Why the music industry is broken (and how to fix it)

The combination of words "music" and "industry" feels somehow off.

If I look up the definition of music I get something like:

"Art of arranging sounds in time using elements like melody, harmony, rhythm, and silence to express ideas and emotions."

On the contrary when I search for industry I get this:

"A group of businesses or organisations that produce, sell, or provide a particular category of goods or services."

I'm not denying the need for businesses related to music - after all who would make the guitars, how would the teachers get paid etc.

But once you've attached the word industry to music sucks all the life out.

Our way of thinking about music itself - without which there would be no music industry btw - is filtered through the lens of hyper capitalism i.e. the industry first.

In other words we put the cart (industry) in front of the horse (music).

Music creators are very often first more concerned about the financial or other kind of measurable success of their music and forget why they started playing in the first place.

I don't blame them. I'm do that too. It's a necessity to survive right?

Or is it?

When you look at the artists like Ed Sheeran.

His success started as something pure - busking, experimenting with a looper and sharing his infectious energy, but it's what happens afterwards that is the problem.

The industry takes charge.

Star Wars (one of my favourite movies) franchise is a good example.

Once bought by Disney it turned into the industry first approach and the "music" was lost.

We don't need to get rid of the industry, but we need the arrange the flow of creativity (and life) in a correct way:

Music and authentic expression first = culture -> Public feedback = industry -> Inspiration = new music ideas...

...and on to the next round of creative expression shall begin!

The authentic expression doesn't happen in a vacuum of course.

They are not separate, there's no authentic expression without prior inspiration.

But it's when industry becomes the master, the prior motivator, the north star if you will, that art goes sour.

Keep it funky!

Faana