End of the Music Industry

Musicians have needed help distributing their creations since before recorded history (pun partially intended).

First, it was scribes, making copies of sheet music using pen and ink. The invention of the printing press made it possible for a composer to distribute their music to the World. Fame and fortune was within reach (albeit posthumously).

The Music Industry started with the publishing, printing, and distribution of sheet music. Previously obscure composers became famous, sometimes able to earn a living off of what remained after the Music Industry took its share.

“He gets to be famous, I get to be rich!” – Tom Petty

The Music Industry became insanely wealthy with the advent of music recording technology. The expense of stepping into a recording studio was too high for most musicians to afford, so we developed a dependency on the Music Industry to “discover” us, grant us a contract, and make a sick profit off our creations. Every format change guaranteed a re-sale of already purchased material, making the profits even higher. There seemed to be no end to the wealth.

Then the Internet happened.

Digital music is just data.

The binary code, that represents a piece of music, can be stored as a binary file as sure as it can be etched on a CD or magnetized on a DAT. And a binary file can be copied; shared; downloaded.

People could get music for free.

The Music Industry lost control of distribution. After all of the resulting legal action, it has since become a mere shadow of what it used to be.

Most of the infrastructure is still in place.

For example, when musicians distribute their creations through the Internet Streaming Services, they pay for the right to do so. They pay fees to keep their music alive. They receive royalties, mere fractions of a penny, when someone listens to their music. The Internet Streaming Services have picked up where the Music Industry left off, taking the bulk of the advertising/subscription wealth for themselves before handing the remaining pocket change over to the musicians.

The time has come for this to end.

After all, Digital music is just data.

Imagine a music streaming service that collects no money from musicians distributing their creations. Instead, the musicians receive 100% of what listeners deposit in their Tip Jar. Listeners pay no subscription fees; and are not forced to listen to any advertisements. Musicians pay nothing to keep their music alive, but they do get tips (otherwise known as income) from listeners that like it enough to pay for it.

But who will pay the infrastructure expenses?

Just like the listeners paying the musicians, they can also make a deposit in the Tip Jar of the streaming service. Benefactors could pay some of the infrastructure expenses; or the providers of infrastructure could offer services for free (as in waive banking fees for tips, offer free data streaming for broadcasting, and free Internet/Web hosting for storage).

But is it art?

Yes. If someone feels like paying a tip for it, then it is art.

It does not matter if it is a piano being whacked by a rubber chicken, a banana duck-taped to a viola, or AI generated slop: If it moves someone enough to pay for it, then it is art.

Don’t get me wrong, I am happy that the Music Industry has gotten us this far. So many of my aspirations, as a performing artist, are built around the edifices that the Music Industry built.

But we no longer need it.

It is time to move on.

It is time for the end of the Music Industry.