The Death of Music As We Know It
Author: Travis Yates
I remember a time, not too long ago, that if you were a band worth your weight in gold, all you had to do was make good albums and put them in the right hands. From the 50’s to the 90’s, this rang true for a lot of musicians. Bands were getting signed, coming out all across the board with hits, and there was a viable market to sell your albums. You couldn't download these songs; you had to buy the CD. In those days, bands could tour at leisure and make their money off the record sales selling millions of copies.
Then when the year 2000 came, we had “Korn”, “Limp Biscuit”, “Linkin Park”, etcetera, but we also had file sharing. This would ultimately change the music industry forever. Lars Ulrich of “Metallica” was the first to see this coming. He spoke out against Napster, ultimately becoming one of the most hated men in rock and roll, but sadly, this man was right. Even Gene Simmons from “Kiss” stated that rock and roll is dead and the dream of being a rock star is over. He pointed his finger at the true culprit: the fans. The music industry that transformed the likes of Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, Tupac, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Poison and Kurt Cobain into legends is but a shell of its former self.
Broke bands basically have to give their music away for free. “Breaking Benjamin’s” new album, for example,
can now be downloaded for free because there is no money in selling CDs anymore. Now bands have to kill themselves 365 days out of the year just to make a decent living. Waffle House and the QuikTrip gas station is always a main stop for bands looking for a quick meal. “Starving musician” is a name that everybody calls an artist who is trying to make it. The Internet has made it almost impossible for artists to get the recognition they deserve. You can have a cult following, but if all you have is your music, you're still broke. Now, it is up to selling merchandise. Musicians will sell t-shirts and shot glasses and whatever they can stick their brand on to make a living and they pray that between merchandise and ticket sales they make a profit and enough money to get back home.
© 2015-2016 Travis Yates. All rights reserved.
Author: Travis Yates
I remember a time, not too long ago, that if you were a band worth your weight in gold, all you had to do was make good albums and put them in the right hands. From the 50’s to the 90’s, this rang true for a lot of musicians. Bands were getting signed, coming out all across the board with hits, and there was a viable market to sell your albums. You couldn't download these songs; you had to buy the CD. In those days, bands could tour at leisure and make their money off the record sales selling millions of copies.
Then when the year 2000 came, we had “Korn”, “Limp Biscuit”, “Linkin Park”, etcetera, but we also had file sharing. This would ultimately change the music industry forever. Lars Ulrich of “Metallica” was the first to see this coming. He spoke out against Napster, ultimately becoming one of the most hated men in rock and roll, but sadly, this man was right. Even Gene Simmons from “Kiss” stated that rock and roll is dead and the dream of being a rock star is over. He pointed his finger at the true culprit: the fans. The music industry that transformed the likes of Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, Tupac, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Poison and Kurt Cobain into legends is but a shell of its former self.
Broke bands basically have to give their music away for free. “Breaking Benjamin’s” new album, for example,
can now be downloaded for free because there is no money in selling CDs anymore. Now bands have to kill themselves 365 days out of the year just to make a decent living. Waffle House and the QuikTrip gas station is always a main stop for bands looking for a quick meal. “Starving musician” is a name that everybody calls an artist who is trying to make it. The Internet has made it almost impossible for artists to get the recognition they deserve. You can have a cult following, but if all you have is your music, you're still broke. Now, it is up to selling merchandise. Musicians will sell t-shirts and shot glasses and whatever they can stick their brand on to make a living and they pray that between merchandise and ticket sales they make a profit and enough money to get back home.
© 2015-2016 Travis Yates. All rights reserved.