“Music has lost its value.” I’ve heard that scoffed by former music execs and even musicians themselves and felt a need to reply. Yes, our culture has developed so that the consuming public wants the newest and latest. We are taught to believe our phones and tablets are worthless once a newer model comes out, even before we learn to fully utilize the ones we own. And who wants to be caught listening to last month’s #1 single when the same artist has a totally new song out? That is sooo 33 seconds ago. But just because the current business model in music demands a steady rotation of songs and artists does not mean either is disposable.
The Culture of New is not so new. The Japanese have been into whatever is new for decades and it hasn’t made those products necessarily disposable. The crap ones fade away. The great ones are kept and exported. So if people feel music is disposable, maybe the problem isn’t music in general – it’s crap music. The part of the Japanese Culture of New model American music seems to be missing is the constant need for innovation that goes with the demand for something new.
It can be hard for the indie artist to compete in such a short business cycle. They often spend months, even years laboring over songs, only to find that when the album is finally ready, its sound is outdated, their look is a costume, and the rest of the scene has moved on to something different. There will still be fans to get but those artists are coming in at the end of the cycle with little wave left to ride. The independent artists must adapt the short cycle of creation and release if they are to have any longevity.
Those in the industry who claim music has lost its value and has become disposable point out that the market is flooded with non musicians who make songs and videos on their smart phones. They could not be more wrong. And it’s their own fault for firing their A&R departments. There’s no gatekeepers anymore, which is great for two reasons. First, all those artists who whined they just needed a big break now have no one to blame but their own lazy selves. Second, giving anyone the opportunity to create spurs innovation and competition, which can lead to better music.
The hardest part of writing and creating is getting started. (I spent an hour checking email and reading news before I typed the first letter of this.) Stop working on those rock moves and go make music! Lots of it. A good song will get heard. No matter how many Rebecca Blacks auto tune themselves with a Songify app, a truly great song will be undeniable. The best advice for all artists in this short cycle culture of new is this:
WRITE. RECORD. RELEASE. REPEAT.
Creativity breeds more creativity and attracts creative people. Not everything will be a hit or even good but by constant creation the artists is forced into getting a better idea of current trends. They will be more relevant and their playing and performing skills will vastly improve. It’s the difference between talking about bulking up and actually starting the 90 day challenge.
The old rules of the music biz are outdated. Those rules sucked for the indie artist. Today’s culture allows for musicians to make their own rules and live by them. With no one set path to success, individuals can follow their own unique path to greatness. And with constant creation, they can easily adapt when they need to. Artists are no longer beholden to the old system so musicians should no longer be owned by a corporation. The only thing that should be owned is music and that should be by the fans who buy it. (Not merely license it, but don’t get me started.)
Those who claim music has lost its value have made the mistake in assuming that music is simply another commodity. Music’s value in the experience it creates. Music is the soundtrack to our lives – our first kiss, first time, a special trip. It is more than a commodity streamed to personal headphones. It builds connections between strangers who bond over it and share it. Sharing music is a valuable human experience; one that has been vilified and blamed for the poor business decisions of the old music regime.
A tweet can reach more people than hear an album but that doesn’t make that tweet more valuable. Fame or notoriety is just a bad way to quantify value. Elvis’ hips and J-Lo’s behind are more famous than their music but we don’t discount their music simply because something else is more famous.
Apps are the new albums. That’s the commodity, not the music. People pay to connect. They do it with their gaming system, cable, Hulu, Netflix, and Spotify. Give the fans the ability to easily connect with other fans and let them share the new and constant content. Give them video messages from the band and music videos to tell them stories. Talk to the fans, release different versions of original songs, cover popular songs the fans like and make them unique. The app should be a hyper fan club. And like the fan clubs of old, if you give the fans something in return they will gladly pay to be a part of it.
The ability to inspire and connect others is the real value in music. It is not simply the sale of technology and plastic. It enhances and drives the human experience. It effects how we see the world, fit in with it, and others around us. The world moves faster with each passing decade. The indie artist must keep up, or get left behind.
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