Vivra Vera: “Sleep Paralysis”

What is ‘demo’ short for? ‘Demonstration,’ of course. You can have demos of all types: car demos, power tool demos, job training demos, and, on our highlighted track “Sleep Paralysis” by Vivra Vera, music demos.

Once upon a time the average music listener would have little access to demo tracks. Music as a commodity was regulated by record labels that would hold back early versions of work in favor of the final product. But then at least two things happened to change the situation.

First, record labels figured out you could get people to buy earlier, more “primitive” versions of songs, if the artist was significant enough to garner interest in their juvenalia. What box set is complete without demo recordings?

Second, online music sharing changed the dynamic between music maker and the listening base, making it easier to share multiple iterations of the same work, from demos to Skrillex remixes, without all the gatekeeping activity traditionally performed by the record labels. Artists became free to share what they like on a massive scale without someone else’s approval.

It’s the best of times and the worst of times for demos…

Stream, share, buy to your heart’s content.

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