Vice took a critical look at the
Denver Underground Music Showcase and its corporate sponsorship.
Excerpt:
As the popularity of the festival has grown, the value of playing UMS has come to reside almost entirely in the exposure, rather than financial compensation.
"For many of these bands, playing UMS is going to be the biggest audience they'll play to all year," Collins pointed out to me earlier in the morning, noting that the large shows he's played at UMS contributed to the notoriety his band enjoys today. At the same time, he notes that paying the bands
something is a good gesture of recognition for anyone putting on a show. Cutting everyone's pay with no explanation was a dick move, and poor PR to boot.
"I have opted OUT of playing The UMS this year," Denver musician Joshua Trinidad, who had played every UMS since 2005, posted on Facebook a few days before the festival, causing a daisy-chain of idealistic scorn and support. "I am a big supporter of this festival and the community connections it has built over the years. However this year I don't agree with the new business model that the festival has adopted; not paying musicians and forgetting the important relationships they have built over time."
Read the rest
here.
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