Spotify is terrible and getting worse, unless you’re at a level where it’s already profitable. Bandcamp is likely in its last throes, bought and sold and gutted. Live music competes, as always, with other forms of entertainment.
It ain’t pretty out there.
But that can’t take away the magic that’s there when we create and share. To paraphrase the sage wisdom of my friend Steve Murray, “Just keep writing your songs and playing ‘em.”
If you value music—and let’s not kid ourselves, it’s commodified and taken for granted like no other art form—pay the cover, buy a cd or record if you’re still into the whole physical media thing, drop a few bucks in the tip jar or support a patreon. Patronize the clubs that support small artists and pledge to college and community radio.
I know this is largely a preaching to the choir post. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t occasionally contribute to the chorus. My streaming numbers are paltry at best, I don’t know what my “draw” is anymore, and I’ve been stubborn over the years (probably to my detriment) about staying independent of a lot of this so-called business. All of this to say, I still wake up every (ok, most) mornings excited to create. This is my “only one cup of coffee, top of my head” way of saying, don’t let the bastards get ya down. We’re in this together. Let’s play some tunes.
md
