The X Factor isn't the only way for aspiring talent to get seen on TV: indie outfit Daytona Lights are joining Hollyoaks
Despite the internet giving artists the opportunity to get their music heard, one thing has not changed: it's still almost impossible (bar making a video so horrendous it becomes a YouTube sensation to reach a wider audience unless your music is played on a major radio station and/or terrestrial TV. To get on TV you pretty much have to be one of the few lucky ones to be booked on Jools Holland, have big label backing to be the featured band on Jonathan Ross ? or be a contestant on The X Factor. But what if you're an indie band signed to a small label? For Daytona Lights, the solution has come in the unexpected form of a starring role in which they play themselves in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks.
Unlike acts such as PJ and Duncan or, before them, the Monkees, this is not a case of the band being put together for the TV show. The five-piece formed more than two years ago and have slowly built a following in London. Eventually they were spotted by award-winning producer Steve Levine when they opened for Patch William ? an act signed to Levine's label, Hubris Records. "I thought to myself: 'Fuck, they're really good, Patch will really need to up their game,'" says Levine.
While Levine was interested in working with the band, he was aware of the difficulties in getting such an act wider exposure without big label backing. As with Patch William, Stephen Fry played a part in what happened next. After recording the voiceover for a radio documentary Levine was making, Fry introduced the producer to Audio Network, one of the biggest suppliers of library music in the UK. Library music is often used for TV shows because it's cheap and licensing issues are already sorted out. The company's CEO told Levine it kept getting calls for music by cool indie bands, but library music is usually not made by those bands.
One creative director in the market for such an act was Tony Wood, who wanted to make Hollyoaks more "cool and indie". Wood is no stranger to blurring the lines between reality and fantasy, having worked on The Only Way Is Essex, and this is what he wanted to do with Hollyoaks. After checking out the band at London's Barfly, Audio Network, Wood and Levine decided to form a joint venture to work with them.
Luckily, Daytona Lights are not new to acting, as three of them met at drama school. They will get a soft introduction to the show in October. Their storyline will build slowly to culminate at the end of the year, after which their album will be released. As with The X Factor, the songs will be made available online as soon as they're featured in the show. Some of the tracks will be given away for free.
"Introducing them as a band in Hollyoaks is another illustration of how the show is layered with more than story," says Wood. "The show's cultural, fashion and music references have to speak to the target audience and we wanted to bring them characters who were aspirational, fun and who they could relate to. It's the most popular youth drama currently on British screens so this is an exciting platform for the band to showcase their music. And for us, Daytona Lights is a great proposition; cool characters who provide an authentic youth story and who can rock out the SU Bar."
Levine compares major labels to bullies in the playground, who have recently started dominating avenues of exposure traditionally open to smaller labels. His joint venture with Hollyoaks and Audio Network ? where there are "no masters and servants" ? is a way to stand up to the bullies by, for example, allowing Daytona Lights to appear on the Hollyoaks music show, which features acts such as Tinie Tempah and Dappy.
It's an ideal situation, says Levine. "What normally happens in the music industry is that everything depends on radio playing the single. If they don't, the act is dead in the water ? often they get dropped by the label at that point. We don't have to bother with that ? we're just making it up as we go along."
This may be the beginning of a trend. Last week, Neighbours announced that indie band William and the Tells ? whose singer William Ewing is currently studying drama at the National Theatre in Melbourne ? will be joining the Australian soap for a one-month stint. Perhaps more struggling bands should sign up for acting lessons.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2011/sep/29/daytona-lights-hollyoaks
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