One man's thoughts on the state of things. I can't say I strongly disagree with him.
(a bit of NSFW language)
He's not a household name, but he's got 225K YouTube subscribers, with over 56 million video views. He's been in some decent metal bands, and he's started his own guitar company. I'd say he might be worth listening to for 5 minutes.
I saw this video yesterday by accident when I was browsing around for something else.
I don't know if I strongly agree with him, but think he has a point to a certain degree.
One of the first things he says is that record labels don't matter. My experience in a small local band and watching others blow past me makes me think this isn't true. Having a real label supporting you has a lot of perks. First, you can get reviews. Even small foreign language online sites won't touch your stuff if you aren't on a label of some kind. Also, labels can get you opening slots for bands touring through town. They also can put together small package tours that will actually make money. Doing any of this on your own means essentially becoming your own label, which then cuts into your practice\writing\recording time.
I do agree with his statements about needing a plan. You can't just build it and expect people to come. The internet is now lousy with people vying for attention. Just throwing your stuff out there is just more static. You need to have an idea for something that will make your project stand out. I don't personally agree with the "get into everyone's face as much as you can" theory. Common Wisdom would tell you it works, however as a consumer myself I will actively avoid something that is trying too hard to get my attention. I will ignore it just out of spite.
Is the "album format" dead? Understanding that we aren't talking strictly about vinyl albums, which for some dumb @$$ reasons are increasing in popularity, I would say it depends on the genre. Certain styles of music are meant to be consumed in small bites. Pop has always lived in the world of the 45, hit single, one hit wonder world. Very rarely is a pop album good from start to finish. Michael Jackson's Thriller has stood the test of time so well because there isn't one clunker on that record. With many pop releases, you can tell which one the producer got all up into because it sounds completely different from the rest of the songs on the CD. My personal example of this is 3 Doors Down; Kryptonite was a devil of an earworm song but the rest of the album stank on ice. Pop, EDM, HipHop, Rap, etc is perfect for the world of digital purchases and streaming.
That doesn't apply across the board, though. As you point out elsewhere, all the forms of metal are very much album oriented. Prog rock, jazz, and classical are also genres where the album tells a story; it is something to be moved through. Sometimes those deep cuts are your favorite tracks. Because people that are attracted to these genres are more into the details of music, they want a 5 course meal, not a candy bar.
Of course the bottom line is "show me the money." I think we have all read at least a dozen threads about this. The fortunes of musicians have changed greatly with the digital age. Unlike many forms of art, music is highly commoditized. Digitization is a sort of inflation on artistic currency. Labels certainly aren't going to take the hit, so they are passing their losses down the line. Studios, instrument makers, venues, merch suppliers, etc still expect some kind of payment or they will go out of business. So who gets the left over crumbs? Musicians. Why. Because **** you, that's why. You're creativity and time spend honing your craft are your loss; one that a million other suckers are willing to except. The musician's loss is everyone else's gain.
