Month: June 2014

Today Up On Christmachine Audio Reference Music Server :

Today I am not going to be telling you anything that surprising. It has been said that before that even though something is blatantly obvious, sometimes it needs to be read for it to really to take hold in our minds. It reminds me of one of my favorite authors M. Scott Peck in his book, “The Road Less Traveled” where he states that once we REALLY grasp the idea that life is painful, it ceases to be so. Now when I first read that statement I thought he was nuts…but slowly over time in reflecting on that idea, I began to understand what he was getting at. It does not mean that all pain just instantly goes away when we recognize that it’s just a part of life, that life is painful, but it does lessen the pain when we get to a state of thinking WTF could things be any worse (and chuckle at the idea about how badly life is throwing shit our way…same shit different day). The same can be said for the music industry, in one sense it’s in the shitter, but on the other hand it’s the most lucrative time in history for artists. Right now you may be thinking what does that mean?

For years we heard that music is dead, in some ways it is, in comparison to the old days of moving units signifying success. Even though that is clear, the odds are still the same at making it big (in terms of just a few percentage points), but as we know the rules of those odds are quite different. I was watching a video today on “What The Music Industry Does Not Want You To Know” and how now instead of an artists sales being of utmost importance, now it is all about building “the brand”. The brand being the artist themselves and their image is the most important thing to focus on today, the music will always of course be important, but now it is not the main focus. I don’t know if I fully agree with the idea that the music industry tries to hide that ideology. We all know we are in a “Brand” building environment with the surge in popular culture for reality talent shows, with a “Boy” or “Girl” band mentality.

We all hear the adults complaining about the monotony of the music world today, but that aside artists have never had more control of their destinies in history. We have entered an era where the left over record companies are signing everyone with some pull to 360 degree deals, where a portion of everything they make in every area goes to the record company for their support. The alternative is cutting them (The record Companies) out completely and doing all the legwork all on your own. In the past this was not a choice, as the record industry had a firm grip on a monopoly, and I personally think the dangerous feeling of going it alone and building a fan base and becoming a social media maven is quite exciting. It’s all up to you…plain and simple, with a little luck thrown in and some writing talent, one is well on their way.

The down sides to this is that “everyone” is a musician, an actor, a producer, and a promoter. That in itself is not a bad thing…It reminds me of being in LA in the 80’s and 90’s, everyone considered themselves an actor. It was a running joke that a waiter would follow a producer into a restaurant bathroom and slip their script under the stall. You really would see this kind of thing happen. So now that it’s expanded in scope, there is a huge surge in music entering the public domain every day, and there’s bad, then bordering on tepid. I do hear a lot of good music as well, the problem is the time you have to spend listening to all this music (the sheer bulk of data) and only coming out with a small amount that is exemplary. Don’t get me wrong, in the same breath I can say I hear a lot of amazing undiscovered artists, and even the good ones will most likely be passed over because they are swept up in the tide.

Again however, after musing on the positives, we find ourselves back in the saddle over an artists music being less important than they’re brand (their looks and appeal). I have first hand experience in this first because I worked with bands that were trying to become successful but more importantly, I am trying to build my brand as “Christmachine – Audio Reference Music Server”…:Christmachine being the key word, easy to remember and this site as “The Machine”. I spend most of my time doing promotion for this site, which I would rather spend writing articles. I have to admit there is quite a thrill having complete control over my destiny. I’m not looking for fame…just to be reputable and interesting to my readers. So I know how all of you aspiring musicians feel…I’m right there with you. In my area the brand should be most important but for musicians, not so much. Artists sure don’t look at it that way in full anyway, they believe in their art with great confidence, and in it’s ability to succeed. On the side everyone is social networking for promotion and I also get that, it’s quite fun at times.

In he video I referenced earlier it was stated that the music industry was killed by file sharing, and that is very true, but it is just as true that music became stagnant and processed. Bands were given shitty deals and putting out CD’s with one or two good songs and you had to but the whole CD. So file sharing thrived because people wanted just one song because that is all there was, and it was all in the cloud and just bits of data reproduced with no product changing hands. We reap what we sew. The record industry overreached and bit the hands that fed them….errrrrrrrrrr…..slight over correction, and a backlash, ya think.You know this story it’s all been told before.

It again all comes down to, regardless how it happened, the old genie in the bottle story, music not being the main focus. It’s not hard to see where data volume would surge and quality thinned out like water in a whiskey bottle. I think I know how this can change even though we are in an age of over saturation. It’s essential that we keep creating, we have to it is in our nature and wonderful. I encourage everyone to continue on (like it matters what I think), because although we believe in what we’re doing. The status quo believes that we’re creating shit, and they could care less, as long as they can sell and package it.

Let me just say that I hope everyone will take a moment once in a while and reflect on the fact that the tide is welcoming us to build only our brand, when we know in our hearts that our art is the most important thing. By continuing to bridge that divide, in our own as well as society’s minds, we will find balance and reconciliation. At some point the bubble will burst. When it does we will all want to be on the surfboard, because as we’ve learned from past experience, it’s best that we ride the wave in early or face the perils of stagnant redundancy in the creative process.

We can see the wave and it’s the one. We get that one chance, and we have to be on point. Once we know what we’re up against, with our consistent repetitive belly of fire, we are no longer just up against ourselves.  The first of the greatest truths that I like to say I’ve come to understand is that the only limits we have are those we place upon ourselves. The second, as the rules have changed so have the truths, we not only have to focus ourselves but force our detractors to change as well. A tall task, but take solace in the idea that we live in a time with great promise, even if everything looks like it’s being destroyed.

thanks for reading and your massive support.

Bless Bless!

CM ☕

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