Life’s not fair- especially for musicians

Saw Tony McManus, Johnny Dickinson and Andy McKee last night. McManus and McKee are two of the finest acoustic guitarists on the planet and last night were playing to about 150 people in a hole in the wall in Swindon yet talentless designer chavs like Lily Allen are buying beach properties in Jamaica. I know life’s not fair and I guess they new the score when they chose they career they did but still it would be nice to see real musical talent and virtuosity rewarded better. Fortunately the internet is democratising the music industry so guys like these have a better chance of marketing them selves.

If you get the chance get along to the rest of the tour (dates here[/url]– well worth £12 or so.

I agree wholeheartedly! I used to use Pandora.com and came across a lot of obsure, but brilliant artists! This resulted in me buying a lot of music I liked because Pandora ran a smart application that would profile types of music by its musical content. So you got to hear a lot of stuff that you liked, not what they wanted to you to hear. If you didn’t like a particular track, you could vote it out and then it would never get played again. You could have up to twenty profiles, or genres and Pandora learned over time what you were most liky to enjoy. When playing a particular track, there were links to the remainder of the contributing album as well as links to buy the music from Amazon, or iTunes. I aquired many CD’s for silly money – this service was awesome!

The record industry then bullied Pandora over licensing issues, forcing them to withdraw their service from all countries but the US. The irony was that Pandora encouraged me to buy much more media – thus helping record these producers! The record industries loss then.

There was no illegal file sharing, the industry just didn’t like loosing their grip on what got sold. Arrogant bbxxxxxs!

The music industry have their own agenda to stock retailers shelves with what they want us to buy, to promote a particular artist etc. Open internet networks that promote the little guy and the fledgling superstars of tomorrow totally mess up the industry’s business model and potentially decimate their margins.

So we will continue to get fed a pile of cxxp. Some artists definitely deserve the recognition they get, but i’m sure there are many many more excellent people who are passed up in favour of a few priviledged, attractive looking kids who are pretty talentless!

Let us hope that the internet is the saviour of real music. If you know of any music democratising web sites similar to Pandora. please let me know. I haven’t bought any music for ages!

BTW I was down Swindon way last weekend. Did the Ridgeway and some other places. Awesome!

I’ve found a lot of interesting music just surfing youtube.

Glad you enjoyed the riding Bob. Now’s the time to ride Wiltshire as the recent dry spell has dried out the mud and the nettles and grass aren’t at full height yet.

I’m not familiar with any of the artists you mention, and I’m sure they are very good – but in general people are more interested in songs and lyrics than musical virtuosity.

by all means seek out and enjoy the music you like – but moaning about talentless “pop” musicians just makes you sound rather old and tedious

I went clubbing with Scott Mills DJing last night if that counts 😉 On a serious note, it does annoy me the talentless likes of Lily Allen, but the general population isn’t into the niche artists others appreciate.

by all means seek out and enjoy the music you like – but moaning about talentless “pop” musicians just makes you sound rather old and tedious

Age is irrelevant, I have been seeking out alternatives to “pop” music since I was in my early teens! It is all about free thinking, being inquisitive and taking the trouble over something you care about.

I’d say most people listen to what they are fed, are accepting of it and are too lazy because music doesn’t really float their boat.

You go with the hype my friend!

I will continue to seek out great artists.

I will continue to seek out great artists.

Don’t confuse technical ability with artistry, they are not the same thing. Whilst I kind of admire the skill of say McManus, watching a bloke hunched over a guitar plucking it with his thumb doesn’t make for a riveting listening experience for me. But then I’ve never been a fan of flouncy technical guitar playing…Rather listen to Lilly

I’m not familiar with any of the artists you mention, and I’m sure they are very good – but in general people are more interested in songs and lyrics than musical virtuosity.

Agreed – I saw Nils Lofgren at a tiny place a couple of years ago. Sensational guitarist, but most people I played the CD to thought it was fretwanking nonsense.

I went clubbing with Scott Mills DJing last night if that counts

Please tell me you gaffer taped his stupid mouth shut, rolled him up in a carpet and thre him off a tall building.

Haha his set wasn’t bad actually, and he didn’t open his trap so all was good 🙂

“Age is irrelevant, I have been seeking out alternatives to “pop” music since I was in my early teens! It is all about free thinking, being inquisitive and taking the trouble over something you care about.

I’d say most people listen to what they are fed, are accepting of it and are too lazy because music doesn’t really float their boat.

You go with the hype my friend!

I will continue to seek out great artists.”

You don’t know who I listen to, or why. or whether I searched it out or not. I’ve spent plenty of time in small venues watching “obscure” artists, and plenty of time screaming along at the top of my voice to a “pop” record in my car.

Some stuff is popular because people genuinely like it, most of the greatest, most uplifting songs ever recorded are “pop” records pure and simple

more interested in songs and lyrics than musical virtuosity.

Don’t confuse technical ability with artistry, they are not the same thing.

I’m more interested in melody and emotion- both can be communicated in a 3 min 3 chord pop song or a complex folk or jazz guitar instrumental. Sorry if it sounds elitist but it takes a bit of experience and knowledge to appreciate the latter which is why its less accessible and harder to market. I’m happy the Interweb makes it easier to find as an alternative to the stuff we’re fed by A&R departments- some of which I’ll admit is good.

If this makes me sound old and tedious then tough sh*t

having been involved in music since I was 15 – I’m 44 now – I can happily say that it’s so much easier now than it was in the 80s to get your music out there. YouTube, MySpace etc…

Who needs record companies, A&R men & all the rest of the industry cr@p?

well actually we all do if we want to make a living out of music; if we’re happy being hobby-musos then it’s fine to self-market. If you’re serious about it, there’s never been a better time. There are still a lot of people in the industry that know it inside out, that can help if you’ve got what people want to hear.

It’s not about being virtuosos these days (if it ever was), it’s about knocking out a good choon.

Of course, use t’internet to get started – as I said, it’s so much easier now – and, if you’re good enough, and passionate enough, and put enough effort into it, you will get noticed…

BTW I was down Swindon way last weekend. Did the Ridgeway and some other places. Awesome!

Tell me; did you discover the fabled Woods Behind Nationwide in Swindon? I can only dream of such delights… 🙁

oh! which hole in the wall was that? don’t tell me I missed another cracking gig in the vic/12bar!!??!

Yep Mr Nutt it was at the 12 Bar

Lilly Allen a Chav? I think she is quite a smart marketing woman which targeted Chavs.

I know what you mean but that’s what makes the guitarist special and outlives these crappy pop chav artists.

What appeals -sells.

Innit? 😀

Mckee is quality, think i stumbled upon him on youtube.

spongebob – try last.fm – i was in the same situation after pandora closed down. last.fm is really quite good too…

in fact, i’m listening to it now…

I actually like quite a lot of mainstream music too. It’s nice to be able to explore the less well known. It was thanks to Pandora that I bought an album 2 years before it’s UK release and paid less than £3 for my copy.

Interesting this, and people’s attitude to pop musicians like Lilly. She’s not talentless; if she was she’d just be doing kareoki retreads of other old songs, and the fact her voice isn’t the strongest is also irrelevant. She appeals to a segment of the market and is reaping the benefits thereof. The problems for talented musicians start with record company people listening to a new album that has been months in the making, then saying “sorry, we don’t hear a hit single, so we’re not promoting the album”, but refusing to release the artist to go elsewhere in case she has a hit and they look stupid, carrying on the fiasco for three years. That’s what happened to Aimee Mann. When she finally got her own label together and started to use the Internet she actually started to make more money than at any previous time in her life. I’m managing to discover more new music at the moment than I can possibly afford to buy, just through magazines like The Word, BBC 6Music and support acts with bands I see live, like Courtney Tidwell, who was supporting Andrew Bird, who I first heard on 6Music, and The Joy Formidable who were supporting Howling Bells, who I also first heard several years ago on 6Music. Last night I saw Metric, a truly awesome live act, who I first heard several years ago, where else but 6Music, along with Stars, Arcade Fire, Death Cab For Cutie, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Black Mountain, The Dears, Broken Social Scene, and loads of others. Heidi Talbot, who I saw on Wednesday with Eddi Reader I heard on Bob Harris one evening and bought the album, and other recent purchases as a result of a chance radio play include Sunny Day Sets Fire, The Seal Cub Clubbing Club, (really, bought in Fopp yesterday), Monkey Swallows The Universe and School Of Seven Bells. There’s also Wolf Parade, Baskery, Asobi Seksu…
The point is there is staggering amounts of quality music within easy reach, a lot of it doing very nicely via word-of-mouth, before the t’interweb gets involved. Of course, some find it more difficult if their music occupies a smaller ‘niche’, but the biggest problem has been down to this governent and it’s stupid music licencing policies, which at long last people are waking up to and belatedly trying to do something about it.

Asobi Seksu..

Gotta love a band called casual sex…Heard The Joy Formidable on Steve Lamaq’s show as well, good stuff.

The Joy Formidable’s lead singer/guitarist is lovely as well, which never hurts, as is the case with Metric and the fabulous Emily Hayes. I admit I do have a fondness for female singers/ musicians. Gemma Hayes, The Wailin’ Jennies, Julie Fowlis, Shawn Colvin, Patty Griffin, Emma Pollock, Maria McKee and Kris Delmhorst are others who’s music never fails to give me immense pleasure, and those of them I’ve had the pleasure to actually meet have been really lovely people as well. Another advantage to prefering small, intimate gigs where the artist is likely to sign stuff afterwards. Maria, Kris, Gemma, Patty, the Jennies, Eddi, Heidi and Aimee, amongst others, have all been sweet, lovely people.

Spongebob talks lots of sense on here, as well as on the Election thread. Nice one.

check out emily ellbert for some nice acoustic guitar playing
also alexi murdoch – how come he’s not a star?
lots of good stuff on KCRW music station – morning becomes eclectic with nic harcourt for great live performances on the web

Of course life’s not fair for musicians. What would they have to sing about otherwise?

BTW – what’s the difference between a musician and a pizza?

A pizza can feed a family of 4.