The state we're in

Dave Martin from our guest editors iLiKETRAiNS gives us this perceptive take on the music industry meltdown. There's some sound advice for artists with integrity wrestling with the growing importance of social networking and mp3 blogs to distribute their music. I like the optimism in this article - everyone trying to make a living through music should read it!

2008. The year the music industry went into melt down. For the past few years there have been murmurs about the illegal downloading of music killing the music industry. We'd been there and seen that 25 years previously, with the advent of home taping.

"In the current climate, if people haven’t invested real money on a record, will they invest real time in listening to it? "

In the 80's, the music industry carried on as it always had, and it weathered the storm. I believe that within the industry, people think that the current scenario will run along similar lines, and that they'll come through the other side largely unaffected.
At the beginning of this year we reached some sort of critical mass. At one end of the spectrum a huge and historically significant major label was bought out, and 'streamlined'. Thousands of employees lost their jobs, the artists that were making a loss were culled, and the artists that were making a profit jumped ship. It’s difficult to see what that label's future is, and I can't say I really care.
Where my heart (and livelihood) lies is at the other end of the spectrum. The artists not interested in the fame and fortune, but in making the music that really matters to them. Making a record takes time and money. Less than it used to, but it’s still enough to be restrictive. The goal for these artists has always been to carve out a commercial niche big enough to propagate the writing and recording of a record, and its subsequent tour cycle.
In my experience and from speaking to artists and bands I respect, within the last two years this goal has almost become an impossibility. The bottom line is that people aren't buying enough records to support the record industry in its current form, at any level.
2008. It has never been a better time to be a music fan. At the click of a mouse, people can read about and hear more new music than ever before. Mainstream media, radio and the music press, no longer hold the key to an artist’s popularity. More than ever it lies in the hands of the bloggers and people that populate social networking sites.
But is access to thousands of new bands too much of a good thing? The net savvy music fan has a hard drive full of thousands of hours of music. I worry that if an album is difficult upon first listen, it won't get a second listen. For me, the most rewarding albums are those that reveal their secrets over time. In the current climate, if people haven’t invested real money on a record, will they invest real time in listening to it? An album is listened to, an opinion formed, a blog written, and then it’s on the look out for where the next fix of new music is coming from.
It is becoming a compulsion to find 'the next big thing'. I worry for the longevity of artists in this climate. The next big thing invariably doesn't become big enough to sustain a career, because their thunder is stolen by the next big thing.
Now I don't propose to set about changing the way people consume music. As much as I would love an Al Gore, or even a Jamie Oliver character to begin a campaign to suggest that people are morally obliged to buy fair trade, organic free range indie records from a label that offers its artists a fair royalty rate, I don't for a second think it would work out. In the great scheme of things the welfare of the unwashed indie musician isn't of great global significance. There is no stigma attached to music piracy because the industry is perceived as hugely wasteful and outdated. Rich pop stars and executives, spending their cash on lavish lifestyles. Piracy is seen as a victimless crime. And so it is left to the artists and indie labels to help themselves.
Firstly, with a fall in record sales there isn’t as much money in the industry as there used to be. New artists can’t afford to be wasteful with their money. They need to do as much for themselves as they can, and make sure that anyone taking a slice of pie is earning it! Selling records is only one dwindling income stream. Touring and merchandising are already more lucrative, but other income streams should be sought to bring in some money as a band. Create a quality product. It is no longer possible to hide behind a clever press and advertising campaign. People have access to the music directly, and as such can make up their own minds.
I’d say that within the industry it’s vital we adopt a sense of community. In times of crisis, people need to pull together for a common cause. So we should help out like minded musicians, promoters and producers. Further to this I’d suggest that more than ever, a creative two way dialogue needs to be open between artist and label. Artists need to make the internet work for them, in adopting a strong online community.
This may sound cold and calculating but it is genuinely one of the most rewarding aspects of being in a band. Whilst I have spent this entire article complaining about how the internet is destroying music, I am under no illusions that without it iLiKETRAiNS would be nothing. We haven’t received a huge amount of coverage in the mainstream press, so our best exposure has come online.
In the long term, I have no doubt that all this upheaval will result in an artist driven industry. Fewer people will be earning a living from the industry, and fewer people will be getting rich. I see this as a positive thing. The industry has become bloated, and it’s about time it became hungry again. More people are involved in making and marketing a record than is strictly necessary. In the long term it will work itself out. The challenge for an artist today, is to survive the short and medium terms.