I have done a lot of thinking about this lately, and have come to the conclusion that the only way to think about the music industry is to think positively. In many ways the music industry has never been better. Lets look at the positive:
1. It has never been easier to promote ones work. Almost everyone on earth uses the internet. My four year old uses the internet and from the age of three years old had an iPad completely figured out. Most things on the internet are free to use e.g Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc and can potentially reach many, many people. So letting people know what you are up to is easy and in the hands of the artist nowadays.
2. Websites like bandcamp.com mean musicians no longer need a record label in order to sell their product to the public (labels are good for many things, I'm not knocking them). Direct to fan sales via websites like bandcamp will grow. iTunes is fine, but bandcamp is a much better model for the artist. (my bandcamp page is here).
3. YouTube is amazing. As I write this blog I am listening to a live concert of the Pat Metheny group on YouTube. I can't keep up with all the amazing content. My guitar playing would be different if YouTube was around when I was learning. It has many benefits for promotion, learning, research and more.
4. Recording music has never been easier or cheaper. I have a Mac Book Pro and with this computer and software (I use logic pro X) I have the technology to record professional quality recordings with ease. Logic cost me $250 NZD (approx. price). I remember a time when logic was $1000+.
5. Great musical equipment is getting cheaper all the time and is more accessible. Living in New Zealand it can be tough to get good equipment due to the shipping costs - this has changed in recent years and is continuing to improve.
One major negative of the music industry in it's current state is the theft of product e.g. file transfer sites, downloading etc. However, if one is to thinking positively, then this negative could be a positive and emerging artists can use these websites etc to spread the word about who they are easily, and create a name for themselves. Look at Lorde the Kiwi artist who's original intention was to give away her music, then once it had been downloaded x amount of times she started charging for it. She won a grammy yesterday and is the first New Zealand artist to win that award.
Following Lorde's lead we can see the best way to think about this is that the music industry has changed, and to work with it, not against it. If people continue to do things the way they did 20 years ago then they will be left behind.
Many argue that there are less gigs than there once was. This is true... but there are many other ways to do gigs that people don't think about. Again, following on from that idea of working with trends not against; live broadcasts on YouTube could one idea worth pursuing and constitute a gig, right?
Some people are doing really well in this current industry. They are doing lots of great gigs, earning a decent living and making great music etc. Try to figure out what they are doing differently, often it is the way they think about it all.
Someone once said to me to take care of the music first and foremost and the money will find its way to you. I do not do gigs or anything in music just for the money. I know people who do and they are unhappy people. I am not saying I do not need to earn money just that it is not my primary motivation. So, if one considers the art to be most important then it is a great time to be a musician due to how easy it is to create that art, to spread the word about it and to discover other peoples art.
In my opinion there has never been a better time to be a musician or music listener for that matter. Change is a good thing and is the one thing you can guarantee will happen. So, go forward, and create the music you want, working with the industry.
Keep in touch:
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/nickgranny
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/nickgranvillemusic
... and you can download my latest album from: nickgranville.bandcamp.com/album/home
I've had the same stance on it for a while now. Unless there's some global event that wipes out the "ooh - free stuff!" gene in every single human being on this planet, piracy ain't going anywhere.
ReplyDeleteHell, there are laws in place, people getting sued and groups with money & clout trying to stop it - and STILL it goes on. Not saying it's right, but at the end of the day WE choose how to move forward, or stay stuck. And I choose to find other ways to make being a creative work (and no I haven't found those ways yet lol) ❤
Here's an article written by Ari's Take that Spotlights some independent musos who found their own ways to make a living with music: http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/.../23/full-time-musicians
Hi. Thanks for your comment. There seems to be little one can do to stop piracy so the only tactic is to try to work with it, somehow. Some have used piracy to their advantage.
ReplyDeleteThat article you posted is great. Thanks so much, I really enjoyed reading that and it highlighted what I have discussed here.
I think there are a couple of slightly contradictory things in here, Nick - one being that labels aren't needed, and another being "I can't keep up with all the amazing content". I know the feeling, and not just on YouTube!
ReplyDeleteOne function that labels & management do serve (in a sort of roundabout way) is to bring your attention (as the listener) to amazing content / music, by the fact that they've put money into the artist & recording / producing sessions, then marketing the artist to the right audience for them - the perfect example being Lorde, really.
She was signed by Universal Music at the age of 13, and given time to develop before they sprung her on an unsuspecting public via those downloads. It had personality, it felt underground, you had to know about her to know about her - and yet, the recordings were beautifully produced, she'd been partnered with a songwriter & producer who worked with her for some time to craft that sound. That, in no small part, is the work of her label...so, there are advantages there, and a canny label knows how to take advantage of websites like Bandcamp to get the buzz out before touring an artist - which is where the actual money seems to be now.
In a world where downloads are free & easy to find (not that I condone or suggest any such thing!), live performances & merchandise sales are where the living seems to be made. Sure, there are exceptions (aren't there always), but an artist with a label / a manager / an agent (not necessarily in that order, but eventually all three) can lift their careers exponentially, in ways they wouldn't be likely to be able to achieve on their own...
Obviously, this is spoken as a (semi-) outsider looking in on the industry, but that's what I've been observing recently. And it's surprising how early in a band's career all three of those can come along - look at Black City Lights from Wellington, who signed with a NYC record label and shortly thereafter had a Sydney agent, and are touring Europe with the Naked & Famous even as we speak.
Of course, that probably all started from a Bandcamp page...! Anyway - I'd just say that it's much harder, without a label / agent / management, to make your music cut through all that content out there, and find an audience. Like you said, it's hard to keep up with it all - so the trick for a musician is, how do you make yourself noticeable enough that people jump to your recordings, rather than all the other options out there?
Sorry Rob, I'd missed this comment. I would have responded at the time if I'd seen it.
DeleteJust to clarify, i didn't say Labels were not useful, they can be, but they are unnecessary these days. Many major artists still need them but that is such a small part of the music industry. There was a time when you had to be singed to a label. These days the majority by a large amount are not signed to a label. or own their own label.
What was contradictory?