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This is the year we officially gave up on MOBfest.
We've been involved with MOBfest every year since its inception, and even started to get involved this year (anyone who knows us can figure out which bill we had a a hand in), but finally just realized that the whole thing is a rather pointless endeavor. Their mission statement, according to the MOBfest website, is:
We are a three-day music business seminar focused on building a buzz, aiding in awareness, and peaking the interest of the music business community ... Networking, schmoozing and simply attending the panels can be a great way to make new contacts, secure current connections and start new relationships.
Aside from the fact we think they mean "piquing" instead of "peaking," we think these are fine goals for a local music festival to strive for. Only none of the above really happens. Instead we get the usual suspects within the local scene congratulating each other, attending shows at only the largest venues, and largely ignoring the majority of the schedule. And why wouldn't they? Even we, who are neck deep in the local scene, are hard pressed to recognize more than a smattering of bands on their schedule. And we also think it's telling that even with the festival kicking off tonight, there are a number of "TBA" slots remaining in that schedule.
In the end we are withdrawing our support for MOBfest because we honestly can't see how the whole thing is helping anyone out, except for possibly the bands being managed by the folks at the top of the MOBfest food chain, and even most of them can't seem to get signed to any sort of sustainable career (and the fact that MOBfest tries to take some credit for kicking off either Rachael Yamagata of The Killers' careers is completely ludicrous). It's not as egregious as, say, Emergenza, when it comes to taking advantage of the naivety of hopeful bands, but they have no problem spreading the belief that by associating yourself with MOBfest you still have a chance a label will walk into their show and sign them on the spot.
We wanted to believe in MOBfest, and tried to set aside our doubts for many years, but we just can't do it anymore.
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Damn- uoi tell the truth, loud and clear.
Mobfest is just as terrible as Emergenza. Bands who don't know how to properly market themselves, or even use spellcheck on their bio information, flock to these types of festivals firmly believing it is their ticket to bigger and better things.
You couldn't be more right about the naivety of such bands. It's dissapointing to watch bands hype themselves because of such association, especially those where you can see a glimmer of potential in their songwriting - yet their only goal is to "get signed" but they have no conception of the work it takes to even have an ounce of hope that it will ever happen.
thank you
The Onion this week says the same thing: If you want to find the city's best bands, look elsewhere this weekend. Bands "in the know" so to speak completely avoid MOBfest, and every year, it reinforces why they should continue to do so.
Plus, there has long been speculation that MOBfest is essentially a money-making endeavor for its organizers, who give their friends/clients the good shows, then just fill in the holes arbitrarily. It's only *slightly* less sketchy than Emergenza, but that's hardly a compliment.
Agreed. It's kind of a wannabe/sham "fest." Maybe in it's first inception it helped some bands out, but it's becoming a joke. Any "label execs" that show up are so low on the totem pole that they can't even present a deal memo to a band or even set up a meeting with the label. MOBfest doesn't celebrate anything but a chance to give bands a shot at gigging on a weekend that haven't gotten to that point yet.
Take a look at the bands, signed or unsigned, in this City that have made even the slightest name for themselves- they aren't playing MOBfest. Most of the bands on MOBfest don't play out a lot.
Now, if MOBfest promoted itself as a fest that gives folks the opportunity to see bands that they might not have heard of yet, or are getting their feet wet in clubs, or are testing the waters at clubs, it would work great.
I haven't seen this week's Onion, but I'm glad other folks are just as fed up as I am and unafraid to call MOBfest out on it.
My only regret is that I started building a bill with some local bands that are actually good before I decided I just couldn't be involved any longer, so they're stuck playing tomorrow ...
right on, tankboy. I for one am sick of hearing about mobfest jump starting the killers' career.
Emergenza stinks, Mobfest stinks. Those Emergenza a-holes don't even bother to research the bands they bombard with their slimey propaganda - like a band who has toured the US and UK multiple times really wants to enter a contest to win shitty equipment and drum sticks and a spot on a CD comp destined for the trashbin! Take it and stick it!
Right on.
If you need further proof, compare the bill of the Switchyard Festival to any bill at MOBFest. Far more "buzzworthy" bands at the former.
music over business...isnt there some sort of fee to be even considered? that says it all right there. i guess if you dont want to go to schaumburg to ska band its the way to go. emergenza, however, is good for one thing... and i found out the hard way...sign up your friends as a joke. they will relentlessly call you - like 10 times a day.
Wait, did people ever really take MOBfest seriously? I just always saw it as a way to see all your friends play shows in the same weekend. It was nice that before your set, you could run over and see L&G at the Note, or Suffrajett at Double Door, then they'd come to see you at SubT. But did people actually ever play it because they thought it was going to get them somewhere?? If so, that's kind of sad.
The Clubs handled all the booking, and they booked the bands they liked, not the bands who submitted their crappy demo to the MOBfest committee. It was the most egregious example of cherry picking and favoritism this city's music scene has to offer. But as long as myself and all my friend's bands were being "cherry-picked," it was fun. What the hay.
From a fan's point of view, when I want to see a band, I go see a band. When it's associated with some kind of "band signing" festival it makes me want to go even less, like the band is doing some one-off special show for industry big-shots and not for me!
Mobfest, Pride Parade, holy damn I'm glad I'll be in Toronto this weekend.
I thought they were Music Over Business. Maybe it should be called BOM fest.
darcell
loserpalooza
Considering that the festival is now in it's 10 or 11th year and still has yet to matter to anyone - says volumes. I just did a Google search to find that there is this, and 2 other articles on this piece of garbage.
I realize that these are 2 different animals, nonetheless, look what Pitchfork has done in a few short years. It has taken MOBFest, a decade to go nowhere. If you look at the panels, these are the same people in town that you can contact any day of the week.
In terms of getting signed????
Who the hell, in this day and age wants a f-ing record deal? When you can put you jams on iTunes, CDBaby, MySpace, etc... the major label is dead (thank God).
WHERE IS BIZARRO! One of Chicago's best rock and roll bands, just the kind of rockers to show all these MOBfesters how it should be done!
Disgraceful that they are not on a show somewhere!
Have you guys ever seen them live? Killer band.
See, this is one of those cases where Chicagoist's royal we doesn't make any sense. Obviously this is tankboy speaking for himself (considering there wasn't even the idea of a Gothamist when MOBfest started, let alone a Chicagoist) and it's not an opinion that was reached as a consensus among the staff, even if they all happen to agree with him. Let Tankboy speak for himself, not for "ourselves."
We are who we are.
AMEN TankBoy! The sooner MOBfest dies the better for Chicago bands. Promoting a bunch of crappy bands promotes the whole scene as crappy.
The Switchyard Fest this weekend at Continental is Darwinism at it's best. That's the where all the "buzz" bands are playing. I doubt any of those bands even considered playing MOB.
I believe you meant "naiveté," but still.
Zing!