There are quite a lot of band contests and competitions in the area. Local radio stations and venues hosting contests for bands/artists to enter to win big prizes such as studio time, open for a national act, merchandise, money, etc. Why are there so many of them? It’s because there is a lot of talent in the area. So they feel in order to promote their radio station or venue they would host these contests. There’s a lot of lame Battle of The Bands and Songwriter’s Night kind of contests where you can hope to win big opportunities. They register online. With the most votes, they get to go and compete by performing so people can go to that show to vote. Who’s ever the winner is gets the grand prize. The winner is usually chosen by the judges and the most votes.

Whenever these things happen, a bunch of bands & artists will enter immediately. They’re all hoping to win and get some exposure out of this. That’s why they enter these things.

The reason I disagree with these contests and band competitions is because I think this is a bad way to get recognized for. Why would you want to be known for that? I would want my music to stay away from these. I look at these contests & competitions as a small version of those reality shows on TV (American Idol, America’s Got Talent, The Voice, etc.). That’s why these contests keep on coming because of those shows. That’s why there’s more of them. Not just SPAC’s Battle of the Bands, there are similar contests like these all over the area. For example, the most recent one is Qruption where a local artist get to open for national acts at SPAC.

I don’t need contests to give me free recognition and free popularity. I would want to get that stuff on my own without the help of these stupid contests. Don’t get me wrong, though, I would love to open for a national act or get some big opportunity but I’m not gonna get it by entering these stupid things. I would try to get that stuff by making the music and just play. There have been bands out there who have gotten opportunities to open for national acts without entering any type of contest. They got there with hard work and dedication. They know how to get contacts from people from the industry is how they get those good gigs.

On top of that, the voting in these contests are usually rigged so what’s the point? The winners are usually chosen even before the votes are counted and they usually pick the winners to those who they think are gonna create a lot of attention in the local media.

I can’t stand these things for a lot of reasons. They’re just a popularity contest, nothing more.

I think it’s crazy how bands/artists jump into these things but whatever, ya know? They’re weird. They’ll do anything to get recognition even if it’s something silly as this. I understand your goals and wanna make your dreams come true but these aren’t the way to go about it, in my opinion.

Just be proud of your work and don’t take yourself serious. Sometimes I feel they get way into their rock star dreams. All you need to get recognition and good opportunities is to make the music and gig as much as possible. That’s it.

Kev