What's happening to the recording industry? and its future?

[The Tasmanian]

Thanks to a prod from Ben - its time to burst an industry boil.
This has mostly been imported from another thread, cause I'm lazy:

There are a few huge factors now weighing in on our industry, and its survival, and that is, almost no record companies are putting money into albums.

I know from first hand experience, that multi million selling artists are now not getting advances, or they are so pathetic, as a large growing chunk of the budget goes more into marketing/video/social media companies etc.

Some medium sized independents even baulk at covering mastering now? - this has only really happened in only the last couple of years. Even the smallest independent labels paid for mastering - not anymore.

Ive worked for decades, with a mixture of all of the big majors from all around the globe,the smallest players, niche, underground, private labels, and the majority have now stopped paying for recording.
As in - they don't have the money.

A lot of bands also personally using their own money to pay for albums, planning to get back the investments by live sales of CD's and merch to repay the recording costs.
Now CD's dont sell at shows.... no shops to sell them in...not worth printing.

why? - because the public see a CD as a cheap device that holds data.
A thumb drive has value because it goes in your pocket, and can be wiped, used for more data.

Vinyl does sell, which I believe, is because it holds music in the grooves,and because its not data.
Its personal, like a book.

So the artist has to pay now - for everything,
...and attempt to survive playing music, let alone paying for/rehearsing/demoing /recording studio's/mastering.

But they cannot fund them.
I'm happy for the garage bands, doin it themselves with whatever they can muster, I admire them, and am glad that they will keep putting out work as they don't need anyone to pay for it. They are the smart.

Meanwhile, the market psychology is that data is worthless, endless, and music is seen and purchased/stolen through that prism.

Recording industry is not looking very promising as a career path.... best kept as a hobby?

Question:
Imagine, your child is a 17 year old, with dreams of one day owning his own house, keep a solid relationship, have some lovely children, go on the odd yearly holiday with the kids, etc etc.

Would you recommend a future as a recording/mixing engineer - or a producer? or a professional musician starting today?
If so - how do you think that child could ever survive and reach their life dreams in this industry?
Is it even possible anymore?

Discuss.

[The Tasmanian]

And I have not even started to talk about the (non) income from recorded music........

Do majority of people think music is worthless data, pointless in paying for?
All the evidence seems to lean that way.....

[Thirteen]

All of the kids who pirate music and movies and other media have closed the door for themselves on many of the world's coolest jobs. They will never grow up to become recording engineers, producers, cinematographers, directors, pro photographers, motion picture soundtrack scorers, etc, etc, etc. because those careers won't exist as economically viable professions. Everything has a consequence.

[harry]

Those Crazy Kids..

[gigpiglet]

i feel a bit odd making the first real response to this
possibly as one of the younger members of the forum. (im in my early 30s)

i never planned to make a "living" from this
but i have
ive even bought some property - and truth be told, if i hadn't been divorced twice (both costing a house) id be in a much better position than i am now.
but the studio building (that i bought) 10 years later - has put me in a position to buy a home.
maybe thats "property investment" but it was music that paid the bills/ mortgage for the last decade.

I've also carved my niche, and not tried to do what everyone else was/ is.
production "management" (as in - hiring other peoples gear and not buying my own)
live recording (cause i was doing lots of live gigs, and i liked recording - a decade ago id say every second live track you heard from an aussie artist was recorded by me/ on one of my systems - cause no one else had that gear or focused in that way)

would i have made more money being a civil engineer... or a chemical one (which i had the scholarship for)
maybe.
would i have had a better life, and had more stories to tell.
unlikely.
would i have been in BRW (or whatever other publication) as someone "achieving"
unlikely.

im not going to advise my kid to get into audio (cause i dont have any)
but i DO advise "kids" to do so every day.
in the right way
with the right skills
with a plan, and thought about what they want to achieve and how to do it.
i support a lot of them on those first steps - and the list of great guys who are now out doing their own thing and making a living off it, who used to work at gigpiglet, is growing every year.

I've never had a "job"
ever
in that ive never had a pay packet from anyone
ive been self employed, in audio, my whole life (so now about 15 years full time)
and its alright by me... despite the changes.
there are changes for sure.
but - im sure there are in banking, or construction, or mining or whatever else too.
ya know?

[The Tasmanian]

Well - to be very clear, I'm not talking about real estate investments, live production, touring companies, driving trucks, having lots of income streams etc.
We can all point out our various financial successes in life - that's not really the point of this discussion.
Maybe another post for someone who thinks this is really important?

I'm talking about survival of world class recording studio's, with vast arrays of analog gear, huge investments in acoustics, equipment,(not real estate), staff, expertise, assistants etc.
As dedicated recording studio engineers,
Dedicated studio mix engineers
As studio producers.
As recording and performing musicians.

Its got absolutely nothing to do with "changes" - its a pointless analogy - every industry goes through changes, and always will...

Its to do with these great crafts and skill sets being devalued by the theft of intellectual property, and the ramifications for all those who wish to dedicate themselves to a serious craft.

The outcome is looking like - no great studios, ones that are left are filled with cheap shit, with almost everything made in China, no investment in serious quality anything (apart from some plug ins - to emulate/repair the very average recording chains, mic's /pre's / lack of acoustic investments )
No-one dedicating their lives to be great visionary music producers, or a master of recording skills in studios, or dedicated studio mix engineers.

And a whole bunch of audio engineers straight out of school, running around doing anything they can to survive, with no time to become a great at anything in particular, just mastering the art of survival..making money,,,, in an industry where musicians get FA. And less than FA as each year goes by.

Its also a serious discussion - Harry your kids comment is beautifully pathetic...

..and does not sit well with me as I observe hard working, talented international touring musician songwriters with sales in the 1/2 million mark driving Taxi's to survive...

[ChrisW]

My experience chimes with Chris T I must say.

Studio pros and musicians are making more money from services than they are from goods. 'Goods' being the actual product, music. Services, being the ultimate drummer's weekend, mixing with the masters, clinic tours, product launches.
The top 10% are doing ok because their name and reputation means they can be the celebrity at the centre of a product launch or masterclass. So I wonder how the 20-25 year old band musician in Australia is ever going to have a financially healthy career.
I've said right from the start of the downloading craze that it was a short term gain for consumers. Yeah, it's great to access entertainment for virtually no cost. But the creators of entertainment need to put food on the table. If they can't do that through music creation, they will inevitably move to a career where they can. And that's a brain drain from the music industry to other industries. Which if you are a music lover is a very bad thing.
The biggest BS line I keep reading about the current state of the music industry is that no matter what, people will always make music. But why is it we are happy to have demoralised, under valued people making our music? And why is it we're happy our music is created at 9pm after a hard day at the office, or over the weekend, balanced against the needs of family?
There is a reason most sports have shifted to a professional model.
People will always play 'footie', but how many thousands flock to the local park to watch an amateur Rugby team? Are the weekend fairways thronging with spectators eager to soak up the atmosphere of amateur golf?

[Drumstruck]

Unfortunately finance becomes a big part of this topic - I doubt that many of the industry giants developed because they loved music and wanted to give struggling bands a go - but I don't doubt that there were some of these.

"skill sets being devalued by the theft of intellectual property" - this statement is a real concern as IP is vigorously defended in the corporate world - why should it not be so in the music industry? I see warnings on every video about piracy and the penalties that could be incurred.... perhaps data security for music needs a few more straps and chains applied....

.... so, if I suddenly won lotto and had 20M at my disposal would I build/buy a world class studio? Yes indeed - but it would be in the country and by invitation only for artists that I wanted to promote (in between tripping around the world with my Mrs of course)

would I recommend a career in music to the youth? sadly, no - I'd say get a trade so you can survive and pursue your music because you want to do it.

Remember the eras of struggling musicians who did it because they were "driven" to make their art? - I think more of the black american jazz players here - few of them made anything from it (sadly) but the legacy they left (blah blah blah - you guys don't need a lecture).

[Wiz]

Firstly let me say this, Chris T you are obviously passionate and hurt about this topic so I am attempting to treat your post with both respect and courtesy.

You posed a few questions I would like to address:

Question:
Imagine, your child is a 17 year old, with dreams of one day owning his own house, keep a solid relationship, have some lovely children, go on the odd yearly holiday with the kids, etc etc.

I feel I can answer this question with authority, as i have a nearly 16 year old daughter who is in her second last year of high school.

I have told her what I have lived. You must have two paths. You (hopefully) are alive a long time. Financial security is important, being happy is important. You must find a balance. Its important to have dreams and aspirations but there is also reality.

Get a trade, get a "something" . Become something, plumber, pharmacist,stockbroker,electrician, radiographer. Sure, play gigs at night, make pottery on the weekend, sculpt, dance, write ... whatever your passion is, do it.. but be something as well.

Buy a house. Save, scrimp, stash, go without, buy a house. You have to live somewhere, you might as well be paying it off (buy within your means even if it means a decent commute, buy where you can afford, not where you would "like" to live) because what happens is one day you turn around and you own the house and go, man, how did that happen?

That was my life experience. I went full time music (my passion, my true calling) at the age of 31 years old. I had worked from 16 to 31. During that time I had always played music, but worked up to 80 hours a week and did 2 nights a week gigging. At 38 I owned my own house outright.

Thats what I tell her. She has never known a time when I havent been home for her. Because I did all the hard hard work, when I was in my 20s .

Once you are secure, you can do what you like ,when you like. For me, thats nirvana.

I do what I want. For whom I want, when I want. Now thats freedom and power.


re the recording industry.

Would you recommend a future as a recording/mixing engineer - or a producer? or a professional musician starting today?
If so - how do you think that child could ever survive and reach their life dreams in this industry?
Is it even possible anymore?

Not in the way you have described it has been in the past. Because that wont exist in the future. As you have pointed out. But I would answer this question with a question, well two questions...

1. Would "you" have recommended that sort of career in the past? and up until what year?

2. How many places, for the kind of career you mention (working in a big recording studio that someone else owns) do you think "ever" existed in the first place.

I think the industry you remember, was pretty rarified air in the first place and was only for a relatively short period of time. A bit like the old industry I was in, the computer industry. My old job "customer service engineer" where I spent my life in large computer rooms with false floors and 100 meg disk drives the size of a washing machine, has undergone savage changes, as did one of the other industries I worked in when I was a field service tech on Fax machines. They used to be quite intricate and require expertise to keep running, now, consumable, so that whole side of that industry came and went within a decade (fax).

To be succesful in life, I think you must be happy, more than you are not.

To do that, you need security. You need to spend your time doing something you enjoy, if you cant do that spend your time doing something you can tolerate whilst you work towards doing something you enjoy. The sooner you can get your security in order the better.


Look at Chris W. (sorry chris 8) )

he has sat behind some really REALLY big names.

As a drummer he got to the top of the pile. Really really rarified air. You couldnt ask for more of a career than he has had. He got the gold ring.

He, given the so few oppurtunities to do what he has done, you would think is futzing around with his Apollo and Quad Eights, looking out across a blue shining sea from the cliff top window of his snare drum shaped mansion on his own private island with a G5. Given how much money, the people chris played with over the years have generated within the industry both live and recorded.

You would think the financial rewards for someone who got to where he has, statistically there must be literally millions of drummers out there who would have wanted to get there, would be uncountable.

Look at the owner of this board, Rick. He is certainly one of the few who can operate at his level. You would think he too should be sitting on a diamond encrusted aeron chair twiddling platinum encrusted monitor controller knobs. Given the artists he has worked with and on.

My point. There has only ever been money in this for a few. The zillionaire money that is.



There have only ever been a relatively few places within the recording industry for employment vs demand.



I could throw a F@#$ing rock from where I sit and bet I could hit two plumbers, three electricians a dentist and a GP who have made more money than most of us. Even those musicians and recording engineers who get to the top of the pile.




I remember talking to a muso mate in Melbourne, who was playing for a big name at the time, and he and I had both just done gigs that weekend. We were talking about pay. He had made less that night than I had.
He had played in front of literally 100,000 people. I played in front of about 100 at a wedding. He made 250 dollars I made 400.

How much does that blow?

I never operated in Chris W's or your sphere of the world. Unfortunately. I would have loved to stand on a concert stage and hear what the fold back system sounded like and know what it was like to play to 50000 people. I would have loved to have put the mic up in front of "insert mega singer songwriter here" and hit record, or have uber famous people sit on my couch. But it wasnt to be.

But as I type this from my own studio, looking out a large window, across the inground pool to the house I own, that contains my wife and daughter whom I love dearly with zero debt for the last 16 years, I am happy. (the house is in Bundaberg , not LA, the pool is fibreglass and small , not concrete and huge, the house has 2 and 1/2 bedrooms and is weatherboard 8) )

That is success in my view and what I tell my daughter.

I hope you find success and happiness in your new path Chris T. I really do. Good luck with it mate.

cheers

Peter

[obutcher]

It's a very complicated topic this. I'm in my 20's and so am relatively new to this game. From my perspective, there haven't been many 'big' studios around, and you've (almost) always been able to record things on a computer. I did start out using tapes, but that was only the first two years and haven't needed to look back since.

I guess a lot of this comes down to expectations of what you want out of the role. I'm not doing it to try and become rich, I have friends who'd give me a job in IT for twice my current income at the drop of a hat, but because doing something else for some money would suck. I spend at least 6 days a week doing it and sure I'm not rolling in cash, but it's way more satisfying to hit the record button than it is to get paid a lot more for doing something I'd hate.

I still see a place for studios. At Jungle we get a lot of people who have started writing the song at home and need a space for recording drums and other overdubs. We have a pretty decent drum room and some nice gear, so that seems to go a long way to get people to come back as we can provide a service they can't do at home. The studios as a lifelong career though? I don't think many people can say that for sure. I remember a certain Rick posting on here saying he's had to rebuild his business a few times?

[ChrisW]

Remember the eras of struggling musicians who did it because they were "driven" to make their art? - I think more of the black american jazz players here - few of them made anything from it (sadly) but the legacy they left (blah blah blah - you guys don't need a lecture).

I agree. But we don't want to go backwards just so people can access music free of charge.
That was the 1950's and before. And I for one felt very proud in the 1980's and 90's when obscure musicians were supported, celebrated and were finally able to be heard without existing on the breadline.
Thanks to labels like ECM, quite obscure artists actually earned money, recorded in nice studios, and toured the best concert halls around the world.
I also think there was a culture of niche art in many record labels. Many of the label people I met were true music enthusiasts. They used the money coming in from U2 and Madonna to support Nick Lowe, Captain Beefhart and George Clinton. It was also about prestige. Just like Ford sell cheap cars and build a V8 racing team they can crow about in their suburban showrooms. Labels fought over critically acclaimed artists as it added prestige to their stable.

[ChrisW]

I never operated in Chris W's or your sphere of the world.

I started in 1980.
For seven years (basically throughout my 20's) I played in low budget indie bands. I augmented my income with some recording sessions. I never wanted to play drums on a tv commercial, or movie soundtrack, so most of my sessions were for original artists. I made decent money, lived an ok lifestyle and eventually bought my first property (a one bedroom apartment in London) in 1987. My perception is the ability to do this in 2013 is gone.

I earned great money from 1987 to 1992.

Then I somewhat retired from drumming and earned decent money writing music for tv from 1992 to 2005. All through that period music budgets were in decline. I was actually quite surprised by the budget I was given early on. I could hire a couple of outside musicians, and still pay myself ok. Eight years later I was almost paying to write. I was given a rough score with a mixture of Radiohead and Phillip Glass as temp music. Given a couple of thousand dollars to recreate it and told I had eight weeks. With constant re-edits and revisions, it works out at $250 a week, to work ten hour days, buy and maintain equipment, hire any outside musicians etc...

I came here in 2005 and although I've never spent much time in Melbourne, I've been shocked at what I've seen.
Just as an interesting sidebar, I've been here for 8 years and have never received a single solitary phonecall asking me to record drums for an original artist. Not one.
I realise I'm over 50 and there are several established and very, very good Aussie drummers, but not one call just out of curiosity?

[Wiz]

I think the phone will ring now Chris 8)

[ChrisW]

Dunno.
People in the industry have known I was here for over 6 years.
I'm not talking about "can you play on our album and we'll give you a slab of VB".
I'm not talking about $1000 a day either. But it costs about $50 a day to rent a snare drum, and the operator is going to add to the bill.
Had a funny (sad) conversation with a top UK session drummer a few years ago. He took a call from a friend saying they really wanted to hire him to play drums on a session but could only afford £150. The drummer said OK, as a favour. Then the friend asked if he could bring his vintage kit, his dozen snares, his bags of cymbals. To rent the kit would cost £150 alone in London. So you're effectively paying for the kit, getting the snares and cymbals thrown in and the drummer (with years of training and experience) comes free!

[Wiz]

musicians undervaluing other musicians.. now theres another topic of discussion....

[ChrisW]

I disagree.
The money comes from the top down.
If you are given $5000 to make your album you obviously have to 'cut to the bone' (popular phrase) wherever you can.
When there was decent money around, other musicians paid me decent money.
I've even been paid respectably by artists self funding their work. Once you have a situation where everyone, musicians and studios, are living for the next pay day, no one can afford to pay for anything any more.
The debate gets skewed when studios blame musicians for being cheap, and musicians blame other musicians for not paying.
The bottom line is, creating entertainment has a base line cost. If you don't pay for your entertainment, or pay unsustainable amounts ($2.99 for all the music you want), then a lot of people in the music industry can't even cover their base expenses any more.

[Drumstruck]

.... everyone lives for the next payday - musicians are no different there....

But I think you've hit on a real point there Chris - "2.99 for all the music you want" - there is a hole there somewhere where "someone" is providing that music to the sellers at a rate whereby they can sustain their business at that sell price (man, I gotta get out of the corporate caper - I sound like a bean counter)

[ChrisW]

.... everyone lives for the next payday - musicians are no different there....

Well to be honest I didn't in the 80's and 90's. Not to the extent of having to revert to beans on toast halfway through the month.
None of my miner neighbours are living from paycheck to paycheck either.
It's about budget priorities for most people. Music is free, or practically? Great, we can put more in the pokies, or buy more channels from Foxtel.

Not sure I understand your point about the price music is sold at, but as far as I know you can't refuse to have your music on Pandora, and both Apple iTunes and Spotify negotiated their price with the industry at a time when the industry was looking down the barrel of no income at all.

[Manning]

The other day I met a young kid in a band who proudly announced he was doing his 4th gig for the year in September. I used to do 4 on a weekend.

I'm primarily a musician. Between 1984 and 1994 I did over 2300 professional gigs. I cut my teeth as a young'un in the pubs, RSLs and surf clubs of Northern Tasmania, and learnt from many old timers, such as Phil Manning and "Hippo" (a former sound engineer for Sherbet and AC/DC). I then toured with a variety of acts across North America until I came home in 94 and went to university.

I don't regard myself as overly talented, but I've been able to develop what ability I have fairly well. Having the opportunity to play was essential to that process.

I see a lot of talented youngsters denied the opportunity to develop the way I did. There is nowhere to play, and no money to be earned. Hence Sydney - the town that once produced INXS, Midnight Oil, Cold Chisel, etc - is now a musical desert.

I don't know what the solution is. But from where I stand, an entire generation has been robbed of their potential.

[Drumstruck]

.... everyone lives for the next payday - musicians are no different there....

Well to be honest I didn't in the 80's and 90's. Not to the extent of having to revert to beans on toast halfway through the month.
None of my miner neighbours are living from paycheck to paycheck either.
............

Excuse me whilst I remove your ice-pick from my forehead - I meant 99.9999% of the populace, not the privileged few....

[/quote]Not sure I understand your point about the price music is sold at, but as far as I know you can't refuse to have your music on Pandora, and both Apple iTunes and Spotify negotiated their price with the industry at a time when the industry was looking down the barrel of no income at all.[/quote]

If one can't refuse to have their music on a host and it is thus available for free/cheap download then something is very wrong - that's roughly what my point was

re: Apple / Spotify - potentially there's another of the answers - businesses have purchased the product at a certain pricepoint/time and are on-selling it (surely not for a loss, though stranger things do happen to garner future custom) - so are the "middle-men" the culprits?

The vicious circle spirals down to the musicians who now (as in the past) have to sell their souls to get beans on toast. My Dad would have said "get a real job then" - and I find it hard to argue with that, though I still fully support people playing their choice of music



<edit> oops sorry about the cr@ppy editing

[ChrisW]

Ian,
I take your point about the vicious cycle and the devaluing of music in the market place.
I disagree with the 99.999% versus the privileged few.
In the 80's I was an average working drummer. A lot of the people I worked with were average, on the edge of the industry. Both The Waterboys and Julian Cope were on small deals. Didn't sell many records, and toured for about three to four months a year, often playing small clubs. The industry continued to support such bands, putting us in decent studios with a producer, putting us on bigger tours. My fellow bandmates earned enough to rent a flat or house. Ate decently. Had enough finance to consider starting a family.
The comparison to now is stark, not 'much the same', which seems to be your point.
- Sorry about the icepick -

[jkhuri44]

i dont really mean to be unpopular in saying this, but the nature of modern music is also changing.
"recorded music" is sounding more and more dated as time goes on.
"modern" music, is increasingly electronic, whether we/you like it or not.
Yes, charts have a mix of music (acoustic, urban, house, etc etc)
But thinking from the lense of a young kid.....if i were presented with a guitar, or a laptop with fruity loops, and a bunch of synths....i know what i'd be picking.

[Drumstruck]

All good Chris - at least we can all have a laugh about it - thanks to FZ for the icepick joke btw

I also see your point about being able to make a living then as opposed to now. I'd really like to blame computers but that's drawing a long bow.... I also remember bands in the 80s in Oz that (apparently) made a good living playing gigs (e.g. the Radiators) - and nowadays I see some quite talented musos in my area who can't get any work in the field - and that is sad.

.... so my next single will come out on vinyl and I'll be rich rich rich !!!!

[Manning]

http://www.despair.com/creativity.html

[Alistair]

I probably fall into this category- young musician, don't have a 'day job' etc. Most of my friends are in the same boat- and I can count the number of people I know who make a living off gigs alone on one hand. 90% of jazz/classical/experimental guys I know teach instruments or lecture at unis, and 99% of rock guys work in bars or have manual labour kinda jobs.
Of the remaining couple of percent left over most are providing a 'service' like Chris mentioned- music mentoring, wedding/function organising, corporate masterclasses and all that sorta shit.
I don't know anyone who gets by just off playing their own music- including 'household name' kinda guys.

Myself- I play guitar for a living... but that also includes teaching, workshops, mentoring, fixing guitar amps, recording bands, live sound, production.....
Which has a massive impact on the amount of new music I am able to create, and the quality of the output. Everyone I know is in the same boat.

Not complaining- I have a great life. But I get very sick of people asking me to play/record for free. And I get very jealous when I hear about the 70/80's, and gigs available 7 nights a week. You still get weeks where you might have 8-9 gigs, but there's a lot more weeks with 1-2.

[Alistair]

And I was chatting to a friend the other day.... my pay rate hasn't gone up in 10 years, but house prices in Melbourne have doubled. Someone explain that shit to me!

[Wiz]

And I was chatting to a friend the other day.... my pay rate hasn't gone up in 10 years, but house prices in Melbourne have doubled. Someone explain that shit to me!

I was getting 300 to 350 for a solo gig nealry 20 years ago... pay is the same now.

[ChrisW]

"modern" music, is increasingly electronic, whether we/you like it or not.
Yes, charts have a mix of music (acoustic, urban, house, etc etc)
But thinking from the lense of a young kid.....if i were presented with a guitar, or a laptop with fruity loops, and a bunch of synths....i know what i'd be picking.

I agree.
Although the state of the music business moves more slowly than trends in music. Historically, styles of music shift back and forth all the time. WE could be just around the corner from another guitar, bass and drums resurgence. Once people have heard a sound enough, they want to hear something fresh. Rightly or wrongly, a lot of people I talk to are most excited about Tame Impala - guitars and drums recorded in a very retro 60's/70's style.
But the money you can earn from producing any of this (guitar or electronic) has been in long term decline for a couple of decades now. Pretty much since widespread take up of the internet.

[ChrisW]

I was getting 300 to 350 for a solo gig nealry 20 years ago... pay is the same now.

My basic session fee in the mid-80's was £400 a day. I can't see me quoting $600-$800 per day in 2013.
Both my plumber and electrician charge $80 an hour. Most musicians, including myself, would kill for that.

[Linear]

I would have to say that I'm a little more optimistic about the whole thing.

We need to forget and move on from what budgets were in the past. The 80's gave a once-in-a-lifetime lottery win for labels, in that they were able to resell their entire back catalogue in the form of CD's for doing nothing. This artificially distorted music business revenues, and this has now dried up.

For as long as I've been doing this, there has been no budget. I get annoyed when a band spends more on the photography and artwork than they do on the recording (this has happened a number of times) but that's their choice.

I also always hear of bands saying they have no budget, that they can't afford to do this/that however they walk in with their new ipads/laptops, having just come back from an overseas holiday with a nice car parked outside. It's just what people choose to spend their money on - and either you can complain and protest, or you can just roll with it. Don't forget that the whole service sector pricing is distorted at the moment - I can go to bunnings and buy an electric fan for $12 whereas someone to repair a broken fan would cost at least $60/hour (which is why hard rubbish day looks like such a travesty).

Speaking of Bunnings - has a $25 Ozito power saw eliminated the need for artisan cabinetmakers? Or has self-diagnosis via the internet eliminated the need for specialist surgeons? Yes there are now plenty of dodgy pergolas out there, and I'm sure many people are taking pills and supplements for ailments that they don't have. But the democratisation of music creation and all that goes along with it hasn't devalued truly great music - anyone with ears can pick a great song with great production, and my god does it stand out now more than ever. People make great records - not gear - people with skills and experience and talent. So there will always be demand for such people, I just think that ~those~ people need to get together and decide collectively that they aren't going to work for mcdonalds wages.

From the music consumption side, yes piratebay has resulted in a lot of piracy, but I don't think in most cases the downloader would have bought the music anyway, so it's no different to when I was 14 and I used to record songs off the radio onto my cassette boombox. I don't think that's the reason for the music industry pain we're feeling.

In this endless sea of bad recordings and shithouse music, there's never been a better time to make great music and stand out. Do something different, do something new and carve out your niche - it is still possible, and when you manage to do that you can STILL go out and sell a million copies of an album. I've seen it first-hand.

Chris