Font Size as a way to measure a band's success?

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ever noticed how north six or bowery ballroom or whatever will change a band's font size depending on their current "in" value or perrenial popularity? Maybe the band's not as hip as they were 2 years ago and they've dropped from 18point to 9 point.

How would you rate your favorite bands or chart a band using font size and does it count if there are different typefaces? Who decides these things anyway?

― wordyrappington (wordyrappington), Wednesday, 26 January 2005 19:30 (twenty-one years ago)

amazing question. I have noticed that. interested to hear what people think. but like the french kicks are playing soon. they've been aroudn for years, never capatalized on much, do they get a smaller font there now even though they headline? just because they weren't as "hot" as they were a few years ago? if I had the papers to compare I would

― owen reading, Wednesday, 26 January 2005 19:41 (twenty-one years ago)

I always used kerning to measure a band's success.

― darin (darin), Wednesday, 26 January 2005 19:44 (twenty-one years ago)

statistical survey plz

― Reviewer: Sir Potomus (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (ex machina), Wednesday, 26 January 2005 19:54 (twenty-one years ago)

The font/pont size comparison only works up to a point - remember that shows are normally pulled from the listings once they sell out, so that the biggest names might bot appear at all. Also, a very important dividing line is the point at which (normally only with larger venues) the venue starts using a band's logo in the ad rather than a standard font.

― Brian Miller (Brian Miller), Wednesday, 26 January 2005 19:56 (twenty-one years ago)

This is a great thread. I've been fascinated with that for ages. My band has just gotten its first larger-than-all-other-bands-that-night listing but we're far from the logo stage (not that we have a logo or anything). Do PR agencies or bookers send venues their bands' logo templates?!

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Wednesday, 26 January 2005 20:07 (twenty-one years ago)

i don't think bowery ever uses logos, do they?

― owen reading, Wednesday, 26 January 2005 20:08 (twenty-one years ago)

but even if a venue uses a logo they can always increase/decrease the size while maintaining the look of the original logo.

― wordyrappington (wordyrappington), Wednesday, 26 January 2005 20:15 (twenty-one years ago)

not that we have a logo or anything

Get on that, man. That should be the first thing a band does after they come up with a cool name.

― martin m. (mushrush), Wednesday, 26 January 2005 20:18 (twenty-one years ago)

lazy design?
from what little design i've done, shrinking logos and maintaining detail/not distorting the font is a real pain in the gut
xpost

― come on sock it to me (kephm), Wednesday, 26 January 2005 20:21 (twenty-one years ago)

No, Martin, the first thing a band should do after they come up with a cool name is see whether they can get that Web domain.

As a former designer who's done a tremendous number of show listings and whatnot, the relationship of name length to column width is a major determiner of how big a band's name gets.

That is, a listing for The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black or Toad the Wet Sprocket is gonna have to be smaller in type size than Sloan or Jet.

A band with a long name is going to have to be pretty frickin successful before I'll wrap them onto an additional line.

Related to this: my advice to writers is that it helps if your first name is longer than your last name, so that your book covers will have it on two lines with the first name in 11-point type and the last name in 72-point type, e.g.,

Stephen
K I N G

It looks much better than the other way round.

― The Mad Puffin, Wednesday, 26 January 2005 20:25 (twenty-one years ago)

So bands with short names have an automatic advantage in listings... but the trade-off is that they tend to become ungooglable (recent NYC example: PS).

xx-post
Get on that, man. That should be the first thing a band does after they come up with a cool name.

In junior high, yes.

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Wednesday, 26 January 2005 20:29 (twenty-one years ago)

That is, a listing for The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black or Toad the Wet Sprocket is gonna have to be smaller in type size than Sloan or Jet.

Word. I recently did a short comedy set opening for some rappers who have really short names. I have 5 letters in my first name and 8 in my last name. So I wound up with my name, despite being placed fairly low, completely dominating the poster.

― Huk-L, Wednesday, 26 January 2005 20:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Rappers have opening comedy sets?!!

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Wednesday, 26 January 2005 20:39 (twenty-one years ago)

ONLY IN CANADA!

― Huk-L, Wednesday, 26 January 2005 20:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Ah yes, Googlability as criterion for band name choice.

The band Live was pre-Google, so they get a pass, but what of the Music?

― The Mad Puffin, Wednesday, 26 January 2005 21:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Afterthought: or the The.

― The Mad Puffin, Wednesday, 26 January 2005 21:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Right, the worst are the ones you can't google even with the feeble qualifiers like "band" or "music".

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Wednesday, 26 January 2005 21:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Like !!! or Download

― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 26 January 2005 21:20 (twenty-one years ago)

The upside to ungoogleable names:
Self-title your record and make all your tracks untitled, thereby ensuring that people will absolutely have to buy your record for lack of search results on Slsk.

― Xii (Xii), Wednesday, 26 January 2005 21:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Then go a step too far and replace all lyrics with whiney mouth-noise.

― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, 26 January 2005 21:50 (twenty-one years ago)

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