“Where we showcase artists who just don’t get the attention they deserve” Kylie Haris, host of CMT’s “On the Edge of Country”, which gets a grand total of one half hour a day of airtime. Or half the exposure that Toby Keith gets on a daily basis.
So where are the artists who aren’t getting the attention they deserve? Where are they hiding in the media landscape. The comment made last night is correct, you can find them online. The thing is, I have problems with that method of distribution. It’s pull marketing versus push marketing. You, as an individual, can search out and download songs from people you never have heard of and maybe find a good band. But the effort is on you. I don’t know about other people, but music is my background noise in my daily like. Right now I’m listening to Tift Merritt’s “Tambourine” and have no problem writing to it. If MTV was still around and playing videos I could have that on instead. For the most part, I simply don’t have the time on a daily basis to search out music. That’s where push marketing comes in. Sure, MTV played a ton of crap even on the good days but maybe you’ll stumble across something interesting.
Plus, please do not make the argument that “since artists don’t make much money from selling records you should just download their music.” That is the equivalent of your boss saying “You know, you don’t make the majority of your money from 8 AM to 9 AM so we’re just going to stop paying you for those hours.” If your boss did that you would go after him with a chair. So why does it make it fair to steal music online? Buy songs from itunes or other sites. If the artists has free downloads on their web site go right ahead. But I’ve talked to people like Neko Case, who sells in the tens of thousands if she is lucky, and those few royalties are the difference between having to get a real job or having the ability to pursue her dream.
The thing is, there is undoubtedly some great music out there. And again, I’m basically talking about (and what I feel everyone reading this is focused on) is what would be called college rock. Whatever is left from the grunge scene and the alternative music world. Tunes for people turning thirty. What you have to do is accept that odds are you won’t find what you are looking for on MTV or on the radio. But you might find it on the Garden State soundtrack.
How else would you have heard about the Shins? A great band but not one with much exposure until that movie. Just look at the bands on that disc: The Postal Service, Frou Frou, an old Nick Drake song. You can spend weeks just picking up music from the bands featured there. Those starting points are everywhere. It’s not as easy as turning on the tv at midnight on Sunday anymore but you can find them.
Also, I can’t stress this enough, you have to go out to concerts and support live music. It is what keeps the bands going and it is the absolutely best way to find new bands. Especially if you actually listen to the opening act. When I went to see Damien Rice last year, I barely knew who Damien was and didn’t even know there was an opening act. I got there just as The Frames took the stage and saw a performance that turned them into one of my favorite bands (who have now been written up by Esquire about how cool they are.) By going out and supporting those bands you’ll find someone else who catches your ear, I guarantee it.
And when I talk about going to concerts please do not take that to mean that you have to go to the enormo-shed concerts where it is you and twenty thousand of your closest friends. I took a look at my notes and of the 68 concerts I’ve been to in the past year and a half I had an actual seat for 6 of them. And I even feel that that number is a little too high. Sure, if that is the only way to see Coldplay by all means go ahead and take advantage of the chance but don’t limit yourself to those shows. If I can find a number of cool small venues in a town like Kansas City you know there has to be some where you live.
Great music is out there. One of the reasons I list my five random CDs is because I hope that maybe, just maybe, someone will decide to check out someone that I list. I know that most of them are people you have never heard of (I figure that if you know two or more discs in a given week it means that you are a serious music fan) but they all hold meaning and are worth hearing. What I love about music and books and art in general is that at its core it is one person putting their soul out for the world to see. It is this statement of here I am, this is what I believe, this is what I am. Some of us lack the ability to take that stance, others lack the courage, but we should never stop supporting those who take that risk.
(Coming next week: the prologue to the novel (finally), my response to Nick Hornby’s “Songbook”, and the results of my fantasy football draft. And maybe even an explanation as to why I am in such a chipper mood tonight. Until then, have a great weekend, live life to its fullest, and Erik, enjoy Katrina and the Waves.)
2 comments:
Sorry if this post is a bit behind, but Katrina and the Waves had me walking on anything but sunshine. I think every named storm from now on should be named Hemorrhoids because a hurricane is a major pain in the ass.
OK, so to be fair, I think we're going to have to back further than 1990 to chart the decline in the music industry, if indeed there has been one. You're right, pop music is just that. Has there been a decline in the general quality of the artists that reaching prominence? Who are the great poet philosophers of the new generation? Are they getting the right kind of exposure for the right reasons? These are all fine questions, but the real core of my question is directed toward the industry, not the artists, though the line between them can be fine.
You could phrase the question as "Has the decreased attention span of the information age steered us toward a music industry aimed at using artists like cheap chewing gum? To be chewed up and spat out seconds later when the flavor is gone and the next flavor d'jour comes along?"
I can tell you that in my experience, nobody in the business side of music is remotely concerned with the artists other than the fact that they represent a paycheck. I suppose you could call this a manifestation of the invisible hand, but I sought a career in the music business not just to make money, but for a love of music, for a want to contribute and be a part of what I think is a sublime artform. But 95% of the people in 'the biz' don't know the difference between Nickelback and Nickel Creek and couldn't care less. They are far more concerned with who their seat is next to at the Grammy's and whats on the menu at Spago.
I'm too damn tired to write more about this now, but there you have my inputs.
What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?
~ Rob Gordon
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