Very Poignant Quote from Vince Gill

[peeyo]

“Income streams are dwindling. Record sales aren’t what they used to be. The devaluation of music and what it’s now deemed to be worth is laughable to me. My single costs 99 cents. That’s what a [single] cost in 1960. On my phone, I can get an app for 99 cents that makes fart noises — the same price as the thing I create and speak to the world with. Some would say the fart app is more important. It’s an awkward time. Creative brains are being sorely mistreated.”

– Vince Gill, (via The Boot)

AMEN!!

[andygabrys]

yeah Paul, been seeing that on Facebook. its a good one.

[mazz]

If farting were truly able to be monetized, according to my wife I'd be a millionaire several times over by now!

Seriously, though, it's pretty sad to see this happening, particularly when many of us are trying to ramp up our careers. My gut feeling is that the cycle will come back around, incorporating many of the ideas that were brought in during the wild west days of the internet. When it does cycle back, there will be better filters on the music so folks can find the great stuff easier without having to wade through tons of subpar music that was made as vanity projects or simply because "I have a laptop and some loops, I'm a composer!".

The supply/demand ratio is so far skewed in the supply side that music has gone the way of any other commodity on the penny stock markets. It's up to us to make the greatest music with the highest quality possible in order to attract the attention in the business and as a result the money that is out there as well. I have to believe that at the end of the day quality will rise to the top. Call me naive or utopian, but that's what keeps me going.


Thanks Paul,

Mazz

[RichardCharles]

I can't remember the guest name, but recently a guest on Pensado's Place said that .99 is still too high and he thinks it should be around 50 cents. Not that that Pensado's Place is the final word.....just saying.



http://www.pensadosplace.tv/

[DesireInspires]

“Income streams are dwindling. Record sales aren’t what they used to be. The devaluation of music and what it’s now deemed to be worth is laughable to me. My single costs 99 cents. That’s what a [single] cost in 1960. On my phone, I can get an app for 99 cents that makes fart noises — the same price as the thing I create and speak to the world with. Some would say the fart app is more important. It’s an awkward time. Creative brains are being sorely mistreated.”

– Vince Gill, (via The Boot)

AMEN!!

It's no big deal.

Musicians just have to be more savvy about how they handle business. The music is the beginning of the equation, not the end of it. It is about providing a whole entertainment package. Music is just one part of that package.

Once musicians realize that, they will become better equipped to handle today's tumultuous business.

[jdhogg]

I prefer the sound of a fart to the sound of the average current country record.

To be honest I would rather sniff a bad fart than listen to the country top 10 for a solid hour.

What a lot of artists need telling is that they are making things worse by insisting on promoting their own sub-standard piffle.

The songwriters are also not blameless as the industry will still take GREAT songs.

[DesireInspires]

I prefer the sound of a fart to the sound of the average current country record.

To be honest I would rather sniff a bad fart than listen to the country top 10 for a solid hour.

What a lot of artists need telling is that they are making things worse by insisting on promoting their own sub-standard piffle.

The songwriters are also not blameless as the industry will still take GREAT songs.

I agree with you.

All genres could use better songwriting, craftsmanship, and professionalism. But the problem is that people want free music. Why work hard when you will not be paid?

I say musicians should keep putting out what they want. The people who deeply care about crafting better songs should do their part to make things better.

I myself will continue to put out work at an 80% capacity and keep it moving.

[cardell]

There are a range of reasons for creating music.

I suppose this issue will mostly effect people that were making music to make money.

Here's a John Lennon track, I feel, sums up the matter (I think he may have made some money from this):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUTFLaisdms&noredirect=1
National anthem of Nutopia

Stuart

[sguiles]

That Lennon track speaks volumes.

[deankripp]

Yeah Paul

...I've seen that "Vince" quote floating around on FB - very poignant. You can "feel" his frustration with the current cultural climate seemingly being more fascinated with a fart app than a passionate song.

I found it interesting - listening to many of the CEO's in the music business recently - that even though the horse left the barn along with the other farm animals over ten years ago now (with the advent of Napster), many of these business heads have locked tight their old barn doors, barricaded the hay lofts and built moats around the farm - as if they still have a full stable of livestock... crazy... weird.

I can't say I blame them. If I had spent the last 30 years building a company upon a tried and true business model and then some punk kid comes along and takes away my revenue stream with a couple thousand fart-type apps - I'd be ticked!

I think the best we can do is to try to be great at what we do and position ourselves to take advantage of whatever new wave is gathering steam out in the ocean's swell.

We may very well already be in a new business model (as writer/producers) that, instead of collecting large amounts of money from three or four revenue streams - we will be collecting small amounts of money from hundreds of revenue streams... We may not like that - but it is what it is. And there will still be some great BIG chunks of cash for those who hit on the right thing at the right time - as always.

For myself - I think that I can either take an "oh crap" attitude and wish for things to be as they once were or take an "oh, wow - COOL" attitude with open eyes and mind and identify the places where my talent and skills may be most profitable. (Most of us will do music whether we get paid or not - but some of us who make our entire living from it - need to be vigilant)

Personally, even though things have changed and are not the way they once were - my gut tells me that we are living RIGHT NOW in the greatest technological (and social) change since the invention of the printing press. That to me is incredibly exhilarating





...just don't get me started on AI. I recently heard some Artificial Intelligence music that blew my socks off! Never thought it would happen - but it is, indeed, coming.

"The times they are a-changing"





dean k