Making it in music: Cassette Media
- Jun 25, 2012
Today's guest blog comes from Alexa Ruth, of music show Cassette Media. Ruth talks pop-punk, hardcore, non-stop interviews, tours and sponsorship...
I started Cassette Media, a YouTube Channel for interviews with Australian bands and artists in 2010 in Perth, Western Australia. Coming from a music journalism and performing arts background, I felt confident in my ability to create something valuable for the local music scene. Seeing so many friends’ bands struggling for exposure in an over saturated industry, it inspired me to take their music to an International level- via YouTube.
After sourcing volunteer crew members, a cheap studio and rounding up a few friends, it was time to start filming. The first interview went up in November 2010 and I had no idea what to expect. The videos started being shared on social networking sites, and after a few months of 6am starts and mid-night finishes the hard work finally started to pay off. I interviewed Melbourne band British India on their Perth tour, which raised the profile for the show. Soon after, instead of rejection emails I started receiving daily requests from bands all around Australia. It was then I decided I could really do something with Cassette Media, and started working on growing the demographic.
After I interviewed Perth post-hardcore band In League, there was an immediate peak in demand from heavier bands. After focusing predominantly on indie and punk music, I was surprised in the popularity Cassette Media had suddenly gained in this genre. It was this shift which really changed and pushed both the show and my personal preference in a direction no-one could have predicted. In League not only opened this door for Cassette Media, but they also opened my mind to a style of music I was previously ignorant to appreciating, and did not expect to fall in love with.
I began to interview higher profile bands including; Millencollin, Tonight Alive and Amy Meredith, which was great for exposure of the local bands and artists already interviewed, which have always been the main focus for Cassette Media. I have never aimed at building the show to exclusivity with high profile bands, and instead have been able to bring from those interviews, more audience for the unsigned scene.
After a year since launching I felt I had done almost all I could in Perth, and couldn’t ignore the growing demand in the Eastern States, so in October 2011 I decided to relocate the show to Melbourne. Despite having already interviewed a few Melbourne bands touring Perth, it took a great deal of work to build up awareness for the show in a larger city. At times it felt like starting from scratch with months of networking and sourcing new crew members.
I focused on trying to secure a great band which would allow for maximum exposure with a Melbourne audience, and was lucky enough to pin down the two vocalists from Dream on, Dreamer before their tour to the USA. After the interview went live it was much easier to source out other upcoming local talent who I wanted to interview for Cassette Media.
The last few months have been a blur of non-stop interviews with a number of styles ranging from pop-punk to hardcore and everything in-between. My personal favourites being Summerset Avenue, While the City Sleeps, The Getaway Plan, Heroes for Hire and Deez Nuts.
Cassette Media has recently been sponsored by Monster Energy, as well as number of smaller local businesses over the last 19 months. All of which have been a huge help for the show.
After returning to Perth, I re-interviewed In League following their international tour- which is now live on Cassette Media’s Youtube Channel.
By Alexa Ruth
