O.N.S. is simply an acronym for “Over Night Sensation”. It’s also an Oxymoron, as we at O.N.S. stress the ideology that there is no such thing as over-night stardom or success. Usually, by the time we see a person or group rising to the top of the charts or plastered on magazines and tabloids, they’ve been at it for a long time; struggling to make it in the entertainment industry.
Parents have often given up careers to travel and coach young artists. Others have spent fortunes traveling to auditions, photo shoots, interviews and the likes. Many bands and performers have practiced for years/decades, utilizing any space they could scrounge; basements, garages, church rectories and any other place where the neighbors might not call the police about the noise. Dancers have worn out shoes, carpets and linoleums, getting the moves right, while singers have suffered sore throats, hernias, inner-ear and sinus problems, rehearsing to get the song down-pat. Magicians have set the house afire and many performers have sustained serious injuries in the pursuit of applause. There are no stars that did not pay grueling prices to get to the top. Relationships suffer as loved ones are on the road (sometimes for as long as eleven months to two years) promoting albums, shooting movies, signing books and touring.
Show business is BUSINESS FIRST!……and so many never realize their dreams because they fail to grasp this important concept. Contrary to popular belief, show business is not all about the show: “The Show Must Go On”, is simple TV/Movie talk. Shows get canceled and some never secure enough budget/funding to become more than an idea. The show is a product to be sold…just like shoes, milk or any other consumer item. If consumers do not buy your product---your artistic creation, then you only have the show in your living room for your family and guests. Shows cost money to produce. Venues, production people, film crews, performers, make-up and hair artist….every one expects to be paid. If your act, talent or performance fails to draw a PAYING CROWD, then you have no show because you haven’t got the business.
Artist no longer have to wait for producers, mangers and agents to guide their career. The INTERNET has taken lots of the mystery and the mayhem out of the process of getting noticed and honing your craft. Anything that you can create, be it a work of art, an invention, a hand-crafted item or a video of your latest poem or song, can be viewed, appreciated and even sold via the WORLD WIDE WEB. Google’s Youtube, Ebay, PayPal and Social Networking have generated and perpetuated and environment where anyone can share information and creativity with anyone and everyone who is plugged in.
Yes……… it’s time consuming, frustrating and often inconvenient…but…it’s POSSIBAL! And it’s worth it. That’s the important thing. The possibilities of exposure on the WEB really has revolutionized the whole entertainment industry. And, the big-time corporations that once ruled the entertainment world, creating a few mega-stars while crushing the hopes and dreams of countless wanna-bes, is gone …Forever!
Young hopefuls no longer have to skip-out to San Francisco, Hollywood, New York, Chicago and Seattle, in search of a dream that leaves so many, shattered and broken after years of night-jobs and rejections. Besides, Mini-Media-Moguls are cropping up everywhere; Minneapolis, North Carolina, Atlanta…to name a few, which means you can realize your dreams of stardom (or at the very least performing LIVE) much closer to home - without giving up everything you hold dear, just for a chance to be in the show.
These days, artists want to have it all. No longer are they chanting slogans like, “Show business/Music is my life.” Most professional performers are going to college, learning a myriad of trades, crafts and studies unrelated to entertainment. These wise people understand that no matter how famous or popular you are…there will come a time when the public eye will be armed at someone else. And even though you may be a legend…no one stays in the lime light forever.
The modern route to international fame and acclaim still has as much to do with WHO you know as it does WHAT you know and what you can do. Entertainers/Artists often need backing from people with the money and connections to get them on TV, Played on the Radio, into Movies and Galleries. A great way to be discovered is the INTERNET! So, go ahead, create a free Youtube account and post your performance for the world to see, it’s ok to give your performance for free in hopes that it will be seen and liked by those backers and producers. But, copy-write your material if you can…it wouldn’t feel good to find out that another group is making money off your act/song while you’re doing all the work. And don’t be fooled into believing the lie that you can ride to the top on the back of someone else…remember Milli Vanilli?
Now that you know who O.N.S. is and what we are about, we hope to see you at our next production, featuring live, local artist and performers…SMILE*
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