Since it's no longer possible to sell out, we're taking a cue from Converse and offering Impose's wealth of recording resources to any band “deemed dedicated and needy enough.”
Can you believe that when we started Impose, we actually thought of selling out as a real concept? To us, the idea of sleeping with corporations was kind of like a golden shower fetish; its short term benefits were not worth the risk of long term embarrassment. But somewhere along the line, this embarrassment has turned into empowerment. Like women in porn, the industry doesn't take advantage of you — it empowers you by letting you cash in on your “talent.”
In fact, let's go a bit further with the porn comparison since it seems pretty appropriate. Back in the heyday of selling out, corporate brands would offer a high-premium for “indie” talent. If your company was associated with a band like the Shins or Vampire Weekend, you were pretty fucking cool, and you paid a lot of money for that cool. In the parallel porn universe, stars like Jenna Jamison were becoming house-hold names getting legitimate film and television roles.
But those days are long gone. Now there are so many “indie” bands looking for a corporate handout that we have to frequently ask ourselves, “who the hell is that band that is in every commercial?” So like porn, the faces become nameless, the production value goes down and the “talent” gets paid less and less until their services are no longer needed because another hot new 18-year-old walked through the door. Well, in music you don't have to be 18.
Yet, despite this market saturation, there's no reason for panic. Indie bands who can't pay the rent need only look to the big lenders and forgo the future for the now. It doesn't matter that someday Converse might come foreclosing on your music, as long as you get that sweet, sweet fame for six months. What's even better, the bands being “chosen” for these opportunities are curated by “cool” companies who play A&R because they have their “finger on the pulse.” So if you don't have a friend at said company, you best put down the guitar and start perfecting those networking skills!
Don't get us wrong, we totally subscribe to this trickle-down theory. What is good for Coldplay can only be good for Best Coast, right? And as fans, we should honor this model. After all, we vote (if you vote) for the politicians whose pockets are lined by corporate dollars and whose policies are curated by special interest groups. Why then should we hold musicians to a higher standard? If you really want to support musicians, you should buy Converse and drink Mtn. Dew.
So with all of this knowledge in hand, we here at Impose have decided to let go of our ideals and adopt this mentality. Except our offer is less of a trickle down and more of a trickle to the side. Whereas Converse has taken a crappy-looking warehouse and put a state of the art recording studio inside of it, we've taken a state of the art house* and put in a crappy recording space. Just to one-up them, we've also installed a floor for you to sleep on — as any touring band with Pro Tools will tell you, this is a much more valuable offer. And like the Converse model, we will not own any of your material. We only own the first right of refusal to exclusively license it.**
In essence, it's ours unless you suck. Just kidding. We'll tell you beforehand if you suck, thus saving us both a lot of time. But we will promise you a line of your own cassettes on the Impose Records label.*** Now is your chance to be associated with a brand that is your equal. Because if corporate brands are the elite 2%, we obviously represent the other 98%. Won't you join us comrades?
* “State of the art” refers to running water and a roof.
** Converse, we mean no disrespect. We have no clue what the terms of your deals are, so please do not let this article influence your advertising budget.
*** Yes, we will actually record you for free and put out your record as a cassette / digital release. Honest.
