By George Pirounakis

There’s a whole category of people in this industry that survive purely by selling dreams, exposure, and moral superiority – and bands seriously need to stop feeding them.

I’m talking about the leeches orbiting the scene: exposure sellers, zine owners demanding physical copies “for the archive,” self-appointed tastemakers, consultants and scene priests who somehow never pay but always benefit.

Same script every time. “This helps you.” “This builds your name.” “This is how it works.”

Funny how it always works in their favour. Bands pay to record, rehearse, print, ship, tour, bleed – and these people show up with their hand out, asking for free product or free labour so they can feel relevant, build collections, pad discographies, or look important online.

If your platform can’t afford to buy a record, you’re not supporting music, you’re exploiting it. A review is not currency. A repost is not payment. Your archive is not my problem.

And dream sellers are the worst of all: no concrete deliverables, no timelines, no accountability, just vibes, promises – and a PDF full of words like “visibility” and “long-term.”

They sell hope because hope is cheap and bands are desperate. Everyone pretending they’re part of the ecosystem while contributing nothing tangible?

Fuck that.

Bands don’t owe anyone free records, free merch, free time or free belief. If someone wants value, they bring value. If they want your value, they pay. Anything else is just someone building their little kingdom on unpaid labour and calling it “the scene.”

  • George Pirounakis is a merch and tour manager. He is currently on the road with Ensiferum.

EDITORIAL COMMENT: Über Röck has never demanded a physical copy of an album. Yes, we get sent them occasionally, and they go to the top of our list for consideration because the band has gone to the effort and expense of sending it to us. Yes, we get into gigs for free, but we also pay into a helluva lot of shows, especially those by grassroots bands in grassroots venues. And, yes, occasionally a band chucks us a freebie, such as a T shirt: when that happens, it is always worn with pride and respect for the artist.