It’s not easy but you have to have a feeling of what to brag about and not. Just got a mail from a management firm trying to squeeze their band before the booking team. Their bragging point was that the band just signed a deal with a major label.

The problem is that our festival is an export festival. The Swedish acts that we choose should be able the next day to take their steps outside Sweden. Signing a deal with a Swedish major is then is not a good bragging point. So far the Swedish majors have NEVER exported anything. They are mainly just to release things in Sweden. In reality, you need a permit from their offices to be able to export. and the bigger countries are not that keen to give that permission. In a nutshell, you are locked into your country by a major.

So in this case, the bragging has a very big opposite effect. This artist becomes handicapped with a major and makes their chances to get into the festival very slim. We know that they just signed to be for the Swedish market.

I guess many people think that bragging around that they are signed to a record label helps. In reality, the live industry is so detached from the recording industry, especially now with the number crunching, that bragging about labels, Spotify spins or facebook followers are just not smart to do.

And it’s a very good way to see if a manager is up to date or just an amateur.

So in this case, not taking this firm in as guests or book this band.

Brag more about how many people you will draw to our festival. Or your opportunities for us to send you abroad.

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