As The World Tunes

AFIM '99

by Steve Bussey
GeoSynchronous Records

The annual convention for the Association For Independent Music (AFIM) recently took place in Atlanta, Georgia. AFIM is an organization whose membership consists of independent record labels, retail stores, record distributors, music press, musicians, and any one else interested in independent music. As with previous years, it was a wealth of valuable information about the indie music biz and a lot of fun, too.

Tom Silverman of Tommy Boy Records gave a rousing and inspiring keynote address to kick off the convention. Tommy Boy is one of the biggest indie success stories, having released many platinum records over the years, most recently with the Everlast CD Whitey Ford Sings The Blues , which is approaching five million in sales.

Silverman cautioned the audience to beware of IID - Indie Inferiority Disorder. He explained that many indies feel inferior to the major record labels, but Silverman pointed out the track record of indies finding new music way ahead of the majors. Indies are under financed and are built on sweat equity. Working with nothing is what indies do best, Silverman noted, and you have an infinite supply of nothing . He warned against the tendency for the indies to sell out to the majors when they have a successful record. The major labels don t have the passion and vision of the indies. Silverman should know; many years ago he sold half of Tommy Boy to Warner Brothers and became a Vice President, one of 68 at the time! After a while, Silverman realized he had lost control, and renegotiated to get the rights back.

The various Special Interest Groups (SIGS) held meetings during the week. I attended the Blues SIG. Bruce Iglauer of Alligator Records urged us to join the new Blues Music Organization that he and many other blues labels are organizing. They plan to have it do for blues music what the Country Music Association did to promote the growth of country music over the years. A demographics survey of who is listening to blues will be completed as the first action of the Blues Music Organization. This information will then be used to convince radio, press, and others to play more blues music. The Blues SIG also hosted a blues showcase at Blind Willie s, the premier blues club in Atlanta.

I also attended the Artist Owned Label SIG. This group deals with the problems and opportunities of releasing your own record on your own label. Among the attendees was Bernie Leadon, one of the guitarist of The Eagles. He said he planned to release his solo record himself, he had been on a major label and did not plan to do that again. Steve Veale, a smooth jazz guitarist and owner of Sunspot Records in Orlando was elected the chairman of this SIG.

There were various workshops and panels on topics such as $10 Million Worth of Mistakes , Sound Scan - Setting The Record Straight , Music Publishing - Facts and Fiction , and many others. A trade show was held on two of the days. Replicators, marketing companies, magazines, and labels set up booths to promote their services, and gave away freebies like promo CD s, mugs, shirts, and magazines.

Of course there was plenty of live music, including performances by indie artists such as The John Entwistle Band (former bass player for The Who, but now on his own on indie label J-Bird Records), MTV and Sliders star turned singer Kari Wuhrer, The V-Roys, Amy Ray, Rockapella, and many more too numerous to mention.

Amy Ray of The Indigo Girls hosted the AFIM Indie Awards Dinner. These are similar to the GRAMMY Awards, with numerous categories for the best of independent releases. Pianist Charles Brown and Island Records founder Chris Blackwell were inducted into the AFIM Hall Of Fame.

All in all, another successful convention and well worth attending.

About the author: Steve Bussey is a singer/songwriter/guitarist and is currently the owner and general manager of GeoSynchronous Records (http://www.pan.com/geosync, Listening Line 800 235 9193, ask for a free catalog), an indie label handling artists such as Les Dudek, Mike Pachelli, Bong Water Taffy, and Big Red & The Bus. Prior to this, Steve earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Electrical Engineering and Acoustics from Georgia Tech, designed sound equipment and guitar amps for Fender, and supervised design of communication systems for the Space Shuttle at Kennedy Space Center.