It seems like you're talking about this "technology race" as something that you would like to stop or turn back if possible. I don't think that would be the right idea.
On the contrary, it is quite the opposite. I for one, love the technological advances and use it to my advantage as a musician and as a consumer, Sadly, this is also something the earlier incarnation of my band would not do, and why there was a massive split in the sheets so to speak. However, this great blessing is also one for anyone with a decent pocket book, and if history has anything to say, not everyone is qualified, nor talented enough to have access to this. I know that is a fairly arrogant thing for me to say, but its just how I feel.
First, it's not like there is some kind of thoughtless battle going on where bands are locked into a competition to race ahead of each other, without realizing that the race will destroy them all.
No its not thoughtless at all, in fact, its had several years of thought put into it on many, many levels, the artists, the advertising agencies and the social network sites that hold them up and teach them how to get all up in your ass. My outlook email, as well as my social network in boxes are proof of this alone. Maybe thats not a good place to gauge my speculation, but Its enough evidence for me to draw my opinion on it that its flat out of control. If there wasnt this thoughtless battle going on, I dont think I would randomly get 20-30 messages/post/IMs from artist with NO notability saying, Vote or us! help us sign to roadrunner! join our mailing list! Check out our new song and download it on iTunes/Amazon! and so on and so forth. NO reviews on webzines/magazine, NO interviews, NO real website, nothing
no notability. Just a MySpace/Reverbnation page with their MP3s and they are pimping themselves out with notability like a whore on state street? Thats complete crap
If it came from any other source than the band themselves, I might take it seriously, but it rarely ever does. Case and point, if every metal band that has a song on iTunes had their news or updates posted on Blabbermouth, would Blabbermouth have any validity or notability themselves amongst metal fans or the industry in there respected genre? Probably not.
Rather, technology has advanced on its own, and that has simply unlocked an existing desire in artists to record their work for posterity.
I agree here to a certain degree, but once again, I dont think monkeys should be allowed to play with a loaded guns, just because they (or someone else) feels have a right to do so. No good can come of that.
In this "free market" of music, I say the more output, the better. Put it all out there. Record it all. We don't need any gatekeepers on the front-end. Don't let anything stifle the creative process before it gets started. Instead, to shield us, the listeners, from the tsunami, we can rely on filtering on the back end.
Im little mixed on this one I agree, I dont think anything in the creative process should be stifled, in fact I think anyone with a dream to write, record and perform music for others should certainly make it happen without being shackled. My issue is that there is no dam to hold back the water, and let it trickle out as its needed or wanted. We as the listeners are turning into that said dam, not the gate keepers as you mention obviously. Personally, as a music consumer, I dont want to be the dam to hold back the flood LOL! I would rather leave that up to the gatekeepers, labels and A&R people. Now this may sound crazy coming from a musician who is constantly hearing the word NO! from these so-called gate keepers, but I am also a huge fan of music, and with that being said, I dont WANT to surf, dig, scour or even brows through hundreds of thousands of artist to find that diamond in the rough, I just dont have that kind of time or patients. This will sound callous, but up until recently, if a band isnt singed or holding any sort of notability in the ranks, I dont give them the time of day. Not because I dont think they would be a great or even fantastic band that I would love and enjoy, its just there is
to
much
out
there
. And no quality control. I have to draw the line somewhere.
While I think there is very little room left for innovation in copy-protection, I think there are still opportunities out there for brilliant ideas in the music-discovery arena. Things like last.fm, Pandora, or iTunes Genius are all fighting for share in this increasingly-important market. In a field of unlimited choice, we need some help to make the search-space reasonable. In the past, we relied on record labels to limit the field. Now, the same technology that allowed the field to explode and also help save us from its suffocation. Crowd sourcing and analysis of our own music tastes can work as personalized record labels, telling us what we should check out and what we shouldn't even think about.
I certainly do agree here on most of your points; but again, as you mentioned, The labels limited and restrained the options, there was obvious pros and cons to that, and now we as the listeners are able to build our own label. But even then with the if you like such-and-such band, you should listen to XXXX! doesnt present much help for me on a personal level if the bands have no real notability. The bottom line for me as an artist it that the more artists there are vying for fans on this level playing field or free market thats been created and pushed as the wave of the future, the less pie there is to give, and the slivers getting sliced out are paper thin at this point. Thats not enough to supplement any kind of expense it costs to even create the music, let alone anything else.
Now, there are two different possibilities that might reveal themselves in an environment filled with perfect music-discovery services. If there really are a limited number of universally "good" artists, then the music-discovery services will cause that cream to rise to the top, and all other artists will quickly wither away, leaving that top segment able to make a living.
This is true, The how and when this will happen is anyones guess of course. However, because this issue hasnt been resolved, might answer my question as to the why concerning the flood of music/artist as well.
On the other hand, if there really is no such thing as universally "good" artists, and our tastes are all very personal, then every artist out there will be a good fit for someone, and no single artist will make enough money to live off of. While the latter case may be bad news for artists looking to make money, it's still good news for listeners, because either way, we'll have no trouble finding music to listen to that we like
.
This is also true. Sadly, this is exactly the road were all going down at the moment. Sure, its great for the listener, if said listener has the time and patients to dig through the massive pile of noise to find that one good melody. However, regardless of that, it still costs money to create the music, granted its pennys over dollars with technology, but it still cost money. Ive been saying this for a several years now, but if the well runs dry, then what? By this I mean when artist cant even afford to make music independently, or not being able to break even from the expense, no matter how small the expenses might be due to the very reason you have state above
then what?
I know thats a grim and nearly impossible situation, but seriously, if this were the case, it will be artists who have a disposable income or working capitol from a non-musical avenue, be it a day job, a sponsor or private investor, that will come out on top
not the talent. That could be a good thing, but also a very, very bad thing. Artists will spend money to do what they want to satisfy their creative ego and for their small handful of fans with no possibility to see a return or recoup the expenses. Its already an expensive hobby, but thats all it will be in the end or any new artist in the future, period.
Personally, I could care less If I made a dime from music, and by that I mean profit from it, Id be content to break even or come close to that. I enjoy creating music and sharing it with like minded people. But it costs money to create it and promote it properly even on a small scale. With a mortgage and other financial responsibilities, mouths to feed in a family and a desire for them and myself to live a decent quality of life, this free market idea is a kick square in the nuts. I refuse to sacrifice all of these things just to have an expensive hobby. Some artist might do that in the future or do it already, but not me.
