If you think the radio industry is at odds with itself at times, perhaps you can take solace in what the music business is experiencing.
This hit home for me last week when Buffalo radio veteran, Jim Pastrick, referred me to an article in Forbes about how the music industry has been essentially trumped by the technology juggernaut when it comes to attracting young people to its ranks. It wasn’t that many years ago when teenagers longed for a career making music. And in fact, many of today’s radio professionals and label executives once dreamed of being in a great band and entertaining millions.
But perhaps all that’s changed.
Contributor Bobby Oswinski writes a no-nonsense piece about why the music industry has lost its allure to the technology business, and he boils it down to four key drivers:
- There’s no glamor in music anymore – Oswinski submits that music has lost its cool factor and its influence, and has been replaced by tech on the “cool-ometer.”
- You can make more money in tech – Hey, it’s a Forbes article so money is at the epicenter of Oswinski’s argument. He avers that making a financial killing is far more possible in the tech world, especially if your little startup gets swallowed up by one of the big boys.
- There’s more freedom in tech – And perhaps here’s where radio plays a co-starring role. Oswinski asserts that in order to manufacture a hit, you have to play it safe. In tech, on the other hand, risk is rewarded and there are no boundary lines.
- Tech is more creative – As Oswinski notes, “If you want to be rewarded for thinking outside the box, join the tech industry. If you want to be penalized for it, then the music business is for you.”
All-in-all, a s tough look at the music business in 2014 from the point of view of making lots of money and having an exciting life – attributes that attracted musicians to the recording industry to begin with. But it is Oswinski’s “take” on the lack of creativity and freedom in the music industry that is truly a sad commentary.
And oddly enough, Dave Grohl recently attacked this same issue from a different point of view. In a social media rant, the Foo Fighter’s front man took on shows like American Idol as the new way music stars are discovered.
It is NSFW but you can skip the screen cap below, here’ the key quote that speaks volumes about the frustrations of a rock star who is truly a musician.
“When I think about kids watching a TV show like ‘American Idol’ or ‘The Voice,’ then they think, ‘Oh, OK, that’s how you become a musician, you stand in line for eight f***ing hour with 800 people at a convention center and…then you sing your heart out for someone and then they tell you it’s not f***in’ good enough…It’s destroying the next generation of musicians!”
Rather than a band earning its chops by hacking out their sound in garages or basements, Grohl is highly critical of the TV show competition route as a pathway because it stifles creativity and the spirit of rock n’ roll.
It is noteworthy that Oswinski claims the fastest way to money and stardom is with a laptop, the worldwide web, and some creativity, whereas Grohl strongly feels that “you don’t need a f***ing computer or the Internet or The Voice or American Idol.”
No matter how you come down on this issue, both of these points of view paint a bleak picture of where the music industry is positioned now and where it’s headed in the future. And of course, radio is already being affected by the disruptions that are impacting today’s teens who want to make a mark in music.
So is it the TV stage with a panel of celebrity judges or that chilly garage that should serve as the laboratory for music’s next superstars? On that note, it is difficult not to think of that Cadillac commercial (below) that celebrates the creative spark that started in American garages. And both Amazon and the Ramones are cited as breakthrough “inventions.” Whether it’s power chords or writing code, the germ of creativity for young people often starts in the most modest of places.
Rock on.
>EMAIL RECIPIENTS: CLICK HERE TO WATCH CADILLAC COMMERCIAL<
But for the music business, gaming, apps, and “the next big thing” are less likely to be a song or an album.
The likelihood seems better for the next Steve Jobs than the next Mick Jagger.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Fred, I could not agree more with Dave. And it pains me sometimes to think of the product we have to work with when I know there are so many talented young people in the world.
I’m glad you didn’t zero in on rock music alone because there are talented young people who have taken the “garage” route in their own way and have also achieved success. It still happens.
Can we say Nirvana and Taylor Swift in the same sentence? I think we must. Here we had, basically, a kid version of a signer/songwriter. She wrote, recorded and played her guitar in her bedroom. Then had her mom drive her to music row where she walked into every label to play for them. ONE guy had ears….and the rest is history. But at some point she wasn’t star material or the most well written woman on the planet. She was just playing and learning and gaining experience and finding her way. Her garage was her bedroom.
Our Classic Rock station has been on the air a little more than one year but about a year ago we launched a local band show called The Garage. I knew there were a ton of talented bands in the Chicago area. But I really did not expect to get so much interest in our little, one-hour weekly experiment. It gives me hope to hear the bands, see them come in to play and shoot video in the studio and then see the excitement and chatter when it hits the air and people DL and share the podcasts.
It’s a lot of fun for us guys who remember when the hippies were tossed the keys to “the FM” and told to just keep it on the air!
I love knowing there are school age kids, young men and women, out there who love creating music. It still exists the way Dave Grohl and Nirvana did it. We just have to open the doors and invite them into the studio and onto the radio.
Jack, well said and well written. You are correct that there’s still a market for young people who want to make music more than they do video games. And your Taylor Swift example is a good one. Her road to the top and the experiences along the way have to be a major reason why she is so wise beyond her years. As Grohl points out, there is much learning and much chops earning that occurs from the garage to the schools to the clubs to the arenas.
You are also correct that we in radio have to be more open to music discovery and promoting artists that want to earn their success – not win it on reality TV.
Thanks for taking the time.
As for tech as a career vs. music – the chances of being a star in either are remote. Most people in tech aren’t wealthy entrepreneurs, they’re coders sitting in a cubicle. Most musicians aren’t rock stars, they’re servers working their butts off trying to get a break in music. If your goal is to sell a tech company for millions or become a rock star, its best to have a solid back up plan.
Funny, I think that article was interesting, but missed the point to a large extent. Technology has freed musicians in a lot of ways. You don’t need to spend $300K to produce a decent album because you can buy all of the tools for a few thousand now. American Idol (yesterday’s news IMO) and The Voice all look for the common denominator, but that’s not really where the action is – its in the indie world. Project after project each with a different name, this one collaborating with that one. SXSW/Lolla/Coachella/Pitchfork Festival/Bonarroo, etc. are proof that there are plenty of talented people who want to make music and and audience that wants to hear it. Then there’s the Texas/Red Dirt Country scene – maybe you never heard of it but the bigger artists there can draw over 15,000 people for a show in OK or TX. And those are just the ones I’m familiar with because of my personal tastes. There are lots of others and there are many more vehicles to get music exposed through than before the tech boom started. Take note of how long its been since American Idol or The Voice spawned a real star – they aren’t representative of either the opportunities or obstacles to success in music.
Perhaps most germane is that few would ever choose between music and tech anyway. Referencing your blog from yesterday, they require completely different skills and brain orientations – in fact, there may not be a better right vs. left brain comparison anywhere than tech vs. music. Most creative/talented people lean strongly one way or the other.
There is so much more music made and available than at any time in my life, due TO technology for the most part.
I think its still cool…
I think you make a great point that it might be that split personality conversation that we started yesterday with DJs and CEOs. The kinds of people who are likely to gravitate to music or writing code for the cloud are very likely to be very different souls.
You also point out something interesting. In spite of the preponderance of “American Idol” shows, the fact that so many people can now have access to studio grade recording tools has democratized the art of making music. I don’t believe Grohl was lashing out at technology per se, but that we’ve gotten away from that “garage band” mentality. I wonder how Little Steven feels about this.
Thanks for adding the conversation, Bob.
Would love to see how Dylan or (fill in the blank) would have done on The Voice etc. Commoditized indeed. The key is discovery. Where are we discovering our music. Obviously that is not happening on The Voice et. al. where there is precious little original content. I think the Internet AND radio together are effective workarounds to the commoditization. Lots of artists leveraging both successfully. – turn off the tube!
Randy: “Check it out dog. The hair, well, its interesting and you might wanna decide if you do or don’t have a beard. The vocals…definitely pitchy, the lyrics just not getting it and not a great song choice. If you make it through, I’d suggest going with a song that the audience knows.”
Paula: “Not my favorite performance of the night, not the best song choice and I think you might be in trouble this week. But one thing I can say about you – Bob Dylan is always true to himself – this performance was so…YOU!”
Simon: “Did anyone inform you that this is a SINGING competition? You sound like a rodent stuck in the ductwork proselytizing about changing times or something or other. I don’t understand it, but despite your admonition, I’m criticizing it anyway.”
Simon: “One last thing Bob. If by some horrible accident of nature you make it through to next week, don’t just go out there with your guitar – use the band. Trust me, you won’t get booed off the stage because you have an electric guitar, bass and drums behind you!”
Bob, your version of “Idol” would be a much better show. Thanks for providing the dialogue to today’s post.
Here, here. We actually see lots of evidence in both our quantitative and qualitative research that music discovery is, in fact, radio’s secret sauce. Tech gives more people the ability to make music and the audience great access to hearing it.
Dylan would have likely been washed out during tryouts, don’t you think? And he probably would have been proud of it.
Thanks, Roger.
Change is not always for the good as your article suggests. Though I think it misses a major point.
Radio needs more new acts because stations benefit by having something to put on their web sites, which gives people a reason to visit.
New music is plentiful. Artists are not loosing interest in producing songs, as Dave Grohl describes. Tens-of-thousands of indie acts avoid the “American Idol” approach. They prefer striking out on their own, online.
Many artists use RRadioMusic.com, a web site I created in 2003. Programmers select new indie acts for their playlist. Artists sign waivers of all royalties, performance and publishing. In 11 years I’ve only had one broadcast station request music. Hundreds of online stations use it regularly. (And this is only one web site serving new artists to stations. There are dozens.)
I also created an “Intro to Indie Artists” series of programs. No broadcasters use it, but 150+ online radio station subscribe to these free programs in six music genres: https://www.audiographics.com/landing_page/intro_to_indie_artists.htm. Fans subscribe to these programs at iTunes and Feedburner.
There is a tremendous amount of good, new talent if a programmer wants to find it.
Here is where this problem rests: Youth are finding more new music online because of radio failure to deliver it over-the-air or in a stream. If you could do a cumulative count, I’m sure it would prove that those television shows are being used more by radio to find new talent than by fans.
This whole concept of “discovery” is something that more and more radio stations need to rethink, Ken. “Discovery” used to be what the record guy brought to the station this week. The last decade (or so) proves that it truly has many fathers – or at least web sites and other digital resources. Thanks for drawing attention to the “gap.”