The Emerging Music Industry

Just some thoughts, since that’s what i wanted this blog to be in the first place.

****

Playing in a band and wanting to support myself through music leads me to reading a lot on the music industry. There’s no denying that the big labels are dying. The RIAA is slapping almost everyone with copyright infringement suits. The choice of music on TV (when music does play) and commercial radio is horribly bland and stagnant.

I just read an article over here. Of some things that struck me, one was that indy music accounts for 30% of sales in the US. I don’t know if I need to stress how amazing this is in an industry that is otherwise dominated by 4 major companies.

To me, 30% shows that the desire for fresh and new music is alive and greater than ever. People are jumping the ship and treading water to find the music that they like. 30% (and growing) is an indication that artist will now have more power over their business and music.

Being entry-level myself puts me in an advantageous position. Having nothing to lose, I can exploit these gains. I don’t need massive tours, buses, private jets, roadies, groupies, techies, lighting shows, etc. I can make up most of this stuff by myself. The downside is that I most likely won’t be able to afford a manager, lawyer, or accountant any time soon. One thing that sucks in being in a DIY band, is that someone has to be the manager or accountant. Rather than having equity and/or revenue from other sources, I must work a job to provide my band with the needed capitol to record and press CDs, make merch, and pay for a tour.

Another thought that struck me is the unwillingness of the major players to acclimate to the current environment. They are estimating that 10-20+ years will be needed to accommodate the new technology. I wonder the horse and carriage people demanded the same leeway?

By the time the dinosaurs acclimate to their new climate, I should wonder that they’ll be close to extinction. The one thing that they have going for them is their massive back catalog. This makes me wonder:

As the Fab Four further find their revenue shrink, will they cease to sign new acts and diverse acts? As this happens, will they further rely on their back catalog, specifically for merchandising, radio, or commercials? At what point will corporations quit licensing the back catalog due to prohibitive cost, influx of new music, and to link with the newer generations?

I predict (in my O so lofty manner), that it will spell the demise for the Big Four as we know them. They will be assimilated by upstart Indy labels. However, by that time, the damage will be done. We’ll have most of a generation that will have grown up without the pervasive exposure to Baby Boomer music. It’ll lose its value, seeming as quaint as big band, early jazz, early country, or marching band music. It’ll come to represent status quo more than any kind of youthful innovation.

At that moment, we’ll see the kind of music that will replace the rock and roll experiment.

Random stuff and what not

I’ve been meaning to write a lot of posts lately, but I just haven’t gotten around to it.

I’ve been meaning to write about homeless people–specifically the scavengers of society. A couple weeks ago my wife and I saw a dude really sorting out the garbage, looking for stuff to recycle. Now, I know this a white person thing to think, but I couldn’t help feel proud that i was doing something. Here was this person making choices to support himself by digging through trash for recyclables. Not only was he weening trash from hitting the landfill, he was working for a living. Much better than drunkenly asking for change on the street. He was self sufficient (or at least to my deluded mind). We did, however, decide to shred every piece of paper before tossing it.

****

I’ve also been meaning to write a post about the band. I feel I can write here, rather than on the website, since the website should be reserved for more official matters. We’re looking at booking for the studio for mid-March. We have the final round of the battle-of-the-bands on March 6th. Apparently, the winner gets $1000 cash, recording time, fliers, and a clothes certificate.

As all the other bands have observed either in their websites or in person: the metal/heavy bands made it to the finals more than likely on the sole strength of having the same set of metalheads voting our scene in. While this is awesome, as we will actually get paid for playing a show, our group of metalheads are not big enough to vote one band to win.

The competitive part of me really wants to win this shin-dig, just like I’ve wanted to win every game or contest I’ve entered. The other part of me realizes that if one metal band wins, the potential for scene jealously and fracture is an all-too-real possibility.

I suppose the best way to look at this would be that the metal scene is getting strong enough to vote our own into the finals of the contest. We’ll use this platform to try to expand the scene, maybe hook some people in that wouldn’t have ordinarily seen us.

****

My mom’s kidney’s are failing/have failed. Basically they don’t work well enough anymore. Though I’ve known about this for a while, I have yet to write a permanent post about it. My mom, who reads this blog, wonders why. I guess I don’t know. It’s sort of a hard thing to write about. Writing is a means by which I can organize and elucidate my thoughts. My thoughts on this are relatively blank, as if the reality hasn’t sunk in or perhaps sunk in a while ago.

My mother, more than most people in my life, has always taught me to be self-sufficient. I learned how to cook and prepare food at about ages 6 or 7, to do laundry at 10, to get myself to school starting in the 1st grade. Her fear was that she wouldn’t be around forever.

I don’t believe in such a thing as an idealized childhood. To try to insulate a child from the hardships in this world delays any mechanisms to cope with hardships later on. My parents raised me how they thought best, and since I’m not a complete fuck up, I think they did a pretty good job.

They don’t know why her kidneys are failing. I’ve had lots of armchair doctors tell me to tell her what to do, whether it’s change her diet, exercise more, blah blah blah. They usually quit asking me about after I snap at them and ask how many years of med school they went through to diagnose a patient without even examining her.

I guess that I have fear too. Since they don’t know what caused it, the thing could genetic. Her siblings haven’t gotten it yet, but that doesn’t mean much since she’s the oldest. Maybe I could get it. I guess that’s what all fear comes down to, right? This could happen to me.

Me and the wife will be heading down to Denver when she gets her transplant to help take care of her and make sure she gets her medicine.

***

I guess that’s really all for now.

Crazy Week

It’s official. Most people I know are PMSing. Me included. Cheese is Crisp! I wish that I could just not yell at people.

I ended up “yelling” at someone last night. Sure it was a speed bump. What can I do? I was raised in a family that tended to speak loud when we had problems. Hence, I tend to speak loud.

I tell you what I can do: I can remain vigilant and practice on taking a step back. Maybe people look at me and think that I’m a loose cannon and always about ready to explode. Mabye that’s true, but I know that for me what counts is that I don’t explode even 1% of the time that I feel like exploding.

I wish that I could just figure out a way to let off steam. I used to have music, but I’m not so sure about that anymore. I used to have writing, but I haven’t written in over 6 months and besides my writing is all bullshit anyone. Post-modern convoluted pseudo-horror bullshit. I have no empathy for characters or situations. Bad things happens to everyone at any time in my stories.

I’m done with that bitch.

grrr…