Vocalist achieved success and turned music into income with his band, which ended its activities in 2018 after two decades in the spotlight on the national scene
Rock musicians have always found it difficult to turn their bands into a profession, especially in Brazil. It’s not easy to make a living from art in the country, especially from the musical style guided by distorted guitars.
Therefore, it is interesting to hear the opinion of those who succeeded. One of those rare cases is that of jimmy londonformer lead singer of killingnow commanding the Killing Ritualin addition to integrating the project Jimmy & Rats. In an interview with journalist Marcelo Vieira, the singer was invited to reflect on whether “you can live” in rock music in Brazil. Right away, he was afraid of the expression used in the question, but offered a good answer.
“’Dá para vivo’ is a complex expression, because there are people who live on very specific things and there are others who live with very little. That is, you can live in many different ways. But I think there is a balance between doing something that people enjoy and dedicating yourself intensely to the part that nobody wants to embrace, which is being the manager of your music. And then, yes, you can make a living from it, but this is a long conversation that is for a next conversation.”
At another time, London presented his point of view on the success of Matanza himself, a band that has ended activities since 2018. Although it never broke out to a massive audience, the group managed to make a career in the style and became one of the references of rock in the country in the 2000s. Asked about the reasons for this, he replied:
“I think the band had a great ‘mid stream’ place, that is, it wasn’t a huge pop success but also managed to break through the underground barrier. This is due to two factors: a show in which we left every last drop of sweat on stage and a lot of internal work, from the office. That is, arrange many shows [para fazer] and then value each one of them, always giving as much as possible.”
Music in the virtual world
Matanza emerged in times when there were fewer opportunities, but communication vehicles with larger audiences. In addition to radio stations, MTV had a great influence on people’s taste in music.
Today, a musician’s work needs to be directed to the digital medium. However, there are pros and cons: although the virtual environment has democratized the dissemination of musical works, competition has also become greater.
How does Jimmy London see this current moment? And how does that compare to an artist’s outreach work in the past? During the interview, he questioned even the success obtained by traditional media in that period and saw the online environment with good eyes.
“I don’t know if the big media are exactly thermometers or success makers. You can’t tell what came before, the jabá or requests from listeners on a radio. But nowadays I see niches that go unnoticed and that, in fact, are gigantic. Countless bands making successful careers without necessarily being apparent to the mainstream media. Before, that was kind of impossible.”
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
