Imagine that you're walking across the street and you see some 100$ bills flying on the wind in the opposite direction of yours. Then, you will turn around and follow the money. That's what happens every day with each and every one of us, but not only with people... I wouldn't be surprised to see some rocks from the beach rolling by themselves in the direction of some bank office and gathering on the pile there. Because that's where the money is! Nothing strange!
I also kinda follow the money, so I'll place here the links of my last five posts while you can still upvote them! ;) They are all about some interesting facts that consider music:
Sounds and humans
A440 - Universal Tuning Standard
Why do plants like music?
The oldest surviving notated musical piece (and brief history of musical notation)
Evolution of drum set
Well, that's what also happens to music. It follows the money and let's check how the money corrupted the magic.
How technology killed music industry?
So today, I'll say few things about:
- Piracy
- Analog vs digital
- Beautiful voice and singing skills vs sexy look
Let's start!
Piracy
I am the owner of thousands and thousands illegal mp3-s. I can say that with no shame, since everybody does it and those tracks are available to download wherever you point your mouse. Many countries have some restrictions for downloading content, but in Croatia, we can download all without any control. So here I am, listening to the music that I didn't pay for. What's the big deal, those tracks are available on YouTube anyway and you can listen them for free. But quality of those mp3-s or YouTube clips are nothing comparing to 16-bit Wave sound that you get when you buy an original album.
People in music industry are aware of this. Record sales don't bring any money like they did before, so you can see your favorite singing star in TV commercial for some yogurt or toothpaste.
But distributing or owning illegal mp3-s or some other illegal tracks is not only thing that considers piracy in music industry. Sampling an existing song without permission or taking some melody or patter from a song of some other author... That's also where I am involved, but never without permission of the author, if my intentions were making the money with my track. Luckily, I have a lot of great contacts here and access to the one of the largest sound libraries in my country. It's kinda good feeling recycling some old, forgotten songs but when you do it with respect.
Analog vs digital
Analog or digital? Whoever I asked, came with different answers. Some musicians prefer good old raw analog sound while others prefer crystal clear digital. I prefer to hear analog sound but I do digital. It's kinda complicated these days to record some vocals without dealing with something digital. Sound is basically analog continuous signal. The wave travels through the medium as one body, with no breaks. Digital signal divides that wave to many smaller waves, so some audiophiles claim that digital signal can't provide complete image of a sound. But as the world turns and we're heading toward the future and we forgot good old LP-s and tapes that were soul of analog signal and CDs and DVDs carry digital signal.
Digital age didn't brought only disagreement between audiophiles! The technology made possible to make songs faster, to make perfect copies, software effects that were external components few decades ago... That's the reason for having much more new entries than before, new artists that you can't memorize and a complete ignorant can install some cheap DAW and try himself in music making.
Beautiful voice and singing skills vs sexy look
Sometimes I can't get my eyes off some music videos... Those big booty girls are dancing barely dressed and one of them starts singing... then I notice that she don't have any voice at all! Actually, she can sing three full tones and the whole track is made using that three tomes. But with those effects and expensive production, it sounds like heaven. Good auto-tuning vocal effect and a proper plastic surgeon can make you celebrity over night!
Now, let's remember the time when you had to work to achieve something. The talent is just one part of it! Hard work is what it takes. Exercising, doing your best, trying hundred times to reach the perfection... It is not important today, you can have all talents of the world and be really a hard worker but if you are not willing to spread your cute legs for some manager or a producer, it's not going to happen.
How many times have you heard a new song, but it doesn't seem new to you, cause you heard it before?
The most of songs today are cooked from the recipe for Copy Pasta. Same lyrics, same scales and chords, completely the same point... same plastic surgeon?
Even when you think that you came up with something new, you're probably wrong! Somebody did it before!