Hello, and welcome back to my blog.
This blog is not really about me for a change, ha ha, but seriously, I felt compelled to write it due to the general feeling amongst my fellow artists about the current state of the music industry.
Of late I have been having more and more conversations with independent artists, and even established artists, all sharing similar views and frustrations with the increasingly evaporating integrity within the music industry.
It has always been a difficult industry to work in, and has seen many great people destroyed, but it has definitely taken a turn for the worse this last decade.
The most common frustration seems to be the seemingly impossible dream to be able to earn a living through making music these days. I do have opinions about why this is the case, but I want to stress that these are my personal opinions, derived from my observations, not only from being in the thick of things as an independent artists myself, but also from working in radio closely with many artists.
I will start with the Internet, it has been both a blessing and a curse for the music industry. It has provided the means and the engine to allow unsigned and independent artists to get their music out and promote it to the world, but it takes time, dedication and a flare for networking. On the other hand the music sites are saturated with 1000's of artists all clambering the ladder for success. Now please don't get me wrong, I am all for people exploring creativity, if you find peace and tranquility in music..that is what is all about. However, most are pursuing fame, fortune and celebrity. I am sure most of you that have used any of the music networking sites have come across those artists who push themselves on you..sending endless promotion messages etc. These tools are great, if and only if you are researching the people you are pitching yourself too, quantity is not the way..trust me. Being selective and approaching people individually who you think will be interested in your music is the only way to get any results !! I cannot tell you how many punk and heavy metal bands send me promotion messages...WHY ??
These sites are also full of people looking to pray on naive, hungry artists..telling them exactly want they want to hear to get hold of their hard earned money, I myself have been privy to a number of these operators as I have told you in previous blogs.
The wonder of the Internet is that people are accessing information and getting more and more for free, and as a result are reluctant to pay for things that they can just as easily get for nothing, due to file sharing..free downloads etc etc. The major artists, with the huge companies are really the only ones these days who still seem to pull in revenue from record sales, even so, they are licencing the music for use in commercials and exhausting all means of generating income from the music.
I was asked the other day, why do people buy into the rubbish music in the charts..Though I don't actually think all commercial music is rubbish, I do understand that point. I see it as clever marketing, bombarding people with images on billboards, and t.v and radio. Most people do not have the time to spend sourcing music they may actually discover they adore..so what they see and hear is all they know. And now with the threat to the closer of BBC6 music I fear it will only get worse.
If you want the whole package these days, success, record sales, world tours etc..apparently you need to be mindful of what the masses are buying and tailor yourself to fit the bill. I am happy to report that most of my good friends and colleagues, including myself fully intend to continue creating the music we love. So here in lies the double edged sword..do you strive to stay true to your heart and your music, consequently struggling to make music a sustainable career in music, or do sacrifice and compromise for success, to become something you are not to achieve your dreams of success ? Can you imagine David Bowie, or Prince compromising their musical integrity, they did what was in their souls...and achieved success with it, however the music industry was a very different place back then, it celebrated and rewarded individuality and originality.
I know many many amazing artists and bands that are losing faith and simply cannot keep going. They are creating superb albums, investing time and money in a product, and not getting heard or recognised, or even making their money back from sales, forcing them to give up. I was told by a good friend just the other day, that in a conversation with music industry folk, he was told that if he wanted a sustainable income from music he should concentrate on writing pop music !
Like I said, this are just my thoughts..please feel free to add any points in my comments box.
I wish I had the answer, or indeed a crystal ball which reassured me that things will change.
All I can say is, many many times I have thought of giving up..things seeming almost impossible to bother to continue, but something drives me on..most of all my love and passion for music and a belief that one day the listening audience will say NO MORE to the greedy corporate engines, and make their own choices about what is great music, whatever style they enjoy.
Keep believing in yourself, remember why you started making music and always be yourself, do not lose sight of your dreams..
I believe we will take back real music one day soon..together :-)
Love and hugs
Claire xxxx
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