There's only one thing everyone
is talking about this weekend...Comic-Con 2012. Comic-Con is the biggest
entertainment conference of the year. Not only does it promote comics, but it
also promotes television shows, movies, video games, and anything else
classified as "geeky."
As a fully fledged geek, I, like
thousands of people, have been curious to see what events were brought to
Comic-Con 2012. With all the movies being promoted, I was hoping to see
"Pitch Perfect" somewhere within the convention.
In October, Universal Studios is releasing
the first all a cappella movie, "Pitch Perfect." This is indeed a
milestone in the history of a cappella music and the inclusion into mainstream
media. So why doesn't "Pitch Perfect" have a panel at Comic-Con, or
at least have an honorable mention?
Are we, as a cappella fans,
really so different from comic book fans that there is no need for
cross-promotion? If a cappella fans keep complaining that we are
under-appreciated, then we should start promoting ourselves outside of "a
cappella only" conventions.
It's obviously too late to insert
ourselves into Comic-Con, but if there are any a cappella groups out there
going, do me a favor- SING AT COMIC-CON!!!
A cappella needs to promote more.
Social media is great for promoting concerts, but really, how many collegiate a
cappella groups have advertised their concert outside of their respective
college? I'm willing to wager that only a few have ever thought to do this.
Professional groups have it even tougher. They have to build their own fan
base.
What is the solution? We stick
our nose into conventions that don't necessarily focus on a cappella music.
Here are some other conventions
we should start sticking our big nose into:
1) ACDA and NAfME (formerly MENC)
I've said it before, but these
are the two biggest musical organizations in the country and the a cappella
presence is sorely lacking. Nothing could be better for the promotion of a
cappella music, and a cappella education, than to show off a cappella
techniques to thousands of choral directors who haven't a clue how to start an
a cappella group, let alone know what CASA.org is.
2) Other comic book/geeky
conventions
NY-CON, APE, Wonder-Con,
W00Tstock, Denver-Con...There are probably hundreds of other geeky conventions
that would probably welcome the addition of a new musical exploration that has
more and more become reliant on technology and pop-culture.
3) Conventions that have
absolutely nothing to do with music
Okay. Go with me on this. If some
company presenting at a major conference (E3 perhaps?) featured an a cappella
group and someone took a video of it, I bet it would go viral. We don't need to
do an entire presentation, we just need to have a presence.
4) Sports Games
This isn't new. All-star games
have featured a cappella groups at half time shows, and most baseball teams
have featured some a cappella group singing the national anthem. I say let's
take it further. Put an a cappella group behind the featured singer in the
Super-Bowl halftime show. Sing the national anthem at one of the World Series
games. Record a sports-anthem that gets some airtime at a sports game. (The a
cappella equivalent of "Who Let The Dogs Out")
Let's get our name out there. If
one group promotes a cappella music, we all win.
Marc Silverberg
Follow the Quest For The A cappella
Major:
Docacappella.tumblr.com
Acappellaquest.blogspot.com
twitter.com/docacappella
Facebook.com/docacappella
http://www.casa.org/content/quest-cappella-major-cappella-should-be-comic-con
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