With signed acts and a new online music network, Blast:beat is taking on a life of its own. Music moguls beware, writes John Holden
'You can't sing, you can't play and you look awful: you'll go a long way." That's how parts of the music industry used to seem to work, when fat-cat businessmen in dark, smoky rooms decided who would be the next big thing. But now it's definitely the music-buying public - including transition-year students - who are making or breaking the next big stars.
Blast:beat, which has been running since 2003, gives TY students the chance to take part in a two-pronged competition, one between mini music-and- multimedia companies (MMCs) and one between the musicians they represent. It's a bit like the way Formula 1 works, with a constructor's as well as a driver's championship.
Unlike Formula 1, though, Blast:beat requires no prior experience of the industry - or even of the workings of a company. MMCs are set up with professional business structures, and with staff ranging from chief executives to security guards and everything in between. It is their job to find or form music acts and then stage a battle of the bands.
The winning bands go on to compete in regional finals, at which they also record live original songs. Independent judges choose the winners, who compete in the national final for a chance of going home with professional music equipment, cash and even a record contract.
Niall McAuley was chief executive of Phonic TY, the winning company in 2003. The competition made him realise that the world of business was where he would be happiest.
"I had a lot of different ideas about what I wanted to do after my Leaving Cert, and, to be honest, I wasn't so keen on the idea of doing TY at all," he says. "Blast:beat changed all that. I'm now in second-year commerce in UCD and working part-time for Blast:beat, as a mentor. I go around to schools in Dublin and advise students on how best to operate their MMCs."
This year's programme has been split into two three-month courses, one before Christmas and one after. It's too late to get involved in the first one, but there is still plenty of time for your school to apply for the second round.
The number of schools that want to take part is on the up, and not just in Ireland. Robert Stephenson, the scheme's creator, knew that if he could make it a success here, it could work anywhere. "The first time we did it, in 2003, we had no idea how it would be received, but it was very popular. The next year we went to Belgium, where it also went down well. So I figured, if it works here and in Belgium, it could have global potential. In the last 12 months I've travelled to the US, the UK, South Africa and Australia, all of which now have schools running programmes."
And Blast:beat is modernising, to keep up with a changing music industry. Any modern impresario will tell you that your online presence is now just as important as your stage presence.
Enter BlastSpace. Just like Bebo and MySpace, BlastSpace gives bands - whether from the competition or not - the opportunity to upload music, photographs and information to a personal web page where they can promote themselves worldwide.
"The site is monitored by Blast:beat moderators, so it is safe, which is reassuring for parents," says Stephenson. "And when I tell kids about it in schools they don't have a problem with it either. So everybody is happy - teachers, parents and students - a rare occurrence!"
Happy they should be. The Blast:beat hall of fame is already taking shape, with a number of success stories. Steerclear, a Belfast band that got to the finals of the competition in 2005, have already made an album and released a single, and, after supporting Good Charlotte and Enter Shikari, they are now heading off to play some gigs in the US. Likewise, Emily have supported Avril Lavigne and Director, and the 2006 winners, Homestar Runner, are releasing their debut album later this month.
So, after four years on the go, it is quickly becoming a global phenomenon. What is the secret of Blast:beat's success? "Most schools have an interest in enterprise programmes anyway," says Stephenson. "Junior achievement organisations are running everywhere. At the same time, music is one of the most important things in any teenager's life. So we're just plugging a new and interesting programme which makes business fun for students whose primary interest is music."
See www.blastbeat.ie
Mixing business with pleasure
Since winning this year's Blast:beat competition with The Impressionists, life has been getting better and better for Kevin O'Connor of Ballincollig Community School, in Co Cork.
"We first heard about Blast:beat when Robert Stephenson came to our school to give a talk. I play the drums, so I was immediately interested in the musical side of the programme. But I also wanted to get into the business side. So I went for the post of CEO and got it.
"Then I and some other students sat down with our music teacher, Ms Willis, to set up our new company, Frequency Music. The MMCs need a huge amount of staff. We had to find people interested in working in public relations and artists and repertoire, as well as journalists, web designers and everything else.
"At the start it was annoying, because you'd have to chase some people who only signed up to Blast:beat to get out of class, but I guess I'm just complaining because, as CEO, there was always something new that had to be done.
"The MMCs are given tasks, like drawing up a business plan, and you're awarded points from Blast:beat HQ on how well you complete them. We also had to find funding for a battle of the bands. So we organised a table quiz and a no-uniform day in school. Then we went around listening to various bands interested in competing. My band gave it a shot, too, even though we had only been together for two months. We were one of the six acts chosen. Then we won the competition.
"I know it might look suspicious, being in the MMC hosting the competition and then also being in the band that won it, but independent
Blast:beat judges made the final decision on the night.
"From there we went on to the regional finals. We didn't think we played a good gig, but we won again. We play hip hop and funk, which was quite unique in the competition. Most other bands were either rock or metal, so I think that worked in our favour, although I think the metal people were pretty annoyed.
"The national finals took place at Cork Opera House, which was amazing to play in. Again, I think the fact that we were a little different from a lot of the other bands benefited us on the night, but I still couldn't believe it when we won.
"To top it off, instead of being awarded a one-album record deal, which was the first prize, we were offered a three-album contract by Robert Stephenson's label, which we signed on New Year's Eve [ above].
"Earlier this year we were invited to play at the fifth World Summit on Media for Children, in Johannesburg. It was amazing. Our lead singer is Kenyan, so it was good to have that African link. We went down really well. We also played on South African radio and went on a kids' TV show.
"We didn't think about it at the time, but afterwards, when we realised just how many million people had been watching us, we were all really freaked out.
"We now plan to get the first album started this Christmas or possibly next summer. The plan is to do it down in South Africa, as we can do it much more cheaply there. I can't wait."
MeTube? YourSpace? Bebwho?
The music industry is going through serious changes. Those who succeed now must be creative in both their musical and commercial outlook.
Radiohead have just released an album that is only available online. Nothing new there, but the price you pay for In Rainbows is up to you. You can go to their website and pay 1c for the entire album if you like.
And Prince recently gave away his new album free with every copy of the Mail on Sunday newspaper. It may sound like nonsense, but it makes good business sense.
In a nutshell, recorded music is getting cheaper. Because of the rise of downloading, there is not as much money in CDs as there used to be. So profit and success must be found elsewhere.
"Acts need to become more inventive in how they market themselves," says Tim Delaney, chairman of Ticket-text.com and former European head of marketing at Sony BMG. "Nowadays a lot of people will just download some songs from an album as opposed to the whole thing, which is hitting record companies hard. The piece of the pie that came from record sales is shrinking, so the places to make your mark now are through touring and a good online presence."
That means looking to resources such as YouTube, MySpace and BlastSpace for publicity. The great thing about them is that you don't need to know someone on the inside; nor do you need much money.
Technology may be the key to your success. Ticket-text.com, which sells tickets for rock concerts through mobile phones, is one example of technology at work: it has reduced the role of the fee-charging middleman.
You can use the same technique to market your band or MMC while keeping costs low. By finding inventive ways to promote your band, you will create a buzz around it.
"Technology has allowed for smaller entrants where the bigger players usually held a tight grip on things," says Delaney. "It has allowed for competition where before there was only monopoly. But you need to use it creatively, and online content is where it's at. This is where you'll be able to generate a bit of a buzz and get more people along to the show."
