Ever heard that uplifting statement?
I’m not the first one to get depressed about where things are going, but still, I need to call bullshit where I see it. The music industry, as flawed as it is (and always was, to be fair), is not going anywhere. Is it saturated? I don’t think so. It only seems like it.
The advent of social media levelled the playing field, and we all start from the ground up now. Sure, with a hard-working team and a solid PR campaign, you can start climbing pretty fast. Sprinkle it with some of the fairy dust known as digital marketing, and you’ll be on the rise. Throwing a bunch of money at that problem will actually make a difference.
But let’s stay on the ground for a bit longer. That’s where most of us hang out on a daily basis, anyway. Social media had us believe that we could get a fair shot at it. If our hearts were pure enough, our Wi-Fi fast enough, and our dance moves stupid enough, we would rise to the top of the chain. Get that viral content. Those millions of views. Have people watch your video for more than 1.3 seconds before hastily swiping away.
The problem with leveling the playing field, as good as it sounds at first, is that we now have to listen to everyone. Anyone can speak up about anything. Politics, of course, climate change, Artificial Intelligence, and other waaaay too real topics that should maybe, just maybe, be left to the people who know what they’re talking about. But there’s worse. WAY worse.
Now, anyone can sing.
Thanks to the many tools we developed over the last 25 years or so (looking at you, Antares), anyone can make music. You’re not a musician? Eh, that’s alright! Press a few buttons, paste some loops and make a “beat”. Or buy one. Or lease one, even! Why the fuck not? Then send it to that cute influencer who’s showing some serious skin to her 30K followers and ask her to sing on it. She can’t sing? She sounds like a cat in heat getting crushed by a Dodge Ram on a lazy Sunday afternoon? Pfff! Irrelevant! We’ll edit it, tune it up, compress it, EQ it, drown it in reverb and coat it with a slap-back. It will be per-fect.
Rant over? Paused, let’s say.
What I’m getting at is that the industry is not saturated. The sheer number of people online “creating” music will have you believe it. These days, everyone and their mother is “making” music.
Why? Because you don’t need to be a musician anymore. Hell, you don’t even need to be a singer anymore.
What about lyrics, you ask? Yes, what about them? Many times when I hear these songs I can’t help but think an AI would have done a better job. And I’m sure I’m not the only one.
It doesn’t matter what they tell you. At the end of the day, the industry hasn’t changed that much. It’s not about the views, the likes, or how many knobheads will buy your dirty socks (spoiler alert: a lot).
If you get offline for a minute, turn off your LED panel and leave your bedroom, you’ll see that the real world is still out there. And it’s working. Hard.
You want to play that gig? Do you have a tight band? Do you know the venue manager? Can you get an introduction? Can you impress someone with your skills? Are you a good enough performer to get that first gig at your smallest, shittiest local venue?
The music industry, the real one, is still offline. And it still works the same. You need to be a badass. You just have to be very good so that someone will take a chance on you. Then you have to knock it out of the park on gig number one. Get a recommendation from the manager of that first venue, and go get gig number two. Rinse and repeat. So on and so forth. You won’t be playing Wembley at the end of the week, but you’ll be on the way to it at least.
The hard work is going on behind the scenes. I’m not saying creating content isn’t hard. But it’s still comfortable. You’re in your bedroom, doing your little thing, around you. Me, me, me, me, me. It’s tough getting in front of the camera at first, true, but it’s still easier than going outside. Picking up the phone. Making connections. Nurturing relationships. Becoming involved in a local scene. Asking for a favour.
Today, there’s way fewer people willing to do that. And hey, I get it, it’s tough. And scary. But it works.
One last thing: be a professional. You’ve heard that one before, I’m sure. Everyone has. Many don’t understand the true meaning behind this, though. I’ll break it down for you in very simple terms.
Be reliable. That’s it. There’s nothing more to it. Be reliable. Be trustworthy. You got a message / email / DM? Reply to it before the end of the day. You said you were going to be there at eight? Be there at eight. In fact, be there at 7:45, order a coffee, and go to the bathroom to take a leak and freshen up.
That’s what being a professional is. It all comes down to that. Saying something and doing it. Sounds boring? Try it for a bit. It’s a lot harder than it sounds.
The music industry is saturated, right? It’s saturated with assholes, I’ll give you that. But hard-working, skilled, professional musicians? They are few and far between, and I would even argue that we’ve never needed them more.
But then again, what do I know…
*****
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