iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

The following is a little case study that is indicative of the way didjshop does business and the extent it will go to in order to create impressions to further its own interest, regardless of truth.

Ok, first thing first. I do not mean any disrespect to Brad Gosam or to be critical of his art. This case study is not about Brad Gosam but about didjshop...

On the didjshop's website, on a page titled "Brad Gosam Didjes", it says:



When iDIDJ Australia is contacted by people asking about Brad, our reply is standard: we do not know Brad Gosam, we've not heard of him, and we are not aware of his status as an important Aboriginal artist, or an artist of standing. Having a good general knowledge of Indigenous art, a reasonably good grasp of who is exhibiting where, and a reference library with the standard 'bibles' on Australian Indigenous art, it strikes me as strange that an artist who is purported to be "one of the best Aboriginal artists in Australia", "in a league of his own" and whose artwork is "the best quality art available on didgeridoos" is not known to us. There is no mention of the name in any of the art literature that I am familiar with. I've been to several Telstra Art Awards and I've never heard the name mentioned.

And if you do a google search for "Brad Gosam" (include the quotation marks) you come up with only 3 pages of results, that's 30 entries, of which at least half relate to mammary glands of the female kind - strange but true, check it out! The other listings are didjshop-generated propaganda. In other words, there is no independent evaluation or praise of Brad's art, and there are no fine art galleries handling his work.

Compare, on the other hand, a google search for "John Mawurndjul" and you get 4,020 entries.

Or "Clifford Possum" and you get 9,410 results on google.

Closer to Brad's home, a Queensland artist whom I consider as one of the premier Indigenous artists in the state, "Thancoupie", and google gives you 2,700 results. Or up-and-coming Queensland Indigenous artist such as "Rosella Namok": 2,380 results on google.

And for good measure, try "Djalu Gurruwiwi": 8,140 google listings!

Sorry, but to me this is deception and false representation. The unfortunate thing is that someone who is a beginner, who hasn't done his/her research, and who doesn't know any better might be convinced by didjshop that if they bought a Brad Gosam didj, they would have an valuable piece of work by "one of the best Aboriginal artists in Australia", "in a league of his own" and whose artwork is "the best quality art available on didgeridoos". Which simply isn't true. And I'm sure Brad isn't going around telling everyone he is the "in thing" at the moment, or the next big thing to hit the art scene. It is merely didjshop's opinion and its way of presenting information to the public in order to sell. Many claims that it makes on its website can similarly be de-constructed and revealed for what it really is. The sad thing to me are all those hundreds of customers who thought they were supporting a worthy business and getting a good product because they were too eager to believe what they read.

The take home message? Ask questions, be critical, do your research, don't be taken for a ride. And don't let any retailer insult your intelligence by letting it take your money with one hand, whilst slapping Aboriginal people with the other through false representation and deception.

Guan

My list of grievances with Svargo's operation is long- but the most offensive to me is that he refuses to acknowledge The Top End as the creation point of the instrument in efforts to 'promote' (his very words, mind you) the local Aboriginal people that he allegedly supports through the sale of their instruments. Guan, the 'Trevor' that is listed as being part of their staff is often touted by Svargo as being one of the Aboriginal players/makers that DidjShop supports. The philosophy of DidjShop, as much as I can piece together, is that 'traditional' simply means 'termite hollowed eucalyptus' and nothing else- as do many of the didj retailers in existence. And he so zealously protects his own interests, the now largely defunct forum linked with the DidjShop site has an ethic of censorship in mentioning ANY artist/craftsman from the Top End because the DidjShop does not sell their work.

Mahir, interesting that you bring up the '25 processes'- I once questioned Svargo about what these 25 processes were that set DidjShop instruments in a class all of their own, and, not surprisingly, I never received a response. Others who asked about this were met with similar silence, or a trite off-hand remark about it being 'proprietary information', as if revealing it would give their competition some edge.

http://www.forum.ididj.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=230

Hey Jason,

Whilst I've never purchased an instrument from didjshop, I have been a true believer and have been in defense of them in the past. That was until I started receiving inquiries from people about certain didjshop artists, which then obliged me to look into the matter and to investigate more thoroughly. I guess it is easy to believe a lot of what is written on the didjshop website... it says all the right things and presents itself as an ethical, environmentally-conscious business and a good corporate citizen. But my conclusions now are quite the opposite.

I do not doubt that there is Indigenous involvement in the the production of didjshop's instruments. However, I am confident that the degree of Indigenous input is not as far ranging or as beneficial to Indigenous Australians as the didjshop's website would have us believe. The instruments offered by the didjshop are generic didgeridoos made in mass-production ways, and my guess of what the 25 processes might be would go something along the lines of:

1. seal ends of blanks to prevent checking of wood;
2. air-dry blanks for a period of time;
3. remove bark from blanks;
4. shape the outside of blanks with industrial sander until desired shape is achieved;
5. clean out the insides to improve sound quality and volume;
6. check for cracks and air leaks, and repair accordingly;
7. sand over repaired areas;
8. trim ends to tune the instruments;
9. sand smooth to achieved desired finish;
10. seal on the outside with product;
11. seal on the inside with product;
12. apply beeswax mouthpiece;
13. apply Aboriginal artwork;

etc.

This is how the large producers work, in a very regimented kind of way, because of economies of scale... it cuts down on expenses and increases profit.

Guan

Guan and everyone else

Like you Guan I tended to believe what was written on the didjshop site when I was lookingfor my first "authentic" didj but now over time cracks have started to appear, not that anything has changed on their site but mainly through knowledge and experience things are not as they first appeared.

This is the didjshop expalnation of authenticity. Interestingly the 1st picture on this page is of an aborigine painting a traditional Beswick(Wugularr) design on an instrument, I challenge anyone to find an instrument painted in this way on their site.

http://www.didjshop.com/authenticity.html

Why not use one of their own artists such as Brad Gosam who is heralded so much?? A touch of psychology at work here methinks. I am going to mail Svargo again and ask him about the 25 or so processes and will come back with his response if any!!

Anyone else? here is the link to his contact page.

http://www.didjshop.com/contact_us/cont ... ct=manager

Paul

That's David Blanasi! There's another pic of him on their page titled "The Didj Shop: Artists and Ethics":

http://www.didjshop.com/shop1/artistscart.html

Funny how Svargo refuses to acknowledge the origins of the didgeridoo in the 'Top End' of the Northern Territory, as Jason pointed out, whilst conveniently using pictures of arguably one of the most identifiable and famous didgeridoo artisans of all time - who IS from the 'Top End'.

The didjshop = inconsistency + hypocrisy + deception

Guan

It goes a step further: http://www.didjshop.com/shop1/other_pro ... type=Video



Not to mention that they are now stocking Mago Masterclass and some of Blanasi's recordings as well as Djalu Teaches.

Paul, I'd be interested in Svargo's response- but as I've communicated with him in the past, don't expect anything beyond spin and doubletalk.

Does anyone remember the 'study' done 'proving' that DidjShop instruments were 'better'?

Jason

Interesting Jason! The plots gets more intriguing the more we look into this...

On the page you pointed out, I couldn't help noticing the claim:



So I guess there's where Blanasi has been hanging out since his reported disapperance in 2001... he's in Queensland with Svargo collecting and living off his royalty payments from the video

Guan

Hi guys,
We better send some emails to thus guy in order to let him know we are aware of this and we are annoyed as well. This guys seems to be misusing the names of Aboriginal fellows in an intolerable way,
I'm gonna write him right away,
cheers
M

Hi all

This is what I have just sent to Svargo, let's wait for the fireworks!!!!!!


"Svargo

I have been a customer of yours in the past and have been happy with the instruments I have purchased in terms of quality but not, more recently, in terms of authenticity for the following reasons. Over time I have become more interested in the traditional Aboriginal instrument as opposed to the generic didjeridus that I find on your site. I have also become vastly more experienced in determining what is a genuine aboriginal instrument and what isn't and I have some concerns regarding the claims that your instruments are the genuine article. This centres around two main areas:1) Pictures on your site which show masses of blanks apparently being worked on by a non indigenous person and a bunch of harvested logs waiting to be made into instruments, ie a didge factory. You have 4 out of 6 staff involved in "production" and only Trevor seems to be an aborigine, its obvious he isn't doing all the production work!!!
2) The statement that each didge is subjected to around 25 proceses prior to re-sale. Please could you explain to me what those processes are because surely that amount of work which appears to be done by your production staff removes the "authentic didjeridu" status by the way of the fact that "white" people are in effect doing a large part of the crafting work. I don't dispute that the artwork is done by aboriginal artists but for an instrument to be classed as genuine ALL stages of production MUST be done by an indigenous aborigine and this does not appear to be the case when the claims on your site are given closer scrutiny. I look forward to your comments "

It would be interesting to hear the comments of others on this forum whom I know have bought instruments from the didjshop and contribute to their forum, don't be shy, have your say, your opinion counts and we would be happy to hear your views good or bad.

Paul

Svargo is likely well intentioned but is so "sensitive" to competition from anything didgeridoo not from Didgeshop that he drives you away. Everything on his forum must referance didgshop as the source- other sources of information are not tolerated. perhaps this is a defensive mechenish, perhaps not. The referanced 'prefered didgeeridoo sound quality" was highly flawed as to the conclusion- without including several NE quality instraments in the samples- and even more important some players that know how to play them! In my dealings with him ( I purchased 4 didges in my early years- one lives now with me) I have found him to be honorable. His policies on the forum are terrable. The didges he sells are ok, I suppose, but are very different from my NE yirdaki. Today most all my yirdaki are top quality NE sticks- termites actuall did ALL the boring leaving thousands of twisted canals in the process- not a smoothed bore as in my didge shop didgeridoos. I am relieved to know that David Blanasi has returned- thanks didgeshop . Wonder where the payments went? lol.

Something that seems to keep coming to my mind about these topics is that a lot of 'teaching' roles are being taken by people in the business of selling sticks (and artifacts, recordings, videos, etc..) This is an unhappy conflict of interest in a lot of cases. Of course, many who have imported and sold didjeridus for years have a lot of knowledge and experience. I don't mean to discount that. And they have a lot at stake in the success of the industry - for sure more than most of us. But it is exactly that they do have a personal stake in successful sales of product that they can't be expected to be also defacto educators on Aboriginal culture.

Some people are able to do a stunning job of balancing their own needs with the educational aspects implied by dealing with a culturally sensitive issue. Some don't even try, going for whatever will move the product in terms of the imformation they impart. It seems obvious to me, that there is actually a conflict of interest often between the truth of the sourcing of inventory and what is presented to the customer. Part of the answer to that dilema is in the education of potential customers and in the education of the business people in the industry by those who have the qualifications, training and perspective to do it right.

And the business owners need to be called out on things. You know, they often appreciate the information and respond positively if the critisisms are accurate and presented as helpful information rather than 'gotchas'. Just a thought. Some of them probably deserve to be drug through the streets by horse, mind you. But doubt that's legal. lol. So I always recommend customers, who are in the best position to have an impact on the business, ask lots of questions of the seller and confront them with alternate information where indicated.

Hear hear, good one Ed! If I could sum it up, critical thinking is the vital point here... too many people accept information presented to them without questioning the facts.

About public education and awareness-raising, one point I would add - because I'm also in the business of promoting and selling things - is that I don't think it is about businesses taking on the role of defacto cultural educators although in the case of iDIDJ Australia that could be said to have a degree of truth to it. Rather, it is about product marketing and promotions same like any product whether we're talking about the latest carbon-fibre tennis rackets or gluten-free pizzas. In most industries, there would of course be healthy discussions and critical appraisals about products and services offered by any particular business if claims are made about those products and services. Elite tennis players, coaches, weekend amateurs, tournament officials amongst others would not doubt have their own views about whether a particular Prince tennis racket really delivers 20% more power, or is 15% lighter than any other tennis racket on the market. You would not take heed of information presented only by the shop that sold you the racket.

The unfortunate thing with didgeridoos is that there really aren't many people who can comment on them with authority and objectivity as far as the merits of any particular instrument or type of instrument is concerned. So in the majority of cases, buyers have to rely on the accuracy and honesty of the retailer they're dealing with. Not ideal me thinks, and I reckon that most buyers of didgeridoos today are still misinformed when they make their purchase.

Guan

Thanks, Guan. Obviously you have a fantastic advantage on the educational side with tremendous first hand experience in the field and you always do a good job of qualifying your claims. Truth in advertising! Can't beat it.
My concerns for people buying here in America and other points around the globe outside of Australia, is that they know what they are buying. Even that they know what the possible choices are. So they can make a somewhat informed decision. I also advocate a reasonable return policy. My basic question to anyone buying is , "did you get what you thought you would based on what you read or was told by the seller?" If not, I think the customer has the right to return the product, exchange it for something more suitable or upgrade it to a higher quality product. It's in the business' best interest to do so and I think that most of the shops who have been around awhile do have such a policy. It's up to the customer to let them know when there is a problem and give them a chance to make it right. Also, if more people do hold them to higher standards, they will be more thoughtful about their product descriptions and maybe even their stock selection.

Hello,
I'm new to the forum and signed up to put in my two cents on Didjshop. First of all, I have only one iDIDJ didgeridoo, a very pretty one with traditional ochra artwork, so I know what the authentic ones look, feel, and maybe sound like.

I also have a number of Didjshop instruments, mostly natural finished ones, but also several of Brad's Gosam's. I too wondered why Brad does not seem to be well known, especially since Didjshop makes a big deal about him being the best. However Brad's artwork is fantastic in my opinion, though very different from the traditional didges you see at iDIDJ.

Regarding the didge factory comments, you all make a good case and maybe Svargo is stretching things, probably buying blanks from native cutters and doing most the finish work himself, then hiring out artwork if it is not sold as natural.
Not the best representation on his website, if this is the case, I'll admit.

But ... Svargo's sound grading system I have come to trust. His high concert didges are very good to my ears and I like the big bore resonance, the clarity, the volume. These sticks can be played at a whisper and still have a clear tone. No dirty overtones, no muddy sounds.... I like how they continue to resonant even after you quit playing ... put your ear to the mouth piece and listen, it continues to play. My didjshop sticks have a better sound than the one example I have from iDIDJ. The sound clips are helpful on iDIDJ, but the expert players can make most any stick sound great, and they might not be so good for me, particularly the short muddy traditional ones. The didjshop sticks cover a lot of musical ground, some very deep low note instruments with big bells, ones not particularly traditional. Svargo's grading system tries to be scientific, and I trust it for getting a good musical instrument.
So, that's my input, for what it is worth.

Peace,
www.youtube.com/bongodoggie

The Didjshop sell contemporary sticks with the 'sound' that you describe. Traditional instruments are designed to play differently and the tonal qualities that the craftsman desires are very different from the big resonance and clear drone that you expect in your instruments.

To say that the Didjshop sticks sound better is a very subjective statement - and one that most members of this forum would disagree with. They might suit your playing style and current interest but if you are into the traditional playing techniques as we are you'll come to learn that Svargo's instruments pale in comparison to those from areas where the didjeridu's use is endemic.