Upside down business model

Yesterday I heard some rumours about an industry showcase / festival here in Dublin not paying the artists for their performances. The artists are expected to do it for the “exposure.” Unfortunately my landlord does not accept “exposure” for rent… So this got me thinking.

Sometimes it seems that the music business is built to support the business before the artist. It’s bit like a model railway, where we build the surroundings around the railway. Where as in real life, the railway is there to service the surroundings. We seem to forget that without the artist, there is no business. So why so often the artist is the last person to get paid? But even more so I would like to ask how can we change this? There is no point in moaning, if we are not willing to work towards solution.

Unfortunately my suggestion is something that many artist will not want to consider, as we want what used to be. To me the independent path is the only way to change things. If we build a direct relationship with our followers, maybe there is hope. If enough of us do it by our self with the help from our followers, the people in the business will be forced to rethink how they operate. But the artists cannot do this on their own, the music fan will also play a part in it.

But today more than ever we have a chance to change things, thanks to the internet. Even though it is very unstable time, it is also exiting time to be musician. But will new independent artists playing their own original music stand a chance against the big guns in the business? Only time will tell.

J.P.

The author J.P. Kallio is a singer songwriter
To get EIGHT of his songs for free go HERE