Indie Music - The Brave Rainforest?
Chill-out Music
As with any new development, you will find there's ton of speculation regarding the emergence of the Indie marketplace for new music. Of course, nobody knows with 100% certainty, but when history is a good indicator, then much of the speculation will turn out to be wrong 5 years as time goes on when we look back.
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When i am among those who speculate, I've no special powers of seeing the near future so there are no guarantees that I will be correct. Luckily, few will remember those who were wrong in their prognostications. In fact, few will remember those who were correct once we will have all managed to move on to something more compelling with that time. It will no longer matter unless we are actually historians. I have no interest in looking back to say whether I became right or wrong. But, I truly do have an interest in the music business.
First, I believe you should understand the forces which exist. Most understand the power money and influence within this business of music, in order that it really makes sense for all of us to give consideration to it. Which is, money and influence will continue to be a factor. However, there's a new force in the city that will change the overall composition in the previous infrastructure.
As everyone knows, the big difference may be the emergence of mass communication, new digital media and resulting file sharing capabilities. Today, an individual has the potential to reach because as the big guys. Please be aware that I say "potential". Having a great product, or even in the case of a songwriter, a fantastic song, does not mean that will hear it. The brand new model is continuously shifting around under our feet once we explore ways to have our music heard.
The important names in music continue to have an advantage despite the shifting landscape. Songwriters and bands which have a huge following have name recognition so that they are able to step away from the traditional box and use a lot of existing power and influence with them. We have all heard about Radiohead's grand experiment and we all know that it worked for them. In case you don't know, Radiohead decided to split using label and produce an unbiased CD. They offered it on the internet and only asked website visitors to donate what they believed it absolutely was worth. Folks responded by donating money. Why achieved it work? It worked because we already knew them. What's more, it worked because a lot of the traditional system infrastructure ended up removed and the income were greatly improved because of this. However, it is only fair to state that the recognition of the brand Radiohead was originally thanks to the traditional infrastructure in the old music business.
The thing is, let's not move too rapidly in our assumption that it'll work for us. Many of us do not have the name recognition of Radiohead. Therefore, we now have less probability to be successful without some form of assistance. The large publishers and labels also continue to have an advantage. Their advantage remains deep pockets where they may obtain helpful information on promotions, etc. Next to your skin huge networks of "partners" that have faith in their capacity to make lucrative deals. Corporate sponsors, advertisers, and distributors is constantly see less risk together with the existing larger organizations with n established records. It will take years for new players in this sell to emerge. That is, a whole new online label or publisher should demonstrate some success before obtaining the credibility to succeed in the traditional system. This system is additionally changing, but it will not change overnight. I believe that it is somewhat naive to assume that the new players will not likely change in the process. That's, they will begin to resemble the existing players as the old players begin to resemble the new players.
At the same time, we see an occasional breakout of Indie artists giving us "little guys" hope for the future of our own music. Ingrid Michaelson is the greatest example of Indie success which i know, if you take into account that she was previously unknown. The label of Indie artist has lots of definitions, so we have to be careful to understand the differences between a designer who is considered an Indie artist because they're not considered mainstream, and an Indie artist who's truly independent with regards to their availability of resources. Actually, I not really know of any artist that's both successful and truly independent. Having some success generally requires a designer to receive assistance somewhere along the way. It is difficult to know the source of the assistance as it's less likely to be publicized, on the other hand contend that the assistance exists nonetheless. When it comes to Ingrid Michaelson, she was very fortunate to possess her song played while on an "Old Navy" commercial. How did this happen? I am not sure with 100% certainty, but I doubt that it was only Ingrid. I suspect that she had some assistance throughout the entire process. Just as one engineer, I also are aware that a complex, dynamic system like the music market comprising the general public and the music business is very difficult to predict. There are numerous variables, and again, there are forces that must be considered.
Therefore, what will the future appear like? I believe there will be a celebration somewhere in the middle between your remaining traditional music models and also the ideal model of Indie music produced "by people for the people". We are already seeing a shift in the strategies of the big guys to utilize the Internet to their own advantage. This needs to be expected. While some men and women continue to rage against the power of capital, money will eventually find a place despite any idealistic notions to the contrary. It just makes sense that capital can be a force that must be given due consideration. Otherwise, we may have seen individuals making their own brand of automobiles. Certain industries less difficult more capital intensive, like the automobile industry, though the analogy is valid. There are numerous industries that will alternation in these uncertain times, nevertheless the collective aspect of getting good quality products to market will stay in place.
While capital will help produce flashy, high quality products, there is a growing taste on a regular basis and exciting. Most people are growing tired of formulaic music. We are now hearing new sounds and rhythms that provides us new sensations. Unfortunately for your big guys, they have got put most of their eggs to the basket of supporting the standard styles that have been repackaged. Indeed, there will be little regard for taste as listeners. This may also change, however it will also be very slow. Most of the labels have completely eliminated their earlier practice of developing new artists. It is now shifted to a system of "cherry picking" among the upcoming artists who are starting to show signs of independent success. So, the Indie artists are given a choice during their career. Do they wish to continue as so-called independents or would they wish to have a larger sponsor that will help them on a much larger scale?
The divide that exists between your Indie artist and the signed artist is large until you consider many of the newly emerging systems for providing assistance. That's, the divide will be filled by a variety of people who will provide some form of assistance. You can now discover a multitude of services online that can help you as an artist. These types of services are provided for a fee. Of course, as with any new market, you will see a period of excitement because of the valid perception of new opportunity. You'll also have the inevitable "overshoot" that happens. Systems tend to be employed in cycles and this new infrastructure won't be any different. That is, the supply of services go beyond the actual demand resulting in a pendulum swing within the opposite direction at some point in the long run.
The services that survive is going to be those services that have something to show for that associated cost. Which is, services that have something to provide will continue to flourish while other services could eventually disappear. This is already becoming somewhat apparent, however i believe it will take quite a while to really shake out. It is interesting to me the one element which is really missing in the center ground between 100% independent artists and 100% dependent artists is money. Eventually, someone should be aware of that money is the missing link on two separate levels. To start with, on a personal level, financial resources are needed for artists to survive. Having services available is of little use to individuals who have little money to purchase their own careers. Secondly, over a business level, there exists a need for more than a world wide web presence to actually provide services to artists. That's, capital is needed to have more than a website. Indie labels are perfect examples of capital intensive services that may be offered to assist an artist. This much should be clear. However, a lot of the other services also require equipment not just a computer. Finally, there exists a need for many of the services to get a ground game. As an example, there is a big difference between running a website and having to be able to actually show up personally to adequately represent a designer.
I believe these voids could eventually be filled by enterprising music entrepreneurs. However, I believe that more emphasis have to be placed on money along with the ground game before it's going to begin to really sound right. Finally, I believe that seed money must become available for promising artists. That's, an artist who has sufficient music collateral needs to have more options available in their mind for growing their career in addition to their earning potential. In these times, investment money is becoming tough to find. However, traditional investments might not be as attractive even as move forward in this brave rainforest. Most of us remember when companies listed on the list of Dow Industrials had hardly any chance of failure. This can be no longer true from the global economy that exists today. So, why not create a fund where at least a portion of the money may be invested in the career of promising artists? This type of fund could also provide the means by which artists may spend money on their own future.
Another model would involve keep on investing providing seed money to select individual artists to get a return on their investment. Of course, the arrangement have to be contractual for it to be effective. Guess what? This already exists available as publishers and labels. However, you will see a new demand for funding in this middle ground between unknown artists and stardom. This funding, In my opinion, will be needed to help bridge the visible difference between the availability of services and also the need for assistance.
Needless to say, there is the model of pure public opinion in which the better music bubbles to the top as more people listen around the social networks. I believe there exists some validity to this model but it also isn't perfect given the large number of uploads from which to choose. The odds will continue to decline weight loss people attempt to bust out by way of the internet. The pioneers of this medium had a superior chance as there was a smaller amount competition. It should easily be clear that the numbers have become to the point of making the work of gaining recognition just like difficult as before the internet. Just like the services, the performers must also have a ground game. That is certainly, artists must be accessible to perform with regularity as an alternative to depend solely while on an internet presence.
In closing, I would love to point out that a great song can create enough energy to get rid of out by virtue of it's own merits, on the other hand believe that would be the idealist that also lingers from my youth, wanting good to win out without regard for the way our system operates. Unfortunately, I really believe our society is too determined by the flow of greenbacks to allow more than a fraction of the percent in the way of lucky breaks to ignore the odds. In the meantime, I wouldn't recommend throwing money away so that they can build a music career. Rather, In my opinion it makes sense for artists to construct relationships while continuing to build a catalog of work. We all understand the valuation on a network of fellow artists, it makes sense for artists to build relationships over time with those invoved with the business of music.