That is an article stemming from Thom Yorke's comment about how Record Labels will collapse and the music industry is going to die soon. like in months soon.
Thanks, brah. I really needed to hear you say it so that I can begin preparing for this event. I wonder if Thom believes in events like the apocalypse.
So let's discuss this event. The record industry collapses, there are no longer any of those fancy networks of labels which sell masses of cd's to wal-mart superstores, and pension funds/401ks for select white people implode on themselves. I think I can live with this situation.
What's the outcome?
Well, I think that we are no longer on the brink of this transition for musicians. They have understood what to do in this situation for a long time coming. In fact, I believe that a lot of musicians have been embracing the collapse of this industry for a very long time. Anyone who can read probably understands that musicians hate the business side of making their music. If they could stay away from the road and make millions jamming in the studio, then they would capitalize on this lifestyle. It just doesn't work that way though. The cool thing about musicians is that they never stopped the essential component of their survival in this game. They never stopped playing music. In fact, the awesome part of the divorce between musicians and their record labels is that music got better, more experimental, and more diverse. It also became harder to categorize.
What kind of band is Radiohead now anyways? Nobody knows, you couldn't describe their last cd with anything less than citing 4 genres which barely exist in the collaborative minds of pop music fans.
So back to the discussion with myself. Musicians play music, and they aren't restricted by Record Labels anymore. They're only restricted by their own abilities and networks of venues. Indie bands for example can't sell out crowds, it's the hypocrisy of indie music. You can't become rich doing it, you can only make the music you always wanted to make. As soon as indie bands break into the business of selling to the mainstream, they have broken the unwritten deal with their true fans to not do that. It's called selling out. I don't even know if fans really consider selling out to be a crime anymore, because the payout for bands is so shitty anyways that it's almost a crime for them not to do it.
What kind of band is Radiohead now anyways? Nobody knows, you couldn't describe their last cd with anything less than citing 4 genres which barely exist in the collaborative minds of pop music fans.
So back to the discussion with myself. Musicians play music, and they aren't restricted by Record Labels anymore. They're only restricted by their own abilities and networks of venues. Indie bands for example can't sell out crowds, it's the hypocrisy of indie music. You can't become rich doing it, you can only make the music you always wanted to make. As soon as indie bands break into the business of selling to the mainstream, they have broken the unwritten deal with their true fans to not do that. It's called selling out. I don't even know if fans really consider selling out to be a crime anymore, because the payout for bands is so shitty anyways that it's almost a crime for them not to do it.
Here' s a breakdown of my own understanding of the music industry
musician-->producer-->label-->cds to the masses-->sell out concerts
-now we take out the middlemen essential to this process
musician-->musician/producers-->cds to the masses for free-->mediocre concerts
My advice to the modern day musician which Thom Yorke did not provide: Have a back-up plan for money. Base your music career on your ability to play music, construct a strong fan base built around people who have social power, and try your best to make good deals with your venues.
It's never too early to start investing in that 401k either.
