Tuesday, 11 December 2007

Springtime for Indies and Oh Emm Dees


Consider this:

You can carefully craft a tune in the luxury of your own bedroom and, with a little skill (and maybe even a little talent?), you have the power at your fingertips to create a piece that is technically and artistically as good as anything that any signed artist is producing.

Before you “acoustic” artists berate me saying “that’s fine for an electronic musician but what about me” just reflect on the fact that for the cost of a few rehearsal sessions you could probably turn your own PC/laptop into a passable mixing desk and, using the skills honed on a portastudio (whaddyamean you’ve never heard of them?), produce a decent recording of a “live” session.

If you are reading this there is also a strong probability that you also have access to a virtually free method of distribution, via the various on line hosting sites, some of whom even provide a way to get paid.

For a minimal outlay (i.e. the cost of your equipment) you have a product, the means of distribution, and even a potential income –so why aren’t you as big as the Stones?

The traditional answer is that you are lacking promotion, but even THAT is questionable these days.

Even with the backing of major corporations musical tastes have now become so fragmented that major advertising campaigns no longer translate to major sales.

It may be a socialists dream come true that, at least in the musical field, the workers now hold the means of production and have been freed from the shackles of the Music Moguls exploitation, but now that we are all Producers who is going to peddle our wares to an increasingly shattered and fragmented market?

No comments: