Freaking depressing article

[bigdaddydave]

 

No, it isn't. The recording industry has been around since the 1920s. Many of the terms we still use in the business come from that era (publishing, mechanical license, etc). It will never go back to being anything like those days. Before the recording industry came along, live music as being performed in saloons and whore houses, just like it is now.

 

 

How true. I often wonder what the world was like before the recording era. Imagine living in an environment where if you wanted to hear music, someone (often yourself) actually had to play it. Must have been a lot more work for musicians back then.

[Miket156]

Quote by SunRaFan:

 

"As to the broader point, I think it's really just the case that musicians haven't yet figured out how to adapt and use the internet completely to their benefit. Eventually it may happen. I recently read a biography of Dizzy Gillespie which talked about how at the end of 1940s, social changes brought about the end of the big band era. With the advent of the post WWII suburbs and TV there just weren't enough crowds for touring big bands. The musicians of the day adapted and formed smaller groups. They also started focusing more on recordings."

 

Today, there are a lot more things for people to do than just go out and listen to a live band like people did in the sixties and seventies. Its very similar to what was posted above back in the forties. Now there are Sports Bars, DJ's, and stiff DUI laws. People today may not want to sit in a bar and drink alcohol, inhale smoke, and listen to a band playing too loud. People have a lot more to do at home these days too. Musicians that are trying to play the "club" circuit to keep their chops up and gain experience doing live shows are faced with clubs that have higher costs and less patrons. DUI laws have hurt them in the wallet. Club owners never wanted to pay any more than they had too, now their reasons are justified. At my age, I won't play at a bar for next to nothing, much less pay to play. I've already had enough "exposure", I was never good enough to hit the big time. I am good enough to play clubs and private parties, so I take the ones that pay enough to make it worth doing, and pass on the bars that want to pay me what I made 30 years ago.

 

Mike T.

[chetwesley]

I don't know, I don't think young people do things much differently than they did back then... I think going out and drinking is just as popular as ever on college campuses. Sure, some people may stay home maybe and watch movies, but most young people want to go out and drink.

 

It is a matter of their taste and preference whether they go to a bar playing loud music from a stereo system, one playing loud music from a DJ, or one playing loud music from a live band, or if they are underage, going to a house with a keg and loud music playing from a home stereo.

 

The internet is popular and all, but it doesn't seem to have replaced social interaction and night life... yet... Older adults may stay at home more (but they historically probably always did), but the young people are still out doing the same thing as ever.

[drm128]

Well, I'm from the Chicago area and you would be surprised how many bars and pubs are having live music, all kinds, mostly rock and a fair amount of country and blues. It's still fun to watch a band, especially if they don't blow off your ears with volume. There are a lot of places to play around here, but how do they pay? Enough for me, but not a lot.

 

If I can get enough from a gig to pay for my gas with some left over, I'll play, but sure our band deserves as much as we can get. We've even done some benefits too, for nothing, and it was fun. The funny part about it is that we have found that once you reach a level where you start to get a small but consistent following, you will get paid more.

 

You all know that bringing in the patrons is what the bars love, they want the bands that keep the crowds coming back, and I think my band does that (having two female singers in the band really helps a lot). You wanna know what is one of the most popular kind of band in the Chicago area? The Beatle imitator bands. And some of the bands that play the old "Hair" metal songs. I think it definitely helps to be a musician in a large metro area like Chicago.

 

I get paid enough that I can save the money and buy equipment after about 5 gigs, and that's ok with me. There are some great places to play around here and some have closed and some are opening up so you have to keep asking around, maybe go to a place that hasn't had a band before and ask them if you can play for one of the weekend crowds and see what happens.

 

Bands have to be creative in how they approach gigging, getting gigs, coming back to play again, promoting themselves, there are many things to try, some work, some don't. Our band has taken about a year and a half to get recognized and have a small following and get ourselves known in the area. There are other bands like us out there, but we don't worry about that, we try to give our best and let the audience decide if they like us or not.

 

I have very realistic ideas about how far our band can go and can't go, so we are all on the same page in the band and as a result, we are having a terrific time, enjoying our playing, not killing ourselves by gigging "x" number of days per week, we are selective how often we gig and where we play and we know each other and what we are doing.....and now it's FUN! The pay is small. The enjoyment is huge! We found our level of comfort and it works for us.

[ZigZagWanderer]

Thread revived.

 

It looks like the band in the original article from almost two years ago is still at it: http://hotspurmusic.com/

[richardmac]

They may still be around two years later, but I'm not sure what that does or does not prove. I'm still around two years later, too.

[bostonwal]

It looks like their current single is a song called Chandelier - nice pro video front and center and it's the first song on the player (at their myspace page). A totally forgettable tune to my ears and while this style of rock is not my #1 genre, I can certainly tell when it's catchy and interesting and these guys are neither. In a very mild way they are but you gotta do better than that! I'm totally surprised this is the best they have to offer and yet they're trying to make a living out of this.

 

Which goes back to my theory - if you're really good then at some point you don't have to personally sell all your CDs, the word of mouth will spread exponentially and online sales will outstrip one-to-one personal sales done by band members at shows. seems to me the only CDs they sell have been at shows where they personally sell them. The music clearly isn't doing it's job - i.e. keeping the band top of mind in their listeners which would lead to the word of mouth everyone needs to succeed.

[oolceeoo]

I say {censored} it all. I play and practice and work at it and don't record anything anymore. What's the point of wasting all that time recording anything when you get absolutely no compensation for it? What's the point of spending all that time perfecting a recording when no one will pay for it? That's why I've said {censored} it all, I'm learning how to record music on paper through musical notation because I'm sick of all the {censored}ing word recording for no reward. Being able to play a song from beginning to end as a performance or reading it from musical notation is HARD!!! But I've got nothing better to do so {censored} it...

[oolceeoo]

And since I can't seem to edit my post, I'll add this:

 

Rappers are 'making' it because they are drug dealers. Rapping is their side job. Trust me.

 

For me recorded music served on purpose, and one purpose only: lessons. Great musicians giving a recording that I can play over and over again and learn how its done is really the only value I see in recorded music and the reason why I still buy cds. But the general listening public doesn't want lessons, they just want instant listening enjoyment, thus they won't pay. Ok, well if you want to hear someone play from now on the only way you can is by live performance either by busking or word of mouth or parties or whatever, NOT recorded music! Because there is far too much recorded music on the internet it has lost its value. What is MORE valuable is the musician who is the performer and DEMANDS payment for performances because their music has VALUE and won't be put out on the {censored} black hole we know as the internet.