Musical Freedom = Musical Responsibility

"Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it." ~George Bernard Shaw

As a musician, entrepreneur, and consultant, I've spent a lot of time thinking about how to create a new "path" for musicians to succeed.

Unlike the olden days, success doesn't have to equate with record sales, or even concert attendance.

Why? The emerging music industry is flexible. There aren't any make-or-break "gatekeepers." It's wide open and the costs are pretty much zero. There are no barriers to expression. Make a song for your mom and email it to her. Or take over the British singles charts. Whatever. Make what you want of it.

The key word, however, is "you". Even more than usual, musicians are the ones who will be ultimately responsible for music's progress.

No magical music executive is ever going to appear (before you have proven traction with fans) and take over the "annoying" parts of being a musician. But at the same time, no cigar-chomping jerk will ever stand between you and success.

Your success or failure depends 100% on you, your decisions, your work ethic, and your fans (if you're good enough to have any).

We're going to be in a transitory period for a while (the technology is going to keep moving), which presents some dualities that are worth thinking about:

- there's less money in recordings but if you have a Net connection, your potential audience is in the billions;
- the Net enables you to have a relationship with fans but scaling those relationships is hard (how many emails or friend requests can you respond to?)
- professional Music Businesspeople are fewer and farther between but there are many web services that make doing those people's jobs easy (and enable you to keep 100% of the upside).

I believe it is this last duality that deserves the most thought. To use the parlance of some geek Internet economists, these services have "atomized" the music value chain.

(That's good).

What does "atomize" mean?

Practically speaking, it means that all the traditional responsibilities taken by someone else now fall on the musician himself to carry out.

Need to finance a recording? CASHmusic.org, ArtistShare

Need to make a recording? Pay someone $30/hr, do it yourself, or keep it "in the box"

Need to distribute a recording? TuneCore, Amazon (or, better yet, Amazon FWS)

Need to promote a recording? AdWords, Last.fm Powerplay, Facebook, HypeMachine

Need to manage a fanclub? MySpace, iLike, ArtistData

Need to book a gig? Sonicbids

Need to license your tunes? PumpAudio, YouLicense

Need to create and sell merch? JakPrints, Zazzle, CafePress

The list goes on and is expanding by the day. Sure, at the moment, I don't think Sonicbids is a substitute for a being a client at the Windish Agency but I can imagine a future iteration of that service when it is.

Of course, there is no one "path." Everyone has to find their own way. What's great about how the music business is evolving is that it supports an infinite number of paths. It's up to musicians to ante up, own it, and decide how they want to play it.

Note:
I'll be expanding this article with case studies from my own experience; if you have a story about how you or an artist you know has taken responsibility for his or her career and thrived (or learned a lesson), drop me a line!

Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide. ~Napoleon Bonaparte

Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. ~Mahatma Gandhi

- Ethan Bauley consults for media companies and musicians (when he’s not playing music or working on his own startups).  He can be reached at www.ethanbauley.com and www.SpimeCo.com.

Comments

[Johann Kristinsson]

Very usefull information.
Dont realy need a recording publisher.
Have taken a few courses at berklee college.
I use mostly Ableton live and some other programs and I do it all in my home studio exept I am not a very good singer.
So I hire a good singer .
That is the only help I need.
The rest I can do my self.

[Abel Okugawa]

hi Ethan,

I was born in Silverlake LA, and moved to Charlottesville VA.

[David Adewumi]

Ethan,

You responded to a comment of mine on Fred Wilson's blog.

Shoot me an email

david

[Eagle Bear]

The self-contained mode is ultimately reminding everyone that what's important is that, as Prince said, "let's just get on the stage." How many of us have realized that all these off the wall sales is nothing more than CEO'S saying to each other, "I can make more money than you." No matter how good the music is, if guys like Clive Davis or P. Diddy couldn't weren't making a profit, they'd leave the biz in a hot minute. But this, ultimately, is beside the point (as nice as it would be to make a lot of money from my music) - the point of making music is supposed to be about self-expression first and foremost.

[Reggie Graves]

Thanks for the helpful info that's sure to help us musicians and songwriters get our music heard. Often times this is a way to get the Major Labels to notice all the hidden untapped talent out here that could actually make a positive influence on the today's music at large. God Bless and keep up the good work!

[mischelle martyn]

Thank you, great article. Your key points really make alot of sense. I am just starting out in this business and I have to say that for me this is the easiest way to get my music out there, and it was so easy to do. I know that I won't make millions with this song but I am hopeful it could lead to gigs, playing my own original music. That keeps me excited. I am hopeful, healthy and happy.

[Nathanael Matthias Weiss]

Great article. The quotes you choose (especially the one from Shaw) have really got me thinking.. I listened to a teleconference by Ariel Hyatt, etc.. that caused me to realize that, as a musician (or a creator of any sort) I must take life by the balls and squeeze. Thats the only way to make it.

[Mike McKellip]

I myself, music is the freedom of expression. I have to feel the music and I don't mean volume. It talks to you. Mike

[Ethan Bauley]

Hi guys, thanks for the great comments.

Oli_F,

I think there are some tactics and anecdotes about how to "crack" the establishment that I'll explore in the future. I think the best heuristic to guide your philosophy, strategy, and tactics is to manage your expectations for results over a long time horizon. Even some of the smartest, most ridiculously talented musicians I know have had to work consistently (and SMARTLY) to achieve a "living wage" and some notoriety over a 5+ year period. So the question becomes, "How can I manage my career and my life so that I can work hard on my music, not burn out, AND still take advantage of good opportunities?"

I think day jobs are by far the most underrated part of this equation. It's up for discussion though ;-)

Abel,

I hope to check out those links soon. Rumblefish is indeed interesting. I am a Virginia native living in LA now. Where are you located?

Hedfoan,

Yes, I think you will find that many of the best musician services are made by great people who want to help. Keep an eye on this one: www.fistfulayen.com

[Stevie Joe Rouge]

I am going to give the internet publishing and access to my tunes a shot.

I can't do everything myself.I guess I could use some help, any volunteers= iMaking music- tm 2008 Stevie Joe-Music is for me a way of life since 15.

I could use a plug-in Producer and recording engineer, a plug-in promoter and Impresario, and a plug-in Manager.

Look for some of my songs coming soon via internet to you.

Stevie Joe - Los Angeles

[minimum]

Yes, the article is very useful for all indie people. But I agree with Oli_F: If you define success as "making living with music" you have to deal with industry establishment. Usually those structures have gathered their experiences and connection over a long time. And they have names, that's also very important:)

[Oli_F]

This is all very true, and empowering, there's no doubt the net and technology has revolutionised things.

However, I'd be interested in knowing your views on how to get on the radio, get reviews in mainstream music press, etc. Those avenues still seem pretty locked up by the corporate music machine (in the UK in any case)

Yes, one can do internet radio, and targetting the smaller specialist stations (which is fine, nothing wrong with that), but to really make reach many people at once a national station is required.

As an unsigned band, we're going to attempt to play the 'music industry game' of using PR & pluggers as I can't see how else to get the Establishment to take you seriously. Be interested to kow your thoughts on that - but in the meantime you can follow our progress on our blog!

[hedfoan hierophten]

I remember when I used to hate Napster for posting artists' songs for free. At that point in time there weren't any venues for the unsigned, and an artists' only hope was to get signed to a major label. I thought, that, that was the end of the industry itself, (because, if the major labels weren't making sales, then how were they going to afford to sign a new artist?)it was a in- fact a transition. From then on I have seen a huge change in the way sales are generated. Hence, the rise of iTunes and now Napster is just one of many. So, now I consider these venues as allies, and definitely appreciate them.) Thanks for the info.
-hh

[Abel Okugawa]

Very nice points . I am a musician/producer/publisher/recording engineer/promoter/rights holder of my music.I work everyday with music and web 2.0 technology in forwarding quality music into our everyday lives. I started selling digital downloads in 2005 and have seen a personal steady increase of sales at least 100% per year.And I have truely enjoyed learning and being part of a change in the world of music.

thank you for writing this article and putting together that great list of website links.That list in itself is a great place to start.Here are some of my personal favorites and projects.

my site: www.abelokugawa.com
digital store and recording studio: www.monkeyclaus.org
Licensing store: www.rumblefish.com
Online Radio: www.pandora.com
CD and Digital distro: www.cdbaby.com

I like to sometimes think magical record executives and cigar chomping jerks hold the secret to success inside a safe somewhere in the Hollywood Hills. While I am in Virginia conjouring up enchanted tracks that will vibe out and seep through the thick iron walls of their guarded safe and reach success .

Experimental distribution Rocks
Peace Abel Okugawa
abel@abelokugawa.com

[Bruce Houghton / Hypebot.com]

Great article and very true.