Music Taylor Swift says you're wrong if you think the music industry is dying - Page 4

Deberg_1990 · 08:40 PM

She OWNS all. Wise beyond her years

http://online.wsj.com/articles/for-t...ory-1404763219

Where will the music industry be in 20 years, 30 years, 50 years?

Before I tell you my thoughts on the matter, you should know that you're reading the opinion of an enthusiastic optimist: one of the few living souls in the music industry who still believes that the music industry is not dying…it's just coming alive.

There are many (many) people who predict the downfall of music sales and the irrelevancy of the album as an economic entity. I am not one of them. In my opinion, the value of an album is, and will continue to be, based on the amount of heart and soul an artist has bled into a body of work, and the financial value that artists (and their labels) place on their music when it goes out into the marketplace. Piracy, file sharing and streaming have shrunk the numbers of paid album sales drastically, and every artist has handled this blow differently.

In recent years, you've probably read the articles about major recording artists who have decided to practically give their music away, for this promotion or that exclusive deal. My hope for the future, not just in the music industry, but in every young girl I meet…is that they all realize their worth and ask for it.

Music is art, and art is important and rare. Important, rare things are valuable. Valuable things should be paid for. It's my opinion that music should not be free, and my prediction is that individual artists and their labels will someday decide what an album's price point is. I hope they don't underestimate themselves or undervalue their art.

In mentioning album sales, I'd like to point out that people are still buying albums, but now they're buying just a few of them. They are buying only the ones that hit them like an arrow through the heart or have made them feel strong or allowed them to feel like they really aren't alone in feeling so alone. It isn't as easy today as it was 20 years ago to have a multiplatinum-selling album, and as artists, that should challenge and motivate us.

There are always going to be those artists who break through on an emotional level and end up in people's lives forever. The way I see it, fans view music the way they view their relationships. Some music is just for fun, a passing fling (the ones they dance to at clubs and parties for a month while the song is a huge radio hit, that they will soon forget they ever danced to). Some songs and albums represent seasons of our lives, like relationships that we hold dear in our memories but had their time and place in the past.

However, some artists will be like finding "the one." We will cherish every album they put out until they retire and we will play their music for our children and grandchildren. As an artist, this is the dream bond we hope to establish with our fans. I think the future still holds the possibility for this kind of bond, the one my father has with the Beach Boys and the one my mother has with Carly Simon.

I think forming a bond with fans in the future will come in the form of constantly providing them with the element of surprise. No, I did not say "shock"; I said "surprise." I believe couples can stay in love for decades if they just continue to surprise each other, so why can't this love affair exist between an artist and their fans?

In the YouTube generation we live in, I walked out onstage every night of my stadium tour last year knowing almost every fan had already seen the show online. To continue to show them something they had never seen before, I brought out dozens of special guest performers to sing their hits with me. My generation was raised being able to flip channels if we got bored, and we read the last page of the book when we got impatient. We want to be caught off guard, delighted, left in awe. I hope the next generation's artists will continue to think of inventive ways of keeping their audiences on their toes, as challenging as that might be.

There are a few things I have witnessed becoming obsolete in the past few years, the first being autographs. I haven't been asked for an autograph since the invention of the iPhone with a front-facing camera. The only memento "kids these days" want is a selfie. It's part of the new currency, which seems to be "how many followers you have on Instagram."

A friend of mine, who is an actress, told me that when the casting for her recent movie came down to two actresses, the casting director chose the actress with more Twitter followers. I see this becoming a trend in the music industry. For me, this dates back to 2005 when I walked into my first record-label meetings, explaining to them that I had been communicating directly with my fans on this new site called Myspace.[B} In the future, artists will get record deals because they have fans—not the other way around.[/B]

Another theme I see fading into the gray is genre distinction. These days, nothing great you hear on the radio seems to come from just one musical influence. The wild, unpredictable fun in making music today is that anything goes. Pop sounds like hip hop; country sounds like rock; rock sounds like soul; and folk sounds like country—and to me, that's incredible progress. I want to make music that reflects all of my influences, and I think that in the coming decades the idea of genres will become less of a career-defining path and more of an organizational tool.

This moment in music is so exciting because the creative avenues an artist can explore are limitless. In this moment in music, stepping out of your comfort zone is rewarded, and sonic evolution is not only accepted…it is celebrated. The only real risk is being too afraid to take a risk at all.

I predict that some things will never change. There will always be an increasing fixation on the private lives of musicians, especially the younger ones. Artists who were at their commercial peak in the '70s, '80s and '90s tell me, "It was never this crazy for us back then!" And I suspect I'll be saying that same thing to younger artists someday (God help them). There continues to be a bad girl vs. good girl/clean-cut vs. sexy debate, and for as long as those labels exist, I just hope there will be contenders on both sides. Everyone needs someone to relate to.

And as for me? I'll just be sitting back and growing old, watching all of this happen or not happen, all the while trying to maintain a life rooted in this same optimism.

And I'd also like a nice garden.

**LoneWolf** · 07-08-2014, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCUnited

Music should be free.[/I]

Why?

Coochie liquor · 07-08-2014, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aries Walker

I, for one, am happy to dance on the grave of the days when released albums had one good song, one okay, and eight filler tracks for $16.99.

This!! Those bands were getting paid (well record companies were) and putting out subpar product! Eff those fat bastards!!

KCUnited · 07-08-2014, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

Why?

By free, I mean the ability to listen to without purchasing. Streaming, Bandcamp, etc.

rico · 07-08-2014, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cochise

kewl Taylor Swift thread bro

I like your kewwl avatar, Kurtz dude!

Sweet Daddy Hate · 07-08-2014, 11:51 AM

Thank God. After reading Ms. Swift's thoughtful insights on the music industry, I can now sleep at night.

**LoneWolf** · 07-08-2014, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCUnited

By free, I mean the ability to listen to without purchasing. Streaming, Bandcamp, etc.

Again I ask why? Do you get to go to a department store and pick out clothes to wear for free as long as you return them to the store?

These songs are created by the artists and they should be treated like any other product. We have become so entitled as a society that we believe that any intellectual property should be free. Music, movies, art, etc....

Aries Walker · 07-08-2014, 01:28 PM

This about sums it up.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/music_industry

listopencil · 07-08-2014, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Count Zarth

A cookie cutter country artist doesn't know shit about shit.

Mennonite · 07-08-2014, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

Again I ask why? Do you get to go to a department store and pick out clothes to wear for free as long as you return them to the store?

These songs are created by the artists and they should be treated like any other product. We have become so entitled as a society that we believe that any intellectual property should be free. Music, movies, art, etc....

Screw them. Pirate everything.

lcarus · 07-08-2014, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bacon Cheeseburger

I'm going to go steal her music off of Kazaa.

Haven't you heard of Bearshare? God dab boy... get with the times!

Mennonite · 07-08-2014, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lcarus

Haven't you heard of Bearshare? God dab boy... get with the times!

Music downloaded from Kazaa can only be played on phonographs, I believe.

What.cd and Waffles are the best music trackers. Or so I have heard. I'm mainly into movies these days.

lcarus · 07-08-2014, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mennonite

Music downloaded from Kazaa can only be played on phonographs, I believe.

What.cd and Waffles are the best music trackers. Or so I have heard. I'm mainly into movies these days.

Oh I remember the days of ordering 15 free CDs from Columbia House. I was only 11 at the time. I'm not sure how, but I get the idea I ****ed my parents somehow financially.

Mennonite · 07-08-2014, 02:06 PM

Columbia House was a great deal...until you forget to send the form back at the end of the month and you end up with a mailbox full of Melissa Etheridge and Bell Biv Devoe cds at $18.99 a pop.

lcarus · 07-08-2014, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mennonite

Columbia House was a great deal...until you forget to send the form back at the end of the month and you end up with a mailbox full of Melissa Etheridge and Bell Biv Devoe cds at $18.99 a pop.

Hahaha, I seriously think I ended up with a ****ing Melissa Etheridge CD in our mailbox. My mom says what the hell is "come to my window" and why are we being billed 28 dollars for it?

07-07-2014, 08:34 PM
Deberg_1990 In Search of a Life Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: San Antonio Tx. Casino cash: $3914454	Taylor Swift says you're wrong if you think the music industry is dying She OWNS all. Wise beyond her years http://online.wsj.com/articles/for-t...ory-1404763219 Where will the music industry be in 20 years, 30 years, 50 years? Before I tell you my thoughts on the matter, you should know that you're reading the opinion of an enthusiastic optimist: one of the few living souls in the music industry who still believes that the music industry is not dying…it's just coming alive. There are many (many) people who predict the downfall of music sales and the irrelevancy of the album as an economic entity. I am not one of them. In my opinion, the value of an album is, and will continue to be, based on the amount of heart and soul an artist has bled into a body of work, and the financial value that artists (and their labels) place on their music when it goes out into the marketplace. Piracy, file sharing and streaming have shrunk the numbers of paid album sales drastically, and every artist has handled this blow differently. In recent years, you've probably read the articles about major recording artists who have decided to practically give their music away, for this promotion or that exclusive deal. My hope for the future, not just in the music industry, but in every young girl I meet…is that they all realize their worth and ask for it. Music is art, and art is important and rare. Important, rare things are valuable. Valuable things should be paid for. It's my opinion that music should not be free, and my prediction is that individual artists and their labels will someday decide what an album's price point is. I hope they don't underestimate themselves or undervalue their art. In mentioning album sales, I'd like to point out that people are still buying albums, but now they're buying just a few of them. They are buying only the ones that hit them like an arrow through the heart or have made them feel strong or allowed them to feel like they really aren't alone in feeling so alone. It isn't as easy today as it was 20 years ago to have a multiplatinum-selling album, and as artists, that should challenge and motivate us. There are always going to be those artists who break through on an emotional level and end up in people's lives forever. The way I see it, fans view music the way they view their relationships. Some music is just for fun, a passing fling (the ones they dance to at clubs and parties for a month while the song is a huge radio hit, that they will soon forget they ever danced to). Some songs and albums represent seasons of our lives, like relationships that we hold dear in our memories but had their time and place in the past. However, some artists will be like finding "the one." We will cherish every album they put out until they retire and we will play their music for our children and grandchildren. As an artist, this is the dream bond we hope to establish with our fans. I think the future still holds the possibility for this kind of bond, the one my father has with the Beach Boys and the one my mother has with Carly Simon. I think forming a bond with fans in the future will come in the form of constantly providing them with the element of surprise. No, I did not say "shock"; I said "surprise." I believe couples can stay in love for decades if they just continue to surprise each other, so why can't this love affair exist between an artist and their fans? In the YouTube generation we live in, I walked out onstage every night of my stadium tour last year knowing almost every fan had already seen the show online. To continue to show them something they had never seen before, I brought out dozens of special guest performers to sing their hits with me. My generation was raised being able to flip channels if we got bored, and we read the last page of the book when we got impatient. We want to be caught off guard, delighted, left in awe. I hope the next generation's artists will continue to think of inventive ways of keeping their audiences on their toes, as challenging as that might be. There are a few things I have witnessed becoming obsolete in the past few years, the first being autographs. I haven't been asked for an autograph since the invention of the iPhone with a front-facing camera. The only memento "kids these days" want is a selfie. It's part of the new currency, which seems to be "how many followers you have on Instagram." A friend of mine, who is an actress, told me that when the casting for her recent movie came down to two actresses, the casting director chose the actress with more Twitter followers. I see this becoming a trend in the music industry. For me, this dates back to 2005 when I walked into my first record-label meetings, explaining to them that I had been communicating directly with my fans on this new site called Myspace.[B} In the future, artists will get record deals because they have fans—not the other way around.[/B] Another theme I see fading into the gray is genre distinction. These days, nothing great you hear on the radio seems to come from just one musical influence. The wild, unpredictable fun in making music today is that anything goes. Pop sounds like hip hop; country sounds like rock; rock sounds like soul; and folk sounds like country—and to me, that's incredible progress. I want to make music that reflects all of my influences, and I think that in the coming decades the idea of genres will become less of a career-defining path and more of an organizational tool. This moment in music is so exciting because the creative avenues an artist can explore are limitless. In this moment in music, stepping out of your comfort zone is rewarded, and sonic evolution is not only accepted…it is celebrated. The only real risk is being too afraid to take a risk at all. I predict that some things will never change. There will always be an increasing fixation on the private lives of musicians, especially the younger ones. Artists who were at their commercial peak in the '70s, '80s and '90s tell me, "It was never this crazy for us back then!" And I suspect I'll be saying that same thing to younger artists someday (God help them). There continues to be a bad girl vs. good girl/clean-cut vs. sexy debate, and for as long as those labels exist, I just hope there will be contenders on both sides. Everyone needs someone to relate to. And as for me? I'll just be sitting back and growing old, watching all of this happen or not happen, all the while trying to maintain a life rooted in this same optimism. And I'd also like a nice garden. Last edited by Deberg_1990; 07-07-2014 at 08:40 PM..
Posts: 66,914

07-08-2014, 11:51 AM	#50
Sweet Daddy Hate Unsparing Join Date: Aug 2008 Casino cash: $10004900	Thank God. After reading Ms. Swift's thoughtful insights on the music industry, I can now sleep at night. __________________ 1. Merciless, severe. 2. Given freely and generously. 100% refusal to overrate 20 year Head Coaches with ZERO **ing rings as a Head Coach. CP's Official Professor of 'Dem Blues for 2019/2020!**
Posts: 77,135

07-08-2014, 01:28 PM	#52
Aries Walker Back again, again. Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: York, PA Casino cash: $9583357	This about sums it up. http://theoatmeal.com/comics/music_industry
Posts: 8,179

07-08-2014, 02:06 PM	#58
Mennonite Veteran Join Date: Jun 2014 Casino cash: $10258572	Columbia House was a great deal...until you forget to send the form back at the end of the month and you end up with a mailbox full of Melissa Etheridge and Bell Biv Devoe cds at $18.99 a pop.
Posts: 3,378