It is not enough just to write any more. After spending many more hours than it should take working on the Brokes myspace page last night, I am beginning to realize the many hats members of a band must wear, in a way that I am assuming marks a change in what it now means to be an artist. A band needs:
(obviously) to play instruments
to line up gigs and network with bands and venues
to design webpages, t-shirts, and album covers
to take photos and videos
to record and engineer songs
to publicize and advertise for shows
to prepare press kits and profiles
(and of course)to write songs and music.
There are many more things that these categories leave out, but that isn't the point. Now, making music is a battle between the availability of all the tools necessary provided you have a few instruments and a computer and the difficulty it is for individuals to execute all of these tasks. It is not enough just to write any more. A band must spend as much time, if not more, working on getting their music out there as they do writing it.
As I said before, this is a battle. Now that all of the weapons are in our hands, we must ask the questions, "Can we use them" and "Should we use them?" Essentially, this allows a band to have complete creative control. They can play at the venues they want to, decide what goes on the t-shirts and structure their albums without answering to a label or corporation that signs their paychecks. However, this also leaves out the advice and advantages that comes from answering to superiors, and it cuts down on the time a band gets to spend writing and composing. And...a lot of times it leaves out the paychecks, too.
In this upheaval of typical artistic structures I feel it is safe to say we are currently experiencing--in many fields even beyond music--there are two questions among many that must be answered and answered quickly. I ask them both, as a fan of music and someone involved with the creating of it. The first is whether all of these changes will make music and music culture better or worse, assuming it is available to fans. The second is whether artists will be more or less motivated and capable of creating music (or any type of art, really).
I realize these questions are loaded, and because of this, they are incomplete in themselves. I will continue to tackle more specific topics, but I am attempting to think ahead before I do. However, I think the right questions need to be addressed by all in order to solve some of the problems at hand. Music is for all to enjoy, and unfortunately when something is wrong with it, these problems are for all to solve.
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2 comments:
I'm very familiar with what you're going through. As a writer, I've run into the same world of self promotion.
My first novel was published by a print-on-demand publishing house called "Publish America." They did absolutely nothing to promote my book. They wouldn't even send out copies for reviews. I had to do it all on my own, including putting together a website and designing bookmarks to pass around. Most of my promotion was through myspace, but then filters went up that made it so much more difficult to do that. I sold most of my books due to my own efforts of setting up book signings at book stores in the mall and by interacting with people on a one-on-one basis.
The plus side is that the internet made everything easier. The down-side is that suddenly there is a gigantic flood of other people doing just what you're doing.
But nonetheless it makes you appreciate your own work even more because you're not relying on hired help to get your name out there. It allows you to be real and up front to your own fans.
(in response to Michel)
I absolutely agree that it could be advantageous...and although there are pros and cons, change is evident. One thing that I am hoping will come out of this transitory time is bridging the gap between musician and fan.
Making your art more accessible like you did through one-on-one interaction with potential buyers is mutually beneficial. I remember a few years ago when Bob Dylan had a show in Washington, PA.
My dad at the time was working for a local publication and attempted to contact him for an interview and also to slyly provide my brother (an avid Dylan fan) with the opportunity to meet him. When he contacted the venue's publicist, she regrettably stated something like, "Dylan does not do that so of thing, for anyone anymore."
I remember thinking how terrible this was. As fans we often put individuals on pedestals and wonder why they look down upon us. In my mind this is product of the past structure of the music industry. Like you said before, you have to value every fan you have, and I can vouch for all of the Unsmokable Brokes when I say we do.
I don't know if that is what you were getting at, but it is something I feel passionately about.
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