In the past few weeks, I’ve gotten away from music but this week I’m back. The state of the music industry needs to be discussed. How should we feel about the current status? It is a mixed bag with people as far as happy/angry with the industry but I believe this current state is suited for the purest form of the art. No rules. No one knows what is or will be a hit. No one is in charge. All artists in all locations can create a following. Oh, and there is more money being generated in the industry than ever before. It’s the wild west out here.
Major labels are behaving irrationally. Some are accepting unsolicited material with a generic email address some intern is assigned to manage, they are signing artists while attempting to get a percentage of everything they can think of (360 deals: Artists stay away!), and they are as touchable as ever. This shows they are not as high and mighty as they used to be. You used to have to know someone that knows someone just to get a meeting. Today’s A&R’s “work” on social media posting generic “where my producers at?”, “where my singers?”, or “Rappers check-in” post in hopes to find I don’t know what. It is an absolute crapshoot. People with no business of thinking they are close to ready are the ones flooding the post responses. They are encouraged by what they hear on the radio and see online. The artists who are where these aspiring artists want to be, sound just like them. Why waste time attempting to perfect anything? To add insult to the already injured ears of music fans, A&R’s original job description included developing artists which somehow was thrown in the garbage never to return. To recap, the people who are to discover artists for their label are half-heartedly searching via social media with no intention or knowledge of how to develop an artist. Some may ask why do you even need a major label? Very good question.
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With the train wreck I just described, how is suited for the purest form of music? Freedom. You don’t have a hand full of corporations with a stronghold on the industry. Yes, they still control the big music tours and radio but that is not enough to run things. You can research, create content, publish content, market content, and repeat in your basement. No label telling you what to make, when or how to make it. There is so much copying going on, I feel the independent scene is the only hope of a breath of fresh air. People who love music sitting in a room and coming up with ideas. New sound? Weird arrangement? Odd mix? Deep, double, triple entendre lyrics? This is how great music is made. Yes, the business side matters but the business side should be run by musicians or even better the musicians creating the art. This gives the artist the control an artist rarely gets. With an independent approach, money is not being pulled into 25 different pockets before it gets to yours. You don’t need to generate multi-millions to line your pockets with six figures. The success or failure of the project is in the correct hands….those being yours. Embrace it.
In closing, the state of the music industry is in a great place. Everyone has a chance. You can go from your basement in the summer writing a song to hearing it all over the place in the fall. All of this because of your love for the craft and hard work. You’ll gain new supporters. Those major labels? They’ll be in touch and just dying for you to give them exactly what you have. It will be your choice of cashing in and allowing it to be exploited or waiting for the copy cats to attempt to do so. It’s going to happen so you might as well make money while dealing with the inevitable. This is a success in the wild west. Fellow musicians, let’s get back to the essence of artistry. We have an industry to take over.
Food for thought….you do the dishes.
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