Good article!

The Devaluation of Music

Very good indeed. Personally, I'm disinclined to consider 50% of what I hear on commercial radio (in the UK anyway) as "Music".
Noise isnt Music.
The last two sentences in the article say it all for me.

Good News on the Devaluation of Music!! I have your answer!!!!! I know the cure!!! Read here!!!

1.) Go buy yourself a turntable and a kick.... set of speakers.

2.) Go to the Goodwill or Salvation Army in a chic neighborhood and buy every piece of vinyl they have.

3.) Every morning sit on your couch with a nice cup of Joe in a well lit room and drop that needle. Choose anything you like. If you feel stumped, try Aja by Steely Dan or anything on Deutsche Grammaphon. You are going to start to feel really good.

4.) Next, go to your music room, and open up Band in a Box, look at it, and get down on your hands and knees and Thank God you have it.

5.) Write yourself a kick..... tune and post it on Soundcloud.

6.) If one person writes and says you made their day you have just been anointed. Disregard any and all dooomsday prophets. Stop reading any and all newspapers and magazines. Don't watch anything on t.v. unless it comes on the BBC and even then limit yourself to one hour. If you have a radio in the house smash it to pieces with a sledgehammer. Now.

7.) Go practice your instrument for an hour.

8.) Rinse and repeat.

9.) If you keep doing this you may find that in spite of the doomsday prophets you suddenly have massive soundcloud streams and the people are asking for more.

10. ) You will notice that you feel like you are walking on a cloud and living in Paradise. Yes, it is true. You can find heaven on earth. Some folks call it the Kingdom. No need to pay me. Simpy mail in a check for $100 to your favorite charity and we will call it even.

Peace out!

WONDERFUL DAVID (sorry about the shouting)

What a great article, thanks for sharing Blue Attitude

While I disagree with some of the sentiments about modern music being of a lesser quality, I do absolutely agree in the devaluing of musicians and their craft over time. In a day and time when people would rather download an album for free than pay for it, and when people are scalping tickets and selling them at several times the original price - it's absolutely brutal for an artist trying to make a living.

I listen to a vinyl album or two almost every day (well, I am going through my entire collection to digitize them, because I have always had great difficulty listening to my record albums in the car).

Great perspective, David!

Great article! The lack of music in the schools and the lack of places to play are two of the most important factors IMHO. Music in schools can expose kids to various genres of music. Playing out is the perfect way to hone your skills.

David, I agree with everything except this statement "If you have a radio in the house smash it to pieces with a sledgehammer. Now." I say take that radio and find some good music on it. We live near a smaller city and I can get a PBS classical station, a PBS jazz station, a jazz/blues station as well as a number of excellent college stations. The first three are my favorites. YMMV.

The article fails to mention one big factor that affects the devaluation of music and that is the sheer quantity of good music that is being made and released. The irony is that wonderful products like BIAB make it easy for some one like me to record and release 10 albums in the last three years. Impossible a few years ago.

On the point of music in schools, I am not in the know on the statistics of people who are now qualified in music as opposed to a few years ago but I would be very interested in some hard stats because even in the back water that is South Africa I am astounded with the number of really good musicians out there. Performing and writing. It seems to be a simple matter of supply and demand.

Ok, Mario, you're right. Only smash half of it.

What was I thinking.

Great point and not just the sheer quantity of music that is available but the sheer quantity of EVERYTHING that is available! People have many choices for how to spend their free time. Thousands of channels of TV and millions of channels of YouTube and Netflix and Hulu. Millions of songs on Spotify and other services. Plus, every record, cassette, 8-track and CD I ever purchased just sitting there on the shelf waiting to be listened to again.

We have more choices than ever before and I fail to see how that is a bad thing, in fact, I see it as quite the reverse, a Great Thing! To those fans of classical big jazz band whatever songs that don't get made or listened to anymore I'd say just pull out those old 78s and enjoy! Or better yet, create some new/old music yourself and get it out there for the world to listen to. And if no one listens then just enjoy it yourself. That's just fine!

I'll never understand the need to disrespect current music and artists just because your favorite style of music is no longer desired by most people. Your favorite music is no better or worse than anything currently being produced. People using tools to make music and other people being touched by that music is a big win regardless of the genre or era!

Yep...supply and demand. Good old American capitalism at work.

With the tools we have available today, anyone with half a brain can create music in their home that sounds like it was recorded in a multi-million dollar studio in Nashville or LA.

While much of it is just OK, there is a huge number of really good artists and producers who toil away at their DAWs and don't make the first dollar from their efforts. It's all for the love of the music.

Many folks here fit that category.

Musicians themselves shoulder part of the blame for the devaluation of the music. Mainly in the attempt to make a living and get their music heard. "Yeah boys, y'all have a mighty fine band there.... I can let you play Saturday night.... no pay, but just think of the exposure you'll be getting...."... at a club in the middle of Podunk North Dakota.

This goes back to another thread about children learning to play an instrument. Lazy, which there appears to be many, and those whom lack the discipline to practice can get a program like BiaB and use loops and RTs to produce a song. Other programs use loops only. Why practice an instrument when in a very short period of time they can be making music on a computer?

Of course the other side of the coin is that a child who plays and instrument can get a lot more out of a program like BiaB then one who doesn't play one.

I've played that room!!!!

It's even worse. Bands undercutting each other JUST to get to play in front of their wives and girlfriends... bands don't care as much about product as we used to. How many do you know that book Saturday night down at the corner bar and on Thursday they are calling recruiting who is going to play bass or drums in 2 days? One room near me has a bunch of about 15 people who play in various configurations as about 4-5 different band names. And because of that, they play the same 45 songs, and they play for next to nothing. The bar has "a" band, the friends and families are out to see them play, and the regulars who sit up at the bar end of the place couldn't care less if there is a band there at all, much less if they are polished or not.

Back in the day, there were more clubs than bands, and bands were in demand. Now there are far many more "bands" than rooms. Every group is 3 players and a front singer who assemble that night and call themselves a band, and the cheap club owners are happy to pay the 4 of them $200 hoping they draw some people. Very few of that kind of band have any sort of following, since they aren't really bands. And with no following comes no door traffic, which means an empty room, and those bands are often told to stop after 2 sets and take less money. It's very sad. I was literally within eyesight one night as the drummer and the bass player from the "band" introduced themselves for the FIRST TIME! The guy who starts and stops the songs and sets the tempos and the player he has to lock in with had never met before.

Now of course everybody is going to jump in and tell me about the guys they know who have been together 30 years and all that yada yada, but I am speaking in generalities, not specifics. And yes, good players can make it work. But if a room wants to present a group of players as a band, I expect a polished, professional product, not jam night full of "What do you want to play? I don't know what do YOU what to play? Do you know this one? No I don't. How about this? What key do you do it in? F. That's too high. Can you drop it to D?" This while people in the seats are waiting and can hear this.

Sad.