The Risk of a Sure Thing
I came across an article written by Ted Gioia entitled, "Is Old Music Killing New Music". It is a great piece and there are some compelling arguments that indeed, it has never been more difficult to make a living writing new music. This is because music label R&D budgets - for development of new artists - are essentially nonexistent, while coincidentally it has become big business to gobble up yesterday's catalogues.
The most disturbing fact as someone who still dabbles in songwriting is that "the 200 most popular new tracks now regularly account for less than 5 percent of total streams". Notice we aren't even talking radio spins here - a domain typically dominated by yesteryear - and so, such a pitiful representation of new music in streaming is nothing short of disaster.
The usual rant about how music was just "so much better back in the day" is addressed, but suffice to say, the root of the problem appears to be a lack of investment in the next generation of songwriters/artists. Most people don't realize that many of the artists they love so much had very mediocre starts to their career (U2 see charting of the albums "Boy", "October"), and almost certainly wouldn't make it today without financial support.
But, perhaps what struck me most about this article, is that what has been happening in the music industry mirrors the broader economy. Granted the music industry is not Canada and vise versa, but it seems the preeminence for security has never been more rampant than it is today, and that carries risk. Look no further than Canadians' excessive speculation in housing - a universally accepted "can't fail" asset - as evidence of this. Eventually the risk of a sure thing comes back to bite.
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Creative destruction may be alive and well in certain subsectors of Canada's economy (perhaps software, green tech), but as R&D spending and projections for GDP show, Canada appears to be entering an era of economic stagnation, or decline triggered by a lack of investment in the future. We are simply not innovating, or spending money on new ideas.
Stuck in my brain is a November 2021 interview between several startups and government officials entitled "Will Canadians Learn How to Innovate?" and is well worth a watch. Pay particular attention to how opposing sides view innovation in Canada, it is almost comedic. Being an entrepreneur has never been easy, but those living it everyday seem to have less rosy view of Canada, which the data agrees with, compared to those dolling the grants.
So, next time you open Spotify or iTunes, take a chance and listen to something you might not otherwise. The 1.5 cents your play generates might just make an artist's day!
Vice President Operations (retired) at Shaw Communications
3 年Yes things have changed, as Bob Dylan sang. As you point out very little development money is available now compared to the glory years of the industry. There were countless examples of record company support of new artists that nurtured their development to mega star status. Then Napster came along and facilitated the digital consumption of product with no monetary return to the artist, song writer or industry infrastructure. Result: the industry shrank catastrophically. Labels consolidated, tour support dried up and big signing bonuses were reduced to the few, perceived “sure things”. Groups can still do well from big tour revenue and merchandising. Streaming revenue is half a cent, a mere pittance of previous royalties. So yes, difficult environment for the traditional songwriter. New models have emerged of the all-in-one singer songwriter, tour performer, record label owner, digital influencer; think Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Drake, The Weeknd. So record companies today may not want to risk signing and developing 5 artists in the hope that 1 becomes successful if that 1 success doesn’t provide enough revenue. Yes things have definitely changed.
Thanks for sharing!??