands live. It just seems really stupid and illogical to judge a band by their looks, and not by what they are creating and making. Labels should be more focused on the sound of the music, and how both the artist and the label could benefit from such a partnership, and not how the lead singer's hair looks, or how "brutal" the band looks. Image shouldn't be a credential for a band, and damn the person who first thought it should.
