When Shawn Fanning, the creator of Napster, was being sued by the record labels some 10 years ago, I heralded him as a martyr and a hero. Napster was the first application to come along and make it irresistibly easy to find and download any song imaginable for free. The battle between Napster and the record labels seemed like an obvious David vs Goliath. I considered record labels to be evil corporate entities, mostly peddling garbage, and was thrilled to watch them be cut down by one nerdy kid with a knack for programming. Now here it is 10 years later. I graduated from college in 2004, and since then I've been pursuing my music career as a bassist in NYC. What I'm seeing makes me wonder if I wasn't completely wrong about Napster. At the very least, I totally missed the significance of what was going on and how it would shape the industry for years to come.
I've been hearing it for years, people saying there's never been a better time to be a musician; that the power of the internet has leveled the playing field and you don't need big budgets to build a career anymore. This blog intends to examine this question in depth. Have things gotten better or worse? Are we experiencing an explosion of artistic creativity or are we being bombarded by crap? Is the new digital marketplace actually working better for musicians, or just for online retailers like Amazon and iTunes? Is it easier or harder to make a living playing music now that labels have lost so much power?
I'm hoping to come up with a plan: by assembling a group of musicians, executives, and enthusiasts through this blog, and discussing these issues, I hope to come up with a model for a modern record label.
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This would be a good thing - the plan I mean, as it does seem that we must find new ways to encourage artistic creativity and bravery, and also make it possible for committed musicians to be able to make a living at it. as Pogo once said, "we are surrounded by insurmountable opportunities"
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