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Poor Harmony in Italy’s Music Scene

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After having written about two other Italian indie bands which sing in English, Amycanbe and the The Mirrors, I’ve been contacted by another one, Ofeliadorme.

Italian Music
Italian Music

Ofeliadorme wrote to see if I might like to write something about them, saying that they would be perfect for this blog.  Interesting this.  It almost looks as though word is getting around that some guy is happy to help give Italian bands a little more exposure.  Well this is true, and from what I read in an LA Times article, it appears as though 50+ year old Italian record execs are generally too old to appreciate the talent, and earning potential, lying in their own backyard.

Hence Italian indie bands like Ofeliadorme contacting the likes of me.

Before writing another post on Ofeliadorme, here is something about the state of the music industry in Italy.

Italian Bands Achieve Success Abroad

There was an interesting article on the Times website back in July 2008 entitled, ‘Italy’s new rock bands‘.

Italian Indie Band Ofeliadorme
Italian Indie Band Ofeliadorme

The Times article was partially about about Turin-based Italian band Disco Drive who managed to grab the attention of legendary British music publication NME.  For Disco Drive’s second album, NME gave the band an 8/10 rating.

What this seems to demonstrate is that music buyers don’t really mind where bands are from as long as they like their music.  This means that an Italian band with a good enough sound can achieve success beyond the Living Museum’s boundaries, especially if they sing in English.

Disco Drive, like Ofeliadorme, and the other two bands mentioned in this post, do sing in English.  Yet according to Disco Drive’s comments in the Times article, the Italian music industry seems to believe that only Italian bands singing in Italian will ‘make it’.

The Italian music industry is missing the obvious.  Even music in Italy suffers from ‘Living Museum syndrome’ –  Italy’s general reluctance to embrace things which are new or innovative, iPhones excepted, of course.

Bands Which Sing in English Popular in Italy

As Disco Drive astutely points out, many bands from outside of Italy, and who sing in English, have been very popular in Italy.  Actually, Disco Drive was not so much being astute, as merely pointing out the blatantly obvious.

Want some examples? How about: the Beatles, U2, Madonna, Santana, the Spice Girls, Black Eyed Peas, Natalie Imbruglia, and I could go on and on.

However, what is obvious to many, does not seem to be at all obvious to Italian record execs.   The reason for this, er, oversight, can’t be that these execs don’t know English well enough themselves to help new acts attain success at international level.  No, not at all.  The record industry bigs have had a presence in Italy for years.  And the iconic Beatles are still popular here today, as are bands like Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and many other music industry veterans, so the Italian record industry must be aware that there is a big market for music sung in English in Italy.  There is more evidence of the obvious too.

Take a quick look at the current MTV Top 20 Hit List for Italy, and one may well notice that around half the bands listed are not Italian and sing in English.

This begs the question:  Why can’t Italian bands be allowed to sing in English in their home market? Or at least they could sing in Italian here in Italy, and produce tracks in English for the music hungry iTunes fuelled UK and US markets.

Economic Sense

Promoting Italian bands which sing in English would make probably make economic sense too, now more than ever.

Distribution costs nowadays are next to nothing what with the advent of downloadable music and services like Apple’s iTunes Store.  What was once spent on making CDs and then taking them to shops around Italy and the world, could now be spent on publicity.  After all, most of us have the capacity to create our own CDs, if we want to that is.

Waking Up the Italian Music Industry

For the moment though, the best tactic an Italian band can adopt appears to be to go outside of Italy, become well known, and then return to the Living Museum, which is what, by all accounts, Disco Drive did. It’s very easy to say this, but not at all easy to do, it has to be said.  And such a strategy should not really be necessary either.

As Disco Drive and Italian rock band, Linea 77, know only too well, the only way to bring about change in Italy is to do it from the outside in.

Eventually, the success of Italian bands outside of Italy might wake Italy’s dozing music industry up.  In about 20 years or so, knowing Italy.  I’d love to be proved wrong though.

Any Passing Non-Italian Record Execs and A&R People?

While the Italian record industry is waking up, record labels from outside of Italy looking for fresh meat should perhaps consider setting up a group of scouts in Italy, or at least sending people here from time to time.

It is possible that the  next Beatles will be discovered.  Well, you never know.

Now, go listen to some Italian music.  Three very different Italian bands, each of which is good at what it does:

Ofeliadorme on MySpace – Dark, melancholy, but interesting stuff – worth a listen.

Disco Drive on MySpace – Listen to the track ‘The Giant’ – pretty good.

Linea 77 on MySpace – Turn your speakers down before listening!  If you speak Italian, listen to the track ‘La Nuova Musica Italiana’ –  interesting comment on Italy’s stodgy music scene!

Source:

Los Angeles Times, October 14 2009: Italy and rock ‘n’ roll are not mutually exclusive

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Comments

  2. Mmh, not many italian musicians come to mind, being successful with english lyrics, but there are some. Elisa is singing very much in english and Jovanotti was succesful with his first album “Jovanotti for president” containing many english phrases.

    Also keep in mind, that the spanish market is very interesting for italian singers. Laura Pausini or Tiziano Ferro are very sucessful in latin america.

  3. As someone who used to work at Sony music in the US this problem is world wide. I mean how many French bands are popular in the US? How many current English bands will be able to match the success of a U2 or Cold Play?

    The business is changing so much and the fact that American Idol singers are outselling Whitney Houston speaks for itself.

    I agree with you that singing in both English and Italian will help Italian bands who want to break into the English market. You have other singers who are HUGE in Italy and the Spanish speaking world like Laura Pausini who are barely known in the U.S.

    All the major record labels (Sony, BMG etc) do have A&R & local offices here. But bands will have to think of creative ways to gain exposure.

    • Hi nyc/caribbean ragazza,

      “As someone who used to work at Sony music in the US this problem is world wide.”

      You are right -I’m sure musicians and bands in other non-English speaking countries have similar problems.

      The problems seems to be cracking Italy’s home market -which is why some Italian bands sing in English, and sing in the UK too. If the scene were a little more florid here in Italy, then they would probably stay here.

      “How many current English bands will be able to match the success of a U2 or Cold Play?”
      Good point -getting to that level is still rare, but with no exposure, the chances are zilch, even if the sound is great.

      “The business is changing so much and the fact that American Idol singers are outselling Whitney Houston speaks for itself.”

      Oh yes, the music biz is changing hugely -the www has seen to that. American Idol singers may be outselling Whitney, but I wonder what the shelf-life of these new singers is? Some though, are great and shows like AI can help people get exposure -albeit to the mass market. I guess that it’s still very tough for smaller bands, with less popular appeal, but with a great potential market, to break into the market. However the www can, and does, help them.

      “I agree with you that singing in both English and Italian will help Italian bands who want to break into the English market. ”
      – To me certain bands sing in English because they know, or feel, that the English market is easier to break into the English market -some do say this, than the difficult to penetrate Italian market.

      Are there any decent music programmes on Italian TV – aside from Italian MTV’s offerings?

      “All the major record labels (Sony, BMG etc) do have A&R & local offices here. But bands will have to think of creative ways to gain exposure.”
      – If there are A&R people here, why are Italian bands looking towards the UK? As one musician pointed out in an article I linked to in the post above, Italian A&R is old.

      As you say though, creative exposure is the way to go. Get that zappy video on YouTube etc and shout about it!

      Thanks for the comment.

      Best,

      Alex

  4. An interesting article on the use or non-use of English lyrics.

    I agree completely with the sentiment of bands looking for a global audience needing to communicate their message and lyrics form an integral part of that message, thereby making English the language of preference.

    I do believe there is room for national language in musical output and would feel somewhat bereft if the only language you could hear from current artists was English.

    • Hi Tim,

      First of all, this post is only really about the situation in Italy. I’m sure a similar situation exists in other countries, especially smaller ones with limited markets.

      It’s useful for Italian bands to sing in English because the language gives them access to a huge market which is potentially more receptive to their music. In the UK it’s probably easier to find venues, promotion, and, success.

      I thought that there were only a few bands who sang in English in Italy, but I think I was wrong. Quite a few Italian bands seem to be using English to gain exposure and a reputation. Once this has been done, it seems to increase their chances of success in Italy -where they can sing in Italian.

      This means bands start by sending out their message in English and then move back into Italian. It’s an odd way of breaking into your home market -and not easy either, but this recipe seems to have worked for some Italian bands.

      “I do believe there is room for national language in musical output and would feel somewhat bereft if the only language you could hear from current artists was English.”

      I agree with this, but it is difficult to launch a band in Italy. English seems to open more doors, more quickly.

      Best,

      Alex

  5. First, sorry for my poor English : -) (I’ve been studying English for two years)

    I think big labels in Italy aren’t interested in new and creative Italian artists/band. They want to make $ much easier. Look at “Amici” or “Xfactor”: The talentshows create new idols and the labels sell thousand of albums. (crap albums).
    I mean, there is no place in the media for unknown bands.
    Nowadays you need a solid budget (1000-2000€),then record an album and play live gigs. If you’re good enough you will sign to an independent label. I think there’s no hope to have a big international success. You have to be happy with what you’ve got. The future of music will be independent labels.

    Well, I love Italian music and I can recommend you some cool italian bands.
    Amari (Grand Master Mogol, Scimmie D’Amore) Electro
    Ex-Otago (Tanti Saluti) Indie-Pop
    Verdena (Il suicidio dei samurai) Alt. Rock
    Marta sui Tubi (C’è Gente Che Deve Dormire) Acoustic-Trio
    Le luci della centrale elettrica (Canzoni da spiaggia deturpata) Songwriter
    Uochi Toki (Libro Audio) Rap
    Offlaga Disco Pax (Socialismo Tascabile, Bachelite) new wave

    English language:
    My Awesome Mixtape

    Instrumental:
    Port-royal

    Old masterpieces:
    CCCP (Affinità-divergenze fra il compagno Togliatti e noi – Del conseguimento della maggiore età) Punk
    Massimo Volume (Da Quì) postrock

    There are many other bands and that’s what I actually like in the Italian music. You can find every genre of music.

    By the way, I’m Italian but I live in Germany. I’ve got myself a band, we make some acoustic indiepop for fun and gratification. Here’s our myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thepaperqueens

    Ciao!

    • Hi Alessandro,

      First, don’t worry about your written English. It’s much better than you think:-) I teach English, so I know something about this.

      Thanks for your comment. Very interesting and what you say is true. Music companies, which are businesses after all, do tend to aim for the mass market. Crap music does tend to sell, but not for long. Better quality music also sells, and probably for longer, which is why certain bands seem to have been around for decades.

      It is true that there is no place for unknown b(r)ands. However, every band starts off by being unknown. Gaining a foothold in the ‘market’ is not easy, but its now easier than ever to gain exposure – MySpace, YouTube, Facebook, iTunes, blogs, etc, etc, so it may be a little easier for bands to become known, and once they do, they will be offered deals.

      “The future of music will be independent labels.” – interesting, I wonder how many people would agree with you.

      And thanks for the tips on Italian bands to check out. Good stuff.

      Why do you live in Germany?

      As for Italian bands, in my opinion, for what it’s worth, I think they are technically very good. ‘Tight’ is the expression musos would use. I’d be interested to hear if others with more knowledge than me, agree with this. (I have a little musical training – used to play trumpet – got to grade 5, and could read music. I also had a couple of guitars, a Strat and an acoustic. But I was never very good, but I do admire people who are. Trying to learn an instrument gives you an appreciation of how difficult it can be, and just how much skill good players, and singers, have.)

      I’ll check out your band on MySpace. I have checked your music out – good stuff, got my foot tapping. Are you on iTunes?? You should be.

      Best,

      Alex

  6. Now, you knew that Fabrizio de Andre has a dvd out with English subtitles? It’s a biography and purely delicious for someone like me who doesn’t have English.

    Will now go visit with the lyrics you found me. Grazie!

    • Nope Di, I did not know about the Fabrizio de Andre with English subtitles!

      I don’t generally need them, adds he, at the risk of sounding big headed.

      Have fun with the lyrics!

      Cheers,

      Alex

  7. Thanks for highlighting more Italian music. I just snagged the Ofeliadorme from iTunes. There’s a 2007 Disco Drive EP on iTunes as well, a bit different than the “Giant” track but still good. The Linea77 may be a bit too hard for my aging tastes though!

    One of the challenges I’ve had is finding good alternative music in Italian…either I’m not looking in the right places or I find that the Italian music I can find that is good is all sung in English, which is fine, but as someone trying to learn the language, I’d love to hear it in the native tongue.

    I found Baustelle awhile ago and I really like them. Negramaro is ok too but in general, I’ve had the worst time trying to find other music in the genre, which is curious considering the dilemma that the bands have about needing to sing in Italian in order to make it big in their own country. Perhaps because they revert to English when going beyond the border?

    Great stuff, thanks for passing all this great info along.

    • Hi Crystal,

      Glad I’ve helped Ofeliadorme sell a track! The lead singer, Francesca, certainly has a haunting voice!

      Disco Drive are not bad, but I can see some finding Linea 77’s rock being not as appealing – although I like their sound, but then I’ve always liked rock.

      In order to find some good alternative Italian music, take a look here: http://www.sellaband.com/
      Do a search for Italian artists, there are plenty of them. Or you can go onto Amazon and search for Italian or italy in the music section – you could start with Elio e Le Storie Tesi via this link
      If you do buy anything from Amazon, Blog from Italy will get a cut if you use the link above, so thanks.

      I don’t know Baustelle, but will check them out.

      As for the odd dilemma – which is odd – it does look as though Italian bands need to sing in English before they can gain enough exposure for them to come back to Italy and sing in Italian. As Tears for Fears put it – it’s a mad, mad, world!

      Thanks for commenting and happy listening!

      Best,

      Alex

      PS I could literally spend all day, every day writing about Italy – there is so much which is interesting – goings on, food, wine, cars, music, art, fashion, design, people etc. etc.

  8. Sigh, searched for an English version of the lyrics: La Nuova Musica Italiana and correctly, there were none 😉 but had them playing in the background as I searched and suspect quite a lot comes through via the tone and etc…

    Thanks for putting some Italian music out there in front of people like me who loved Fabrizio de Andre and haven’t quite managed to move on to contemporary music.

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