Pit5 Music News Cache

By Robert Gibbons Wed Oct 24, 1:22 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - For almost three decades the College Music Journal Music Marathon has been a place for up-and-coming bands like R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Killers to be discovered and signed by top New York record executives.

But for many of the more than 1,000 bands playing at the 27th annual CMJ festival in New York last week, it was a chance to enhance their own do-it-yourself campaigns.

CMJ and other festivals once were scouting grounds for record companies but now a growing number of emerging artists use the festivals to generate buzz that will increase music download sales from their own Web sites or MySpace pages.

"Bands are taking control themselves," said Jake Joaquin, design director at amp.fm, an Internet company planning a January launch for a Web site for fans, musicians and industry to network online.

"We're just going to have to wait and see how the industry evolves," he said. "Bands will be able to book venues and interact with fans across the country. Or someone traveling to another city can get a list of venues, bands, directions to get there and find a place to sample bands' music at one site."

Amp.fm's advertising slogan -- "Manage collaborate promote sell" -- describes an industry trend where online music sales and touring have replaced CD sales as an artists' primary sources of revenue.

"Bands have to learn how to reproduce their records on stage, especially if that's going to be the major source of their revenue," said Duncan McKie, president of the Canadian Independent Record Production Association trade group.

FESTIVALS GALORE

McKie was at a showcase for Canadian bands and had just met up with a representative South by Southwest, the Austin, Texas, music and film festival.

The CMJ Music Marathon concept has spawned several similar festivals, including SXSW, North by Northwest in Oregon and Toronto's North by Northeast.

But while many musicians here see the role of the large record company as less important, some say a big label can still bring something extra to help get a band noticed.

"Getting a label deal would be great," said Eric Larson, bassist for the Austin-based band Ume. "Labels can still give you credibility and connect you with deals they have going in films or land you a spot on a tour."

Still, the hegemony of big record labels has undoubtedly been dented as the industry grapples with cheap recording technology, the Internet and digital music technology.

Earlier this month, pop-icon Madonna dropped her long-term music label Warner Brothers and signed a multi-album, touring and merchandising partnership with Live Nation Inc, a concert touring company.

The popular British rock group Radiohead is selling its new album, "In Rainbows," on its own Web site, allowing customers to pay whatever they feel the product is worth.

Most bands playing CMJ have MySpace pages and their own sites where fans can sample tunes and purchase music downloads, T-shirts, and other merchandise.

And if there was any doubt that the traditional music business model is in flux, the name of one industry panel discussion at CMJ summed up the challenge for young bands -- "Do it yourself or die."