Musicians displeased with labels are going independent

August 12, 2005

slacker6 used our news submit to tell us about an article he spotted over at CNN and offers this comment: "Quite interesting and very representative of how many of us feel about the recording industry."

The crux of the story is that at least some previously successful musicians are becoming frustrated with a system that seems to be on rails. Even after landing contracts, then giving their best efforts while using state of the art equipment, nothing seems to happen with the recording after it hits the marketing department. In this story, it is put forward that possibly only the "mainstream" or "safe" sounding music is focused upon, leaving others work on the back burner. In short, maybe it's all about money and the reluctance to take risks. For many artists, they have gotten the message and believe it's about time they go it alone.

Countless other bands have found themselves in a similar quandary: Signed to a major label, with promises of widespread distribution and big promotional budgets, yet going nowhere. They are casualties of an industry increasingly geared toward acts who can reliably sell millions of albums at a time.

As a result, a growing number of artists who do not fit that paradigm are going independent -- financing their own records and tours, securing distribution deals and serving as their own publicists.

For these so-called Do It Yourself artists, securing a major-label deal is no longer the object of their aspirations. They have either become disillusioned with the majors based on past mishaps or never saw a place for themselves within the establishment to begin with. Their efforts have been facilitated by home recording and the Internet.

As slacker6 says above in his quote, this is definately what we see a lot of visitors saying around here as well. There is a sense of frustration in reactions to news such as this because it seems that music is turning to pablum. Without naming names, we are constantly barraged by look-a-like and sound-a-like bands or entertainers. As I have always had admiration for those with the courage to take a stand and take matters in their own hands, I wish these pioneers the best and hope they can break free of the system and enjoy the success they deserve through other channels. It would also be interesting to see if music could take on it's own life and capture the hearts and minds of the people again.

Source: CNN