I Quit The Music Industry
For the last 15 years I’ve been an official member of the music industry. I learned from books and videos about the industry, and I assumed this was the way the game is played.
I learned about label deals, agents, contracts, and then 360 deals and modern PR strategies. These tactics are used by musicians around the world. Building an aesthetic and a sound, attracting label interest, hitting the studio and the road, grinding it out for years, spending lots on PR and having to pay it all back. This is how the music industry works.
And it’s really stupid and its a terrible idea to participate.
The Music Industry is Broken and Nobody Will Fix It
There is no hope for musicians in the music industry. It’s a flawed game from the start.
When I look at the myriad musicians in my life, from mega success stories to completely humble situations, those who are in the “industry” game are the least happy.
The industry represents all that is bad about music: The lottery aspect, the American Idol side of things. The get rich quick and dress to impress side. The “get picked” side. The side where the powers that be can dictate bizarre standards for desperate musicians to leap up and try to reach.
The average musician really, really believes that this is the way a music career works:
Step 1: Look impressive enough to get signed, good music is a bonus
Step 2: Be at all the cool shows, have cool looking photos on social media, get in front of large audiences at all costs.
Step 3: Turn this into a lifestyle brand for others to be jealous of
Step 4: By the way - you are now heavily in debt to your label and maybe others. Somehow, at this point, with no financial skills or personal business acumen, it’s all supposed to work out so you can live a sustainable life as a musician. ????
You can argue all day about the exceptions to the rule, but I’ve been all over the place on this shit. I’ve seen the DIY success stories, I’ve seen major label behind the scenes stuff, I see it all. The music industry mindset is so broken, so based in fiction, that it is actively hurting the entire world of musicians.
There is no value in any of it. The music industry (as a set of principles, ideas, and tactics) is hot garbage. Throw it away, throw away every book you own with “music industry” on the cover, it is actively sabotaging your “career.”
People who have to work part time to survive despite a “successful” music career, and who complain about this or act like it’s an annoying but necessary part of life, are terrible role models for an ambitious musician. Regardless of genre or anything - its true for pop, or for free jazz, or yodeling or whatever the fuck. Why would you aim for that when anything is possible.
Here are a few examples of artists who avoided this trap: Sufjan Stevens, Fugazi, Death Grips.
Anyway that's my rant for the day.
It's no longer the music business, now 100% of the focus is on the business of music. The art has become a distant second to the $$$.
Frank Zappa had a lot to say about the corruption of the industry:
What i notice alot about todays music climate is that people don't practice their craft anymore. They are too busy with the social media to even have time to work on their music skills... another thing is lack of respect for the people that did it before you... alot of artists have no respect for the game so in turn they don't get respected, and thats when the complaining comes. It's best for people to learn the ins n outs, not to be discouraged in the end, but to apply it to their craft ... but the fact remains is its about the music!! At the end of the day, its about the MUSIC. Make great music and focus on building great songs.
Anybody who thinks they can succeed without putting in the practice time will have a big lesson to learn at some point. That's the truth!
I'm sorry that you've reached this conclusion. Besides luck and talent as necessary ingredients, I think it's vitamin C that brings you forward. People in the industry have to know your name and tell others about you and for this, you have to know some of them yourself (ideally independently from one another) and be interesting for them. Not sure how to accomplish that, it's perhaps - again - luck to for example meet a producer and come along well on a personal level.
Instead of reading books, perhaps internships and side-jobs in positions near relevant people are more promising to get forward as musician yourself. At least that's how it works in other branches. Of course, you have to get into that first as well and work yourself up. Ever thought about becoming a rowdy? That's surely tough and demanding, but I bet they have a great time and since it's a small circus on tour, sometimes band members hang out with their workers (you'd have to check out which ones are open and nice first of course..).
Anyway, that's my 2 cents:-)
Nah its not about internships or side jobs its just about making good music and marketing it the right way
Indeed. I really don't understand why so many continue to cling to a broken model that never worked for their interests in the first place?
When I was 17 I made an electronica / trip hop full length album with a friend of mine who I had been in a rock band with (mainly covers) since 15. I was lucky to be supported by our families and to get some pirate music software from my uncle and we spent 13 months exploring and creating this work. We self published at relatively large cost to our young selves, and put in a few local record shops (which still existed in 2005, just barely), and got a nice review in the local paper.
But I fell into the same trap, albeit briefly. I sent a copy of the CD to about 50 publishers, all over the world. I didn't even get one reply. At that time I suppose getting a random CD meant it went straight in the bin, but we had high hopes. I was disappointed.
It turns out this was the best thing to happen to us. I went on to get in with a punk crowd where I adopted the DIY attitude (the real attitude, not just until you get signed) and eventually the Irish community banded together with others around Europe and we self published and self financed things. I created music like this in the punk, doom metal, electronica and post-rock genres until a few years ago when I started having kids and took a break.
I consider it a success to have been involved with the musicians and communities I've been involved with. Every now and then I'd meet someone who turned out to be a fan, I grew to accept that was to be the limit of my reach.
I don't know what to think about music consumption today. I'm pretty excited by the rise in indie jazz and hip-hop in the last few years in terms of mainstream-ish music, but who knows how this stuff gets made. All I know is that keeping things real and local was rewarding and I'm glad we didn't get picked up as teens.
By the way, you lay out your criticism but what is your actual approach going to be now?