This is the week of awards for the bluegrass community and whether or not you’ve been nominated for an award, it is arguably the biggest week in your bluegrass life. It is this week that sets the tone for the coming year. This week is what the industry lives for.
For the preceding 12 months, artists, labels, managers, promotions staff and everyone connected with the industry has been working hard to strategize and position their product for the annual measurement.
For all of the years I’ve been in the music business, I’ve waffled on whether or not I’ve agreed with the awards concept. In principle they seem to be fundamentally wrong – pitting one completely different artist against another and hoping for a positive outcome is like trying to breed a sheep and a lion and wondering why the herd is then turning upon itself and devouring one another.
In practicality though, awards are necessary, for without them what other measurement tool would we have to qualify the successes?
Sales, some would argue, are the best measurement. But the public is a fickle mistress and what is success today can quickly become failure tomorrow. It’s an impossible task to judge the public’s likes and dislikes with enough lead time to plan and execute a musician’s career.
So this week, regardless of who takes home the awards and who doesn’t, celebrate the joy of the success with the winners and keep looking for the better way.
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Thank You!
Brian McNeal
Prescription Bluegrass Media
