DAN JANSSEN PRODUCTIONS aka "2/20 Productions" aka "Slave to the Metal" aka "Exposed Music Festival": CHECK OUT NEW INFO BELOW) 2/20 Productions (just changed from Dan Janssen Productions) pay-to-play company is located in Kent, Ohio (Ohio - pay-to-play capital of the US: Gorilla, 1K Entertainment, etc). These shows are organized in conjunction with One Eye Management (or “managment” as they are misspelled on the official posters) based in Nashville, TN. Many of the companies mentioned have some connection to Dan Janssen. One Eye has no website and less than 300 myspace friends so at the moment they don’t seem to be the industry powerhouse they are claiming to be. But come on dude, at least check for spelling...
They have just launched a new 220productions.net website and are currently running two pay-to-play showcase schemes: the “Get Your Rock On” Festival and the “Slave to the Metal” Festival. Our friends in the popular Olympia WA band The Dirty Birds (who can get shows anytime they want) forwarded me their copy of the spam email that many bands in Washington received (I've highlighted the important buzz words) for the Get Your Rock On music festival:
----------------- Original Message -----------------
From: Dan Janssen Productions
To: the dirty birds
Date: Jun 8, 2009 5:17 PM
Subject: Get Your Rock On Tour July 18/19
Hey Guys,
I'm looking for Bands to participate in The "Get Your Rock On" Music Festival/Tour/Talent showcase at Studio Seven in Seattle, WA on July 18th and 19th. Please read this entire message and reply with your telephone number if you are interested in participating!
-Presented by Dan Janssen Productions, The Music Factory and One Eye management.
This is a HUGE industry showcase and oppourtunity for bands possibly to have your demo submitted to Major Labels such as Capital, Universal, Warner Music Publishing, Atlantic Records and more.
Its being hosted by one of the midwests largest entertainment/artist development companies The Music Factory
Members of the The Music Factory have worked with or signed bands such as Cherry Monroe, Collective Soul, Seven Mary Three, Saving Abel, Matchbox Twenty, and Buckcherry. As well as being responsible for over 100 million in record Sales worldwide. They also have major music contacts for such companies as MTV and 20th Century Fox.
Music Factory website and more info at:
www.myspace.com/oneeyemanagement
-Sponsered by Northcoast Studios(northcoaststudios.net), Jungle Recording(www.myspace.com/junglerecording)
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PERFORM AT THIS EVENT YOU MUST SEND YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBER WITH A REPLY MESSAGE. WE WILL CONTACT YOU SOON.. THANKS!
-Dan Janssen
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Here are the “buzz words” in this introductory email that you should always be on the lookout for. The Dirty Birds have been around long enough for the Red Alert lights to go off, but new bands may not be so experienced to spot this. I’m going to give you a couple of things to consider when you get one of these:
Some of the email reads:
“This is a HUGE industry showcase and oppourtunity for bands possibly to have your demo submitted to Major Labels such as Capital, Universal, Warner Music Publishing, Atlantic Records and more. ...Its being hosted by one of the midwests largest entertainment/artist development companies The Music Factory.”
1. “HUGE industry showcase” is normally code for “crap rip-off show”. They always throw in the words “industry” and “showcase” and expect all the bands to come running. You should RUN...run away when you see these words being tossed around.
2. It’s an “oppourtunity” even though they can’t spell the word “opportunity” correctly.
3. And the biggie: “for bands to possibly have your demo submitted to major labels”. This is an old advertising trick. The key word here is “possibly”. That doesn’t mean they are going to do it. They aren’t promising anything. That means it might possibly happen...or it might possibly not.
4. Having your “demo submitted Major Labels” is usually code for putting your CDr in an envelope and mailing it.
5. And Capital Records? Really? Yeah, they probably will submit it to Capital Records. Unfortunately the more prestigious label is called “Capitol” Records.
4. The Music Factory may be a big deal but their myspace seems newly started and has less than 500 friends. For one of the midwests largest entertainment/artist development companies, that doesn’t seem very impressive even if they have reps that are responsible for 100 million record sales...probably to CAPITAL Records.
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However, the Slave to the Metal Festival is the one that they seem to currently be putting more energy into. Dan has partnered up with Fuse TV's, Mistress Juliya (that's her, Dan and his other friend John who runs FaceDown Entertainment) to take this festival to bands in the US over and over again. Here are three great blogs that can tell you more about how these shows went, better than I can. Be aware that these three bands did not play at the same show. Do you notice a theme here?
First, a Portland band called Proven played one in January. This is a re-post to their original blog.
The next comes from Ulcer, a band from Land O'Lakes, Florida. Check REPLY on June 19, 2009. They played a show in St Petersburg.
And last is a blog from the guitarist in the band Painbreak, who played Slave to the Metal fest in Memphis also in June.
Originally I felt I needed more evidence that ticket selling is what this company promotes. So I emailed a band from Chicago who’d done both of the shows, just recently the “Get Your Rock On” showcase in Milwaukee. They told me that they sold 43 $10 tickets and were expecting to get their measly cut ($1 per ticket) of $43 mailed to them. In other words they’d just paid $387 to play this event. If you do the quick calculation and assume that all 10 bands typically on these bills can sell the same amount of tickets, that’s $3,870 per night. Even accounting for expenses, I’m willing to be that Dan Janssen Promotions is coming out way better than the $43 the bands get. I asked this band if it was a contest and they told me that “neither show was a contest so there were no prizes of any kind”.
FUN MATH PROBLEM: MULTIPLY $10 x 40 TICKETS x 10 BANDS x 31 SHOWS
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THE EXPOSED MUSIC FESTIVAL
SLAVE TO THE METAL HAS CHANGED THEIR NAME TO THE EXPOSED MUSIC FESTIVAL! As happens often with companies like this, there has been another name change and a "new" company (which appears to be the same format, and same organizers, under a different name). They are starting over again. This company doesn't have a business listing in New York where their Facebook claims is the current location, but 2/20 Productions is the "general manager" and "booking agent". Scott Sykora who ran some of the Slave to the Metal shows and was the drummer for Dan Janssen's old band Last August is listed as the press contact. The official website is exposedfestival.com (watch out for the blasting music from Scott's other band, AmericanRockStar). And be sure to check out the video from Dan Janssen (although most people can't get past "chisel monkey"!). This is what they do when they run their festivals.
SEE THE DISCUSSION OF THE EXPOSED MUSIC FESTIVAL ON TALKBASS.COM This post is the most eye opening:
CAN'T SELL THE TICKETS/CAN'T DO THE SHOW: Below is a couple of recent screen shots from one of two bands who got bounced off the Exposed Music Festival Show in Seattle. Their name (withheld here) was on the official Exposed Music Festival flier and in the local music paper calendar but two days before the event, they were sacked for no ticket sales.
They had these requests all over their facebook site so it wasn't that they weren't trying to sell the tickets:
Unfortunately this band lives about 3 hours from the venue - which makes ticket selling a little more difficult. They were not happy campers and here a few of their thoughts:
THE SUCCESSFUL P2P MUSICIAN:
HERE'S A BLOG ABOUT HOW THE BAND LAST AUGUST GOT FAMOUS DOING PAY-TO-PLAY SHOWS. I've seen this blog linked from other pay-to-play sites as a way to defend this practice, but when it comes right down to it, you can't find much on Last August. Try it.
THE SUCCESSFUL MUSICIAN SCENARIO
Many P2P promoters/company reps will claim that they are successful musicians who have had great opportunities because they sold tickets or did pay-to-play shows. As they attempt to convince new bands to play their shows, they often drop names, talk about how selling tickets increased their fan base, or gave them huge shows they’d never get without paying for it. Many times this ticket selling is described as “getting out there and working hard” or passed off as just a normal part of the music business.
All this bragging can sound impressive until you actually dig around and check out the facts. When a P2P promoter/company owner starts to discuss their success as a musician as a way to endorse the pay-to-play practice, I expect to see evidence of this all over the internet. I strongly urge you to ask these same questions:
1. Are they still in a band and performing? Why did they give up a very successful music career they describe to run a promotion company?
2. If they are no longer playing shows, how long was their band together? When did they break up and why?
3. How many records/CDs did they release? What were the labels and have we heard of them? Are their albums still available today?
4. How extensive was their touring? How many cities did they play? Did they tour nationally or internationally?
5. If their band name is “googled” what comes up? If you can barely find any information on the music career you are using as an example of your success, were you really that successful?
BACK TO SHOWCASE TOP
NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL (NYIMF) out of business: NYIMF claims to be from New York, but their main showcases are often held in Las Vegas. This one appears to be winding down, even though they still mention upcoming events in 2008. It's worth mentioning just for the amount of money musicians were paying to participate ($1500 and more!). This company also works with aspiring filmmakers. Here's the guy that runs the showcases (special tip: Be sure to check out the Gallery on this site!). There was a great link but UNFORTUNATELY SONICBIDS BLOCKS GUESTS FROM SEEING THEIR FORUM. Too bad, because it was a valuable resource for this kind of crap. There was a post from "Fran" where the band The Sciannas were sent a letter entitled "CEASE & DESIST FROM USING OUR NAME FROM BEING ON YOUR WEBSITE IMMEDEATELY". I just about wet my pants. I wish it was visible. It's the kind of stuff you couldn't make up. MORAL: There is never a reason to spend this kind of cash to be "discovered".
GREEN LIGHT FIRM (INDEPENDENT A & R): Here's a good one from the Seattle band, The Bullet Club. They got this spam email and I'm just going to repost the whole thing so anybody that hasn't gotten one of these phony emails (bands on the Moon) can see how guys like this operate. The Green Light Firm has a bunch of different affiliates (recently they've taken down all their "contacts". Now they have two friends and one is Tom) such as The Fidelity Entertainment Group and Covert Management. From looking at their tiny website they seem to be mostly interested in critiquing and evaluating you for $150. Wow, that sounds easy. I'm going to add my own critique to their email (in black type)...and I won't charge them a dime.
"Hey Bullet Club,
I checked out your site and listened to your songs. I heard some potential in On The Backs Of Bears. Based on that I would like to talk with you more about your music. (Yeah, they heard potential, but mostly they thought they might flatter you into giving them money for nothing.)
Just to let you know a little about who we are at the Greenlight Firm Independent A&R, we represent Fidelity Entertainment Group / Covert Management and its partners, who are a coalition of music industry companies that do everything from A&R, Tour Management, Artist Management, Recording/Production, Graphic Design and much more. Our Client list includes MTV, VH1, Inhale Exhale, John Reuben, Spoken and a ton of others in both the mainstream and Christian market. (They got all the buzz words but no real information. Notice how they are connected to...themselves. The two companies they represent are actually theirs. If they worked with anybody you'd ever heard of, they'd let you know it. I seriously doubt MTV is a client of these guys. They probably watch MTV and count that.)
Just to let you know, this is not a mass email – we know there are a ton of scams on myspace, and this is NOT one of them. We are a very real company that has helped many artists. (This is kind of a new wrinkle. Congratulations anti pay-to-players! If they've got to make the claim that they are not sending a scamming spam email, it means we're getting the word out about these companies! Well done, everybody!)
We are actively looking for new talent within the industry, and we are very selective about the artists we contact. Yes, we will be contacting other bands and artists, but know we are looking for serious guys that we feel have the potential to make it. Through Fidelity EG we are looking for new and up-coming artists for label development. Many of our artists have gone on to success in the music industry. From national tours, record deals, and media coverage, we are the first-step to a music career. (More buzz words and lots of flattery: They are selective, you are special, you are serious, not like other bands, you have the potential to make it, you are up-and-coming...and again, just who are these "artists that have gone on to success in the music industry"?)
There is a process, and you would have to qualify but we cannot even get to that point without you contacting us back to go over the details. Please email back or call our office. (The "process" involves you giving them money for nothing. Don't do it.)
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WELL THEY STATE RIGHT ON THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE THAT THEY ARE NOT A SCAM. And I love how they claim that if you've even been approached by their company you are one of the ELITE. WELL, JUST READ IT FOR YOURSELF.
UPDATE 2/10/10: The GreenLight Firm has changed their name to The GLIGHTFirm (oh we'll never figure out they are the same company, especially when google has this which brings you to the new website:
Watch out for this warning. When you google Green Light Firm there are two choices and neither is good:
Check out this forum on Harmony Central. And this is a interesting comment also.
A & R CONNECTIONS: A & R Connections (9-4-08: Their official website doesn't work. They may have shut down this website but I'm still listing it) is a pay-to-play company that hosts showcases (pay-to-play shows) where you'll supposedly receive time with an A&R rep. The Seattle band, Stabbingback, has an amazing blog devoted to a protest against this company by the band Stabbingback. It's a very informative must read for anybody contemplating dealing with this company. When it mentions "payment options" on the registration form, that's not a good sign. They have a myspace site (although currently a lot of the comments are about free ringtones) and here's their "mission statement" that I'll post (with my bitchy comments)...
The A&R Connection is the most reputable music industry resource (even though you've never heard of us) dedicated to helping artists achieve their goals (for a price, I'm sure). We provide direct access to the top music industry executives in the industry (and they would be...?), allowing artists to get their music heard!
The demand for quality music is phenomenal. We are in constant contact with the top labels (who are...?) across the globe, assisting them in their search for the stars of tomorrow (Oh God, not that old "stars of tomorrow" line).
A&R Connection offers artists the most effective way of marketing there talent (FYI, this is probably just a typo but the correct useage is "their" talent, a possessive pronoun). We specialize in showcasing (ah, the old "showcasing" line) local area talent to the top record label executives (who are?) in an up close and personal (oh yeah!) setting. The A&R Connection takes pride in every program that we offer. With our Interactive site, Unsigned Artist can now create a password protected profile (it's called myspace, it's easy to use and free to everyone), and upload there music, (again it's "their") pictures, and bios promoting there (somebody needs to go back to grammar school!) art to the Top major record labels in the Industry (and again, these would be?) as well as there (okay, now this is just ridiculous!) fans. The Record labels will be able to leave them comments (because record label execs have plenty of time to leave expert comments and ratings for new bands) and actually rate there (I'm giving this author a D grade so far!) music in different categories! Also fans will be able to become members of A&R Connections, and search for the hottest Unsigned talent in the world, joining there (okay that's it, it's an F for you!) favorite bands email list, receiving show dates & times as well as album release’s. All of our memberships are free!
Our service provides one of the highest response rates available in the industry (where can I see this rating?). We are dedicated to the success of aspiring singers, rappers, songwriters, musicians and performing artists. Promoting the talent of tomorrow (talent of tomorrow, stars of tomorrow, suckers of tomorrow...), helping there (could somebody help you with grammar?) career, obtaining awareness in the Music Industry.
You will find the A&R Connection to be accurate (except for spelling), resourceful and informative with today’s Music. We are committed to providing artists with the most accurate (con job) and up to date information available. Browse all the following web pages to see how we can help you (waste your time)!!!
