We talk a lot in the abstract about what “community” means for music.
We know it’s something we used to have a lot more of, back before the 24 hour news cycle and phone addiction and music streaming took over. We know we used to have richer social lives that naturally revolved around music. We know that the big bad Music Industry has changed a lot in recent years, and how we approach music — how we approach most things, to be fair — is a lot more solitary now.
We know that “community” is a good thing in theory. More human connection, less money in corporate pockets. But we’ve also gotten awfully used to convenience.
If music needs community, what are we actually willing to do for it?
Queen Kwong and I started talking about that this week. I’ll be honest, though — we didn’t get as far as we hoped. It’s a really meaty subject and we’ve got a lot to say.
But we did begin to touch on a lot of topics/questions I know you’ll also have opinions about:
How do we stratify music listeners: passive, active, fans, stans, collectors, etc.?
What does each group of listener realistically have the capacity or willingness to give: attention, money, advocacy, time, labor, taste-making, emotional investment?
How do we stratify musicians: emerging artists, working musicians, established artists, famous artists?
What does each group of musician realistically have the capacity or willingness to give: access, collaboration, mentorship, visibility, social capital, labor?
What does the disappearance of a real “middle class” of musicians mean for artists, fans, touring, releasing records, and long-term sustainability?
What will be the fate of new community-based “fixes” for this problem?
Subvert.fm promises to be a co-op music platform. Can it actually succeed?
Does the average person care enough about fair pay for musicians to switch from streaming? Is it enough if only Bandcamp users do?
What would a healthier music ecosystem look like if fans, musicians, curators, writers, labels, and venues all understood what they can realistically offer each other?
Speaking of…
Carré has started a new collective-based record label: SICK.
The premise is simple. Established artists collaborate with emerging artists on original singles. Emerging artists get mentorship and exposure, everyone builds more connections and flexes their creative muscles, and the end result is incredible new music. Sick.
The problems are predictable. I’ll stop giving everything away because I want you to give you some reason to watch, but I’ll leave you with this —
Who do we have more faith in when it comes to building a music community: musicians or fans?
Carré has a clear answer in mind. I’m undecided. We’re both cynical, but trying to stay hopeful. And we’d love to know what you think.
Catch up on all of our thoughts in the replay above and tell us which thread you want us to unravel next.
xo
Gabbie
P.S. I didn’t give much of a heads up for this livestream, so the replay is free for everyone. In the future, I’ll keep a video archive for paid subscribers (and give you a healthy heads up about when to catch lives so you don’t miss them!).
