Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Here! TV Needs Your Music

(Link) Want to get your music on a soundtrack? The upcoming all-queer network needs theme songs, so git bizzy with that guitar, grrl!
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LNewsEditor said...

JIC Post:
By Christopher Curtis
PlanetOut Network

The gay and lesbian television network here! has announced a unique plan to give new LGBT music artists the break they need to start their careers.

On the television network's Web site, music artists can submit their pieces to be considered for soundtrack material for television programs and movies on here!

Brian Goldman, the manager of creative affairs for the network, said here! Tunes will need a wide variety of musical styles to accommodate the various types of programming aired on here! television. "Each show and movie has a different feel, so we're looking for everything."

"If the director likes the music, we'll go to the artist and see what kind of deal we can put together for them," said Goldman, a former tour manager of Maroon 5 and former music agent for International Creative Management (ICM).

"A typical film or television company licenses a song for a single but does not spend time or money promoting or nurturing the artist's work. We want to help expose the artist not only on here! Networks, but also via the here! Web site, cell phones, soundtracks, videos and free VOD concerts," Goldman explained.

But here! Tunes will have limitations. Goldman admitted artists signed up with the music division should not expect the entirety of their work to be distributed. Instead Goldman predicted some soundtracks may be available online or at stores.

Goldman does not think relying on independent artists will hurt the network's ability to appeal to audiences more familiar with mainstream acts. "We could be hearing from bigger artists, but the goal at this point is to hear from the community first."

While here! Tunes will focus on LGBT artists, it will also consider submissions from "friends and allies."

Phil Lobel, a public relations executive who has represented the likes of George Michael and Brad Pitt, believes this is a good sign.

"The music industry certainly has not been a leader in paving the way for LGBT social rights," he wrote in an e-mail to the PlanetOut Network.

"As a matter of fact, most music artists have chosen to further their careers by maintaining a position deep inside the closest. A large responsibility for this lies in the largely homophobic nature of the music industry and label executives that continue believing and telling their artists that they will be unmarketable, and -- hence, unprofitable -- if they don't fit the stereotypical hetero music mold," Lobel added.

"I think it is great that finally a company like here! would take the initiative and provide an open door for the musical talent in the LGBT community," he wrote.

8/09/2005 10:13 AM

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