Pastime.
Having had some time away from the music industry, and listening to stories of those who are still involved, I’ve had a chance to see some aspects of it for what they really are.
For me, the phrase, “music business” is an oxymoron. Music isn’t a business, it’s an artform. It’s something special that happens when you let a person, or group of people, with particular talents, loose to create. It’s not something that should be done in pursuit of a pay cheque. It’s something you do because you have to. What’s more, it should be fun. The urge is within you, and you have to satisfy it.
A former bandmate of mine very recently left his current band, because, to him, it was no longer about four friends playing music together, creating and having fun. It was starting to get too businesslike. This is the most valid reason in the world to me. Yet, the band are dressing it up as “inability to commit”. Is that what music has come to? Some macho competition where you need to keep up with everyone else, turning friends against each other in its pursuit? Apparently so. It certainly was when I was involved. That’s wrong.
Maybe it’s the socialist in me, constantly seeking that Star Trek-like post-scarcity society of abundance, but society needs musicians and other great artists, without the pressures of having to “make it big”. A society needs to protect and encourage its artists - art is the emotional capital of a society, and a society will be measured on its artists. Artists are certainly as vital to a society as any politician, industrialist or monarch in terms of their place in defining and outlining the landscape upon which a people rests. Art is also about people, and interaction - an artist, or artists, being able to pull something out of their audience, and out of each other. Relationships like this should be nurtured, not put under pressure. I just hope for an environment one day where everyone, not just artists, can pursue the fruits of their particular talents without getting caught up in a dog-eat-dog dick-swinging competition.
On the plus side, times are changing. You can “play the game” now on your own terms and get as much out of it as you’re willing to put in, with the likes of iTunes being open to all. To go back to the socialist comparison, the means of production is now back in the hands of the people, not the corporations. This levels the playing field, but, in doing so, raises the bar for everyone, as there is now so much more music out there for people to consume. This is healthy, and can only be good for the state of the art.
