Spotlight: HomeCooking Share
McDonald's won't call an adventurous cook to create a sandwich.
In a time where the music industry is dominated by the “big three” labels Warner, Universal and Sony, who control over 70% of today’s music industry, it’s hard for an independent artist to even get heard out there. While this blog (amongst several others, of course) is one attempt to support independent music, there are also other ways of giving independent artists a chance to distribute their music. Connecting people and offering a free-of-charge platform for musicians is the main concept of homecookingshare.com , a platform created and maintained by 36-year-old Eric Grépat. We had a chance to sit down with the french music supporter and talk about his creation and the purpose of this project.
kms / How did you come up with the idea of creating homecooking share? What was the defining moment for you to decide to set up this platform?
Grépat / “Homecooking Share” is a project I have been thinking about for a long time. Back in the early 2000s, me and a friend contacted independent artists and we tried to put them forward to get broadcasted by radio stations… in this time this still was done by mail, exchanging physical copies of CDs and cassettes! We finally gave up going further, the internet became ubiquitous and we had no interest to continue.
But, since that time I always thought that there is something left to do to help artists. One day the idea sprouted, and I started to build a website from scratch. Although first I had no idea how to even do that. (laughs)
kms / What do you mean by “there’s something left to do to help artists”?
Grépat / Today, everyone can make music in his room without necessarily breaking the bank for expensive hard- or software. While this is very good in a way, the danger of this is that it’s even harder to leave a mark. Unless you know someone influential in the field, or unless you are a little genius, getting noticed is extremely difficult. The idea was simply to create a platform where any musician could share his music, which would then be broadcast on the same page as all his congeners. The chance to be heard is the same for everyone.
kms / What are your duties as an admin? Is it much work to run that platform?
Grépat / I do literally everything. I created the website, then later on one of the regular posting musicians, Raldo, helped me to redesign it. Running the platform takes time. Every track requested is heard, integrated manually… But it’s so fascinating to discover all these artists and to interact with them. Time isn’t a factor – okay, maybe just a little bit, I have a job in addition to that, and I need sometimes to sleep! (laughs)
kms / Why going through all this hassle of creating and maintaining a platform like homecookingshare.com? What’s in it for you?
Grépat / I am convinced that this project can really help artists. There’s this saying that, when we love, we do not count. That is pretty much it. I’m certain that this project is not a waste of time.
kms / Do you produce music yourself?
Grépat / Yes, I do. But that’s more like a hobby. From Techno to IDM, some of my tracks are available on my Soundcloud account.
kms/ What role does social networking play nowadays for you?
Grépat / In private I don’t really use social media channels. But with “HomeCooking Share” it’s different. It allows me to contact artists, advertise the website, interact directly with the artists, send news… It’s the best free way to advertise. So I post daily on Instagram, try to find new artists on Soundcloud every morning while having a cup of coffee…and so on.
kms/ In your opinion, what is the greatest weakness of the music industry today?
Grépat / I will try to be short and simple: I think the music industry has become more of a mass business. Music is no longer considered an art but a consumer product. The industry doesn’t really care for you being a honest, passionate, creative artist. To put it into an image of food: I cannot imagine McDonalds calling an adventurous and creative cook to create a sandwich for them. (laughs)
kms/ What can an artist expect when being part of the homecookingshare.com project?
Grépat / First and foremost, an artist posting his/her music on “HomeCooking Share” gets some exposure. Secondly, he/she can hope that his/her music can be heard by someone who can help to get started, with any luck even a label executive. Or simply cross paths there with another artist for working on collaborations. There are many possibilities to get something in return by participating.
Find out more about the “HomeCookingShare” project here:
