6 ms·

When was that? Since at least the 1960s, music has been a winner-take-all hit driven industry. You’re either The Rolling Stones, Motley Crue, Madonna, or at bes

When was that? Since at least the 1960s, music has been a winner-take-all hit driven industry. You’re either The Rolling Stones, Motley Crue, Madonna, or at best a one-hit-wonder. The vast majority of bands are (and always have been) local groups who play their town bars, occasionally go on tour, and have day jobs. I’m not saying this is good, but it’s the way things have always been. There was never some “good, honest living” to be made for anyone who isn’t a household name.

ianai 8y ago
Actually I’d like to see more live performances. If there’s so much talent in search of work then that should be possible. But people also only want to hear the stuff off the radio exactly as they heard it.
barry-cotter 8y ago
This is bullshit. It used to be possible to make a living off of selling recorded music, whether records or cds, and people cared about, and bought albums, in large numbers. Now the only way to make money if you’re not nationally famous is gigging. Gigging used to be something you did to get people to buy your singles and albums. That was where the money was and that was how mid-list artists made a living. Now that’s gone. The midlist are people trying to make it, on the way out or being supported by daddy’s money. Things are different now. Records and cds lead to more people being able to make a living making music.
- nkozyra 8y ago
  > This is bullshit. It used to be possible to make a living off of selling recorded music, whether records or cds, and people cared about, and bought albums, in large numbers. It still is. But let's break down the "bullshit." It used to be possible to make a living driving a horse drawn buggy. Then things changed. Fewer people wanted or needed this, the value went down accordingly. A different mechanism but the same principle. The cost to produce and distribute recorded music is plummeted. There is a saturated markets for artists and recorded music. Is it a surprise that the value of a play has dropped accordingly?

ianai 8y ago

Actually I’d like to see more live performances. If there’s so much talent in search of work then that should be possible. But people also only want to hear the stuff off the radio exactly as they heard it.

barry-cotter 8y ago

This is bullshit. It used to be possible to make a living off of selling recorded music, whether records or cds, and people cared about, and bought albums, in large numbers. Now the only way to make money if you’re not nationally famous is gigging. Gigging used to be something you did to get people to buy your singles and albums. That was where the money was and that was how mid-list artists made a living. Now that’s gone. The midlist are people trying to make it, on the way out or being supported by daddy’s money. Things are different now. Records and cds lead to more people being able to make a living making music.

nkozyra 8y ago
> This is bullshit. It used to be possible to make a living off of selling recorded music, whether records or cds, and people cared about, and bought albums, in large numbers. It still is. But let's break down the "bullshit." It used to be possible to make a living driving a horse drawn buggy. Then things changed. Fewer people wanted or needed this, the value went down accordingly. A different mechanism but the same principle. The cost to produce and distribute recorded music is plummeted. There is a saturated markets for artists and recorded music. Is it a surprise that the value of a play has dropped accordingly?