Sunday, November 12, 2006

Getting Funded By the Man

There was an interesting article this weekend in the NY Times Arts section about how indie bands from countries other than the U.S. are often funded by their governments. The premise is that the government provides cash to these bands to record and tour in the U.S. in an effort to market the country as a destination.

The main countries referenced were Denmark (The Figurines), Finland (Bloodpit), Sweden (The Hives), and New Zealand (Die! Die! Die!).

I personally was struck by how frequent these teeny tiny little acts across the world were avoiding becoming total starving artists because the goverment was fueling their creativity and passion through pure cash subsidies. The obvious question is: does it make your art different if you're working for the man? Remarkably though that did not come through as the major issue for any of the bands mentioned (minus The Hives, who seemed minorly irked by it). It's somewhat encouraging - if these countries can fund the arts - and mind you arts that don't exactly scream yay government! - is it possible for the U.S. to do the same? Music is one of our major imports, but why do only the bubble-gum popsters and none of the folks who are pushing the envelope get the notoriety?

Just a thought...

You can read the article from the Times here.

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