An Excellent New Read: "A Brief History Of Why Artists Are No Longer Making A Living..."

Thanks for the interesting article. I learned a lot. 

Best,
gary

Whart, I thank you very much for your extremely informative post.

(As you stated in regard to earning a living in the beginning, it has never been easy, but it's almost impossible now)
That, of course, was the key- to be able to make enough money from songwriting or performing to be able to devote full time to the art without having to work a "straight" job to put food on the table and cover the rent, kid’s needs, etc.


When there were nightclubs in St. Louis and East St. Louis, Ill, I saw many good bands and musicians who were unknown. Since I've been an avid jazz fan all of my life, I think I'm qualified to judge what's really good in comparison to all the jazz greats that have gone before now. I saw a band at a club in E. St. Louis that was truly unforgettable; one of the instruments they used was an "African finger piano", and they incorporated it in a fashion that I've never heard, nor can I find anything that resembles their music, but it was so intoxicating that the place was packed whenever they played.

That group was unique and original; they played music that set them apart from anything I've ever heard before or since, and that's not easy. Now, the places for new musicians to begin no longer exist in numbers. Believe me, I've seen and heard fantastic unknown musicians all over this country in clubs that I don't even remember; but some of them could have become household names, they were just that talented.

If you're going to raise chickens, you have to have a breeding ground, if you're going to raise musicians, you have to have nightclubs (or other venues) where they can perform live in front of audiences.

I did read the article. Thank you.

For me there are two parallel points raised in the article: the difficulty of making a living as an artist in the contemporary music business and, the loss of craft in the music industry. The latter is of interest to me and was not resolved by the article.

There was a time, "the golden ages" when craft and artistry were inseparable. Take photography for instance- a parallel but overlapping universe. Technical craft and artistic content were appreciated by a consuming public. Ansel Adams was the gold standard for both. As photographic technology changed with instant picture taking and then digital picture taking and the internet, the taste of the general public has shifted away from technical excellence and is totally focused on "cultural content". Very few people care about lenses, cameras, metering, depth of field and "pre-visualization" etc... It’s all about grabbing the shot, quickly adding some post-processing with an app. and then hitting the send button.

The same has happened to music. Technical excellence is just not appreciated beyond the few aging audiophiles who still care about all that front-end craft. It’s all about getting and sharing a feeling within the context of urgency and need for a shot of dopamine. The general market just does not care if the music is well-recorded, well-produced, well-mastered and well pressed. There are no sit-down listening sessions.

The post-war generation took pride in their interests. Audio, and photography, as well as others like woodworking, fly-fishing etc.., were part technical pursuits that people aspired to master. This is simply no longer true for the majority of the public.

As much as I enjoy many of the benefits of the digital age, and I do see small pockets of interest in "craft", the arc of craft is trending towards convenience- and with it will be the demise of appreciation for technical excellence.

Audiophiles who pursue and enjoy technical excellence as inseparable with artistic excellence are on the decline. The current resurgence in interest in analog vinyl is, IMHO, a revolt against convenience but it is also an anomaly and will not survive the relentless advances in technology and the cultural shifts that it will bring.

@voiceofvinyl:

"The post-war generation took pride in their interests. Audio, and photography, as well as others like woodworking, fly-fishing etc.., were part technical pursuits that people aspired to master. This is simply no longer true for the majority of the public."   

Like the article itself, and a number of other replies here, I think this too represents looking back at the good old days through rose colored glasses. The truth is that none of the things you mentioned were ever part of high level technical pursuits for "the majority of the public". They aren't now and they weren't then.

And the truth of the matter is that in terms of numbers alone there are way more people doing things like advanced amateur photography than at any time in history. The public taste for quick snapshots may have worsened and the value the _general_ public has for professional or fine art photography may not be what it once was per capita but it is thriving. I am deep into amateur and fine art photography and the number of people out there doing amazing high level work including large format fine art printing is simply amazing.

As with the article I think it is too easy to confuse what the majority of the world thinks and does with the level of success and expertise that still exists and thrives.

It is also too easy to see things through a local lens and I might be just as guilty as @orpheus10  in this matter. He sees, in his purview, a loss of music venues and night clubs. In my purview I see a boom. The music scene in this region is thriving and vital, the quality of music in many cases is excellent and young people are embracing it.

The music industry has _always_ been hard to break into. There is nothing new about that.

@orpheus10 @voiceofvinyl @n80

Thank you one and all for the last 3 posts here.


n80  "As with the article I think it is too easy to confuse what the majority of the world thinks and does with the level of success and expertise that still exists and thrives."

I think I'm now beginning to see where you are coming from and I might be coming around to your way of thinking on it. Thank you.