Indie Music Needs More Community, Not Only Technology
As the major labels continue to shrink in size, in numbers, in relevance, the number of independent businesses that help musicians will continue to grow this year as the economy returns to stability. I expect a surge.
NPR had an interested article last month addressing the growing number of industry for indie music:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2011/01/27/133274068/fractured-industry-companies-that-serve-musicians-without-deals
The interviews offered interesting numbers, especially Eric Garland’s thoughts
Most of the 500,000 artists using TuneCore’s services are not making a living, according to Garland. “Every sound being created in every dorm room or every shower or every basement is now just a couple of clicks away from being out there.”
So the continued question that we hear is “How do I rise above the rest of the noise?” Paraphrasing Seth Godin, technically we are all adding to the noise. The way we rise above this noise isn’t in our hands; it’s in the hands and voices of those willing to talk about our music.
The only thing we control is how often we practice and how satisfied we are with our music before releasing it. The game’s change, but that rule hasn’t.
But I’d like to add another rule that hasn’t changed: The importance of helping each other out. Being an independent musician is like being an independent business owner in a DDA area. A stronger community offers more business for everyone, and this idea applies directly to musicians too.
Artists don’t have to feel like they are competing with each other. We aren’t athetlites performing in a game to win; we are artists that are inspired by the music we listened to as kids, the music we hear today. Let’s be inspired by the musicians closest to our circles.
I believe there is enough room for those willing to work hard and put out authentic, honest music, so don’t be afraid to pass those gigs to your community, to share contacts with dependable musicians, to offer paying studio sessions, to do split releases of a record or EP.
