Underground

Music is a well-renowned art form adored by everyone — though taste may vary from genre to genre. An art form that anyone, anywhere can listen to with freedom, from place to place — to express feelings and thoughts, to share memories and dreams, or to communicate — among many other things.

Pop music or “Popular music”, falls under a category of music which commonly plays on your local radio — in the mall, at the bar, the back seat of your brother’s car or any social gathering place.
But don’t be fooled. Although today’s pop music usually blares to danceable tunes, the genre it comes in may vary — from the soothing sounds of the blues to the angry beats of rock music — composed, produced, or performed by the famous.

There is more to music rather than being famous or what we hear on the radio, television, bars, malls, and the likes. In this post I’ll talk about the underrated side of the music scene, the scene of the Underground.
“Underground” is the scene of music — in any genre — that is not gauged under the mainstream. Most of the music in the Underground, are not legally commercialized. In the Philippines, Underground music is still active and kicking. And a lot of independent artists and bands participate in this kind of gathering.

Now, how does the Underground music scene take place?
Most of the time, Productions are in authority of these events. And a lot of the Underground events here in the Philippines are hosted at Bars by Productions.

A Production is usually a group of people that manages events and/or produces talents and resources, where different independent artists could participate in any of their projects.
The events held are usually referred to as a “Production Gig” or a “Prod. Gig”.

In the underground music scene, productions arranges an agreement with any particular bar that they prefer, and that’s where the event happens. When the agreement between the production and the bar is settled, the production then announces the upcoming event on their social media sites and contacts bands — most of the time independent bands — to invite them to play at the set event. Or vice versa, where the band contacts the production to ask if they can perform at the set event.

On the other hand, productions are not limited to conducting prod gigs, and they’re not always gauged under the underground scene. They could stand as producers, they could get involved in beneficiary events, some gigs aren’t always independent, and many other matters — as long as it is part of the production’s interest.

Now here’s the catch, “how much does an independent band earn in performing in these prod gigs?”

NONE.

That’s right, these independent bands would invest in expensive guitars, gadgets, amps, drum kits and the likes, spend gas money or pay a huge amount of fair just to perform in prod gigs without a talent fee. And believe me — in my personal opinion — a lot of the most talented musicians, singers, and composers are found in the Underground scene, participating in prod gigs.

If you’re asking why independent artists and bands still perform in these gigs without making a profit, it’s because the idea of a prod gig was not created as a job to financially compensate artists or bands. It is more like a gathering for people. During prod gigs, the bar becomes a sort of hub for musicians, singers, composers, and other music enthusiasts where they can share their talents and music with fellow musicians or friends. Mostly because music is just their hobby, or the particular band or artist is trying to gain publicity.

On the other hand, the production is the one who sometimes earn financially — depending on the agreement between the bar, bands and artists, and the production. It’s actually the bars that usually gets paid in these dealings.

Being an artist who participate in these kind of gatherings, there are a lot of things I consider before involving myself in a said event. One of the big factors is the crowd or the audience. It would be a lot more fun for us if we would be playing in front of a large crowd — let alone a very participative one. And another factor is the talent fee (of course, I wouldn’t be so practical if I said I don’t play for the money [everybody needs it]).
So yeah, that’s how the underground music scene goes about here in the Philippines. It’s underrated, but could be a lot of fun, educational, and exciting for people who live and breathe music.