The Devaluation of music

[thesisdrs]

Bootlegging has dropped significantly due to the advent of Streaming Platforms like Spotify & Apple Music... However the Royalties earned by such companies do not even equate to pennies on the dollar (approximately 0.006 a listen for Spotify) Add that with the short attention span of people now a days and you have, yet again, the Big 3 using strategies to get a grip hold of the market. For most of us who sample, if it wasn't for Bandcamp, we would have to rely strictly on physical copies... I doubt most of us have the hardcore fanbase to even press a minimum amount of cd's or vinyl. The Digital Revolution helped make Equipment more affordable yet it saturated the market as well. It still costs a pretty penny to have your music engineered at a professional studio... sooner or later, people like those in these forums will be nothing but mere nostalgic acts... we somewhat are even today. How can Independent musicians remain relevant within the paradigm shift that works against our favour?

[seezesea]

Play live!!! Where ever you can and spread as far as you can. I can't speak so much to hiphop stuff cuz my town has a super whack hiphop scene but a pretty thriving metal scene and I know that's how metal/rock bands stay relevant and get themselves out there. Live shows put you around like minded artists and audiences and give you a great platform to get yourself out there, meet people, and sell merch. People are a lot more inclined to buy a cd or whatever from someone they just saw put on a killer live show than from some random person online, even if the beats are similar quality.

[thesisdrs]

Play live!!! Where ever you can and spread as far as you can. I can't speak so much to hiphop stuff cuz my town has a super whack hiphop scene but a pretty thriving metal scene and I know that's how metal/rock bands stay relevant and get themselves out there. Live shows put you around like minded artists and audiences and give you a great platform to get yourself out there, meet people, and sell merch. People are a lot more inclined to buy a cd or whatever from someone they just saw put on a killer live show than from some random person online, even if the beats are similar quality.

True! The thought of going live has crossed my mind. I think most people would actually like to hear your works before they see you live though. Thanks for the feedback.

[r4ph431]

In a saturated market an artist must go to extensive lengths to distinguish themselves among the multitude. It's not longer sufficient enough to just be a decent musician/producer.. You also gotta be talented at other stuff. Comedy, acting, illustration, etc etc

Everyone is constantly multitasking these days so you gotta be able to entertain on multiple levels.

OR JUST BE REALLY FUCKING GOOD AT ONE THING

so much so that it speaks for itself.

[nobdy]

...

[thesisdrs]

What is your brand and your brand's objective?

I plan to create a soundtrack for the everyday life of people with knowledge of self. I also seek to create content (video's, lectures, workshops, etc.) to unify and establish networks for said people.

[nobdy]

...

[THEGREAT]

yes . live performance is the way to make the paper . like you said . the streaming royalties is minimal . but i can tell you ive made a few dollars from streaming ( literally a fee dollars .. lol ) .. thats with no big online presence .. but it proved you can get a little pocket change ( passive income) with a solid fanbase streaming your sounds ( on the right streaming service) .

the market is saturated . gotta work on your local area and build . its like anything . once people see the value in the work .. they will be willing to pay ( ticket prices to shows) if reasonable .

you really gotta love it and know how to manuvre if you wanna see any kind of paper inthe music game

[THEGREAT]

when i say music game . i dont mean the industry cos you can do well outside the industry .

get involved in local scene activity .. easiest way to make moves is collaborating . double exposure .

bless 1 1

[thesisdrs]

Who is your audience? How do you plan on building a platform for your audience to see? What steps have you taken to do that? What skills do you need to learn to do that? Who do you know or where are you going to look for people to build a team to help you and collaborate with?

Those are some things you need to flesh out and materialize to stay relevant.

Only skills i feel i need to get better as is my production/engineering skills. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to make decent quality youtube video's. If i don't do them i can outsource this to people who are about the same thing I am. Give thanks for the questions!

[thesisdrs]

I do love music. Been doing it for a minute and didn't get paid at all.. (well I got paid for some beats recently) I just got to push myself out there more and get people interacting. get people to actually care.

[nobdy]

[thesisdrs]

Well for those getting paid to advertise it's because they are using social media platforms that already have the numbers. I love the idea of having your own platform and you're right... easier said than done. Nobody cares to go to your own personal website. its either Instagram, Snapchat or Youtube. Band camp (the site i use) isn't known to a lot of people either.

[nobdy]

[thesisdrs]

Trust me, I never took any word negatively. I'm glad to get feedback from someone who feels the same way i do and has more experience than I. I plan on doing this full time cause quite frankly i'm sick of working for a shitty employer who couldn't give two fucks about you. I know I need to market myself better, I am stressing a lot on the music aspect cause I'm in that mindset that if i make the best possible music, people will come. Why? because that's how I feel. Again much thanks for the words of constructive criticism.