The End of the Music Business

[enslaved1]

And now for something completely different...

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/music-industry-ipod/

An interesting take on the history of recorded music, the effects of digital music, and streaming music services.

I'm not a fan of streaming music services.  Not only do they generate very little money for most musicians, the service controls what is available to you.  Spotify decides band X needs pulled for whatever reason, lack of plays, politics, whatever, people who choose to depend on Spotify are suddenly out of luck if they want to listen to band X.  Whenever possible, I buy a physical copy, usually used, which doesn't help the artists any admittedly, or download my own digital copy to keep stored in my drives.   

[Eupher]

Wow. This is a most interesting topic to me. Thank you, enslaved1, for bringing up this issue in which I have so much NOT invested.

What I mean by that is simply this -- there are far too many trained, qualified, and exceptional musicians who are ignored or otherwise cast out of the "acceptable" crowd. The "acceptable" crowd is far too many to name, and I won't even attempt to go there.

But to bring it back home and to make it more personal, I have been a performing musician for some 54 years now. I haven't been always on the top of the Billboard charts (lol). But I am trained, I am capable, and I have at least some of the required skills needed to arrive at what many call "success."

Why didn't it happen? For me, it didn't happen because I realized I would be pissing in the wind. It's a nice exercise, but one tends to get wet.

But back to technology, which is where this issue is, I think.

Technology in the music business tends to hide and even obfuscate knowledge. After all, none of the Beatles could even read music. Or write it. That's correct. Even Paul McCartney, to this day, cannot write a note. He's clueless. Buddy Rich, the world's greatest drummer (just ask his ghost, as he died in 1986), couldn't read a note. Or compose anything. When it came time to record a chart, he hired a guy to come in and read it with his band. He was able to memorize the tempo, style, and kicks. And then perform it day after day, night after night. His drive, his knowledge, his experience, and his balls kept him going until the day he died.

Where is the talent there? I'll leave you to answer that.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Wow. This is a most interesting topic to me. Thank you, enslaved1, for bringing up this issue in which I have so much NOT invested.

What I mean by that is simply this -- there are far too many trained, qualified, and exceptional musicians who are ignored or otherwise cast out of the "acceptable" crowd. The "acceptable" crowd is far too many to name, and I won't even attempt to go there.

But to bring it back home and to make it more personal, I have been a performing musician for some 54 years now. I haven't been always on the top of the Billboard charts (lol). But I am trained, I am capable, and I have at least some of the required skills needed to arrive at what many call "success."

Why didn't it happen? For me, it didn't happen because I realized I would be pissing in the wind. It's a nice exercise, but one tends to get wet.

But back to technology, which is where this issue is, I think.

Technology in the music business tends to hide and even obfuscate knowledge. After all, none of the Beatles could even read music. Or write it. That's correct. Even Paul McCartney, to this day, cannot write a note. He's clueless. Buddy Rich, the world's greatest drummer (just ask his ghost, as he died in 1986), couldn't read a note. Or compose anything. When it came time to record a chart, he hired a guy to come in and read it with his band. He was able to memorize the tempo, style, and kicks. And then perform it day after day, night after night. His drive, his knowledge, his experience, and his balls kept him going until the day he died.

Where is the talent there? I'll leave you to answer that.

Interesting factoids. Hell, even yours truly can still read music. I've often said that one of the greatest lifetime gifts was that my parents and grandparents "forced" me to take piano lessons for about 4 years during my childhood. Probably couldn't play it particularly well these days. But the gift I received was learning dexterity with my fingers, hands and arms which I know helped me greatly in learning to type (back when all we had were typewriters) and that range of motion has helped me in athletics.

Rarely listed to music anymore although I own hundreds of CD's as I gravitate to news/politics and sports. In the past decade and longer current music really no longer catches my fancy, but when I feel like listening to something I'll readily pop it in or find it on a device.

[Ptarmigan]

Wow. This is a most interesting topic to me. Thank you, enslaved1, for bringing up this issue in which I have so much NOT invested.

What I mean by that is simply this -- there are far too many trained, qualified, and exceptional musicians who are ignored or otherwise cast out of the "acceptable" crowd. The "acceptable" crowd is far too many to name, and I won't even attempt to go there.

But to bring it back home and to make it more personal, I have been a performing musician for some 54 years now. I haven't been always on the top of the Billboard charts (lol). But I am trained, I am capable, and I have at least some of the required skills needed to arrive at what many call "success."

Why didn't it happen? For me, it didn't happen because I realized I would be pissing in the wind. It's a nice exercise, but one tends to get wet.

But back to technology, which is where this issue is, I think.

Technology in the music business tends to hide and even obfuscate knowledge. After all, none of the Beatles could even read music. Or write it. That's correct. Even Paul McCartney, to this day, cannot write a note. He's clueless. Buddy Rich, the world's greatest drummer (just ask his ghost, as he died in 1986), couldn't read a note. Or compose anything. When it came time to record a chart, he hired a guy to come in and read it with his band. He was able to memorize the tempo, style, and kicks. And then perform it day after day, night after night. His drive, his knowledge, his experience, and his balls kept him going until the day he died.

Where is the talent there? I'll leave you to answer that.

Interesting insight.

[Drafe Hoblin]

'The Music Business' is inside my head.

Remember the film Major Dundee, where the Union Army was 'playing' Battle Hymn Of The Republic, The Rebs were singing I Wish I Was In Dixie, and the cowboys were singing My Darling Clementine all at the same time as they were leaving the fort?

As long as I'm alive, there is no end.