The Two Ways We Show Our Support of Art: Time & Money

As musicians and songwriters, we are the canaries in the coal mine for change.

Our “product” is bite-sized: songs take minutes to enjoy, seconds to taste; digital versions are easily sharable and no longer scarce.

I was thinking about this a lot yesterday, and then my wife wrote a wonderfully funny, Natalie-toned blog called, “That Time I Drunkenly Ranted About Hating Libraries” (read it here). (PS: She doesn’t hate libraries.)

It’s a constant, inner battle going on for us songwriters. We’re told, “Hey! If people like your stuff, you should give it away for free! Fans will come to a show!”

I do agree, because anonymity is the enemy to the new artist; but there is also a tipping point in the other direction, throwing the baby out with the bathwater. There are only two ways we show our support of art, with our time, and with our money.

There are only two ways we show support to art: With our time and with our money.

Yesterday, I was chatting with my friend about Spotify, debating if it will ever reach a tipping point where more songwriters (not just outliers) start seeing revenue that is meaningful.

He said, “I don’t expect it to be CD levels, but at least it could be something meaningful.”

I said stopped him right there and asked, “When’s the last time a business had 40,000% growth rate?”

He chuckled.

I don’t mean Spotify having that level growth as a business; I mean the songwriters and bands.

Go check your Year in Spotify numbers. My guess is you listened to your top five artists 200-400 times. It takes 1500 time to equal an album sale.

Your top five will never even reached that after years of your consumption! What about the top 30 artists?  Top 100? The math isn’t in the songwriter’s favor, folks! Do the fricking math!

I listened to my new favorite artist Gabriel Kahane (who was dropped by Sony last year) 408 times last year. I wanted to go see him on tour, but I had to work. So maybe my spins earned his label, publishing, and songwriting $3.26 last year. Am I still a true fan?

Am I still a true fan?

The theory was it took 1000 true fans to make a starting career as a musician. If 1000 true fans spent $10 on your music, that’s $10K. If they spent $50 you’ve made 50K.

However, if 1000 true fans listen to you 100 times on Spotify, that artist made $350-500.

You need to see these numbers as a canary in the coal mine.

Now, I’m a Spotify consumer. I’m not saying us streaming listeners are evil at all. Streaming helps combat piracy; but does it actual combat it enough to bring in any money for the creators?

I think songwriters like me need to accept that we shouldn’t expect the streamable economy to ever equal any sizable monetization, because you would need an insane amount of growth that no business has ever experienced.

I had 100% growth on Spotify last year as an undiscovered artist.

But I would need 99,900% growth to equal my CD revenue made from my three little EP releases. LOL!

Even if we just hope streaming equals a portion of the revenue of CDs, I’d need to see a 13,233% growth rate to equal my CD sales from last year.

So here we are, being told to accept the numbers, and just tour more.

Mike Errico wrote one of the best articles about how touring is not going to save musicians in the age of Spotify, published in the New York Times. (Read it here.)

Why? Basically, your health, your time, and wearing out your body.

Errico’s reminder hit me hard:

“And yet from a business standpoint, it’s hard to find a model more unsustainable than one that relies on a single human body. This is why we have vice presidents, relief pitchers and sixth men.” – Errico

So true. Any time I get sick, as I was for a the last week in December, I’m missing out on potential money. Bummer during the holidays!

I play between 150-200 gigs a year. When I share this number with fans, a lot of people are amazed: “How does your voice handle it?” (Pro tip: I rarely drink alcohol and I do vocal warmups.)

BandsinTown app named The Accidentals as the artist who did the most shows last year with 219.

But you want to know the truth? That number is normal for us road warriors. My friend Chad Elliot played more shows than the Accidentals last year, but he probably doesn’t use the BandsinTown app so he doesn’t get the title. I played 224 in 2012 and 205 in 2013. (I’ve been able to cut my road time down by teaching music part time.) When I opened for Ellis Paul, Ellis told me he’s still rocking out 130-150 gigs a year in his 20th year as a touring artist!

My point is that spending 600 hours in the car a year–equal to 25 days of my life–isn’t going to be sustainable as I get older and as royalties and sales plummet.

I don’t know what the conclusion is, yet. I’m still in love with music. 2015 was a great year for me, musically.

I just think my wife is right. There are only two ways we show our support for art we love, time and money.