Posts Tagged ‘photography’

The most amazing front-row shots of South Africa’s favourite music festival, courtesy of freelance Overtone photog Ravi Panchia.

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Also, check out what is fast becoming the definitive account of Oppikoppi, by Sonic Synapse:

Read here…

Ravi Panchia Photos | Evan Dando: South Africa Tour

Ravi Panchia Photos | Counting Crows: Johannesburg

It’s mildly ironic that we were enlisting recruits for our growing editorial team when we struck up a chat with established local band photographer Jonx Pillemer. We ask him the big question for this exclusive Overtone feature on the local music scene from one of the few remeaining pros: how do we pay the majority of contributors and artists in the SA music scene more money?

© Duwayne Smith / Alchemy Photography

I have been working within the entertainment industry for a while now, and have discovered a situation which exists throughout magazines, newspapers, web, music, theatre and art.

I take photographs. And slowly but surely, I’m losing interest in the South African music industry. It fails to pay the rent. Sure, someone in my position should have the rent paid by webzines like Overtone, alternative culture magazines, or production companies. But this is South Africa.

Industry figures are not willing to pay for good images. We understand budget restraints, but it makes no sense to give out my work for free. As fun as the gigs are, I’m there for the job.

Underexposed…

The idea that everyone can pick up a pen, pick up a camera, and “become” a music journalist, photographer, etc, is stunting the industry, and leads to a less-than-adequate quality of work. Good writing and good photography is what made Rolling Stone Magazine in the 70s, yes. But Hunter S. Thompson and Annie Liebervich weren’t exactly known as charity pens.

“So, the big question is: where does the money come from? Of course, bands are not the answer. We’re meant to be supporting the musician, not the other way around. So it’s the same as in any other industry: advertising. And it’s money in, money out. Advertisers won’t bite a shoddy product.”

Quality of work raises readership and brings in the right calibre of fans far more than just plain enthusiasm.

Of course, the fact that eager fans – not photographers – drown out professionals by about 750,000W means that publications will walk the cheap, easy route to fulfil their blog-posting quota. In turn, professionals leave the industry, lowering the overall quality. It is this cycle that stagnates the industry.

There will always be musicians, good and bad. Someone will replace Lark. But our challenge is re-ingniting a passion for live entertainment.

The big question…

So, the big question is: where does the money come from?

Of course, bands are not the answer. We’re meant to be supporting the musician, not the other way around. So it’s the same as in any other industry: advertising. And it’s money in, money out. Advertisers won’t bite a shoddy product.

Often, a website just doesn’t get the numbers that advertisers are looking for. If you make any money at all, it should be through advertising. No magazine makes money off sales. Most magazine groups have a single person dedicated purely to that cause, getting people to advertise, and making sure those advertisers are happy.

Who should be targeted? Everybody. Anybody who has the resources. Who is Overtone’s target market? What do they buy? Why is Puma not advertising on your site? It is not about sponsorship. It is about advertising. The same thing in many ways, but very different connotations arise from each. With sponsorship, you are asking someone to do you a favour. Through advertising, you’re trading.

We need to keep our Hall of Fame shiny and treat the cultivation of local artists as a proper business. To produce marketable, worthwhile “music as product”. A product, that shows the industry that money can be made from it. Freshlyground, for example.

I don’t have the solutions, only observations. But each time you add something to your product, you gain a certain number of views. A site with exclusive interviews, the most beautiful photographs, and the most interesting articles, is the one that the most people visit. And then, let the music play.

Feature: Is Durban Dead? SA Music: Why You Should Get Involved Are South African Musicians Fulfilled?	Jonx Pillemer Photography We-Are-Awesome.com: SA Nightlife Random Flickr Search: “SA Music”

If you’re an underground band, Overtone’s doing monthly press photography shoots for R300. Get in there while it’s hot. In focus over the weekend was upcoming indie-rock threepiece The Plastics. “We’re old-skool,” they said. Check out the behind-the-scenes shots from the studio in Cape Town, courtesy of Kathy Traut.

If you’re in Cape town, get more info on how to get shot: click here. If you’re elsewhere, we’re on our way. Get ready.

Get professional studio band and artist shots if you’re in and around Cape Town city centre. And because Overtone is blistering along at an insane pace, we won’t mince our words: here’s how you get shot.

The cost is R500 cash / EFT for:

* a CD of hi-res, studio shots for use in print or online publications

Send it off to radio stations and use it to get your gigs professionally accepted. It’s a hot idea, and we’re on it. Speak to the others in your band NOW. Get back to us NOW on admin@overtone.co.za. Make your band happen.

Contact
admin@overtone.co.za
Overtone HQ (CPT): 021 424 0408
John Bartmann: 082 217 9116

Bank details
Overtone Magazine cc.
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Business Current Account
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Branch 025009

“Under R1000 for a full band shoot?! What’s the catch?”