For starters, the first two rounds are a farce, a popularity contest, they are not attended by any industry what so ever. The bands with the most mates go through… What’s more, there will inevitably be more people watching & voting half way through the night than at the very beginning, so the whole concept of the competition in the first two rounds is flawed. The later you go on stage the more chance you have of getting through.

The second round of Surface Unsigned is £7 (in advance) and £8 entry on the door. Now, most people will go primarily to see one band – their friends band, and all the bands play a 20 minute set. It’s actually cheaper (minute for minute) to go and see a signed act play a 90 minute set at a prestigious venue such as Brixton Academy or KOKO… you’ll get a ticket there for £25. What’s more, most bands in the Surface Unsigned competition don’t even get a sound check, so the sound quality in the most part is really pretty awful.

Do yourselves a favour, don’t buy into this nonsense, the sooner this ‘X-Factor’ nonsense is dead and buried the better. It’s just another way of exploiting young talent for financial gain.

(AKA ‘Good God Almighty, they’re still at it).

http://www.myspace.com/nopaytoplayinbrum

There were some fleeting references to Surface Unsigned, but most of what I have written so far on the page’s blogs is general comment about pay-to-play. I made a point of sending friend requests to local bands who have been involved in Surface Unsigned this year; I did this in order to try to get a balanced perspective. Yesterday, Monday Nov. 3rd, I received this e-mail from Jay Mitchell:

“Hi John, I’ve received emails today from bands who took part in the National Showcase claiming you are posting defamatory material about Surface Unsigned online and contacting them from your MySpace page http://www.myspace.com/nopaytoplayinbrum

Out of courtesy I thought I would let you know that I have received these complaints. At the moment these are just claims and I’ve not looked into it. As there have been claims of defamation I’ll be passing these complaints onto the relevant people.

Regards Jay Mitchell”

Not for a second do I believe that bands have contacted him about me.

I responded, dismissing his threat, to which he responded by saying no-one is listening anyway. However, despite no-one listening, he chose to join the Organ magazine forum and talk about Surface Unsigned there.

http://organart.freeforums.org/say-no-2-pay-2-play-and-f6.html

So, good, there’s a debate about Surface Unsigned.

John D Traynor

And yes, I have have heard of at least three of those bands. One of them (Hungry Ghosts from York) played the BBC Introducing Stage at Leeds Festival this year – but they got no marks at all in their Surface Unsigned heat. The band immediately above them on that night got 143. It’s tough at the bottom, I’d say!

Could you name the bands? I did look at your Northern site a while ago and saw that Joseph’s Well was listed for round one. It’s a shame that the site doesn’t at least present the names and myspace details of the bands in a prominent way. I must say, I completely missed all the publicity at the time. Leeds is a very busy place, so it is quite likely that I missed your advertising at the time. Joseph’s Well has gone into a decline in recent years and (as far as I know) is a venue where at least one promoter is running something like the deeply unpopular “pay to play” model.

Did you advertise through http://www.leedsgigs.co.uk? Did you approach Sandman, Vibrations or the The Leeds Guide? Did you use Frontline Media to do some small posters? Did you drop a message into http://www.leedsmusicforum.co.uk? I’m sure you did hold some gigs. What I’m saying is that the recognition and exposure that your events give to bands has not been apparent as far as the broader Leeds music community is concerned.

I wonder which BBC Unsigned presenters and producers you contacted while you were in the area? Did any of your bands figure in the lists they put forward for Maida Vale sessions or major festival appearances? I could name several who were. These are artists who, because they were good, have done the sessions, have been played on national radio and who have done the Festival this year – either on the BBC Introducing Stage or on bigger stages.

I recommend that for 2009 you spread the word a bit more effectively. Let the large and thriving music community know. Talk to Alan Raw and all the other people doing excellent supportive work and see what (if anything) you can contribute.

And, as I said earlier, I would heartily recommend all young bands in the City get in touch with professional promoters like John Keenan and Futuresound and Bad Sneakers who (along with all their other work) put on regular nights for early career bands. They should get to know other bands, look at teh diy community (exceptionally strong in Leeds) and find or create good gigs as they get more confident. If they have something to offer then other promoters and Leeds-based labels will be onto them pretty quickly.

I believe that if you go further out from Leeds into small towns and more isolated areas you will find kids who don’t know much who will be interested in your scheme. And Leeds itself will have plenty of bands who are so unappealing to audiences and promoters that they can’t get decent gigs anymore and who feel frustrated and would see your outfit as some kind of salvation – a quick leg-up to the fantasy world of rock and roll and the tour bus. Many of these artists seem to me to need advice – stop day dreaming, and start enjoying their rehearsals and occasional pub gigs.

I really think you could be using your enthusiasm and your organisational skills to do something a lot more productive than recruiting gullible hopefuls to a project that clearly has made no impact on the world so far. The hundreds and hundreds of bands who have spent time and their friends’ money trailing off to vanity events that most music people seem to mistrust and avoid need to know that there are better ways.

I notice that you still haven’t been able to refer to any credible music press notices for your events. Even the smallest band in Leeds has an NME, Kerrangg, Drownedinsound, Sandman or Leedsmusicscene quote to embellish their claims to genius. As a keen self-publicist you seem surprisingly short of quotable, verifiable endorsements for ether your events or for the bands who have played at your events.