The tale of the struggling artist discovered by a London music mogul and swept to stardom, releasing acclaimed first album and then compromising their creativity in countless ways before being found dead in a bath of scented lilies at twenty-seven has diminished somewhat lately. With the onslaught of a democratisation of musical production, it seems the tyranny of major label production is an institution that could be losing its grip on artists-cum-producers who are in charge of their own destinies.
Producing music at home is easy. All you need is a little bit of talent and a lot of enterprise. If you can read an instruction manual and can carry a tune you can work with Ableton or Sibelius to produce a passable tune. With practice and determination this can become a good tune and then a great track worth slapping your DJ name on and launching into cyberspace. And who knows who could be the next Skrillex or Richie Hawtin, it could be you!
The point is, it is a good thing for the recording industry that anybody and everybody can produce, in the same way that it is good for the literary industry that anyone with a creative mindset can put pen to paper. There shouldn't be a law against it and everyone has the right to creative expression. For too long music industry giants have ruled the roost, basing selections of artists and bands on some middle aged businessman's idea of what will sell.
I don't wish to be misunderstood here. I fully support and encourage the making of music at home. Any kid throughout the last century who picked up an instrument or sang into a hairbrush wanting to be the next George Formby/Slash/Gary Numan/Stevie Nick/Mick Hucknall should be commended. Except for the kid wanting to be Mick Hucknall who should have been quietly drowned at birth instead. What I don't support is being slapped round the face with every man and his dog's impression of a DJ mixing on Soundcloud. Or Facebook, Or Youtube. And everywhere else. Why don't they practice and get to a standard that is actually acceptable before splashing it everywhere, or just not give up their day job?
Half these little buggers are pinching music and ideas and are passing them off as originals. At least the coherent industry of a decade or two ago would have slapped a lawsuit on this faster than you can say Vanilla Ice, even if the regime was a bit Stalinist. No one makes money from music anymore and this is a shame for the handful of great artists that are like diamonds embedded firmly in the mud of cyber-space, lost among the wreckage of a shattered music industry. In my eyes, the dawn of the digital music age has heralded the death of a certain greatness. And that's a crying shame.
Producing music at home is easy. All you need is a little bit of talent and a lot of enterprise. If you can read an instruction manual and can carry a tune you can work with Ableton or Sibelius to produce a passable tune. With practice and determination this can become a good tune and then a great track worth slapping your DJ name on and launching into cyberspace. And who knows who could be the next Skrillex or Richie Hawtin, it could be you!
The point is, it is a good thing for the recording industry that anybody and everybody can produce, in the same way that it is good for the literary industry that anyone with a creative mindset can put pen to paper. There shouldn't be a law against it and everyone has the right to creative expression. For too long music industry giants have ruled the roost, basing selections of artists and bands on some middle aged businessman's idea of what will sell.
I don't wish to be misunderstood here. I fully support and encourage the making of music at home. Any kid throughout the last century who picked up an instrument or sang into a hairbrush wanting to be the next George Formby/Slash/Gary Numan/Stevie Nick/Mick Hucknall should be commended. Except for the kid wanting to be Mick Hucknall who should have been quietly drowned at birth instead. What I don't support is being slapped round the face with every man and his dog's impression of a DJ mixing on Soundcloud. Or Facebook, Or Youtube. And everywhere else. Why don't they practice and get to a standard that is actually acceptable before splashing it everywhere, or just not give up their day job?
Half these little buggers are pinching music and ideas and are passing them off as originals. At least the coherent industry of a decade or two ago would have slapped a lawsuit on this faster than you can say Vanilla Ice, even if the regime was a bit Stalinist. No one makes money from music anymore and this is a shame for the handful of great artists that are like diamonds embedded firmly in the mud of cyber-space, lost among the wreckage of a shattered music industry. In my eyes, the dawn of the digital music age has heralded the death of a certain greatness. And that's a crying shame.
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