Land O’ Lakes, FL, November 20, 2022 –(CarryOnHarry.com)– TBAIMS LLC held their first music showcase in St. Petersburg, FL on September 9th with just two artists performing as a test to the Tampa Bay Area market. The showcase, now called Connecting Through Music had Nathaniel Lee open up for the Sarasota rock band Brake Fail. The turnout was impressive and a recording studio owner that happened to be there said, “This is exactly what we need here, a showcase that introduces new up and coming independent music artists with their original music!”

The Founder and CEO Jon Landers moved to Florida in 2016 to be close to his granddaughter and family from his second marriage. Since moving to Florida, Jon has been researching the music industry in the Tampa Bay Area and as far as into Orlando to see how he can provide his expertise in bringing in top talented independent music artists from most genres that he has had the opportunity to work with since he started TBAIMS in 2013. TBAIMS was the acronym for The Big Apple Indie Music Series and has since transitioned into The Best Artist Indie Music Series.

The challenges that Jon has found in the Tampa Bay Area is the way local music venues work with their artists. First, he noticed that most venues outsource their backline for sound that results in working with the quality of the sound engineer that comes with it. He is most critical about the quality of the sound and says, “If you can’t hear the vocals, then you are doing a disservice to the artist as well as their audience.”

The other challenge he has found is that most venues prefer to book cover or tribute bands. “That leaves very little space for any new up and coming music artist to perform their original music to the masses.” He believes that if a venue would provide their space just once a month to allow these artists to perform their original music, then they would have a better chance of growing their fan base organically as it should be done. “These venues have to get out of their comfort zone to allow these artists to share their new material; that is the only way artists will be able to get their music heard.” He feels it’s okay to add a cover or two as long as it is performed in a way that reflects the artists originality of their interpretation of the song. He also encourages the artists that do come to perform to connect with each other to see if there is any synergy in creating more original material together.

TBAIMS has been collaborating with ReverbNation from the beginning with having a drop box on their site for artists to submit to in consideration of performing at one of their showcases. In the first three years of their showcases TBAIMS has been exposed to over a million independent music artists from across the globe. They have had artists from as far away as Switzerland come to New York to perform for their showcase. They were even part of one of the last CBGBs events in 2013.

What separates TBAIMS from most music showcases is the criteria on how they choose their artists. They choose these artists based on stage presence, how well they engage their audience, the ability to sing on key without the use of apps like auto-tune and originality of material. Jon adds, “They need to leave their egos at home and show appreciation of what we provide for them. This is not a one night stand! Once the artist performs for us, they become part of our family.” To date, TBAIMS has over 130 independent music artists in their “family.” The only thing they ask the artist to provide in return for performing is a review of their experience which is posted on their website. “We try to bring as much transparency to what we offer as we can.”

The format of TBAIMS showcases is to bring in up to six independent music artists, trying to mix up the genres for the evening have each artist perform a 20-30 minute set or 4-5 songs each. “I call it a buffet of music.”

Another critical part of how the artists are chosen is the fact that they do not accept lyrical material that defames women, promotes violence or uses any profanity. “We want to bring music to the masses in a Disney kind of way.”

“If any of the artists that submit or contact us do not meet our criteria, we are happy to refer them to a vocal coach or artist development agency as long as they are willing to invest in their music careers and are coachable.” All submissions for consideration must include video footage of a current live performance in a public venue without dubbing in a studio recording. If they do not have that available, they can audition live via Zoom for consideration.

TBAIMS will be looking for additional venues that share their interest in providing one day a month to introduce new up and coming independent music artists to their area so that they can develop a “Family of venues” so that when we have these established in every city and state across North America and beyond, we can then create a personal tour for our family of artists.

In addition, TBAIMS will be working with major corporate sponsors to provide the monetary support to cover the travel expenses, hotel accommodations and meals for the artists once they do go on tour as well as compensate them for their performances as they grow their “Family of Venues.” For more information, go to www.tbaims.com or contact Jon at jon@tbaims.com.