As I pondered my blog topic today, I was ready to pick all the low hanging fruit: there’s too much music online and artists are never (or rarely) heard through the noise, the Internet makes it easier than ever to make music and harder than ever to make magic; COVID-19 has changed the scene and artists are sick of live streaming; artists have no revenue anymore except for t-shirts; Spotify and Facebook and TikTok might change their algorithms next week and then no one will be able to reach their followers…or something of that climatic, dramatic ilk. This type of “drama news” is in tune with the Journalism styles from the early 20th century (if it bleeds it leads) as newspaper boys shouted to get the attention of passerbys, which has understandably leaked into the Internet style of journalism, where the battle for the attention of the reader is even more astute (think of 7 lions fighting over a Big Mac and you get the idea).
Not only is this article competing with millions of other articles–if you even find or read this one at all–but nowadays competition with music is fierce. Not only are musicians competing with other music acts and styles, but with Netflix, Hulu, binge watching, YouTube, and of course, click bait articles like “What Marcia Brady Looks Like Now.” Yep, it’s a battle for attention spans. And, attention spans, believe it or not–are getting shorter and shorter.
Perhaps songs need to catch up, and be like 30 seconds long. Or 15.
Or, maybe artists just need stronger brands, more colors, more posts, more photos, more videos, more blogs…more…sigh. Even the most adept musicians are rightfully overwhelmed with an online music world that requires managing 8.7 online profiles on any given day. And writing, recording. Eating, sleeping…
But, as my headline promised, I am not here to be pessimistic. No, I am here to be optimistic, although it’s clearly out of step with the current situation.
As musicians we NEED to be optimistic. If anything that is our ultimate product, or ultimate offering.
As listeners and fans scroll online, hoping to find a nugget of gold admist the trash and debris, isn’t that feeling of optimism what they are seeking? The online world is ingenius in that it creates an environment where happiness is implausible and nearly impossible (political clashing and comparing your life to the Jones’s). To add to the challenge, the anecdote is even harder and harder to find, as we need to sift through millions of songs to find one to lift us up.
Will you write that song that lifts people up?
Will you share news that brings optimism?
Photo by Hannah Frank