Honey ! Someone listened to my music in Calcutta! That’s awesome! What a time to be alive for millions of musicians like me! Wow!
Anyway, let’s put the guitar down, shall we?
I’ve heard Spotify and the likes telling me through email and messages on their artist app to “Grow your fanbase to reach SuperFans.” So I tried it, I even created a Facebook page, a platform I had avoided for years. And then I quickly realized what was happening. You post something, get three likes, receive two nice comments about your music, usually from other musicians, and above all, you get bombarded by the PPPs (paid promotion people) who love your music without even listening to it. Meanwhile, Facebook also bombards you with “Boost your post,” paid campaigns, “reach large audiences,” and so on. Okay, I get it. Independent musicians are a new target, and plenty of people have figured that out. It must make a lot of money, all these artists paying these PPPs, fake streams and followers, Facebook, Instagram, there are so many! It’s staggering how quickly the hyenas pounce on the meat.
So, why all this? For a brief moment of “stardom,” a shooting star. Everything is ephemeral in this industry today. I even saw an American singer, I can’t remember her name, but she seemed famous since she was being interviewed by a major media outlet. She said, “if you don’t post a track or anything for 1 or 2 weeks, it’s over! You’re forgotten!”. Crazy world!
So, indies, is it really worth spending your money on all this theater which benefits, as always, the bigwigs of the industry and a few small rats scouring the networks to squeeze a few dollars out of you? Before Spotify and the others, you had a band, you managed to make a recording, you sent it to radios, and that was it. It was clear, you didn’t spend your life waiting for a notification on a small screen.
So, I’m glad I was able to record my 2 albums, just like that, at home, on my computer, all alone. And there’s still something positive about being published on these platforms, your music travels to the four corners of the globe, impossible to achieve before. And it’s nice, you share the links with friends and family, it’s easy, easier than sending a CD by mail lol. Sometimes, I think that one day, my grandchildren will listen to their grandpa saying, “Wow! Grandpa had some energy!” It makes me smile. Well, I’ll stop playing that game, don’t care anymore about having so many listens here or there.
I know an artist who lives near me, and he records himself on an old Zoom, the guy is talented and original. But he sings in English and doesn’t write real lyrics, he’s fed up, he doesn’t want to spend time on that. And like that, he records track after track, he has hundreds of them! And when I ask him, “what are you going to do with them?” he replies, “nothing.”
Do you understand? It’s the pleasure of realizing his passion, of creating these 2,3 minutes of music, that’s enough for him. The industry has no hold on him.
Last thing. We all think we have a certain talent, something special, and that’s okay, there’s nothing wrong with believing in yourself. But one thing’s for sure, we can’t all be the next John Lennon, the next Kurt Cobain, the next Amy Winehouse… Enjoy the music around you, destiny will do the rest.