Dear Readers of The Hard Data,
You have probably noticed a lack of any new print issues after our Winter 2018 edition. Yes, we have had some great web articles since then and some nice updates here and there in our various social media. But let’s face it, the most fun part of The Hard Data is our print issues.
Basically, it is my fault, so I want to -upfront- apologize for the lack of issues in 2018. My personal life impeded my focus on the operation. Though there are many contributors to THD, finding a second-in-command to replace me hadn’t happened before life-issues monopolized my time. Having said that, our last issue (but hopefully not the last) was arguably our best with the biggest distribution and impact. Now that my life is somewhat stabilizing, I vow this new year to finalize the first era of The Hard Data, and hopefully, set up its next by explaining much of what happened so far. After which interested readers may or may not find themselves inspired to get involved. If so, the original idea of The Hard Data will be fulfilled. If not, well… hey folks, it was fun while it lasted.
Immediate First Aid:
Before I tell the story, I must directly address our paying subscribers: You will be refunded your last subscription payment. Your current subscription will be cancelled. However, I hope to edit and publish one more issue of “The Hard Data Volume One” with a tentative publishing date of April 18, 2019. This will most likely be an oversized issue. It will be sent to you for free. If The Hard Data continues after this issue, your subscription will be re-instated should you desire, and the promise of a $6 or $12 yearly subscription forevermore will be a honored and explicitly non-negotiable term when and if I hand control of the magazine and The Hard Data brand over.
For those on our industry mailing list, I will send out an email detailing how much postage will be if you would like the new issue sent to you.
The last issue will be free and distributed to our usual spots in Los Angeles and elsewhere, but it will be a much lower circulation.
Ok, now that’s out of the way, here’s what happened…
How it Started.
A transformer blew up and subsequently destroyed everything I owned in 2014. New readers and hard dance fans might not know that I had a fair amount of history in the “hardcore” techno and rave scene going back to its earliest days. The physical evidence of that past was now gone in my life, and I guess psychologically I figured I was going to have to remake the history I lost. Rebooting my rave career, I looked around and noticed a lack of fanzines dedicated to the culture and remembered how important they were. I wrote for many, published one previously, and those odd mags were some of my prized possessions that got incinerated. So I thought, “Hey, I’ll start a new ‘zine.”
The Hard Data reached many of its goals: It became well known in the hard electronic/dance community, it got advertising from some of the top clients in its field, and it published some truly great articles.
But I had other ambitions for The Hard Data. I wanted it to help the hardcore/hardstyle scene in Los Angeles operate as a fully “sustainable” self-supporting economic sub-culture. The people who read it, who had businesses or such, would have ads in it. People in the scene could buy and trade and be informed about their peers. Local artists would be profiled and encouraged. Shows in LA would be promoted to a bigger and larger degree.
Please read the above paragraph again at some point, because that was the original idea. it hasn’t been fulfilled. Why? And why would that be important anyway?
The Reason it Exists
Since being involved with the rave scene since its earliest days, one thing became abundantly clear: The American mainstream music industry hates hardcore techno. The mainstream American rave industry hates hardcore techno. They hate the sound. They hate the noise. They hate the speed. They hate the attitude. They often hate the people involved.
Even though hardcore techno has shaped aspects of the commercial EDM scene we know today, no one wants to admit it. Why? Because in my opinion, it really, truly is a scene that ultimately cares about new sounds, new music, and as such, really does appeal to non-conforming people from all walks of life. The simple fact of the matter is that since day one, there has never been an ongoing, reliable social profile for hardcore techno in America other than the actual music being listened to. As such, the music truly, strangely, subconsciously delivers the goods that so many Utopian visionaries advertise but chump out on when they realize they can’t control such a situation. “They” hate it because they don’t feel they can control it.
This attitude translates to most large corporate advertisers. If you are reading this, I suspect the average marketing person feels you aren’t worth the trouble (at least in this niche). Yeah, you’ll buy the beer, the vapes, the games, the energy drink, whatever… but the very fact you will listen to the type of music covered in The Hard Data is a red-flashing warning sign you have a freaking brain that you still have some control over. It hasn’t been completely overtaken by media and peer brainwashing. You are a bad risk not worth banking on. What’s more, you’re potentially contagious. Sure, you were listening to Metallica or Ariana Grande a few years ago, and now look where you are at. You didn’t stick with the plan. What if you convince others of the same?
Time and again I had beaten my head against this brick wall I describe above, vainly hoping that some needed commercial cash would grease the wheels of my and others endeavors in the scene. But it always turned out the same way. Sometimes the answer was immediate, sometimes we got teased for a while before the invariable let-down.
So this is why The Hard Data as a communication instrument between like-minded individuals is so needed. Listening to the type of music we do is part of a bigger overall picture of leading a good life where creativity, honesty and individual freedom is honored and supported. Even though we moan about our peers in this scene, worldwide, I have yet to meet anyone in it that comes close to the psycho and sociopaths I’ve met in other corners of the post-rave world. No self-respecting sociopath would go near a scene whose numbers can’t be quantified like ours.
Hindsight 2017?
Looking back, I wish I would have made a better effort to insert smaller, lower costing ads in the magazine garnered from small businesses. Instead, I took the bigger ad money from the event companies. Don’t get me wrong, I, and The Hard Data are eternally grateful to Insomniac/Basscon and Trauma, but more effort should have been spent patiently explaining to the readers the importance of advertising their own scene and their own initiatives. Fast forward to today and I might have had a second-in-command to take over more readily, and more advertisers with my back.
But, for convenience, mostly because I was doing so many jobs on the magazine myself, once I got the money from the big ads I relaxed and concentrated on the coming issue’s content. I could only spread myself so thin and it was a choice of making the new issue or interfacing with people trying to coordinate their voice and payments.
If I could do it again, I would basically start out giving free ads to everyone in the scene that wanted one until they got their business feet firmly grounded and could comfortably pay for their ads.
Also, I believe that if we had a full-time ad salesman, even those big corporations I complain about would have thrown money our way as well. But, I never found anyone that wanted to risk doing that full time. Which is a shame, because I never had a very hard time selling ads when I put my mind to it. Unfortunately, a lot of sales-type people want to sell the tried and true and not take a chance on something new. The magazine needs a “true-believer” salesman besides me.
I’m Not Really a Businessman
Another problem is that when it gets right down to it, I’m not really a businessman. Sometimes I can give the appearance of one… but I’m really an artist that occasionally sees a need and rushes to fill it, mostly from some creative urgency. Many of you only know me from The Hard Data, but honestly, I’ve had a habit over my life of instigating and catalyzing various underground movements. Rave promoter, producer, DJ, record label, graffiti artist, publisher, just to name a few. Yep. I’ve done a lot of this stuff in the early days of many a scene. But it’s only a side-product of a creative life. After getting my hands dirty building the foundation, another type of personality really is needed to take over.
In fact, traditionally I step off just as the money comes in. So, maybe for everyone’s sake that pattern will continue here. Looking back, my only constant is pursuing my artwork however it manifests, such as with graffiti art or music production, and when I go too long ignoring that I get frustrated and frankly ignore the reasons why anyone ever paid attention to what I had to say in the first place. So, The Hard Data is made because it was needed, now it needs new hands to continue.
What the heck happened with Musicoin?
Some of you will understand this next part… If you read my desires for the magazine above, the attraction to a music-based cryptocurrency might seem pretty obvious. Basically, by tapping into a new economic stream of activity, The Hard Data and its contributors and readers could fashion their own economy. Anyone who was involved in that time will remember The Hard Data’s Musicoin initiative was firing on all cylinders.
Unfortunately, I had a major falling out with the main developer of Musicoin. Why? I don’t 100% know. I can only speculate. Despite what may be said from that individual, most people involved know that The Hard Data and myself promoted the project vigorously with much belief, effort and positive effect. And, I truly think that may be why we were shown the door.
What I didn’t know at the time was how easy it is for large investors to sway the price of smaller cryptocurrencies, and for some, that fact is very important. The Hard Data and I were becoming influential enough that casual investors started to pay attention to us. The fact that we had a positive effect on the project’s utility might ultimately have been what let to our ouster!
To explain a little better: A small cryptocurrency can be manipulated by an investor or investors initiating fake buys and sells. With automatic trading, this process becomes somewhat predictable. By attracting the hopeful investor and then selling off at a time the initial investors only know, fortunes can be made. So, when an actual real-world use case influences the price, it takes some of their control away. Like I said though, this is only my speculation on what happened.
It should be pointed out: After Musicoin severed its relationship with The Hard Data it has taken a precipitous none-dive in value. Mainly this was because of Bitcoin’s price plunge, but its worth considering that The Hard Data continuing to stress and demonstrate the project’s utility might have lessened or even reversed its precipitous recent decline.
Despite the Musicoin experience, I would still like to see The Hard Data involved with a robust cryptocurrency project. There are truly good merits to blockchain technology that can make life better for those involved. If I find another good project, I’ll let you know.
Why Print?
In this age of social media and declining print ad budgets, many ask, “Why Print?”. The easy answer: It’s cooler. No one cares about your Facebook post a week later. People save their magazines their whole life sometimes. Ultimately, the printed word carries more weight to its readers and is more trusted. It’s as simple as that. Yeah, you can’t quantify it easily with Google Analytics, but maybe relying on data driven statistics just leads to crappy imitative products. Have you ever thought that if you like something, someone else will? All the data in the world can’t really replace something made from the heart. That sounds corny I know, but ten years from now maybe check out what old issues of The Hard Data are selling for on eBay. The web is great for ephemeral data. The printed page is great for long term memory.
Social Media Meltdowns
Looking back, I wish I had spent less time on Facebook.
The hardcore/hardstyle scene in America revolves quite a bit around Facebook and Instagram and ultimately, I think both are dead ends. Yes, the eyeballs seem to be there. But through the last couple years I noticed how Facebook would throttle posts, overcharge for ads, not allow sharing, banning people for things they say, and generally becoming a dead end of energy. Most alarming to me is that many of my friends and peers in the scene started to buy the corporate line and promote that there is a such thing as “hate” speech.
The promotion and acceptance of the “hate speech” concept is one of the possibly biggest obstacles to our scene, and perhaps our overall society’s unity. I know people mean well when they think they are defending some maligned person or group, calling for what-for-all-intents-and-purposes amounts to censorship. But the number one thing that made our society more accepting, more tolerant, more open… was letting people say whatever they wanted no matter how horrible it sounded! That’s why we have many of the liberties today: because unpopular ideas, opinions and facts were given voice and consideration. Now, sadly, those that claimed they were abused, maligned, and bullied, after finally being accepted… want to viciously shut down the avenues that led to their acceptance. Friends, this will only end in heartbreak. The weapon you think you are wielding in defense, you are actually only helping to construct, and there is a high probability it will be turned on you once it is complete.
This concept of “hate” speech (almost always spelled in all caps by its adherents for some reason) would practically ban over half the catalog of hardcore techno available since the early nineties, made by every freaking screwball and weirdo the globe had to offer! Have we not been accused of being “offensive” in some way all along? I’m exaggerating for comedic effect, but the general idea I’m sure many of you would know to be valid!
People! Please, please, please, the real fight is against the international corporations that wish to subdivide and control us. They are the ones who gain by us bickering over mere words that they tell us are bad one day, fine the next, and bad then again. When we follow the agenda they set for us, through all their fake alternative media, we become easier to identify, influence and control. If you break down the monied influences on the various media outlets many think are “diverse”, you will find many of them are all funded from the same basic sources. People think they are reading opposing voices. Most of the time, they aren’t.
Please, let people vent their crazy, angry junk and get it out of their system, bottling it up just makes it worse. You can argue with them, you can ignore them, you can debate them, but don’t try to censor them. Everyone has a perspective and a reason for their beliefs. We all grow in capacity when we better understand and debate unpopular opinions, and it is the synthesis of perspectives wherein we better understand the truth. Is that not why you are here in the first place? The mainstream’s push to make everyone think in pre-packaged boxes and compartmentalized social groups at odds with one another sucks energy from our scene, our music, and our relationships with one another. Don’t fall for it!
Should the next version of The Hard Data manifest, there will be at least two paths it will be faced with that are inexorably tied to the mainstream corporate pressures mentioned above and the fake alternative worlds of the social media giants:
- Despite its “wild” nature, just like Rock and Roll and Rap… Hardcore/Hardstyle, etc. can be commodified by outside sources and further reduced to a recognizable marketable genre of pre-packaged adolescent rebellion. In this scenario, it interfaces as expected with the corporate world.
- It follows its own path and eschews the data-driven world of statistics. It comes from the publishers’ guts and builds its own self-reliant system.
Honestly, I tried to blend both these approaches, but based on my experiences the last couple years I have come to champion option 2. However, we never know what will happen with our creations once we let them loose, so…
The Future Unknown
So The Hard Data exists, people like it, but I have to move on. Trust me, more and more capable hands are needed now. So, over the next few months, I will be doing my best to tie up loose ends and package the existing brand and assets of The Hard Data so that others may take it further. It needs full time sales people, web developers, print editors as well as the continuing stable of contributors. It needs a person in charge of distribution, as well as many other jobs many of you have gone to college or trade school for. So, if you are interested in becoming involved or investing in the brand, contact me as I am trying to coordinate the end of this era and beginning of the next.
I want to thank all of you for reading and contributing to version one of The Hard Data. And just remember,
The rhythm is life and death!
DJ Deadly Buda
