Thanks to high speed Internet connectivity, worldwide band recognition is more commonplace. To "make it," a starting band still needs a song that grabs the attention of a difference-maker and needs at least one other song that is interesting enough to hold that attention. But things have gotten easier.
However, it sometimes seems that we are running low on band names. In 2011, the Australian group Brother (love the combination of bagpipes and the didgeridoo - they often perform within easy driving distance of SF, because one brother now lives in Monterey County) sued the British group Brother for trademark infringement. The British group changed its name to Viva Brothers.
In order to distinguish themselves, bands drop the vowels, such as SBTRKT. Or they change a couple of letters, such as Com Truise.
Oddly, within a couple of months, three bands by the name _____ Genius stepped forward with releases in 2012. Atlas Genius is from Australia, but has been touring regularly within the U.S. Currently, they are touring with Imagine Dragons (March 16th at The Warfield in SF). Team Genius is from Brooklyn, NY (why are so many good Indie bands coming from that one borough?). Perfume Genius is the stage name of a Seattle-based solo artist - Mike Hadreas. He's not shy about dealing with his personal issues in his music (which reminds us of Blue October, but in a different genre).
All three versions of Genius met with success.
Atlas Genius:
Team Genius:
Perfume Genius:
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