The State of the Industry (June 26, 2009)

Taken from my Tumblr: http://writergirl.tumblr.com/post/130620879

I adore Rain - his music, his performances, his persistence and how he broke countless moulds set before his time but watching one of his interviews has made me respect the guy and what he stands for.

Wherever I go I always complain about how stupid record company executives are because all they care about is how much they sell - they know absolutely nothing about the music itself but think they can tell the artists what to do because it sells. When Rain was making his 2008 album, he said that his main goal was to make a good album - not to sell or make money.

It’s hard to find people like that in the industry nowadays because the record company execs are stupid enough to think that people won’t notice if they don’t know anything about music - they think WE’RE the stupid ones.

I’m not stupid. I know how the industry worked before, I know how it works now and I don’t like it. While all these talentless and tasteless people who don’t do any justice to music as an art dominate people’s ears and iPods, the artists with the talent, drive and actual artistry are pushed to the sidelines just because ‘they won’t sell’.

Music isn’t made to be sold. I repeat - MUSIC ISN’T MADE TO BE SOLD. Music was made because there are people who live their lives for it, who are so passionate about it that they will die trying to make it and what to these executives do to it? They sell it, treat it like a commodity and put a price on it, saying that anyone who doesn’t pay for music will face ‘consequences’.
I’m sick and tired of the recording industry taking down download links and making a big deal about illegal downloading. Yes, artists lose money because of that but they’ve found new ways to earn back the money they spend making the album - concerts, copyrighting, clothing lines, all the gimmicks. That’s how they make money now and the industry should understand that. I don’t necessarily think artists should be millionaires - there are people in the world who live middle-class lives and they don’t seem to have a problem with it. You should make music because you love it, not because you’ll earn tons of money from it. Yes, you’ll be a lot more comfortable with the fame but that’s the the only think that matters - the music will always come first.

You get recognized on the internet, artists are noticed not because they spent this much money on this particular album but because they make an impact on people. Writing their own songs, singing covers, posting home recordings - they’re all made with limited funds but with overflowing amounts of creativity.

I personally download an album then if I like it and it’s available here, then I buy it. The problem is, the music isn’t available for purchase here - why are the record companies blaming us for something that’s their fault? I mean, it’s because they don’t bother to send over albums to this tiny little third-world country in Southeast Asia because they think we know nothing. HELLO!? I’m sick and tired of being marginalized just because I come from a poor country. I have a right to develop my own taste in music - I HAVE A RIGHT TO LISTEN TO MUSIC I LIKE AND NOT CHANGE MY TASTES JUST BECAUSE THEY DON’T SELL THE PHYSICAL ALBUMS HERE.

I respect Rain because he doesn’t look like money - that’s not the only thing he cares about in life. Yes, I like the idea of a lot of money but I’m Chinese and I was raised with values passed down from generation to generation. I was taught that yes, you need money to survive in the capitalist world but you should be frugal and spend on things you need. I personally like looking at expensive things and dream of owning them but if you actually give me money and tell me to buy anything I want I honestly won’t buy anything - I have a mentality that if I buy something now, something better might come in the future and I won’t have any more money to buy it.

Straying from the topic, much?

You get my point. I hate the recording industry and I want to change it - even if I’m ‘just someone from a poor country’.