Right now the musician is locked up in a cabin in Virginia recording an album with his band, Here's To The Long Haul. He spends hours tucked away working on these recordings himself because they are are staying in a place with Pro-Tools. I find it amazing that technology has become so user friendly that even an album can be created by the band with no outside funding or help whatsoever. In fact they are even able to sell their music online by mailing several copies of their self-made albums to these people in charge of this website (I can't remember the name) that distributes their music for almost no cost.
For my fella and his band mates this is great but it also contributes to one of the biggest problems for musicians trying to make a name for themselves. With everyone capable of producing their own music and distributing it the really talented musicians, the ones that would have been picked out of a crowd by labels back in the good 0l' days, can barely be heard. When some joker with an acoustic guitar and some sappy love songs can make a record in his basement and distribute it without having to prove to anyone that he is worth listening to discovering new talent is next to impossible.
Now it is not so much those on high that decide who will and who wont be a hit as much as the screaming masses. Does this mean it is all reduced to luck or simply appealing to pre-pubescent girls? Think about the last time you heard a really good musician on the radio. Can you remember that far back? Most avid music listeners will tell you that anything worth listening to is almost impossible to find. It is out there. I guess it now has to be about patience and perserverance. These are not two things most twenty-two year olds are gratiously endowed with but he keeps trying and eventually it will all pay off.
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4 comments:
I've always felt that our society is a little upside down when musicians and actors are the elite. Talent is wonderful and we thrive on the entertainment that they provide, but should they be so idolized? I'd prefer that they remained human like the rest of us.
This is what makes me feel more comfortable with the fact that recording is becoming easier. Anyone can make a record and send it in. Good or bad - it's being heard and shared and isn't that the point of their endeavor? If you are talented and enjoy what you are doing, then being able to make a modest living doing it should be enough. Finally the musicians are on the same level as writers and artists.
This also means that I have broader access to listening to new, young artists. I don't have to wait for them to become an imposing, glittering success in order to appreciate them. Technology has made it so that I can stumble upon them unexpectedly and watch them work through the early stages of their careers. It makes each story personal. I like it.
I wish your musician all the best. It'd be great if he is recognized and becomes successful. For now, it's already admirable that he's doing something he loves.
I do wish that radio stations would play more new, original work. I'd like to hear unexpected names and home grown voices.
Forgot to mention...
Since musicians can do more on their own, that means they keep more of their profits in the long run, right? Or at least the cost of producing the first bits of music are less. Recording studios, agents, and various other middle men make a lot of money by knowing how to use the technology that the average person doesn't have access to.
I definitely agree with you. It is impossible to find music out there with talent to back it up, especially on the radio.
I completely agree with the whole part about not being able to find good music. It seems like everything is so generic now-a-days. No one's creative. Everyone's taking the easy way out and pretty much selling out just to make a buck and hope for fame. Good music definitely is out there, I jsut wish it was played more often than some of the crap that's out there.
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