Thursday, April 09, 2009
Where's the Music??
So a posting on this blog has been LONG overdue, but recent events have made it imperative to re-establish what once was. Never has there been a time I've been more disappointed in the global selection of music than right now. I typically live for the next best video, song, lyrics, concepts....and I can honestly say the economy is not the only thing in a recession. Where's our Marvin Gaye, our Janis Joplin, hell...our Whitney Houston (and I'm talking about old Whitney... not "Being Bobby Brown" Whitney). Until there is reason for me to look up in excitement, I guess digging into my music vault will have to do. Who knows...maybe I'll find what I've been missing all over again :P
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The music is there, we just have to know where to look. We are living in a time where the music industry as we know it is in complete flux. No one and I mean no one inclucding the artists , the listeners, executives , producers, distributers, bloggers, critics, and the dude on the street with the oversized headphones and a backpack knows where music is going. And for one simple reason. Money.
Less than 10 years ago the music industry was making profits it had never seen before. In that environment if an artist wasn't going platinum they were no longer valuable. That's why an artist like Patti Labelle who had a strong loyal fanbase and consistently went gold could suddenly be dropped from her labelwith no warning in the worst way possible.
Fast Forward a few years and instead of fans buying cd's like hotcakes they are just downloading music for free whenever possible. Downloading whole albums before they are even released. At the same time recording industry profits are steadily going down. They can't make money because no one is actually purchasing the product that they put out.
It creates an environment where artistry and creativity are more restricted than ever because the risk is now too high. Just a few years ago there were record profits and multiplatinum selling artists. Now companys are worried about the cost of releasing and promoting a new artist when there is no guarantee they will make money. There are many signed artists just sitting on the shelf collecting dust because no one has figured out how to make money. The business model for music has changed and nobody has a clue what it is. * There was an article about Ryan leslie in the Washingtonpost a few months ago explaining his difficulties with simply trying to get his music out even though he was already under contract*
But all is not lost. As I said in the beginning the music is there , we just have to know where to look. I think we are living in one of the most creative periods in music right now! Because of the very thing that is bringing the music industry down. Technology. There has never been a time when high quality recording and music programs have been available so cheaply. Right now there are more people in there basements making beats and singing and rapping than ever before. And there are more avenues to be heard than ever before. **sad example: A few years ago Soulja boys' success would not have been possible, but through youtube he found an audience and we get to hear that foul mess everyday**
Also there has been a strong resurgence of live music. And there are plenty of artists that have opted to not even try for major label exceptance and do quite well , Eric Roberson comes to mind. In fact I was suprised to see local songstress Wayna nominated for a Grammy earlier this year with no major label support. So get out there and listen. Ask your friends. Stepout and see someone perform you have never heard of. We don't know how long it will be until someone figures this all out. So support hte artists that you find because chances are you might be the only one, or you might be one of many.
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