Direct Connection

Personally I have never heard an artist say that their purpose is to make money. They always refer to themselves as an “artist”.  Obviously there will always be those who’s primary goal is to seek financial reward but most artists will tell you that this is secondary to their need for artist expression. Most start out to simply entertain or communicate a message. For every music superstar there are probably a thousand other musicians and singers who are happy if they can make enough to pay their rent. One of you mentioned that if people aren’t paying for the music that artist will lose their motivation to create. If this were true, don’t you think we would have seen this already? Anyone who has been successful in the music industry has started by making nothing for their craft. In addition they never had any guarantee that they would ever make anything; they simply wanted to create or play music. Artists should be making music because they are passionate about it and want to entertain or communicate a message. Would you want to listen to someone who just threw something together hoping to make a profit instead of caring how it sounds? I think they call that “techno” and it is little more than computer generated sound overlaying a monotonous beat.

Artists nowadays have to realize that the internet is the strongest and quickest way to reach their intended audience. The advent of the internet has virtually removed all barriers that used to exist for a new artist to reach an audience. From the sounds of it you seem to believe that the balance will be realized through direct distribution. I also believe this to be mostly true and that it might be the only way to make everyone happier (for the most part).

It was mentioned that the distributors are protectors of artist rights. But are they really protecting the artist, or just themselves; their right to turn a profit? I feel that, if anything, they are thinking about how much money they stand to lose. The fact is that the artist can reach their audience without them and they can do it faster. The faster they reach an audience the faster it grows. This will mean the tours, concerts, and many other things the artist will be a part of, will have that much more of an audience. If fans are required to purchase a CD before they can actually listen to the songs, it would probably take longer to build a following. Potential fans may never be reached.

                Rebuilding consumer appreciation probably would help the artist to get more people to purchase their music, you’re right. If this is the case, what should artists do? Implement more meet & greets, more contests, tours, and specials. Would any of these work? If there is a motive created for the consumer to buy the product, then sales would increase. The artist is the one who would have the most impact on creating motive, so if they really want consumers to pay then they need to find ways to reach out.

                The buyer wants to know their money is going to the right place and that they are appreciated for their purchase. If the artist doesn’t recognize the people actually buying the music, then why bother paying. The other thing that needs to be recognized is that there is very little enforcement of existing piracy laws. The benefits of piracy quite simply outweigh the consequences. As a result, people will continue to download “illegally”. The answer won’t be found in more unenforceable copyright laws. The answer can only be found in a strong and more direct connection between the artist and their fans.