Nepotism - A curse in techno?

[dirty_bass]

A quote from Bukowski, that I try to live by.

"It made me feel low that I couldn`t praise him without reservation.
But then if you lied to a man about his talent just because he was sitting across from you, that was the most unforgivable lie of them all, because that was telling him to go on, to continue, which was the worst way for a man without real talent to waste his life, finally.
But many people did just that, friends and relatives mostly."

There`s a lot of this in techno.
Opnions?

[SlavikSvensk]

nepotism is in every industry, craft, trade, etc. and it will always be there. it's often a bad thing though, as it promotes networking and can punish merit...

[dan the acid man]

definetly, i always tell people if somethings good or not, regardless of the situation, its the only way.
and if people are big enough, and want soemething enough, they will take this onboard, and go and work at it some more, using the advice they have been given.


I'd want the same in return too.

[eyeswithoutaface]

i agree this goes on alot in techno, but its not nepotism is it? Nepotism is the act of using a power such as friendship or relation for personal gain, or to progress, is it not?

im confused now

[dirty_bass]

Nepotism means favoring relatives or personal friends because of their relationship rather than because of their abilities. The word is generally used derogatorily.

For example, if a manager hired or promoted a relative rather than a more qualified non-relative, that manager would be guilty of nepotism. Some biologists have suggested that a tendency towards nepotism is instinctual, a form of kin selection.

The word nepotism comes from the Latin word nepos, meaning "nephew". In the Middle Ages, some Catholic popes and bishops, who had taken vows of chastity, raised their illegitimate sons as "nephews" and gave them preferences. Several popes are known to have elevated nephews and other relatives to the cardinalate. Often, such appointments were used as a means of continuing a papal "dynasty". For instance, Pope Callixtus III, of the Borgia family, made two of his nephews Cardinals; one of them, Rodrigo, later used his position as a Cardinal as a stepping stone to the papacy, becoming Pope Alexander VI. Coincidentally, Alexander—one of the most corrupt popes—elevated Alessandro Farnese, his mistress's brother, to the cardinalate; Farnese would later go on to become Pope Paul III. Paul also engaged in nepotism, appointing, for instance, two nephews (aged fourteen and sixteen) Cardinals. The practice was finally ended when Pope Innocent XII issued a bull in 1692. The papal bull prohibited popes in all times from bestowing estates, offices, or revenues on any relative, with the exception that one qualified relative (at most) could be made a Cardinal.

Nepotism is a common accusation in politics when the relative of a powerful figure ascends to similar power seemingly without appropriate qualifications. For example, in America, politically powerful families such as the Kennedy family and Bush family in American politics are sometimes accused of nepotism by critics. Recently, U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski, when elected Governor of Alaska, appointed his daughter Representative Lisa Murkowski to fill the remaining two years of his seat and was accused of nepotism. (Murkowski won reelection on her own in 2004.) Families elsewhere have also dominated politics of their homeland, such as Tun Abdul Razak, second Prime Minister of Malaysia and his son, Najib Tun Razak, current Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, or Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew (first Prime Minister of Singapore) and his son, Lee Hsien Loong, who recently succeeded Goh Chok Tong as Prime Minister of Singapore. Many countries in Asia have this tilt towards relatives' rule. In India, the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty has been ruling India for most part since Independence while other people in India have always given preference to their kith and kin in various states in India.

In the UK, the popular expression "And Bob's your uncle" originated when Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, the Prime Minister, appointed his nephew, Arthur Balfour, to a prestigious position. The phrase was originally a sarcastic jibe at nepotism, but today simply means "no problem."

In China, nepotism is seen in a positive light and is seen as a legitimate reason to get hired. In fact, some citizens of the People's Republic of China (PRC) sued the government of the PRC because of the Great Leap Forward-forced migrations, claiming among other things that this separation from family impacted the possibilities of getting hired.

The current record for nepotism and cronyism amongst leaders of states is held by President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom of the Maldives, who at the last count had at least eleven family members, in-laws and cronies in his cabinet, plus numerous close relatives and friends in the highest government posts.

Nepotism has also been known humorously as payrola, after payola.

[SlavikSvensk]

good post, mate...what we call nepotism is part and parcel of confucianism, and can work well as one aspect of a complete practical philosophy...

...but here in the west it's mostly a reflection of corruption...

hopefully no one in techno will get inspired and revive that other wonderful pre-reformation practice of selling indulgences ;)

[g]

there is a pervasive knee-jerk habit of calling thoroughly mediocre music groundbreaking simply because of where it came from.

to Buk's point, it has the extremely unfortunate result of either encouraging the technorati not to try, that they are supremely talented when really they aren't, or both.

that said -- we just as often try too hard to super-qualify music. there's music that is going to change something significantly for you, change the way you look at things, and then there's music that you're just going to dig... bob your head, tap your foot, makes you feel good and that's it. not a damn thing wrong with the latter.

[g]

btw - there's also the techno that is frankly boring as hell to listen to but that actually kicks ass when played correctly/inventively in a dj set. too often we write off a track as derivative crap... and then you hear it in the right context.

[holotropik]

Its entrenched in our everyday life. It can be used against itself.

[el salvador]

hey, just maybe the nepotism (nepotismo) it is going to mean,
it is not what you are knowing, but who you are knowing :student:

[The Overfiend]

Technorati "G"?
I LIKE IT!

[g]

;)

[lunatrick]

I think it's life not techno.....the human being is instinctively going to go for somebody they know over somebody they don't.....great if the friend happens to have talent etc, however if you promote a crap track just because your mate wrote it, then will be pretty obvious really and make you look an idiot.

[Jay Pace]

Its much worse in other scenes.

D&B is full of people dragging there mates round a tired, predictable circuit of talentless hacks with boxes of dubplates.
Shame really, because some of the music is fantastic, innovative stuff. But the scene in the UK sucks.

Techno is probably guilty of "helping out your mates", maybe just because its human to want to put you and yours above a bunch of strangers. Too few people are professional and objective when it comes to music.

[holotropik]

Trust you to bring up such a head-fark topic DB.
I have never thought about this much but since you have brought it up its got me thinking. Your opening post is the most impressive piece. Once I thought back across times I have realised that i have been in this position and I wondered how i acted and if it was "right" in that circumstance.
It very tricky. I tend to be pretty naive with all this side of life and just tend to react and act accordingly. I do see that it goes on in places and especially in music. But, like I said if anything isnt genuine it usually catches up with itself and comes out stinking. This concept works against itself and generally ony lasts for a short period before it destroys itself due to lack of foundation.

[djshiva]

to play devil's avocado...

i am certainly not saying promote something that's crap just cuz your mate wrote it, but...part of the fun of techno for me has always been my friends. we hang out, talk records and tech stuff, we drive to shows, we go crazy in front of the speakers...ya know...the whole thing.

so of course, i am gonna help my friends get gigs, learn production (or they teach me), work on events...this isn't about me...it's about music and family. without both, my life would suck.

i think sometimes we lose sight of those things because we are driven to create, but what is the point of creation without sharing it? money? ya can't take it with you. success? ephemeral... creation is (to me) the expression of life and life energy and that is all part and parcel of my relationships with other people and to the planet.

without friends llike adam and gil, i would not have accomplished the things i have in the time i have. when i had the opportunity, i shared production knowledge and opportunities with other friends who have supported me through the years.

in other words, i think it's natural and to be expected that people will help their friends. now of course, one can see the frustration if they were...say...talentless hacks...but it's still a fairly natural (and i would say) decent process.

sorry if this is a ramble...kinda sick today...

[Centurian]

A quote from Bukowski, that I try to live by.

"It made me feel low that I couldn`t praise him without reservation.
But then if you lied to a man about his talent just because he was sitting across from you, that was the most unforgivable lie of them all, because that was telling him to go on, to continue, which was the worst way for a man without real talent to waste his life, finally.
But many people did just that, friends and relatives mostly."

There`s a lot of this in techno.
Opnions?

Hmmmm, depends on what level. Patronising really pisses me off, but when i'm not feeling very confident it's probably what i need to hear. However, i've always thought that when it comes to down it, honesty is the best policy.

If, by when you say 'nepotism in techno' you mean bigging up your mates when they don't deserve, then i'd certainly say it depends on your perspective. If you're the one being bigged up you're not gonna complain as it will get you more experience, gigs etc and even if you are crap, you'd certainly improve every time, so i think it could be very good for getting up and coming artists the valuable experience they need.

On the flipside, 'DJ ignored' is going to be pretty pissed off when his mates are getting bigged up and he's not, then you could look at it as a curse, especially when 'DJ big up' is playing a shit set.

[holotropik]

I reckon this nepotism is just part of our culture these days. Its come through from long ago. But, I dont reckon that it is behind everyones intent. I find it is hard to tell the difference and if it is a bad thing or a good thing. As Centurian stated that sometimes nepotism can be seen as lending a hand to an artist that shows talent and determination yet needs the support in order to step-up to the next level. Only the guiding hand knows if this is worth it and necessary for the whole scheme of things - determined by the goals and ideals of the guiding hand.

Its really hard to say if nepotism is good or bad at the start. Only the end results determine whether the leg-up was a good idea or not. Obviously, blatant short sighted promoting is a bad thing and once again the results speak for themselves.

At the end of the day if you retain your integrity and honesty nepotism, things will work out good for everyone involved who share that same level of commitment and dedication. If you want to step into the realm of corruption and greed nepotism, then you will always have enemies to work against and a future that is always on your doorstep threatening to leave.