For the last 15 years I’ve been an official member of the music industry. I learned from books and videos about the industry, and I assumed this was the way the game is played.
I learned about label deals, agents, contracts, and then 360 deals and modern PR strategies. These tactics are used by musicians around the world. Building an aesthetic and a sound, attracting label interest, hitting the studio and the road, grinding it out for years, spending lots on PR and having to pay it all back. This is how the music industry works.
And it’s really stupid and its a terrible idea to participate.
The Music Industry is Broken and Nobody Will Fix It
There is no hope for musicians in the music industry. It’s a flawed game from the start.
When I look at the myriad musicians in my life, from mega success stories to completely humble situations, those who are in the “industry” game are the least happy.
The industry represents all that is bad about music: The lottery aspect, the American Idol side of things. The get rich quick and dress to impress side. The “get picked” side. The side where the powers that be can dictate bizarre standards for desperate musicians to leap up and try to reach.
The average musician really, really believes that this is the way a music career works:
Step 1: Look impressive enough to get signed, good music is a bonus
Step 2: Be at all the cool shows, have cool looking photos on social media, get in front of large audiences at all costs.
Step 3: Turn this into a lifestyle brand for others to be jealous of
Step 4: By the way - you are now heavily in debt to your label and maybe others. Somehow, at this point, with no financial skills or personal business acumen, it’s all supposed to work out so you can live a sustainable life as a musician. ????
You can argue all day about the exceptions to the rule, but I’ve been all over the place on this shit. I’ve seen the DIY success stories, I’ve seen major label behind the scenes stuff, I see it all. The music industry mindset is so broken, so based in fiction, that it is actively hurting the entire world of musicians.
There is no value in any of it. The music industry (as a set of principles, ideas, and tactics) is hot garbage. Throw it away, throw away every book you own with “music industry” on the cover, it is actively sabotaging your “career.”
People who have to work part time to survive despite a “successful” music career, and who complain about this or act like it’s an annoying but necessary part of life, are terrible role models for an ambitious musician. Regardless of genre or anything - its true for pop, or for free jazz, or yodeling or whatever the fuck. Why would you aim for that when anything is possible.
Here are a few examples of artists who avoided this trap: Sufjan Stevens, Fugazi, Death Grips.
Anyway that's my rant for the day.
