A miracle

[Poker99]

Perhaps the next musical breakthrough will come from some sort of interaction between creators and consumers fueling a unique experience that you just have to be there to enjoy. Nothing to download, just an experience with a limited audience. A creation of value that appeals to the thumb twiddling electronic generation in ways their parents never even dreamed of. A way of engaging with artists that true fans will fight to get access to. How do we get there? Where is the strategic thinking that will propel the music business forward? I believe innovation will come from outside the mainstream music companies, the way it has over and over again across so many different industries.

 

Am I getting old or just disillusioned, but I don't believe a miracle or revolution will magically happen to save the music industry. I see posts like the one above quite often on music blogs but each time I go

 

Do you believe some new trick will save the music biz?

[Giorgi]

I'm young and I don't get it either.

[Poker99]

Well I see how some big time artists will still make a lot of money, but more and more it won't be because of music but by-product affiliations...

[espec10001]

Patronage to the wealthy class will be the future...

[gtrbass]

What got the music industry in the mess it's in is simple:

 

A profound lack of critical thinking

[Dancebass]

 

What got the music industry in the mess it's in is simple: A profound lack of critical thinking

 

 

Really? I never understood that argument fully.

 

To me it's just a simple tech change that cleaned their clock. Nothing more. They can no longer control their product. Game Over.

[sabriel9v]

Am I getting old or just disillusioned, but I don't believe a miracle or revolution will magically happen to save the music industry. I see posts like the one above quite often on music blogs but each time I go Do you believe some new trick will save the music biz?

 

I don't care anymore. When I first started playing music, no one said I was guaranteed to succeed in the music biz. The people who complain about the industry the most fail to realize that they weren't granted some exclusive privilege to become superstars even when albums were selling.

[Poker99]

 

Really? I never understood that argument fully. To me it's just a simple tech change that cleaned their clock. Nothing more. They can no longer control their product. Game Over.

 

 

Maybe its because its 'art', but they don't seem to get it. I completely agree with you.

[CountRobula]

 

I don't care anymore. When I first started playing music, no one said I was guaranteed to succeed in the music biz. The people who complain about the industry the most fail to realize that they weren't granted some exclusive privilege to become superstars even when albums were selling.

 

 

Well, I feel for the people who WERE selling albums because people genuinely wanted them, and so I think it's sad that some of these artists mightve been competent enough to make a living off of what they do because of a demand, but they couldn't for whatever reason. It's not always about being a superstar, if you want to do that, just become a celebrity or the next lady gaga LOOK AT ME IM BEING WEIRD attention whore pop artist.

 

If you on the other hand want to make music for which there is a demand for that could support you enough to have a home and food and other things and allow you to continue making music and playing it without having to hold three extra jobs in the process because it's "art" and not a business or there's no "work" involved, just make your music, and hopefully it's unique enough and you don't follow the most common formula of the genre you're going for. Not every artist thinks they're going to be a superstar, that's the mindset of every weekend warrior myspace electro-acoustic hipster {censored}head.

 

And sadly, that may be why high-quality, demanded music isn't considered a "career" and more of a hobby, because of talentless {censored}s picking up guitars and pissing in a sea of piss to poison the clean, clear water underneath. Maybe I'm a rambling grumpy bastard.. Then again, at the age of 16? I dunno. I guess the grumpiness has only begun.. lol

[Poker99]

You're 16? Wow my faith in the young is renewed.

[sabriel9v]

 

Not every artist thinks they're going to be a superstar, that's the mindset of every weekend warrior myspace electro-acoustic hipster {censored}head. And sadly, that may be why high-quality, demanded music isn't considered a "career" and more of a hobby, because of talentless {censored}s picking up guitars and pissing in a sea of piss to poison the clean, clear water underneath. Maybe I'm a rambling grumpy bastard.. Then again, at the age of 16? I dunno. I guess the grumpiness has only begun.. lol

 

 

Dude thats so negative. First off, without hobbyists the industry wouldn't go round. Who else is going to sell that goofy 15 yr old kid his first guitar and amp at Guitar Center and Sam Ash? And who's going to sell that rich lawyer a 59 reissue Les Paul and Marshall full stack so he can live out his dreams of mimicking Jimmy Page, the same dreams he forged as a kid. Who's going to sell that up and coming producer a Pro Tools set up so he can start boosting his reputation and working with desperate acts in his local community?

 

You probably consider me a weekend warrior electro acoustic {censored}head (what else did you say, I forgot what all was in that paragraph long insult). I don't care. When I first picked up the guitar, my only career goals were to make a decent living off making music and somehow make it onto the cover of a guitar magazine. Now I'd consider myself a happy man if I could be in a guitar magazine and make a living off just playing shows. I don't care if I have to go back to a dayjob 4-6 months out of the year. I'd be thrilled to have a dayjob servicing amps and doing live sound when not on tour. Either way, I win. Make music, get cash. Do music-related things, get cash.

[Poker99]

Its negative and a bit extreme but take a ride on Myspace and tell me he doesn't have a point right there.

[sabriel9v]

 

Its negative and a bit extreme but take a ride on Myspace and tell me he doesn't have a point right there.

 

 

 

That's why I don't take rides on myspace. Myspace is a graveyard and 75% of the artists on there are not a factor. You can't trust that as a viable source of positive things happening within the music business.

[CountRobula]

Dude thats so negative. First off, without hobbyists the industry wouldn't go round. Who else is going to sell that goofy 15 yr old kid his first guitar and amp at Guitar Center and Sam Ash? And who's going to sell that rich lawyer a 59 reissue Les Paul and Marshall full stack so he can live out his dreams of mimicking Jimmy Page, the same dreams he forged as a kid. Who's going to sell that up and coming producer a Pro Tools set up so he can start boosting his reputation and working with desperate acts in his local community? You probably consider me a weekend warrior electro acoustic {censored}head (what else did you say, I forgot what all was in that paragraph long insult). I don't care. When I first picked up the guitar, my only career goals were to make a decent living off making music and somehow make it onto the cover of a guitar magazine. Now I'd consider myself a happy man if I could be in a guitar magazine and make a living off just playing shows. I don't care if I have to go back to a dayjob 4-6 months out of the year. I'd be thrilled to have a dayjob servicing amps and doing live sound when not on tour. Either way, I win. Make music, get cash. Do music-related things, get cash.

 

I'm usually a very optimistic person, and I agree with you that my post was very negative.. But I stand by that one remark. I don't consider you a weekend warrior electro acoustic {censored}head, because I've never even heard your music as far I know, and I'm not a very critical person to begin with. I've just been to Myspace a few times. Was not pleased. lol

 

You know, if you really are a good enough guitarist to be out there playing, why not? There's no entitlement in ANYTHING that a person has done nothing to deserve, and that goes with anything, in my book. Music is certainly no exception, but if you play well enough and work to get gigs and promote and stuff, why can't you live comfortably off of that? No need to be rich and famous, you can still work just as hard as someone running a full-time self-employed business, like in painting houses like my dad did, or plumbing or whatever. Had my father not gambled all of his money away over the years, he'd have well over a million dollars supposedly, which is enough to live comfortably I guess. A musical career is kind of similar to self-employed businesses like that, no? You get what you put in, and you get paid after you finish each individual job.

 

I didn't mean to come off as negative, and I'm going by what I've read from NUMEROUS sources of all perspectives. I live a ferry ride away from manhattan, but since I'm a young lad I haven't been able to go out and really play anywhere yet. (Gotta find a band, too..) So I guess I'm not IN any musical world to know exactly what's going down. But I'm smart enough to put two and two together.

 

And fact is, while there's absolutely nothing wrong with having a musical lifestyle or hobby, there IS a problem when people who clearly aren't professionals and are PROBABLY aware or very delusional try to ambitiously market their music as if they believe that promotion will do everything for them, regardless of the quality of said music. If you KNOW that you're an amateur, that's fine, not to shoot anyone down, but don't try to market it as if there's a huge demand for it, as many delusional artists seem to be doing and will probably continue to do until many of them fail to make any money and move on to other things. It's sad, but it's probably true.

[sabriel9v]

 

I didn't mean to come off as negative, and I'm going by what I've read from NUMEROUS sources of all perspectives. I live a ferry ride away from manhattan, but since I'm a young lad I haven't been able to go out and really play anywhere yet. (Gotta find a band, too..) So I guess I'm not IN any musical world to know exactly what's going down. But I'm smart enough to put two and two together.

 

 

I'm kinda sorta in a similar situation, right now I'm carless and I live far out in the burbs and all the real original music scenes are 35-40 minutes south of my house. But you just roll with the punches...stop going on myspace and looking for music and pay attention to the local blogs that report about the bands and music you're interested. Get involved in your own band. NYC has solid public transportation and Brooklyn was the happening spot for a minute.

[CountRobula]

Personally, I haven't even been on myspace in a long time. I only noticed a {censored}load of worthless empty pages full of those kinds of "hobbyists" I guess you could say. VERY bare acoustic songs with some whispery teen singing, sometimes a coherent song, sometimes a pseudo ambient bob dylan-ish experimental piece of crap recording.. lol

 

I'm not sure where my kinda music could be played. I've made some songs already, and while I intended to do an album of psychedelic spacey surf rock-ish songs, they sound NOTHING like surf rock as I recorded them now, then again I only have an acoustic guitar.. lol

 

They're just tropical, bouncy, groovy songs. I don't really know what to think of 'em.. Not sure where they'd fit in any scenes in NY.. lol

 

Maybe one of you guys'd want to listen to something when I have a halfway decent recording for your opinion? It could be generic crap for all I know. I'm only comfortable with a piano, and I'm only a competent rhythm guitar player.

 

Not to throw this thread off-topic..

[BlueStrat]

 

I don't care anymore. When I first started playing music, no one said I was guaranteed to succeed in the music biz. The people who complain about the industry the most fail to realize that they weren't granted some exclusive privilege to become superstars even when albums were selling.

 

 

 

You can apply that same argument to any business. "I don't feel sorry for steelworkers who lost their jobs to imported steel because no one guaranteed them a career in the steel business".

 

It makes it ring a little hollow when you put in another other business and apply the same logic.

[BlueStrat]

You're 16? Wow my faith in the young is renewed.

 

He's a very bright kid.

[CountRobula]

Shucks, guys.. ;p

 

Seriously, I'm not gonna be feeling that bright when I actually get out there and play. I'll probably fail, HARD. But I doubt I'll regret any of it.

[richardmac]

Just have fun. That's the whole entire point.

[sabriel9v]

 

You can apply that same argument to any business. "I don't feel sorry for steelworkers who lost their jobs to imported steel because no one guaranteed them a career in the steel business". It makes it ring a little hollow when you put in another other business and apply the same logic.

 

 

Well maybe we should all just join the laid off steel workers at the bar and call it a day.

 

 

Personally, I haven't even been on myspace in a long time. I only noticed a {censored}load of worthless empty pages full of those kinds of "hobbyists" I guess you could say. VERY bare acoustic songs with some whispery teen singing, sometimes a coherent song, sometimes a pseudo ambient bob dylan-ish experimental piece of crap recording.. lol I'm not sure where my kinda music could be played. I've made some songs already, and while I intended to do an album of psychedelic spacey surf rock-ish songs, they sound NOTHING like surf rock as I recorded them now, then again I only have an acoustic guitar.. lol They're just tropical, bouncy, groovy songs. I don't really know what to think of 'em.. Not sure where they'd fit in any scenes in NY.. lol Maybe one of you guys'd want to listen to something when I have a halfway decent recording for your opinion? It could be generic crap for all I know. I'm only comfortable with a piano, and I'm only a competent rhythm guitar player. Not to throw this thread off-topic..

 

 

You're only 16, you're way too young to be cynical!

[Captain Commie]

 

You're only 16, you're way too young to be cynical!

 

 

If you take an honest look at the music industry its hard not to be. I debated trying to pursue a career either playing or recording music in a studio. I determined pretty quickly the you would be luck to scrape by. The only thing I've concluded is the people who are going to be making the money are those who make the products that can't be stolen. The ipods, speakers, ect, hence why I instead decided to go for an EE degree. It won't stop me from playing guitar, cello and recording stuff, but I will never be able to pursue music to the degree I wanted.

 

IMO the true "artist" have a very dim future in the business aspect of music. The majority of people my age seem to care very little about the actual content of the music, and more interested in it being popular. The minority who do care about the actual content are convinced they are sticking it to the man by stealing music. The net result is that money is not getting to those who would use it to create truly original and thoughtful music. Yes, the artist will still create music, but instead of getting an actual horn section, they will just settle for a sampled one instead because they could not afford to get one for the recording session. Hence the overall quality of the music will suffer.

[CountRobula]

We need some positive thoughts. All of this negativity is killing my mojo..

[espec10001]

I believe the future of the music business will be patronage to the wealthy class. Why is this? Because if your goal is to make money playing music, and your target audience being people who don't have money to buy your music, who would rather download it for free and you get nothing for it, then you need to reconsider who exactly you are playing for.

 

If you want to earn money playing music, then you have to play for people who have the money. The wealthy will pay great musicians to perform at their functions.

 

You want the money, go to those who have it. Trying to earn a living off college kids is a lost cause because they are broke!

[Poker99]

The majority of people my age seem to care very little about the actual content of the music, and more interested in it being popular. The minority who do care about the actual content are convinced they are sticking it to the man by stealing music.