A couple of interesting points have arisen during this past week and I thought I’d try to tie them together a little…
First, I recommend this podcast panel discussion from Cornerstone 2005 that involved some of the members of the press at Cornerstone.
Second, I recommend this blog post by Andrew Osenga and this addendum post by Shaun Groves on his blog as well.
I am fascinated at the amount of amazing music that is coming out right now. It seems to be coming from everywhere. Every day I hear about a new artist or an established artist that is breaking out with a new sound and genuine lyrics. Even more amazing, however, is that the percentage of these artists continues to grow smaller and smaller on popular radio.
It would seem the divide between the “haves”, artists on major labels who are played in regular rotation (Christian or mainstream), and the “have nots”, artists that are independent and must rely on word-of-mouth to spread their music is continuing to widen. While the number of quality artists continues to explode at an astonishing rate, the number that we hear on the radio is only a steady trickle as radio insists on bludgeoning us with the same songs that were popular two, five, ten, or even twenty years ago.
Radio, especially Christian radio, has insisted on playing music only for a targetted demographic, and by doing so is driving away potential fans with their lack of diversity. What happens when the demographic demands something different (or will they be content to listen to the same old thing? maybe so.)
Thankfully, the Internet has blown the doors wide open and now anyone with a website and a myspace, purevolume, whatever account can get their music heard. Major record labels are unnerved by this movement. They are watching their sales decline and watching artists turn down weighty contracts that barely pay them enough to live on. Digitial media has slashed the cost of producing an album and downloading has provided an immediate method to get the product to the customer without having to get their albums into stores. Of course, we’ve seen this coming for about five years now, but the dire predictions from organizations like the RIAA are now coming true and the fences are starting to buckle as people climb over them.
This is an exciting time to be a fan of music. For the listener who is willing to do some research and take some time listening to samples on sites and read publications with a critical eye, rather than be force-fed what MTV tells us should be cool, the opportunity to discover great art is limitless right now.
Support quality art from independent musicians so that they can continue producing beautiful art by purchasing (not stealing!) music from artists. There are plenty of places to purchase their music, from Amazon.com to Paste Music to eb+flo, but ordering directly from the artist is even better. It’s a gift that rewards the giver and the recipient.
I’m going to start listening to that Cornerstone podcast right now… should be interesting. And the Osenga/Groves discussion is great – it’s insightful to get the musician’s perspective on things.
Well said with regards to all the good music. I can’t stomach the Christian radio in the area these days; they are still playing the same songs they were playing back 15 years ago when I first started listening to Christian radio. But I have found more new, interesting, talented artists in the last year via the internet than I have ever found before. And the last album I purchased (a catch-up purchase of Andy O’s Souvenirs & Postcards) was purchased directly from, and mailed directly from, his very own Velvet Eagle.
This is one of the best breakdowns in the problem with contemporary music and its accessibility to the public that I have read in a long time. There are a few items I would like to add, however. 1) This problem is as pandemic on secular channels as well. The problem is the same for both, unfortunately: One monopoly controls what you listen to on the radio, whether Christian or secular. Or, if it isn’t the Evil Empire, it is another company that obeys their (alledgedly) unwritten rules of conduct and song lists. In parallel, think about DuBeers and diamonds. Even what they don’t own, they still control. Unfortunately, the major record labels are even worse, doing everything possible to generate ‘stars’ from talent they already own and do everything possible to hype the same old tired music rather than looking for fresh talent that could bring new listeners. Actually trying to do something NEW is way beyond them, such as showcasing a lot of new artists and then believe in people to put their money where their ears are. They both fail to realize the music audience has lost all sense of the music industry having any integrity and therefore display none of their own in stealing music and turning off the radio.