I like what you've stated. It's good outlook. Different, but makes for great business discussion.
Thanks, I think "different" is how we (those who make content and those who consume it) need to start looking at things. While I'm not saying to look at this from a purely business perspective, I am, at this time, saying to put the business aspect first.
"Everyone, from the fan to the artist, should examine themselves and see what they're in it for." PERFECT!!!! This is a great statement! I say this to a lot of people and agree 100%! It's either you're in it for the long haul, or you're in it for the fast buck and will burn out quick and quit.
I think if people are truly able to answer it then proper expectations will be made and met. Personally speaking, I like to create. GOD'S CALAMITY is basically a "demo" to showcase how technology can be used and how music can be interactive. You ever heard of the video game called GEARS OF WAR? Well Gears was basically a tech demo to showcase the UNREAL ENGINE which they then licensed to other companies who wanted to use it. That's basically what GC is, simply to showcase technology within music (tech that's already there which keeps r&d costs to ZERO) and how music has the potential to be turned into a franchise complete with ancillary goods that actually serve a purpose. This in turn creates a situation where we go back to the days of TRUE A&R and back to the days of storytelling in music.
The majority of people that came into the game after figuring out they can record on a home computer, they came in thinking they'd blow up over night and make rdiculous money. When it doesn't work out, they quit. I personally think that's a good thing. Those type of people ruined the game. It became a fad and everybody and their mama was involved in music in some way, shape, or form.
True, but see rappers, hell musicians period, aren't one upping each other on a tech level. When you see people who used tech to their advantage like Soulja Boy or T-PAIN, you see they carve out a niche and they control it. Do you want to know how easy it is to record 200 songs and have 10 albums? All it takes is beats, a mic and a pen and pad. Easy. Now try making a concept album. That's a bit more difficult. Now try making a concept album where your playlist choices determine the outcome? Well that's a bit more hard. And that brings me to the point of art, which is, what is art and what is the rubric we're using for good art?
Underground rappers were a dime a dozen. Hardcopy Cds sold in the street, but it got saturated quickly. Too many whack rappers recording on computers believing in having to, "flood the market," overshadowed the ones who were really in it for the love and had that true drive. It wasn't a fad for them.
Again, for me, I like to create. I like to express different sides of myself via creative processes. Money is good, but the end goal is changing laws and how publishing works, (which is why I have a provisional patent for what I'm doing) to create incubators for other creative people and for those involved in STEAM initiatives and to push the envelope. Also, to carve my name in the history books.
It's like some underground rappers today who come out of the woodwork and have a few songs online. They think their doing it big because they got a few hundred clicks. Then, they quickly get a tattoo of a microphone or music notes with the words, "Music Is My Life." LOL! really?
Well, to them doing it big may be a few hundred clicks. That may be the ceiling for them. For me a few hundred clicks is a few hundred clicks. Ultimately, clicks mean very little to me as I play in a space where clicks are absolutely meaningless even though I'm "underground" (if we're using the definition that
@DuceTheTruth
laced us with.) Has the person in your example most likely spent money on studio time? Nope. Purchased a program that wasn't cracked? Nope. Purchased any piece of gear? Probably not. So who knows why they are doing it?
It's simple economics. The supply is there, but there is no demand.
Google "BLUE OCEAN" (without the quotes.)