Surplus To Requirement: Musicians Don't Like The Independence They Fought For

by Johnny Truant on Mon, 2008/12/15 - 5:25pm Post to Twitter

Musicians – you need to get a real job. Sorry. I thought you already knew this? Didn’t you realise that you’ve got it SO much better than anyone before you? Do you think home recording was even possible a few years ago? No. No it wasn’t. Your music is being heard for free because you’ve produced it for next to nothing. I mean comparatively. I don’t suppose anyone NOT middle-class, or indulging in a life of lucrative crime, can afford a laptop, Garageband and, let’s face it, instruments. You’re a privileged bunch.
Basically, while you’re all celebrating the DEATH of the major label, you forgot that this means LESS people will be paying for music. Certainly, they aren’t gonna pay for yours because, get this, they’ve never heard of you. Sure they’ll download your EP from P2P blog sites - who are embittered, arrogant fucks who think music should be free because they’re not being paid to write about their hobby (and it is a hobby) – and then forget about you.
...
Actually, they might not. They might embrace your music, enraptured by the efforts of your handcut, hand-drawn, stupendously presented hard work, the glorious live show you painstakingly choreographed and fit your tracks snugly into their 'melancholy' playlist on a corporate mp3 player.
....
No. Just no. Why should they? Do they owe you a living? Of course not. If anything, you owe them their time and effort for bothering to download, listen and cope with your music.
 
I personally listen to as much music as possible in a day. It’s a synapse-snapping experience, which can either leave you numb and bored or enthused and excited. Frankly, discovering I adore a band – new, old, unheard of or mainstream – is one of the highlights of that particular year. You’re all music lovers. You understand! How much time does it take to revel in a record, to cherish the lyrical dalliances and melodic tangos? That’s right, ages. Now, let’s take a look at a typical music 'fan'. What do they do? Why, they read mainstream publications, underground publications and online blogs and ‘zines. Informed by Top 50 lists, they download every track recommended by each publication from each album. They then plaster it into their ever-growing library of music and proceed to shuffle it until all the aces are lost and all that’s left is jokers and vague shapes and numbers. They show it to their friends who are all like “cool!”, nodding together on the bus; conjoined twins via a wire earpiece. They then download more music, from the same places and pass it on – word of headphone. Suddenly, the music you lovingly developed, crafted and picked out of the very air has become as relevant as 1s and 0s to the non-binary human mind. You’ve become a hook, a chorus and a few hastily picked up words. You’ve been integrated into the hive mind of every teenager or early twenty something, who are practically hyperventilating music.

 
Nothing is going to save you, just as nothing will save journalists who tried so hard to be cool, hang out with the stars and cripple careers before they started. Just as nothing will save the A & R people who have been squandered by the revelations that are myspace and lastfm. Just as nothing will save the record label, who tried to sell you shit they thought you liked, and you did, but you decided they were charging too much (and they were). Just as nothing will save the record industry as gaming and television and movies annex their slice of music and begin to show people how to REALLY make money with “art”.

 
So what now? It’s a depressing situation for those who wanted to make a living out of music – but now it’s back to the grindstone. Work 50 hour weeks, come home and create, bleed and sweat into a recording console, then release your music for the world to hear – or at least, those kids who are paying attention. The real fans. The ones who would gladly pay to keep you going, but because you’ve decided to pack in playing live – your only real income – won’t be able to. Perhaps you should knock out a few t-shirts, a few limited addition vinyls and work out how to sell your music, on your own, digitally. You’re a creative type – you can think of new business ventures, ways of grabbing fans who care, the ones you ignored on your way to the top. It’s time for those who love music to reap the benefits. But you forgot about them, didn’t you? They’re angry, but they’ll forgive and they’ll back you up if you start making music they adore. They are your new masters. Bow down to them and tell them what’s wrong. They’ll listen and they’ll act. Make sure you’re making fucking good music first. If not, get back to that spreadsheet.