For many, music has always been more than a way to make some money, It’s a passion, a calling, and a gift. Music is something that is needed more than ever.
“The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable.” —Kurt Vonnegut
No doubt the events of the last few weeks will have a lasting impact on the world, its economy, and countless individual families.
Creative types, including many musicians, songwriters, producers, and engineers are certainly being hit hard, and ours was already a turbulent industry.
Physical record and CD sales were once decimated by streaming platforms. Musicians quickly turned to live gigs instead but now that live shows, touring, and merch sales have dried up too, it's gotten even harder.
For better or worse, the spotlight is now shining on the internet for any and all revenue.
With this sudden focus on remote collaboration and live performances being streamed online, there is opportunity to push the boundaries of what we once thought were possible.
Where things are broken, we now have the time and energy to innovate, improve, or flat out replace the old ways to figure out something that just works better—for all of us.
The longer our live performances can only be attended online, the more need there will be to improve the technology and enable independent artists to effectively engage with their audience directly.
The longer our music can only be heard online, the more of an imperative it will become to fix the shaky business models of online streaming platforms to give artists a more equitable chance of making a living from their art.
My personal belief is that there can be some silver lining after this storm has passed.
How we act and how we treat each other now will have an even more lasting impact on our craft for years to come.
Adversity can often be a catalyst for pushing us out of our comfort zones and encouraging us to break through whatever obstacles we thought were holding us back before things got so crazy. In uncertain times we have the chance to recognize that the world has never been certain, so there's no better time to keep on keeping on with your music.
When I returned to music it was to help the independent artists who inspired me with their passion, their creativity, ingenuity, and the quality of music being achieved from even a modest home studio.
We're all seeing a lot of friends take steps to figure things out and to try new ways to keep the music flowing. For some, its the only way they know how to keep the lights on. Please support one another and offer whatever help you can, wherever you can.
If we can't support each other financially, we can support each other creatively to ensure that new music can—and will—still be heard in a world in ever greater need of all of the wonderful things a good tune can make us feel about ourselves and each other.
Exchange services
Play on someone’s remote session
Offer a free lesson or offer a test mix to show how you can help
Provide a needed skill from another side gig or day job
Someone may find value in what you can do if you just make it available to them. Let's at least try.
Maybe by coming together more as a community, we the music-makers can come out of this stronger, a littler more wise, and with more musical connections as well.
This is not a sales pitch. It's simply an offer to help your music where I can.
If there's something I can help you with to get your next song ready for release, I would certainly welcome the opportunity to try. Whether it's editing, mixing, mastering, or just positive encouragement, please reach out.
Now more than ever, please tell me about your music!
If you find this information helpful, please share it via social media and within your music-making circles.
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