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Ever-lower barriers for creators? There have never been any barriers for creators. Folk art has always been a part of human societies. There were barriers for

Ever-lower barriers for creators? There have never been any barriers for creators. Folk art has always been a part of human societies. There were barriers for mass dissemination of artistic works, but not the process of creation. Mass media put the local artists out of business. Before the advent of radio and recorded music there were many more musicians and bands. Now everyone has to compete on a global level. I would argue that in this new global digital attention economy that there is even more competition and even less room for local and alternative voices. Live music profits are at an all time high but it is all concentrated at the top. The long tail is a fallacy.

stephancoral 10y ago
>Before the advent of radio and recorded music there were many more musicians and bands. That's just incorrect due to the sheer exponential increase of humans alive, not to mention the many cultural factors you are ignoring. Thousands of bands were started because kids heard old blues music over the radio and became inspired. I'd wager there's more bands and venues than ever now and if anything, I'm seeing more and more people make a living off their music thanks to the network effects of social media combined with touring. I've watched two of my friend's bands - pretty weirdo stoner pop music - go on national tours supporting major acts (Of Montreal was one) and it most likely would've never happened if not for the exposure and channels of the internet.
- throwawaycopy 10y ago
  You're wrong. In the 19th century there was a much higher percentage of people who could play rudimentary musical forms. The quality of music and choice available to consumers has increased steadily. People would rather hear the best musicians in the world than the best musicians in their household or neighborhood. There is plenty of historical research on this topic beyond the common sense explanation I'm offering here. Amendeum: I assume you live in a media hub like NYC, SF or LA, where there is a concentration of mass media professionals. If you drive out to a small town you will find a very low number of local musicians. Before mass media there would have been a number of local music groups. Today people living in small towns listen to what the mass media professionals are making for them. These are the same kind of basic economic principles that lead to any kind of concentrated specialization, and on a global scale, comparative advantage.
  - stephancoral 10y ago
    Small towns are where music happens. I live in Western, MA - I can see music every night. If I drive out to a small town in upstate New York, I guarantee you there will be a bar with live music. Even a run down shithole like Poughkeepsie or Catskill has plenty of local bands. Some huge names in music have come from small towns in Georgia or in Ohio or in Michigan. One of the biggest indie record labels is based out of Nebraska. If "people would rather hear the best musicians in the world than the best musicians in their household or neighborhood" than why are local acts booming in places like Portland, ME? Why are small bands filling out the bottom portion of huge festivals or starting their own? Your post reads to me like someone who doesn't seem very aware or involved in music and mostly gets their information from online source and so called historical research rather than first-hand live experience.
    - throwawaycopy 10y ago
      I'm a professional musician living in Austin, TX. We are very lucky here to be living in a city that actively subsidizes live music, but this place is exceptional. At one time there was live music in every single pub in the country, if only just some drunk playing sing-a-longs on one of the ubiquitous pianos of the era. Nowadays the vast majority of restaurants, bars and private gatherings utilize recorded music instead of a live band. I am most definitely in direct competition with DJs for wedding gigs, and they have less costs and a greater range of song materials to choose from. Your posts read like someone who is convinced that technological "progress" never has any negative repercussions.
      - mantas 10y ago
        OP may be overestimating importance of "national tour" too. I know for a fact that some supporting bands not only do not get any money fro ticket sales. They pay the main acts just to share stage with them. Some people go on expensive vacation to XYZ island, other people tour as a band...
        throwawaycopy 10y ago
codexjourneys 10y ago
There's also the Internet factor. In the 1960s and 1970s, a lot of people who started startups would have started bands instead. The music scene was where creativity happened. Maybe Mark Zuckerberg would have started a band. Starting in the mid/late 1990s, creativity's frontier shifted to the Internet as it grew exponentially, and the music industry started changing as a result of massive free distribution. I think many bands were never started because the people who would have formed them were making web pages and startups instead.

stephancoral 10y ago

>Before the advent of radio and recorded music there were many more musicians and bands. That's just incorrect due to the sheer exponential increase of humans alive, not to mention the many cultural factors you are ignoring. Thousands of bands were started because kids heard old blues music over the radio and became inspired. I'd wager there's more bands and venues than ever now and if anything, I'm seeing more and more people make a living off their music thanks to the network effects of social media combined with touring. I've watched two of my friend's bands - pretty weirdo stoner pop music - go on national tours supporting major acts (Of Montreal was one) and it most likely would've never happened if not for the exposure and channels of the internet.

throwawaycopy 10y ago
You're wrong. In the 19th century there was a much higher percentage of people who could play rudimentary musical forms. The quality of music and choice available to consumers has increased steadily. People would rather hear the best musicians in the world than the best musicians in their household or neighborhood. There is plenty of historical research on this topic beyond the common sense explanation I'm offering here. Amendeum: I assume you live in a media hub like NYC, SF or LA, where there is a concentration of mass media professionals. If you drive out to a small town you will find a very low number of local musicians. Before mass media there would have been a number of local music groups. Today people living in small towns listen to what the mass media professionals are making for them. These are the same kind of basic economic principles that lead to any kind of concentrated specialization, and on a global scale, comparative advantage.
- stephancoral 10y ago
  Small towns are where music happens. I live in Western, MA - I can see music every night. If I drive out to a small town in upstate New York, I guarantee you there will be a bar with live music. Even a run down shithole like Poughkeepsie or Catskill has plenty of local bands. Some huge names in music have come from small towns in Georgia or in Ohio or in Michigan. One of the biggest indie record labels is based out of Nebraska. If "people would rather hear the best musicians in the world than the best musicians in their household or neighborhood" than why are local acts booming in places like Portland, ME? Why are small bands filling out the bottom portion of huge festivals or starting their own? Your post reads to me like someone who doesn't seem very aware or involved in music and mostly gets their information from online source and so called historical research rather than first-hand live experience.
  - throwawaycopy 10y ago
    I'm a professional musician living in Austin, TX. We are very lucky here to be living in a city that actively subsidizes live music, but this place is exceptional. At one time there was live music in every single pub in the country, if only just some drunk playing sing-a-longs on one of the ubiquitous pianos of the era. Nowadays the vast majority of restaurants, bars and private gatherings utilize recorded music instead of a live band. I am most definitely in direct competition with DJs for wedding gigs, and they have less costs and a greater range of song materials to choose from. Your posts read like someone who is convinced that technological "progress" never has any negative repercussions.
    - mantas 10y ago
      OP may be overestimating importance of "national tour" too. I know for a fact that some supporting bands not only do not get any money fro ticket sales. They pay the main acts just to share stage with them. Some people go on expensive vacation to XYZ island, other people tour as a band...
      - throwawaycopy 10y ago

codexjourneys 10y ago

There's also the Internet factor. In the 1960s and 1970s, a lot of people who started startups would have started bands instead. The music scene was where creativity happened. Maybe Mark Zuckerberg would have started a band. Starting in the mid/late 1990s, creativity's frontier shifted to the Internet as it grew exponentially, and the music industry started changing as a result of massive free distribution. I think many bands were never started because the people who would have formed them were making web pages and startups instead.