Tough to disagree with anything you've said here, Charles! The Grammys join the Rock Hall as "institutions" who desperately need updating, if not actual dissolution! Your focus on 21st century and foreign artists points to a larger picture of "the record biz" as a whole from mid-century to millennial....the whole machine of artist/label PR/trades/rock press/radio play and charts/record stores is radically different from one century to the other. And, the "progress" of tech hasn't helped in the slightest.
The curious listener A) needs to be self-diligent to find new and relevant (to them) music, and B) while "it's so much easier with the 'Net," it's also a dizzying prospect to avoid getting lost in the morass of thousands of new artists breaking every day (and the maddening algorithms designed to lure you to this and not that).
"The machine" no longer exists which makes it "easier" to find a new artist.....and, it wasn't a perfect system THEN, either! You raise some fascinating points, Charles, and ones that are as deep as they are frustrating! I look forward to Part 2!
Thanks Brad! Actually, I'd be interested if you were to write some pieces on how the industry has changed structurally. Of course, the switch in the "last mile" from record stores and radio to streaming and youtube are evident to even the casual fan. But the deeper level changes are harder to understand--I suspect even for those in the middle of it. You refer to "the morass of thousands of new artists breaking every day", but on the other hand, the financial rewards seem to be getting even more concentrated than they were before. Beyonce and BTS are billion-dollar corporations, and function that way. But below them, musicians are starving. The internet was supposed to be democratizing, but if anything the artists have less power than ever. I think you could shed some light on this, with your insider's perspective... Hint Hint!
Good idea, and I'm flattered. I feel like a book could be written, but short of that, to get at what you're suggesting, I'd be more than willing to engage in a thread, or some sort of reader-guided/directed Q&A arena....not just me yammering on. Like what we're doing here...it was YOUR words which prompted mine, and now, your words above.
I agree about the Beyonces, BTS's and Swifts. In the thousands of "kids" making music (and able to monetize, however feebly) and posting them on whichever site....while they're now able to do what Columbia's and Arista's Clive, Warners' Mo'n'Joe, Atlantic's Ahmet, et al wouldn't LET them even come CLOSE to doing half-a-century ago, yes, I realize they're not able to support themselves, monetarily, just artistically....which won't pay the rent.
See if you can visualize a format (enlisting some more of our music writers, as well) where this can be a dialogue that also brings in our readers and subscribers. That'll be much more fun and worthwhile, ultimately. We'll talk..........
Great ideas Brad. I don't know enough about how these platforms work--I know substack added a chat function, but I've not used it. One of us could post a short note with an invitation to join the comment thread--but Discord and Reddit are more functional for that sort of open-ended discussion. Thoughts?
Here's a thread that Paul Macko of Deplatformable Newsletter and I hosted. It'll give you an idea on format and presentation. I don't want to do anything off 'Stack in this regard. I don't own a cel phone, and thus, have no apps, and I think that means I can't chat! Here's our thread: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/open-threadjoin-us-under-the-covers/comments
Very eye-opening post. I can’t say I’ve ever sought out “global” music, but you have continuously introduced me to some bands I would have never heard of otherwise. And I agree--there should be no global music category at The Grammys (which I don’t watch and don’t care about because of some of the things you pointed out).
Tough to disagree with anything you've said here, Charles! The Grammys join the Rock Hall as "institutions" who desperately need updating, if not actual dissolution! Your focus on 21st century and foreign artists points to a larger picture of "the record biz" as a whole from mid-century to millennial....the whole machine of artist/label PR/trades/rock press/radio play and charts/record stores is radically different from one century to the other. And, the "progress" of tech hasn't helped in the slightest.
The curious listener A) needs to be self-diligent to find new and relevant (to them) music, and B) while "it's so much easier with the 'Net," it's also a dizzying prospect to avoid getting lost in the morass of thousands of new artists breaking every day (and the maddening algorithms designed to lure you to this and not that).
"The machine" no longer exists which makes it "easier" to find a new artist.....and, it wasn't a perfect system THEN, either! You raise some fascinating points, Charles, and ones that are as deep as they are frustrating! I look forward to Part 2!
Thanks Brad! Actually, I'd be interested if you were to write some pieces on how the industry has changed structurally. Of course, the switch in the "last mile" from record stores and radio to streaming and youtube are evident to even the casual fan. But the deeper level changes are harder to understand--I suspect even for those in the middle of it. You refer to "the morass of thousands of new artists breaking every day", but on the other hand, the financial rewards seem to be getting even more concentrated than they were before. Beyonce and BTS are billion-dollar corporations, and function that way. But below them, musicians are starving. The internet was supposed to be democratizing, but if anything the artists have less power than ever. I think you could shed some light on this, with your insider's perspective... Hint Hint!
Good idea, and I'm flattered. I feel like a book could be written, but short of that, to get at what you're suggesting, I'd be more than willing to engage in a thread, or some sort of reader-guided/directed Q&A arena....not just me yammering on. Like what we're doing here...it was YOUR words which prompted mine, and now, your words above.
I agree about the Beyonces, BTS's and Swifts. In the thousands of "kids" making music (and able to monetize, however feebly) and posting them on whichever site....while they're now able to do what Columbia's and Arista's Clive, Warners' Mo'n'Joe, Atlantic's Ahmet, et al wouldn't LET them even come CLOSE to doing half-a-century ago, yes, I realize they're not able to support themselves, monetarily, just artistically....which won't pay the rent.
See if you can visualize a format (enlisting some more of our music writers, as well) where this can be a dialogue that also brings in our readers and subscribers. That'll be much more fun and worthwhile, ultimately. We'll talk..........
Great ideas Brad. I don't know enough about how these platforms work--I know substack added a chat function, but I've not used it. One of us could post a short note with an invitation to join the comment thread--but Discord and Reddit are more functional for that sort of open-ended discussion. Thoughts?
Here's a thread that Paul Macko of Deplatformable Newsletter and I hosted. It'll give you an idea on format and presentation. I don't want to do anything off 'Stack in this regard. I don't own a cel phone, and thus, have no apps, and I think that means I can't chat! Here's our thread: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/open-threadjoin-us-under-the-covers/comments
Very eye-opening post. I can’t say I’ve ever sought out “global” music, but you have continuously introduced me to some bands I would have never heard of otherwise. And I agree--there should be no global music category at The Grammys (which I don’t watch and don’t care about because of some of the things you pointed out).
Thanks Holly! More coming....