Last weekend when I was in Dublin I went to this
old authentic Irish pub that had live music playing at it. The band was
great and of course I wanted to continue to follow them after seeing their
performance. I went up to them after they finished and asked if I would
be able to find them on facebook and if they were on itunes. They were
slightly offended, and then preceded to give me their philosophy on music (and
in large part, life) and their feelings of social media dominating the industry
that is their passion.
They said that since music isn't their occupation
(they all must have other jobs, but didn't specify as to what) there is no need
to "push the buttons of social networking." According to them,
since they create their music for the sole purpose of enjoyment and to spread
the beauty of their talent to others who truly care, they find social
networking systems and the use of itunes unnecessary. They're only
interested in sharing their music and talent with people who are sincere in
their curiosity of it. Being that I really was interested in getting to
further listen to them I asked if I could buy a CD. I purchased a CD for
10 Euros and they were delighted.
I must say, this was without a doubt the first CD I
have purchased in a couple years- but it was an experience I enjoyed and got quite
nostalgic about. I remember when I was younger how excited I would be to
go to the CD store to pick out some music with my mom. This time I was
even more excited about the CD because I developed a relationship and had
conversation with those that were on the CD, which is why I suppose they prefer
this type of interaction as opposed to the itunes music store.
Is the distribution of CD's dying or already dead? Does the industry
allow for experiences such as mine to happen anymore, or do groups have to
actively engage in facebook and itunes to share their talent?
I think that in today's changing technology, musicians certainly have to rely on the power of iTunes and Facebook to get their name popular. If a musician were to rely only on his/her performances, his/her name would only get so far out of the perimeter of the area they perform. iTunes is a great way to get a musician's name out, but before that happens, I think that a general basis in radio/television is necessary - this could ultimately happen depend on a game of luck.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Teresa, I think that it's a natural progression of things. Back in the day, a band would just have to play as many shows as possible (but built lasting connections with their fans), then the distribution of records made it a little easier for a band to get their name to the public (though they were less connected with the public), and now with the internet we have musical stars that rise from myspace and youtube and are viewed by millions of people within a day or two. I can see why these fellows are making the anti-myspcae choice, because they don't want to lose sight of what making music is all about or at least what it was about.
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