First Tracks Competition--Do You Know What You're Getting Yourself Into?

My name is Brian Bergeron. I am a Boston-based acoustic  singer-songwriter and I'm competing in Gather.com's First Tracks Competition for a record deal with Decca Label Group. As part of immersing myself in the site and so people can get to know me better (and hopefully grow to support me), I have decided to post an article a day on the site during the length of the contest. Please comment on my song if you like what you hear and you can vote ONCE PER DAY until March 17th. You can listen to my song here and please comment on it...There, I've pimped myself enough. On with the article!


This is not in any way a criticism or condemnation of the First Tracks Competition, which I am taking part in. In fact, I consider myself very lucky to be able to get an opportunity to take part in such a potentially career-altering experience. There were around 400 entries in this competition, from all over the country and spanning pretty much every conceivable genre, but I wonder how many of them know exactly what they might be getting themselves into.

I'm a pretty savvy musician. I tend to be modest but in this case but it's true. Though I'm twenty-two years old, I have been in the thick of the industry for the last 5 or so years. I played in bands in high school but when I arrived in college at Northeastern University, I went solo and jumped head first into the music industry. In fact, at college orientation I changed my major from English to Music Industry (a fairly young program offered by only a small percentage of colleges and universities but on the rise as the music industry is thrown into upheaval).

In my classes in college, you got one of two messages from the professors of music industry in response to the rapid change and decline of the old paradigm:

1.    This is the most exciting time to be in the music industry!
2.    We're all screwed.

In many ways, the old teachings did not apply. Even over the course of 4 years at school I saw the launch of the iPod/iTunes and the subsequent hubbub of Digital Rights Management (should songs be copy protected to only play on certain devices? I say no!). Though the precedent had been set by movies and television shows such as Dawson's Creek, the idea of synchronization licenses as a tremendous tastemaker and career breaker became one of the norms, as terrestrial radio fell out of favor and satellite radio is trying to find its footing. Of course, in the last year (since I have been out of school), Radiohead has released their newest CD "In Rainbows" as a pay-what-you-please mid-quality digital format on their website (I paid $5 for it) and it has turned the industry on its head—though they aren't the first and certainly not the last to take this model. In fact, I have a new EP, "The Glory EP", which I will be releasing as a pay-what-you-please format but that's not what this is about. It's about the fact that artists don't need a record label anymore.

Then why is Gather.com having a contest where first place is a record deal? It's strange because so many artists perceive a record deal as having 'made it', when that is especially not the case now (if it has ever been). I think there are going to be quite a few people, if they happen to find a way to rise to the top and win this thing, that would be disappointed if they actually win the contest to see that it doesn't guarantee fame, fortune, or anything for that matter. I'm mostly intrigued because I'm interested in seeing how labels adapt and change now that the whole sales-revenue model is basically burning down. I'm entering this contest because I'm at a point where I can't grow much more while being completely independent. I don't have a manager/agent/publicist and for the most part I haven't wanted one. I've been fiercely independent but I also recognize that I need to grow and this opportunity might provide that avenue.

So what I'm trying to say is, I know what I'm getting myself into. If I find a way to win, then I don't expect Decca to put out my record and make it a smash. It's all about baby steps for me and this may be one big baby step or it might be a little one but I think I know the true levity of entering a competition such as this one while a lot of other people might not grasp it.

Finally, I'll conclude by saying that I don't think that everyone in this competition doesn't know what they're getting themselves into. I think a lot of people do and those are the types of people that I like to meet and network with. If those people are out there, I'd like to hear from you. I just fear that there are so many amateur musicians in this competition with stars in their eyes who see this as a potentially easy way to fame and fortune, which it definitely isn't.

Yes, I may be a cynic but I also love what I do so I guess it's all par for the course.

Thanks for reading!