Saturday, September 27, 2014

Working to Survive in Music

     I think the first thing to note about this post is the word survive.  Not flourish, not get rich, not drive in a Lamborghini, but to get by, to endure, to withstand.  Of course I'm talking about what it's like for the average musician trying to pursue what they love.  I mean, from an outsider perspective it seems like every musician on MTV has a huge mansion, 20 gold chains hanging from their neck, and a flock of women that are omnipresent no matter where the artist goes.  When friends and family ask about what it was like for me to tour, they almost always started with: "How was tour? Was it the experience of a lifetime?  You are so lucky!".  Don't get me wrong, touring was the experience of my life that was the deciding factor for who I want to be and what I want to do with my life, but it was also one of the most stressful, scary, sweaty stinky, hungry, and thirsty times in my life.  Living on the road with next to no money to feed a group of people let alone pay for outrageous gas prices.  This isn't helped by how much my band and I make from digital music outlets such as Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, etc.  Making a thousandth of a penny didn't exactly buy a Big Mac.  The point that I'm getting at here is that the music industry is a vast (not to mention over-saturated) treasure trove of entertainment bliss for music consumers across the globe.  There's something for everyone out there that can absolutely light up their day!  The only problem is that these entertainers who put their lives into their work aren't making enough to simply... SURVIVE.
     This is for several reasons.  First of all, the market is absolutely oversaturated.  It is absolutely a milestone for an artist to swim from the bottom of their local music scene and emerge from the surface and get noticed.  This is because there are thousands and thousands of bands who sound almost exactly the same who want the exact same thing as you.  They may even want it more than you do!  This is one of the reasons so many artists don't get the pay that they deserve.  It's like spreading a tablespoon of peanut butter and trying to cover 1000 pieces of bread. 
   Also, there's the whole debacle of artists getting paid in lint and thousandths of a hay penny for their song reaching audiences online.  Whether that is Pandora, Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, or any other online distribution source, the artist isn't getting near enough money!  These companies get incredible amounts of income from advertisements that are seen by the online listeners that only reach the listeners because of YOUR MUSIC.  So in other words, these companies are cashing in on all of the advertisements made possible by YOU, all while you don't make a penny.  Doesn't make a whole lot of sense, right?  Well lucky for us (if you are a musician), there are many people who are thinking the same way and are taking steps to do something about it.  One of which is #IRespectMusic.  One of their philosophies that is posted on their home page by the recording artist Blake Morgan is that "we artists and musicians have the right to expect from our profession what others expect from their professions.  That through hard work and determination, perspiration and inspiration, we'll have the same fair shot to realize our dreams, answer our callings, support our families.  I respect my profession.  I respect artists.  I respect music."
I think this is an absolutely beautiful statement because I feel that even though consumers want the easy way to get music, like torrenting or streaming where the musician makes next to nothing or nothing, they need to recognize money doesn't grow on trees.  The music didn't get made from free.  It didn't take seconds for the artist to take or record.  It took hours of hard work that was not without cost and then proceeds through countless other steps before it reaches your ears.  Therefore, I feel that for artists to continue to make music that the masses may enjoy, they must be able to make enough money to survive and that starts with us musicians getting treated like how other professionals are treated. 

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