For a carnival artist, it is the crowning glory of your work: Choose to win your Kraker. The annual audience award for the best carnival number this year went to ‘Ladders zat’ by Gullie en Lanterfantje, a parody that had to be taken offline by the maker of the original. Despite that setback, the song emerged as the winner.
‘Ladders sat’ came into the spotlight because of the hassle. “It helps if there is a lot of commotion around a song,” explains Omroep Brabant DJ Maarten Kortlever. “In the case of ‘Ladders Sat’, the audience dived on top of it and then it gets the gun factor.”
Ladders Sat, a parody of Claude’s Ladada.
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But the goodwill factor alone will not get you there, explains Kortlever. “The lyrics must be original. It can be vulgar, but then again it is a fine line with sexist. A song like ‘Ladders Sat’, if you listen carefully, is only about ladders for two and a half minutes. Is not about anything, but it is unique and original.”
“Nice for the neighborhood cafe, but not good enough..”
A good carnival record must also sound a bit ‘good’, says Kortlever: “Hundreds of submissions are received every year. Your record must be well produced. is played in and the vocals are bad.. nice for the neighborhood cafe, but that’s not good enough to catch on with the general public.”
Anyone who wants to become ‘big’ in carnival music must also provide more than just a song. “A good clip is just as important. Just look at Lamme Frans with ‘Handjes Handjes Bloemetjesscherm’. As an artist, it is easier to score high if you have a complete package with a song and a good clip.”
The clip of ‘Handjes Handjes Bloemetjesscherm’. The song won Kies Je Kraker in 2020.
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Once a hit? That can just be the prelude to success, says Adrie van den Berk. He is the big boss of Berk Music, a record company with well-known names, including Snollebollekes, Jan Biggel, John de Bever and Vieze Jack.
“If you score as an artist, money is dessert.”
“If you do it for money, you shouldn’t start,” Van den Berk warns immediately. “If you score as an artist, the money is dessert. There are people who say to me: ‘I have a bag here money, make me a hit. I’m not interested in that at all. You can’t buy a hit.”
There is a lot of money to be made in the party music industry. “It ranges from one thousand to twenty-five thousand euros per performance,” says Van den Berk.
Snollebollekes is the best-known example of an artist who has made it all the way, says the record boss: “He cannot be paid for organizations during carnival, because he fills entire halls on his own. But the artist often gets such an amount not even half, because all costs are deducted: the sound man, the booking agency, and of course the investment for a new record.”
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Carnival song ‘Ladders Zat’ has to be taken offline because it is about alcohol
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