Going indie has been the wave throughout the industry regardless of the genre, bon-voyage to greedy major labels controlling the fate of artistically tormented souls. Today, we find ourselves with a bevy of once signed acts that made their own declaration of independence. Many acts celebrate their escape from bondage, but for some reason they are not doing any better than they were are as said slaves to the system. For some strange reason we have traded songs about love, lessons, and the joys of youth for addictions, insecurities and physiological breakdowns. If you listen closely, they are dominating subject matter. Music today is so message driven that it is almost unlistenable. Said messages are meaningful, but merely for the moment. No one really wants to revisit relapses and social crises on a daily basis. This independence artists asked for, but do they need it?
The majority of artists are signed to sing and perform, very few, especially in the pop field are signed based on their ability to produce, arrange, write and promote. It comes as no surprise that the quality of music suffers, which is what I contribute to the downward trend of their celebrity as it pertains to artistry. Some shift the blame to promotion, but independent artists cannot have their cake and eat it too. The tools labels had in the past do not pack half the punch of a Twitter or a YouTube. These platforms give artists an advantage by giving them the ability to address their fans on a personal level. A response to fan mail went from weeks or months to mere hours if the artist permits. People no longer need to sit at television sets for an hour to see a 3-minute music video. YouTube gives users the ability to opt in to something called notifications. These notifications not only notify fans of when said artist releases much, but the platform distributes the material to them instantaneously and directly.
With such tools at their exposure, why don’t we see formerly signed acts becoming mega acts? Why is it so hard for former mega acts to regain that prominence? The answer is that they are not good in much else outside of singing and performing. They are not good producers and writers. They do not have a good eye for talent or good vision when it pertains to collaboration of talent. Nobody has it all and artists put themselves in a very strenuous predicament. Artists overlook a great deal of work labels do, the musicians they hire, the producers they bring in and the perspective they have in bundling all that up in cohesive packages that will sell. Indie is good, until it isn’t and it hasn’t been to many people.
Comments