Some of the perks of going to college are obvious: being in a brand new city with a bunch of people you’ve never met before, being able to do virtually whatever you want at all times, and being able to shed your high school reputation and starting new, just to name a few. But there are other benefits of going to college that are a little bit more subtle.
Living in a city like Gainesville provides something that not many small Florida towns can offer: a record company. No Idea Records has been operating out of Gainesville since 1985 and has produced a surprising number of big name artists. Amongst some of the names that have released material off the independent record label are Less Than Jake, Against Me! and Dillinger Four. Recently the owner of No Idea Records, Var Thelin, stopped by the lecture of “Mass Media and You” to share some insight about how the company got started, information about The Fest, and general opinions on where music may be headed next.
“Can you give us any advice on what we should do to get into the music industry?”
“Don’t do it,” Var Thelin said.
He wasn’t exactly sugarcoating when he told our class what we should do to get into the music business. It’s a growing fact that the face of music is constantly changing. The CD, once the dominant form of music, is now just an afterthought, left in the dust by online music streaming and the mp3. It’s no secret that hard copies of music are going extinct and that illegal downloading is one of the most popular ways for people to get their music. So, what does that mean for independent record companies like No Idea, who are trying to establish a strong presence in the music world? Companies are going to have to get innovative to stay alive.
When Thelin came to Gainesville he wasn’t sure what he was trying to do and has he puts it, “You can never live in this town and just be drifting.”
Soon his wife presented the idea of starting a record shop. That record shop soon added on a recording studio where anyone with enough money could put his or her work into a hard copy.
“We try to charge around $25 an hour because if we charge anything more than that we’re not going to get anyone,” said Thelin.
That strategy toward business probably kept the company alive during the ebbs and flows of the past 20 years in music. It’s its website that sticks out as something of an anomaly when it comes to how music is sold and advertised. Instead of only selling its products and merchandise, they advertise all sorts of things for every band that has come its way. On its homepage is a list of the newest records that are up for sale. Below each record there are a few choices for deals and where to purchase the music. Some records offer the choice of buying the artist’s LP or CD, but in a rare twist, all of the records also have a link to buy the album off of iTunes. No Idea is essentially giving its business away to the largest brand in the music providing service. This goes to show how radically different independent labels are from the big timers. The goal with independent records is, of course, to make money, but also to get the music out one way or another.
Independent labels usually aren’t established in the hopes of making millions, but to expose a type of music that may be forgotten in the mainstream world. The type of music that has gotten the most attention from No Idea is called “beard punk,” which as Thelin puts it was aptly named because, “All of the artists we produced seemed to have beards.”
A story about No Idea would not be complete without mentioning The Fest. The Fest is an annual music festival that was originally started in 2002 and is putting on The Fest 11 this year.
“Back then we just had a few bands that played and now we have a lot more and the festival is a lot longer. It stresses me out,” said Thelin.
The Fest runs from Oct. 26 to Oct. 28 and will consist of a wide variety of artists, attracting people from hundreds of miles away. Some of the names coming this year include Propagandi, The Sidekicks, and 1994! The Fest is one of the best collections of music that Gainesville has to offer and is a rare opportunity for lesser known bands to advertise themselves and what they have to offer.
When asked what the best advice was Thelin responded without hesitation: “The one thing I can say is to drink lots and lots of water and wear a pair of old shoes.” Weekend passes are now being sold for $100.
Music is a dying art. The radio is dominated by Top 40 songs that are played to ad nauseam. This generation in music has seen a drastic decrease in the quality of music that is widely distributed. But there have been some parts of the 21st century that has treated music well. The rise of digital media and electronic sharing has given smaller bands more opportunities to increase their fan base and spread their creations. Chicago based band Kids These Days, for example, have used mediums like Twitter and YouTube to gain exposure all over the country. The band has released numerous singles for free off of its Twitter and Facebook accounts, and has played with the likes of George Clinton and Kid Cudi and has even been featured on a special edition of Conan. Could any of that have been possible just a few years ago? Instead of having to be discovered by an agent by accident or chance, bands can bring the attention to themselves now.
No Idea Records is one of the few establishments that are actively promoting lesser known bands, regardless of the amount of profit that is brought in. They may not be Sony or Columbia, but they are the prominent force that is keeping independent music alive in Gainesville.
Photo courtesy of rapidtransitvideo.com.
