People still write great music. People still listen to it, provided they can find it. It's the music business that is failing to bring great music to the people.
He's right. I gave up on commercial radio a number of years ago. For nearly a decade the only thing I listened to was my digital library of tunes. I'd spent one el nino winter ripping all my CDs onto my computer hard drive. I have over 40 gigs of music now to keep me happy--only it doesn't. I still NEED to hear music--new, meaningful music, LIVE music. Where on earth do I find that? FM radio used to be that haven. Local clubs also provided that relief and still does to a point--but on my local scene the clubs no longer book their own music talent, too time consuming. They rely on agencies and booking agents, often they aren't even local. It's about as much a 'showcase' of local talent as an NFL home team. I actively LOATHE what reality TV and shows like X-factor and American Idol have done to popular music.
I was honestly surprised when I stepped back into Second Life in 2009 and began to attend concerts and hear music. Almost EVERY show I found myself standing there with my jaw hanging open wittnessing/hearing an absolute PEARL of beautiful, live, original music. After six months of going from show to show listening and enjoying new music for the first time in decades I decided to buy the Bluffs when it came available. The musicians who play for me bring in a mix of originals and covers, but I do insist on artists who do write (live and breathe) their own music as well as pay homage to their heroes and influences with the covers they choose to include. Every week I hear so many rare, gorgeous, awe inspiring moments of original music. It fills me with a giddy sense of excitement I haven't felt since I was 16 and all music seemed new and inspiring.
So we have Second Life to provide a performance space; a platform which allows artists to reach out to a digitally aware and global audience. We have the ability to digitally record music at home or in makeshift studios, which allow musicians to bypass the excessive expense of a traditional recording studio. We have services which allow self produced CDs ordered in manageable quantities. Artists can self-publish, copyright their own work, OWN their own creativity. They can sell music direct to their listeners and they can upload to online music portals for a broader reach. However, it seems to me that there is still a very unfair limitation in terms of access to wide distribution of music. The old guard recording industry still has a strangle hold on that. Even some of the newcomers like Apple's iTunes shuts down the small independents while paying a pittance to the artist whose music sells. Musicians still spend too much of their time kicking at the bricks trying to find further weaknesses in the system order to bring down that wall which stands between them and fresh ears.
No one said it would be easy, I suppose.
"You say you want a revolution Well, you know, We all want to change the world..."I think we need to get louder! One song at a time.
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