Indeed. The scenes are happening right now: you just need one or two catalysts. We have one great community here in Sanremo, Italy that stretches to Nice, France and beyond. (Funk, Jazz and some hip hop). There's a couple of collectives that collaborate constantly live and in the studio and we're organizing events on private properties as well as playing clubs, weddings where they want to get funked up and festivals (less accessible at the moment).
The artistic production is there, but the real challenge is to organize, promote and market so that all these musicians don't have to take "strolling" jobs (high paying but artistically degrading private events) to pay the bills or new instruments and can focus on making great music.
This is so true. Small local music communities often lack the resources to market to their full potential often because everyone involved is already doing so many other things- performers making music, organizing shows, recording, creating merch, booking shows.
As per usual, this is a very thoughtful, well-articulated, well-penned (likely typed) piece of editorial writing. I agree with just about every point made here.
Unfortunately, after almost 20 years of pushing my art by endless gigging, touring and building communities via a blog, radio show and brief-lived magazine… I truly don’t think any of it works. I just don’t think the audience is consistent enough, I don’t think the fragile egos of musicians/artists can band together long enough to even give life to anything.
I tried to return to playing live after Covid and that’s when it seemed gleamingly apparent that a permanent shift had taken place.
Speaking from the U.S., but in today’s current climate, socially and politically, we need the kind of camaraderie you speak of more than ever. Coincidentally, it’s also more unrealistic now more than ever. We literally are facing the reality of not being able to afford to eat, with a bachelor’s degree and “decent” job. Everything is quickly falling to the bottom.
So after all of that rambling, do I have any solution to offer? Not really. Everything seems so much easier said than done, and ultimately insincere. But I think the Revolution, if any, may need to be technologically-focused before it’s industry-focused.
I feel you. And agree. I don’t think we’re being cynical by not having faith in this idea, I think we’re being realistic. Most artists don’t really, truly have an interest in banding together. But if it’s framed less as “commune” thinking and more as a strategical business model, I’m hoping people will be more open to it. Hiphop and pop are doing it to make $$. Not to be friends. Indie musicians simply need to rely on each other and use each other’s resources because we obviously can’t do it alone.
How fucking true. But not all is lost. Check out the London Doom Collective scene. LCD. Loads of doom metal bands playing on each others records. ( Grave Lines/ Dead Witches) Great example. The masters of the riff 3 day festival at Oslo Hackney couple of months ago. And in May the 3 day Desertfest festival in Camden. Then in July Stoomfest. This particular scene is there but as you say. 95% of the band's suffer the same problem. They are algorithm light. Not enough streams no. Tik tok presence. Even youtube is now pushing subscriptions for no ads. Where do us fans put our cash. Bandcamp is full of bands that just release digital only coz of the fucking costs of producing vinyl. And the obsession of pressing plants re issuing expensive ltd box set back catalogues if whatever band suddenly jumps on the cash making band wagon. Oasis being one in point but there are countless others. ( I loved Oasis back in the day) Brit pop scene.
I buy vinyl and countless times I've emails saying sorry there is a 3 month delay on this. By the time it's released the band are in their next venture or they split coz they can't get product out.
Fucking sucks. Whatever happened to the punk and indie era where you could get your 7 inch single pressed in a day on some obscure label that only ever released that single. Yep there are some very good, metal indie record labels championing the cause. But sometimes I'm spending £45 including postage to get some of these releases. Shocking. Maybe I should buy the 50 coloured versions of the next Taylor Swift album. Flip em on ebay. Nuff said
The scenes & communities started dying off around the early 2000’s…interestingly with the rise of social media as you pointed out. Nowadays, there’s still a sense of community in the hardcore & punk scenes but even those are fractured & splintered into factions. At least that’s how old dogs like myself see it. It isn’t the same as it was and will never be again. And that breaks my heart when I ponder it too much.
I started hosting local music hangouts in my town for this very reason. Like so many who have mentioned here, most are missing music/art scene and craving that community. However I've noticed that we (society) are still stuck behind a screen and have been programmed with "events" with an "interested" button.
I don't care for the phrase "safe space" because to me art/music scenes were a safe/welcoming space without question. Now I think there's a lot of hesitation for people to show up because we've been without those spaces for so long.
Congrats on the great text and the phenomena you described. I could feel and understand everything. Except for the part about the solution, the “band together.” It’s admittedly a logical idea, but it fails in the face of a bitter reality: the individual, or rather the idea behind it.
I’ve spent enough time in all kinds of communities to accept that beyond the internet and AI, there’s an aspect that keeps the ape from becoming human: vanity. Contained within that are greed and stinginess. No matter how large the common ground might be, it doesn’t fail because of a lack of goodwill. It fails because of the facts of our ape-like nature, which has a tight grip on nearly all bipeds.
That the internet and AI encourage a general sense of alienation doesn’t make things any easier. The enemy isn’t the internet or AI. It’s a stubborn, seemingly indestructible aspect in the psyche or the genes of the ape we try to deny. The ape doesn’t want to band together. The ape wants to grunt alone on the mountain and hoard all the groupies for himself, and that’s it.
Neither the internet nor AI taught the ape that. It’s deeply rooted, and the real winners in this game are those who know how to exploit that aspect for themselves. And those are never the creatives or the artists.
The solution is much simpler: do what you love to do. Regardless of external reactions or demands. And learn to live with the fact that only a handful of people will truly see it and appreciate it. Amen. ;)
100%! One of my next album projects is collaborations with artists I love. Drop me a line if you’d like to do a track :)
Now this, I’d love to see!
Indeed. The scenes are happening right now: you just need one or two catalysts. We have one great community here in Sanremo, Italy that stretches to Nice, France and beyond. (Funk, Jazz and some hip hop). There's a couple of collectives that collaborate constantly live and in the studio and we're organizing events on private properties as well as playing clubs, weddings where they want to get funked up and festivals (less accessible at the moment).
The artistic production is there, but the real challenge is to organize, promote and market so that all these musicians don't have to take "strolling" jobs (high paying but artistically degrading private events) to pay the bills or new instruments and can focus on making great music.
ooh thatś the part of italy i have in mind to move to and i travel with a studio
This is so true. Small local music communities often lack the resources to market to their full potential often because everyone involved is already doing so many other things- performers making music, organizing shows, recording, creating merch, booking shows.
As per usual, this is a very thoughtful, well-articulated, well-penned (likely typed) piece of editorial writing. I agree with just about every point made here.
Unfortunately, after almost 20 years of pushing my art by endless gigging, touring and building communities via a blog, radio show and brief-lived magazine… I truly don’t think any of it works. I just don’t think the audience is consistent enough, I don’t think the fragile egos of musicians/artists can band together long enough to even give life to anything.
I tried to return to playing live after Covid and that’s when it seemed gleamingly apparent that a permanent shift had taken place.
Speaking from the U.S., but in today’s current climate, socially and politically, we need the kind of camaraderie you speak of more than ever. Coincidentally, it’s also more unrealistic now more than ever. We literally are facing the reality of not being able to afford to eat, with a bachelor’s degree and “decent” job. Everything is quickly falling to the bottom.
So after all of that rambling, do I have any solution to offer? Not really. Everything seems so much easier said than done, and ultimately insincere. But I think the Revolution, if any, may need to be technologically-focused before it’s industry-focused.
I feel you. And agree. I don’t think we’re being cynical by not having faith in this idea, I think we’re being realistic. Most artists don’t really, truly have an interest in banding together. But if it’s framed less as “commune” thinking and more as a strategical business model, I’m hoping people will be more open to it. Hiphop and pop are doing it to make $$. Not to be friends. Indie musicians simply need to rely on each other and use each other’s resources because we obviously can’t do it alone.
Love this. All about it. I think this is true in music, politically, every sense right now. We all need each other more than ever.
How fucking true. But not all is lost. Check out the London Doom Collective scene. LCD. Loads of doom metal bands playing on each others records. ( Grave Lines/ Dead Witches) Great example. The masters of the riff 3 day festival at Oslo Hackney couple of months ago. And in May the 3 day Desertfest festival in Camden. Then in July Stoomfest. This particular scene is there but as you say. 95% of the band's suffer the same problem. They are algorithm light. Not enough streams no. Tik tok presence. Even youtube is now pushing subscriptions for no ads. Where do us fans put our cash. Bandcamp is full of bands that just release digital only coz of the fucking costs of producing vinyl. And the obsession of pressing plants re issuing expensive ltd box set back catalogues if whatever band suddenly jumps on the cash making band wagon. Oasis being one in point but there are countless others. ( I loved Oasis back in the day) Brit pop scene.
I buy vinyl and countless times I've emails saying sorry there is a 3 month delay on this. By the time it's released the band are in their next venture or they split coz they can't get product out.
Fucking sucks. Whatever happened to the punk and indie era where you could get your 7 inch single pressed in a day on some obscure label that only ever released that single. Yep there are some very good, metal indie record labels championing the cause. But sometimes I'm spending £45 including postage to get some of these releases. Shocking. Maybe I should buy the 50 coloured versions of the next Taylor Swift album. Flip em on ebay. Nuff said
Fabulous article - thanks very much!
Please check out the MEAA union for musicians in Australia.
Truth!
The scenes & communities started dying off around the early 2000’s…interestingly with the rise of social media as you pointed out. Nowadays, there’s still a sense of community in the hardcore & punk scenes but even those are fractured & splintered into factions. At least that’s how old dogs like myself see it. It isn’t the same as it was and will never be again. And that breaks my heart when I ponder it too much.
A proper Ressurrection is due. Bring back the "Before Times" Yes Please!!
This is my favourite post of yours so far :D
I really love your thoughts on community in music shit was a nice morning read
I love this article! I shared on my IG, I was trying to figure how to tag you, but I'm not sure how. If you can help, I can. :)
Ah! Thanks! You can tag me on IG using @QueenKwong xx
I started hosting local music hangouts in my town for this very reason. Like so many who have mentioned here, most are missing music/art scene and craving that community. However I've noticed that we (society) are still stuck behind a screen and have been programmed with "events" with an "interested" button.
I don't care for the phrase "safe space" because to me art/music scenes were a safe/welcoming space without question. Now I think there's a lot of hesitation for people to show up because we've been without those spaces for so long.
Hosting one next week, hopefully goes well!
A wonderful insightful post Carré. Something needs to change and I think you’re on to something. X
So true! Love this article ❣️
Congrats on the great text and the phenomena you described. I could feel and understand everything. Except for the part about the solution, the “band together.” It’s admittedly a logical idea, but it fails in the face of a bitter reality: the individual, or rather the idea behind it.
I’ve spent enough time in all kinds of communities to accept that beyond the internet and AI, there’s an aspect that keeps the ape from becoming human: vanity. Contained within that are greed and stinginess. No matter how large the common ground might be, it doesn’t fail because of a lack of goodwill. It fails because of the facts of our ape-like nature, which has a tight grip on nearly all bipeds.
That the internet and AI encourage a general sense of alienation doesn’t make things any easier. The enemy isn’t the internet or AI. It’s a stubborn, seemingly indestructible aspect in the psyche or the genes of the ape we try to deny. The ape doesn’t want to band together. The ape wants to grunt alone on the mountain and hoard all the groupies for himself, and that’s it.
Neither the internet nor AI taught the ape that. It’s deeply rooted, and the real winners in this game are those who know how to exploit that aspect for themselves. And those are never the creatives or the artists.
The solution is much simpler: do what you love to do. Regardless of external reactions or demands. And learn to live with the fact that only a handful of people will truly see it and appreciate it. Amen. ;)